Full-Time Fan

Jon from Highbridge has been dragging. The guys that gather around Juan Carlos’s coffee cart have watched it develop for weeks, but they all hoped he would turn things around.

Javier from Walton Avenue ran out of hope this morning when Jon slogged up and ordered his usual – black coffee and a glazed donut – with the same tired look on his face.

“What’s going on?” Javier asked. “You look like you’re working three jobs instead of two.”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Jon insisted.

“Maybe it’s that huge bag you’re always lugging around,” Javier shot. “That thing looks like it’s ready to give birth.”

Jon cracked a smile and dropped the overstuffed Yankee bag off his shoulder.

“It’s filled with baseball magazines,” Jon explained. “It seemed like every day for a month there was a different one at the newsstand and I’m a sucker for anything with a ballplayer on the cover.

“Then there’s all the newspapers,” Jon continued. “I read in the bathroom and on the train and on my lunch break and I still can’t get through everything. It just keeps accumulating in my bag. I love all the baseball coverage, but trying to keep up is wearing me out.”

“Maybe you should become a full-time fan,” Javier scoffed.

“Is anyone hiring?” Jon snapped.

Everyone laughed.