Tuesday morning in Northfield

   The cook at Rooster's Bistro is an attractive young woman with what seems like a lot of makeup for a Tuesday morning in Northfield, Massachusetts.  With four customers at 8 in the morning, the Rooster would not seem to need a waitress as well, but here she is, an even younger woman with short, bleached blond hair, plenty of makeup of her own, and a small ring in her nose.  One of the customers turns out to be her boyfriend.  He drinks black coffee.   When the waitress comes over to visit with him, he makes a joke about how cold her hands were this morning.  

   A TV hangs over the back counter, playing The Today Show, "live from Rockefeller Plaza in New York City."  A celebrity chef shows us how to make a glaze for our New Year's ham.  A financial expert reminds us to max out our 401(k) contributions before year-end.  "If you're under 50, you can put aside up to $16,500, and your employer may match some of what you contribute!"  I wonder if the cook or the waitress even makes $16,500, much less has a 401(k).  

   They are, in any event, concerned with other things.  The cook has moved to an area near the back where she has pulled a curling iron from her bag and begun primping her hair in a mirror.  If someone else comes in, she will be able to see them from there.  It's a small place, and she can see the whole thing, absolutely all of it, from where she is standing right now.