Tony

On hot days, Tony climbed into the drink refrigerator.

Suliman told us Tony would slip inside when a customer opened the door and sleep on a middle shelf among the drinks.

Suliman bought Tony as a baby. Mixed Himalayan, fluffy, with the kind of face that makes people stop mid-errand. He has been at the bodega for almost a year now. In that time, he has developed a routine that no one taught him and no one can break.

During summer, Tony sometimes stayed there for an hour while people reached around him for drinks.

"Every summer, as soon as a customer opens the refrigerator, he goes in there for an hour, takes a nap, and comes out."

Suliman described it as part of the store's routine: drinks on the left, Tony on the middle shelf.

Suliman showed us baby pictures on his phone. Tony as a kitten, small enough to hold in one hand. Now he is a full-grown Himalayan who has claimed the cold case as his personal retreat.

I asked if customers ever react badly. If anyone has complained about a cat in the refrigerator, fur near the beverages, health code implications.

The photograph records what Tony did. It is not a care recommendation. Cats should not be inside refrigerators or other food and drink storage. A cool bed away from stored products gives a cat relief from summer heat without creating a safety or sanitation problem.