She moves to the big plate-glass window to stare out at the empty sidewalk. It might as well be a painting. After an eternity a little puff of wind stirs up an eddy of candy wrappers and dust, but after a few quick heartbeats it's gone. It never happened. The silence, the emptiness, seeps into the shop like a syrup.
Breathing becomes difficult.
Movement of any sort is now nearly impossible. It's always on time this hour of the night. Or maybe he won't. Maybe she'll lose her job, but she has to do it. She has to do it while she can still move.