Tessera

It's too hot to work in the apartment today.  It's on the top floor, and the terracotta tiles that serve as the ceiling to the living room are the same that serve as the building's roof.  A few hours in the sun, and those puppies are baking.  I'm working in a cafe trying to ignore the experimental, jam music that sounds like Robert Plant's little brother sodomizing a chicken.  Two construction workers walked in.  One ordered an espresso, the other a caffè corretto, which is a shot of espresso with a shot of liquor (I prefer grappa).  It's the Italian version of the Bloody Mary and equally effective.  While the barista was firing up the espresso machine, the worker changed his mind. He ordered a shot of pure, grain alcohol that he intended to chase with espresso.  It's noon, ninety degrees, and the rest of the work-day outside in sun awaits you.  Nothing I would want more than a shot of Everclear.