The Town I Live in: Mulberry St.

A woman, aged about sixty, sits alone at a table in Mulberry St. Ristorante. She has short hair, lots of makeup, including bright red lipstick. She is a regular. She calls the server, E_______, by name.

“New York steak, E_______,” she says, mispronouncing his name like she has done for the past ten years.

“Hey swetie,” she calls to the young bartender, “Another merlot.”

She sits in silence, eating her steak, as mostly middle-aged men and women sit talking at the bar. They too, are regulars. Old photographs adorn the dark wood walls—photos of Mulberry St. in New York, photos of patrons of the restaurant—Mulberry Street Ristorante in downtown Fullerton, California.

Outside, a man with gray hair and a woman with dyed blonde hair stand smoking and discussing real estate.