Coffee

John and Julie are at the breakfast table having their morning coffee before Julie catches the train downtown for her job at Weber and Wirtz. John will leave later. He has a two-mile walk to his father’s shop, Birder World, which sells bird seed and bird houses, binoculars, books, and other bird enthusiasts’ paraphernalia. He’s managed the store ever since his father’s stroke three years ago. John is not a bird enthusiast, but he’s learned a lot about them.

In the two years and seventeen days that John and Julie have known each other, they drink coffee together at the breakfast table an average of four days a week. Julie often has two more cups while at work. John none. All total, in the time they’ve known each other, John has consumed 438 cups of coffee. Julia 2,106 cups. But if it matters, the coffee at home is decaf, Julie’s coffee at work is full strength. Neither takes cream or sugar.

Books

Both John and Julie are avid readers. They met at the town library. Both were checking out Stephen King novels. Since that time Julie has read 75 novels, though she didn’t finish 15 of them, and John has read 40 novels, not finishing 3 of them. He often reads during slow times at the pet shop. They often read together on the couch after dinner. Most of the books they read they check out from the local library. In the time they’ve known each other they’ve read the same book 30 times. John usually reads Julie’s book after she’s finished it. Their favorite contemporary novelist is Jonathan Franzen. Neither is really that enamored of Stephen King.