Day in and day out, the same spiel for Henry Wright. His alarm clock would always go off at 4:25 A.M. so he could get dressed for his job at the factory. As the years went by, he would naturally wake up before his alarm clock and turn it off before his wife was woken up by it.
Henry always seemed to have this sense of dread around his face whenever he would look at his wallet. There never was enough, even though he would compulsivily gamble away half of his 5 dollar earnings. Henry wasn’t always a compulsive gambler; before his second child was born he would have enough to just get by. Now he has four kids, and has borrowed money from every shady character in town, except Dominic, rumor had it he had connections with the mob. Henry also had one other reason to look so dreadful, he had taken a diamond ring he found off of an unconscious woman’s hand and pawned it off in hopes to pay off the outrageous amounts of debts he owed. After he sold it, he made $300, and had $250 in debts, in all he would pocket enough to keep his family going for half a year. What he didn’t count on was who owned that ring, and as talk went around of a “theft” from Dominic, a large diamond engagement ring and a now deceased sister, did Henry begin to panic. Henry worked overtime in his job, in hopes in the night time someone, anyone even some drunk, would walk into him and shoot him on sight to save him from the torture he knew Dominic would give to him.
Henry never did count on what would happen, a possibility he thought 10 years of service would excuse him from. He was fired from the factory job. Henry was devastated, not only did this mean there would be no more income, the secret money would surface, questions would be asked, and more importantly, Dominic would find out. He had to get his family out of the town; they had to leave before word came to him. So on that day, November 23rd 1934, Henry started the long walk back to his small tenant apartment, to deliver this dreadful news to his wife, and to free them from the shackles of death he had unknowingly bound himself to the moment he sold that accursed blood diamond.
Walking up to the entrance to his tenant was hard enough; Henry always had trouble with the damn door at first. An old thing it was, small wood chips would fly off each time the door was slammed shut, the hinges would squeak as though someone stepped on a small dog, and the handle was rusted. I wonder what will happen after I am gone; Henry was thinking as he turned the rusted door handle and braced himself for the ear splitting noise as he pushed it open. Amilia, I’m sorry my love, but this is the only choice left. No one should pay for my mistake except for me. Henry kept that last thought ringing in his head when he quietly walked up the creaking wooden steps to his floor. When he arrived by the beat up wooden door that led into his walk-in-closet-of-a-house, he decided to wait outside the door until the kids went to bed, it would only be around 2 more hours from now maybe a bit more but what was that time worth to a walking corpse?
Henry spied through the peep hole and saw the normal daily events unfold before him, his three sons fighting over. . . cloth? Whatever, it’s not like he could afford suitable toys for them anyway. His three boys would play with a dead mouse whenever one would show up, something to keep their young minds entertained in the cramped and limited space they lived in. What really caught his eye though is what was unfolding inside of the kitchen, his wife Amilia, was busy making dinner with his 5 year old daughter nearby. Amilia was a plain woman, or she couldn’t help but be plain with how she was living. Her figure was one most people lusted after in the brothels, however age was starting to take its toll on her. Her forehead was covered in wrinkles from constantly straining her eyes, partly due to Henrys fault for not having enough money to get her suitable glasses, she had stains and rips on her dress, flowers were sowed into them, but whatever flower they were it’s not like Henry would know. He couldn’t help but pick up the scent of beef stew, and something else, something boiling in the pot near the stew. Whatever it was, it smelled like someone was burning a car tire.
Henry observed Amilia as she finally noticed the smell and went over to investigate the pot (which Henry figured out was his daughters), and saw as she took some tongs out and picked out a leather shoe. Henry knew they weren’t that desperate for food, but it would seem their daughter wanted to try out culinary arts for the homeless and boiled her leather bound shoes. Amilia called their daughter over and said calmly, and trying to hold back her own amusement from what their daughter did, “Daddy pays a lot of money for these shoes, we do not boil them O.K.?” Henrys daughter starred into her mother’s eyes, and kept her gaze for a few seconds and said in a high pitched voice with a hint of guilt behind it, “O.K. momma!”
Henry watched his daughter scurry off and play with the boys, he figured one of the older ones was trying to lecture her in his place. That was the only thing note worthy to observe Henry would later realize. The hours passed by, Henry lost count but saw the sun went down outside. It’s time.
Henry walked through his door and saw his wife sowing a doll back together with the cloth he saw earlier. She looked up and greeted him with a smile and set down the doll she was working on. “Welcome home, the dinner is i-“ she stopped herself and studied Henry’s face a little longer. “Did something happen today?” A look of concern was on his wife’s face, but he saw just for a small moment, the look of pure fear. “Yeah, I got fired.” Henry said slowly, ever so slowly as if trying to make himself believe his own words as well.
