That’s what happened to people who were fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to live a long life.Sipping a cup of Empire coffee, she relished the first taste of the day. By noon she knew she’d finish the pot. Outside the long window in the living room of her fourth floor apartment, she saw the new day rising. It was going to be another hot one. Down on the street kids were already running and screaming through the silver splatter of an open fire hydrant. Jane looked at her wristwatch. At barely eight a.m. the city was bustling like an ant hive. Her grandson John would be over to see her around noon, taking minutes from his lunch break at the Institute to visit. She lifted the cup to her lips and blew on the coffee to cool it. John was the only love in her life now. She had outlived two husbands, her parents and three sisters, and one of her own children. Her two surviving children neglected her, but she must be fair. They didn’t live in New York anymore, having taken off for the West Coast many years ago.
