Tit for Tat; or, The Mermaid Used to be Topless

I had the day off today, and all I managed to do was shuffle from Starbucks to Starbucks, buying iced coffees in near-November.

I was doing a crossword from last week's New York Times at one of them when a thirty-something man with shoulder-length dreadlocks tapped my shoulder and gave me a Sharpie sketch he did of me while I was at my little table, on a vocabulary-induced high from my orthographic binge. I was confused at first, not only because I didn't know what "Craps Natural" (five letters, ends in VEH) was supposed to be, but also that I wasn't sure if it was one of those things where he expected a donation for his gift. He left a minute later, so I guess not.

It was so nice a gesture that I bought today's New York Times from the front counter and left it behind on my table for the next person when I went home.

Even though I kept today's crossword.