It was late one evening in a small cafe when an elderly, deaf gentlman was sitting outside on a shaded patio. The only people taking care of the cafe at this hour were two waiters. One was said to be an older, patient man. The other was noted to be a younger, impatient man that could only think about getting home and in bed with his wife. Throughout the story, a conversation occurs among the two waiters about the older gentleman that seems to sit in the cafe and drink the night away. The conversation progresses with the information that the man had previously tried to commit suicide by hanging, but was cut down by his niece. During their conversation the younger waiter becomes more and more irritated due to the fact that the old man just sits there and drinks and never seems like he is going to leave. However, the older waiter seems to understand why the old man enjoys sitting and watching his surroundings at night and continually sticks up for him. At the end of the story, the younger waiter kicks the deaf man out of the cafe. When this occurs the older waiter states that a pleasant cafe is nothing like a bodega that is open all night long, and the older waiter soon starts stating the lords prayer with the spanish word for "nothing" in place of any words of importance. This story shows that the older waiter understands what the old, deaf man is going through with nowhere to go to at night and how a person becomes lonely with no friends and no place to feel welcome.
"A Day's Wait"
A nine-year-old boy comes into the room, where his father notices he looks ill. He says he simply has a headache, and the father suggests he go back to bed. The boy argues that he is fine, and that he doesn't want to go to bed. It is revealed that the boy has a fever, so his father calls the doctor. When the doctor arrives, he takes the boys temperature, which is 102 degrees. The doctor gives the boy some medicine. To make him feel better, his father reads him a book about pirates. The objective of reading the book was to put the boy to sleep, but he simply stared at the foot of the bed. The boy insists the father leave if it is bothering him, but he remains in the room. The father thought that the boy may feel lightheaded, so he left to give the boy some privacy. The father went outside and walked their dog. It was a cold, brisk day so he decided to hunt some quail to kill time until heading back to the house. He killed two quail and missed five during the hunt, but was pleased to have found a covey close to the house and happy there were so many left for a future hunt. When the father returned home, he discovered that the boy wouldn't let anyone in to see him, claiming they would become ill as he was. He took the boy's temperature, which was around 100 degrees. The boy worried that the pills prescribed by the doctor wouldn't be of any help. The father decided to continue reading from the boy's book, but the boy continued not to pay attention. The boy asked how long he had left to live. The father argued that the boy was fine, who continued to say that he was going to die. He believed this because he heard from several boys at school in France that if your temperature reached 44 degrees, you would die. His dad, relieved, said that the boys in France measured temperature with celsius, and that his 102 degree fever was in farenheit. He explained to the boy that he was not going to die. The boy finally relaxed, but became upset easily the following day over little things.
"Hills Like White Elephants"
An American man and the girl that was with him sat at a table outside building looking at the hills across the valley of Ebro. They were waiting in the heat for the express from Barcelona to arrive. While waiting, the man suggested they drink beer. The girl remained to look at the hills and said that they look like while elephants. Then, they began to argue about never seeing white elephants. It becomes evident that the girl does not understand the native language. They continue to experiment with the different drinks sold at the station. They continue to argue about the types of alcoholic drinks and the girl states that every drink she has tried tastes like licorice, especially all of the things she has waited so long for, like absinthe. They continue their discussion about the hills and this conversation turns into one about an unknown operation. This leads to the couple discussing how this operation is very simple and wouldn't change their lives. It is noted that the man would like the girl to have this operation, but he says only to do so if that is what she wants. The man stresses this is what he wants done, without completely coming out and stating it. The girl says that she will do this to please the man, and that her wants are less important. The girl continues to look at the surroundings and says that they could have everything they wanted. When the man says that this is true, she changes her outlook and argues that it is impossible that they ever have all they want. She then asked if they could have another beer. Afterward, she states that their conversation should come to a halt. The man continues to talk until she continually asks him to stop. The man takes the bags to the other side of the station. He sees that the train isn't coming so detours into the barroom for another drink by himself. Once he leaves the bar, he goes back to the table and asks the girl how she is feeling. She states that she is fine. The overall meaning behind the story is that the girl is planning on having an abortion just because the man wants her to.
"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber
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"The story begins with Francis Macomber and his wife Margaret who are on a safari hunt in Africa, lead by Robert Wilson. They are preparing for lunch and begin to disucss the morning's hunt. Margaret is displeased at her husband for becoming a coward during the lion hunt. While Wilson tries to comfort Francis about the incident, Margaret makes several sarcastic remarks. That same day, they go on another hunt, where Francis feels ashamed about being scared earlier. He does, however, do a good job on this hunt. That night, Francis thinks about being scared of the lions. This leads to several flashbacks showing their hunt with the lions, and how Francis' wife kisses Wilson after her husband fails to kill the lion. It is noted that their marriage has suffered its problems in the past, but she stays with him because of his money and he stays with her because of her beauty. He wakes up and sees that his wife's cot is empty. After several hours, she returns and it is evident that she has been with Wilson. Wilson doesn't feel bad about this, however, because he feels Francis has driven his wife towards him. After breakfast, they go on another hunt to kill buffalo. Margaret insists that she go along. She gets her way. Francis again does very well by shooting the biggest buffalo of the three they find. Francis is happy about his killings, but his wife tries to bring down his spirits, saying that it was unsportsmanlike to kill the buffalo from a car. This doesn't change his happiness, though. Margaret seems threatened by the change in her husband and his new attitude. The group must track and kill the third buffalo, which is wounded. They set up their kill zone, where Francis stands ready to shoot the animal. It begins to charge, and right before getting to him, his wife shoots him in the head, making it look like an accident. Wilson tells her that the world will look at this as an accident, but he will always know it was a murder, and that it was her intention throughout the entire hunt.
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