Peter's "Thirty-Five Across"

In the S.F. Writers Conference Anthology I posted about last time, I forgot to mention an outstanding story, "Thirty-Five Across" by Peter Dudley. I'm not biased because he happens to be in the same writing groups that I am. It is my all time favorite short story by him.

I've previously posted about setting, especially with the novel about Locke, California. Peter's setting is not ominous like Locke, but he describes the cafe and the people who come in out of the rain and it puts me right there. I'm doing the cross word puzzle with the narrator and I hear his sighs. I feel the rain. Nice story to read on a hot day like today.