The Halfway Diner (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Sayles
- First Published: 1987
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The late twentieth century
- Setting: An arid region of the southern United States
- Principal Characters: Lourdes, Lee, Delphine, Mrs. Tucker, Pam
- Genres: Social realism, Short fiction
- Subjects: Wives, Traveling or travelers, Prisons, Crime or criminals, South or Southerners, Interracial relationships, Restaurants, bars, taverns, or pubs, Friendship, Violence, Buses
- Locales: South (U.S.)
The Story
A group of women, diverse in age and ethnicity, travel by bus each weekend to visit their husbands and lovers in prison. Their round-trip journey takes twelve hours, and they are allowed only one hour of visiting time. Spending more time traveling than visiting, they get to know one another better than they know their men.
As the women board for departure, Lourdes notices Pam, a young blond, visibly anxious in her search for a seat. Lourdes, a Mexican American, sarcastically refers to Pam as Goldilocks but is kind enough to warn Pam against her first choice:...
[The entire page is 1438 words long]
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