Delmonico

I really enjoyed reading this story. I think it was so intriguing because the characters were so out of the ordinary. There was Mr. Jones who goes to the bar on a regular basis because he was in love with Davis the bartender. Then there is Davis who is one of the smartest bartenders around because she can solve people's problems. There are also two men who appear in the bar at the beginning of the story who are the ones who stir up some trouble.

Mr. Jones is the narrator of the story and plays the role of the observer. Before the start of the actual story he gives some background information on the bartender, Davis. He recalls some stories of when her expertise helped a person in a situation. Then the story truly begins. The story starts off with a mysterious entrance of the two strange men into this bar called the Slow Night. It is interesting and a great setting because the lighting is described so well. As they make their way into the bar and order drinks the reader comes to find out that the two men are Bruno and Callahan Jeffers a convicted murderer. Bruno has heard about the wonders that Davis has with solving problems and brings his friend here to try and figure out his problem. Jeffers is accused of murdering his wife but he claims that she just ran off and disappeared to try and frame him. He gives a detailed story of the happenings of the night she disappeared to Davis. During the entire time he is rude and loud and just plain mean. I liked this because it actually caused me to harvest bad feelings towards Jeffers and Bruno. I actually truly disliked them by the end of the story.

In the end Davis gives the men a simple hint and kicks them out of the bar. She tells them that the glass disappeared because the wife broke it at the same time the window was broken. Because of Jeffers' rudeness she does not divulge how she thinks his wife escaped. This story is similar to “The Purloined Letter” because it seems like a complicated conundrum but in actuality it is fairly simple to solve. Davis and Mr. Jones later discuss the possibility of the glass being a distraction so that the men would look a different way while the wife simply slipped out of the house. The story is different from others we've read because it allows the reader to constantly think and be active. There is also no true answer to the question because the reader never finds out what actually happened that night.

I thought that it was interesting that the story started and ended with the love Mr. Jones has for Davis. It seems a little off topic and out of place in a story like this. It seems that during the story he felt the need to protect her a little against Jeffers anger but in the end he is in the same spot as he was before. Jones loved Davis in the beginning of the story and loved her in the end, but was too afraid to tell her because he figured she already knew. It almost makes it seem like her being smart is a bad thing for Jones.