Seven Empty Deposit Envelopes Showed What Was Happening At Carters Diner
The landlord said the hot water heater was replaced last spring, he said. The shower has plenty of pressure.
And the bed? Carter asked.
It is a good mattress, Henry said. I slept seven hours straight without waking up once.
He stopped wiping and looked at the clean green rag in his hand.
My wife used to say that a good bed is the only thing a working man really needs to buy new, Henry said.
She was right, Carter said.
She was right about a lot of things, Henry said, his voice dropping to that formal, polite tone.
He folded the rag into a neat square and set it beside the sink.
I brought her sewing basket over from the car, Henry said. It was the only thing I kept in the trunk when the house went.
It’s sitting on the kitchen table in the apartment now, he said. Next to the window with the green shutters.
It fits there, Carter said.
It does, Henry said.
At eight o’clock, Carter took his seat in the rear booth near the window.
