Convenience Store Clerk

Something like embarrassed that I forgot

to buy milk at the supermarket 

just an hour or so earlier,

I headed to the convenience store 

for my purchase.

In the parking lot,

I park next to a lone, rusty Toyota Corolla 

which must be 25 or 30 years old.

Retrieving a milk gallon from the cooler,

I wait patiently at the counter

as the clerk is busily cleaning 

one of those hot dog roller machines

ubiquitous in such stores.

The clerk calls out

"I'll be right there."

"Take your time, 

I can see your busy."

Eventually I pay for the milk.

She thanks me for my purchase

and I wish her a Happy Labor Day.

Back in the parking lot,

I realize the rusty, old Corolla is the clerk's.

And I wonder to myself,

what would be for her a fair wage?