Summary

When “The Story Of” begins, the narrator Norma is in a coffee shop on Dead Elm Street reflecting on the arrangement of chicken bones on her plate and the possibility of splitting the street in half with concrete barriers. The waitress tries to engage her in conversation in order to get her to close out her check but Norma ignores her. She asks the waitress if they have any walnuts as she has read on the Internet that walnuts can help a woman get pregnant. During the exchange the waitress gives her a doubtful looks but Norma does not think the waitress knows anything about walnuts. A third person narrator then breaks in to tell the readers that Norma eats lunch at the same café every day and that she and the waitress often talk.

Switching back to a first person narration...