Arcadia Cafe is infamous for being the hangout of down on their luck men who can't afford to eat anywhere else. They rarely talk of anything but their misfortune, yet an unexpected friendship develops between a poor worker and the quiet Mr. Canby. Over their meals together, the worker learns of Mr. Canby's wife's continually ailing health and his struggle to scrape together enough to get by while providing her with the trips and expensive things she desires. After months of friendship, Mr. Canby finally discloses his master plan - he's going to buy the farm next to his own, where he knows there's a lot of marble waiting to be mined. Mr. Canby is certain it's his way out of crippling poverty, and he's just saved up enough to buy it. The work is ecstatic for his friend. For many months, Mr. Canby doesn't come to Arcadia Cafe; but eventually, he appears again. He explains his wife's health once again took a turn for the worse just as he'd saved up enough. Perhaps in another six years he'll have a chance to buy the farm, but he shoves away his plate of food before elaborating, claiming he doesn't have much of an appetite anymore.