The Ballad of the Sad Cafe

John Ferris is in New York. Tomorrow, he is flying back to Paris after attending his father’s funeral in Georgia. The funeral and sight of his father forced Ferris to confront his age and realize that he is no longer a youth. As he is having breakfast, he suddenly sees his ex-wife Elizabeth walking by the restaurant. He quickly pays his check and hurries after her, surprised by the emotions the sight of her brings up.

Unable to catch up to her, Ferris finds Elizabeth’s number in his address book and calls her. It’s been eight years since they last met. She is happy to hear from him and invites him to her home, though she and her husband are going to the theater later that night. As Ferris gets ready, he thinks of his partner Jeannine, whom he will see tomorrow night in Paris. When Ferris arrives at Elizabeth’s home, he is surprised to see her husband, Bill, and their two children. Though he knew of them, the sight makes them real.

Ferris and Elizabeth catch up. When he tells her that his father died, Elizabeth is upset, having always liked Ferris’s father. Her child asks why she calls him “Papa Ferris,” and Bill explains that Elizabeth and Ferris were once married.