A girl of about 5 comes scurrying in and squats in front of the counter, as if to hide from the barista, who calmly pretends not to see her. The girl is dressed all in pink, from her hot pink cowboy boots to gauzy pastel tutu, and sensible, rose-pink turtleneck. She shouts, “Boo!” startling the two studious customers, but not the barista, who calmly peers over the counter and, seeing the girl’s fistful of crumpled dollar bills, asks, “Where’d you get all that money?

“I worked today,” the girl replied brightly.
—Sharon Parker