A tall man and a short man sit together at a table on the sidewalk of a restaurant. They chat about random people. First, they discuss a man who dropped out of school and now works as a singer in a nightclub. The tall one criticizes his job, but the short one says he sings very well. The tall man then requests the short man tell the singer to see him sometime. The short one says they never speak because they work during opposite hours.    The waiter then appears and gives the men their checks. He is Hispanic, and the three men talk about their shared experiences of being poor and hungry. After the waiter leaves, the street is silent except for a Spanish song which blares nearby. The men discuss the nightclub singer again, and the short man says he sings in English, French, and Spanish. The tall one says he wouldn’t bear to work there, but the short one says the singer doesn’t need to pay for housing as part of his salary arrangement. They talk about the singer’s wife. She speaks English but is not American. The tall man’s coat falls open and reveals torn cloth and pulled-off buttons. The waiter arrives and brings the other check, but leaves without presenting it to them. The men sit in silence. Then, they discuss where the singer lives, which is “on the road to Blountil.” They talk about a man who lives with the singer and the woman who does nothing but water the plants in his yard.