It started with my cheerier-than-usual “good morning” and ended 30 minutes later, late for work but with a new best friend.

Miyisha was working graveyard on just two hours sleep as fill-in for a sick coworker, but our last magical half hour in the otherwise empty convenience store where I went for coffee left us bonded like reunited siblings. I don’t usually click with people less than half my age but we shared details of our years without edits, sang together to a song on the radio and showed the surveillance cameras just how badly we could dance.

We vowed to meet again without too much passing of time and hugged a happy Tuesday to one another before I drove back to start my workday while hers was ending. The power of a good disposition and a genuine interest in the life of a stranger reminded me of how church should feel, but with unlimited free refills.