Elizabeth Bailey in Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories

Elizabeth Bailey

First spied by Ferris through a drugstore window, Elizabeth is the kind of sweet-hearted ex who lets bygones be bygones, and even remembers your birthday… no matter how long it's been since you've broken up. At the end of their dinner together, Ferris is confused when the maid brings out "a white-frosted cake with pink candles." (Sojourner.75) Elizabeth has remembered his birthday, even if he himself forgot it. It's her sweetness that makes "The Sojourner" a bittersweet, rather than just bitter, little tale.