The air was hot and muggy, and even though the sun had begun to set a while
back the passing cars and concrete sidewalk kept everything unbearable.
Even the customers sitting and eating dinner under the Cinzano umbrellas
were continually mopping up sweat with little square cocktail napkins. The
cold air from the kitchen was my only salvation and I would linger in the
oasis until I could sense the customers beginning to question my
whereabouts, appearing for a cursory refilling of glasses only to retreat
again. The streetlights all clicked on at once with a buzzing sound,
casting their amber-white light across the tables and cigarette smoke.
As the night progressed the high school kids took their Camaros and
Mustangs and headed off to the movies or the late-night softball games as
the neighborhood slowly regained its composure. Older couples strolled the
area, stopping off at one cafe or another and ordering their coffee,
decaffinated, with half and half. The two that always took the table
nearest the street wearily got up and ambled off towards their apartment,
leaving the habitual full ashtray covering a healthy tip. The peacefulness
was briefly interrupted as an ambulance blew by full-tilt, heading off into
the distance sirens wailing.