a scene.

“Where have you taken me?” I said.

“Hey, you’re the one who asked to tag along,” she said.

“That’s because you made it seem like you were going to be doing something exciting in the North End today,” I said.

“This isn’t exciting?”

“As exciting as waking up at the ass crack of dawn and hopping on the orange line could be, I guess.”

I had never been to Haymarket Square, but, in my mind, it was a whole lot different than this. It was hot, smelly, crowded, and slightly terrifying. I could barely hear myself think amidst the shouting and carrying on. My companion was completely unfazed by all of that, however, as she browsed the different vendors.

In the end, I walked out with a cantaloupe and a couple of tomatoes. A reward, I mused, for making it out of there in one piece. She didn’t buy anything. It was the atmosphere she wanted to take in.