Summary

In "Café Mort," the narrator works another shift at Café Mort. She knows only desperate people work here, “waiting on dead people" (89). She watches the regulars come in, inventorying their appearances and demeanors. She wonders what would happen if this were her last night. She dismisses the thought. She knows almost everyone who enters, and the ways they died. She likes the couple Roman and Neil best. They are so devoted, Neil killed himself after Roman died so they could be together after death (92). In a way, everyone at Café Mort is connected via devotion. The narrator lost someone too, but does not like talking about him (93).

All of the regulars speak in clichés. They think they have wisdom about life and death. Some are more positive than others. Mostly, the customers are no different from the...