You were going through a breakup and just wanted to eat alone in peace.
SZECHUAN KITCHEN, 2003
You were going through a breakup and just wanted to eat alone in peace. But when your server Jay’s girlfriend stopped by the restaurant to drop off Jay’s cell phone, which he’d forgotten at home, you were forced to remember how you, too, used to be loved. When it came time to pay, you were so bitter and resentful that you wrote on the tip line, “Why don’t you just get your girlfriend to tip you, you smug bastard.” That night, Jay asked his girlfriend to lay off the P.D.A. She got offended, and for a whole year refused to do that weird thing Jay liked in bed.
PLAZA BAR, 2005
This story is from the November 19, 2018 edition of The New Yorker.
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This story is from the November 19, 2018 edition of The New Yorker.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TRIPLE FAULT
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He footed off his shoes, the logs balanced on an arm, and tugged the door shut.
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DESIGN FOR LIVING
Can converting office towers into apartments save empty downtowns from ruin?
HOROSCOPES WRITTEN BY MY MOTHER
Your zodiac alignment this month is governed by Venus, the planet of intuition, something my daughter Bess seems to lack.
