The Best

A gray rain swept up the street in gusts and forced the guys to huddle against Juan Carlos’s coffee cart this morning.

“Rain is the worst,” muttered Javier from Walton Avenue.

“Didn’t you say that cold was the worst just a few days ago?” asked Jon from Highbridge.

“Whatever you’re standing in is the worst,” shot Javier. “I’m standing in a puddle right now.”

Everyone laughed.

“Puddles don’t matter,” Jon fired. “We’ve got a very good baseball team getting ready for Spring Training. That’s what matters.”

Everyone nodded.

Javier raised his hands.

“You win.”

“We all win with the kids,” Jon said. “Hughes and Joba and Kennedy are like our own children. We couldn’t wait for them to get here and then we got to see them take their first steps in the big leagues. Now we’ll really get to watch them grow.”

The rain could not dampen that promise.

“This weather might be the worst,” Javier said, “but watching the kids play ball is the best.”

Agreed.