When, as an adult teaching at a Midwestern university, the narrator goes out to an all-night restaurant, he usually sees the same waitress and has the same conversation. She comments it must be cold out because he has tears in his eyes. The waitress provides an outside perspective, pointing out that the narrator is crying but not realizing that it’s because he’s getting emotional about his memories. The waitress also echoes his sisters, who worked as waitresses themselves when they were young.
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Waitress Character Timeline in The Boat
The timeline below shows where the character Waitress appears in The Boat. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Boat
...the time the narrator gets to the restaurant, he has tears in his eyes. The waitress usually comments on the tears, saying it must be extremely cold, and the narrator agrees.
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