«Homage to Switzerland»

«Homage to Switzerland» is a story in three parts, each part telling the story of a different man in the same Swiss train station. The beginning of each story follows an identical story line: the character is sitting in a train station cafe when he discovers that the train is running an hour late; the waitress asks if he wants coffee, and each man asks the waitress whether she will sit and drink with them. Then, each story goes in a different direction.

The first man propositions the waitress, offering her money to have sex with him; it is then revealed that the man had never intended to have sex with the waitress and understood that she would refuse. The second man is revealed to be facing an impending divorce from his wife, and is depicted buying expensive champagne for himself and the train station attendants. The final man is shown speaking to an older man sitting at the cafe and discussing the National Geographic Society. The older man is revealed to be a member of the society, while the other man’s father had been prior to his death; it is then revealed that the man’s father had recently committed suicide.