“A Clean Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway (1933) Scribner’s Magazine (also appeared in the collection Winner Take Nothing)

Hemingway sets the scene in few words.  A deaf old man sits in front of a café, late at night and continues to order brandies.  There are two waiters who carry the conversation of the story.  The younger of the two wants the old man to finish and leave so he can go home.  The older waiter is patient and willing to allow the old man to stay as long as he wants.  For the older waiter, it’s a matter of pride to run a clean well-lighted café.