It's cold tonight. E. This is the Pine Cove corner, a legendary crossroads. When closing time tolls, half the city that's still awake and sober will converge at this spot. It's a migration as dead set as steelhead.
People come for a last six-pack.
For a packet of aspirin. For a hunch lottery ticket. For one of Buddy's absorbing hot dogs. Only then can you call it a night. Now, just 8 p.m., the liquor store is lit up like a bus station.