"Can I have the-"
"The 5 dollar footlong? Yes, you may sir!"
He chuckles softly every time I finish his order for him
His name is Lorenzo and he lives down the street in his 'man cave' as he likes to call it
Every morning at 8:00 am for two years, he comes in my store with a genuine smile and a beard that's as thick as his eyebrows and the same bucket hat that he wore the day before.
I absolutely adore his presence
He's so polite and caring and he always takes one sandwich and quietly eats it in the corner
Not because he wants to be alone; but because his huge beard and ripped up trench coat scares all the children so the parents yell at him
They say "Get away from my daughter, you filthy animal!" And "How about you invest in a shower so I don't have to come in here and puke my insides up before I even get my sandwich!" Or "Don't touch me, you're disgusting"
It makes me so angry because he's so indescribably amazing
All you have to do is talk to him!
I laid down tonight thinking about how rude this community is to just one man
I don't understand!
So I stay up staring at my night stand and I have this crazy idea to go back to work just so I can see his face
I jump in my Kia at 2:30 in the morning and drive to Subway to look for a man whom I may not find, who's name I don't know, on this very windy autumn morning....
Then I see him! But he's nowhere near Subway or the street his man cave is on...
He's on the sidewalk with a sign that says 'I just need 5 dollars to see the love of my life'
My heart melted in my already too warm Kia as I sit across the street watching this homeless man try to get 5 dollars so I can see him in 6 more hours
Finally after what seems like an hour I get out the car and he sees me and stands up in shock and hides his sign behind his back and starts to cry
I run across the street and hug him the tightest I've ever hugged anyone and we sink to the ground and cry together..
He looks up at me after our cry session and says "You are the only person on this world who has ever said hi to me in 20 years"
So I ask 'where is your man cave'
He hesitates and points to the ground as a tear slides down his dirt streaked face
'You are coming to live with me now'
His eyes get wide as a night owl's and his lip begins to tremble and I help him up into my car and hear 'thank you' and 'I love u' for the remaining car ride
We drove to a barbershop then home then shopping and since I'm the district manager of my Subway he now works there and still orders the same 'Lorenzo's Specialty' for his other friends that where down with him when he was down.