Almost forgot about this from a few Fridays ago. As the weekend officially begins, a young Asian woman is buying a cocktail on the Grand Central platform around 5:30. The beer man’s got dirty blond hair in a bowl cut. Apparently the girl is a quarter or so short on the cocktail’s fee; she’s about to rummage through her purse to make up the difference.

But the beer man’s not having it.

“You gotta pay your rent, right?” he says cheerily, telling her to save her change.

She smiles and nods.

“You’re not smoking pot, right?” he adds.

Again, she smiles and nods.

He then raps a knuckle on the makeshift bar, the way a bartender does to signify a free drink is coming your way.

It wasn’t the brightest of banter, but it had some heart.