After years of working the beat alone, David finds he doesn’t really mind having a partner.

(from The Paris Review, Spring 2007, #180)

This is one of those deceptively simple (or deceptively not simple) stories you end up overanalyzing in your head for awhile. Is there some sneaky symbolism in the men’s job, the daily emptying of fire hydrants? Is Stephen a friend to David, or something more? And there are a bunch of tiny moments that seem to make points even if the overall story would rather not be so overt. The piece has a very visual style. Its images are gentle and memorable. The characters are less excruciatingly described but end up feeling just a fleshed out. A sweet story.
Here is Benjamin Percy’s site.