His wife only starred at him, terrified at what is now happening, silent questions running through her head, some of the same ones Henry asked himself. “I won’t be able to do anything until I find another job. I’m sorry, I’m a failure. Not only did I fail myself, but I failed my family, the only thing I have left in this world.” Amilia stood up and embraced her husband, hot tears running down her face as she did so, trying to comfort them both it would seem. “You have family back down south, I’m going to spend the rest of the money I have on a train ticket for you, I know the conductor and he owes me a favor so he’ll get the kids in. I can’t support any of you, not even myself but I need time to try. I’ll send word if something happens.” His wife only starred at him, shaking from the news she was just given, and nodded. Like him, she saw no other way around this, staying would put them all in danger and distract Henry even more from finding a source of income. Whatever words she wanted to use to protest she obviously wasn’t voicing them. After spending long minutes looking into her husband’s eyes, and not even knowing it would be the last time she could, or maybe somewhere inside of her she knew the outcome, Henry wouldn’t know, he only just assumed.
“I’ll wake up the kids and get them ready.” Amilia then walked away slowly, her life was now going to change drastically, and she wasn’t prepared for this.
Henry woke up hours later, the sun just rising, he observed around the cramped room how little space was left when all the kids were packed up. He held all of his kids for what felt like an eternity, saying words like “It won’t be long!”, or even “I’ll have things finished in no time!” It hurt him to lie to his kids, it hurt him even more when he was holding his daughter while she was loudly sobbing and protesting her leaving. Henry could barely take it anymore, and Amilia saw it on his face he was about to break into dozens of little pieces, and lifted her away and said soothing comforting words to calm her frantic crying. They left early that afternoon, after Henry cleared things with the conductor, he assured him that he would do the ticket checks himself and count five every time. Now with his family gone there was only one thing left, Dominic. Henry went out to his usual gambling spot, only to find his friend Joey standing by the door. “You’re marked.” Was all he said to Henry, “Word went out, Dom found the pawn shop, he traced your work, now with your family out of danger it’s down to only you two.” Joey walked over to Henry and handed him a loaded pistol, 9mm most likely, concealable but not invisible. “I’m sorry I can’t let you in, Tommy is going nuts over this thing and doesn’t even want you this close.” Joey turned to leave, but before he did he said one thing to his friend, perhaps his last thing he would ever say. “Give him one hell of a fight.”
Henry walked back into his broken down tenant, everything was coming together now, and he looked in his tenant complex never understanding why he felt so peaceful here alone. All men die alone, that saying goes for every person, and Henry knew he was no exception Dominic would be after him and all he had was the loaded pistol given to him by his friend Joey. Henry decided then and there, this is his last stand, as he loudly proclaimed onto the heavens themselves, “In my last breath, all I can feel is the devastating lose my family will feel, never being able to see my children grow and move on with their lives while I watch from afar, proud of them every step of the way. If this is your idea of a sick joke, God, maker of this world and subsequently destroyer, I vow unto my very life my wife and children will be looked after.”
Henry, after giving his final speech and immortalizing his words as he carved them onto the worn splintered wooden wall with a rusty knife, took the money out from behind the bookcase and ran to the telephone. He dialed in a few numbers getting the operator who seemed to be very thrilled to have a late night call.
“To what line am I transferring this call to?” the ever so friendly operator said with voiced contempt in her words, each with the same amount of venom with every word spoken. “Joey Palensti please, this is urgent.” The operator couldn’t care less and just wanted her shift to be done with so she could leave this forsaken building, after switching some cords around the line went dead for a few seconds then picked back up with the ringing. It felt like an eternity, each ring synchronized with Henrys frantic heart beat. Finally, what felt like an eternity, which was actually three minutes Henry would later learn when he looked at the clock.
“Hello?” a tired raspy voice lifted up out of the phone, a man’s voice by the sound of it. “Joey, its Henry, look I don’t have much time to talk so just ear me out on my one final request.” Henry said frantically as he relayed the details to his plan. “Unmarked postal letters sent to my in-laws address, each with a small sum of money, I need these delivered discretely, please, can you do one final request for an old friend?”
Henry knew Joey worked – and had connections – in the postal service, as Joey was a mailman and a very capable one too. Henry knew Joey had no family to feed, no wife to take care of; he was always a lone wolf from the time they met in a steel factory. Joey was very confused at this request, all he did was breath into the phone softly thinking about the response to give his friend, and all he came up with in the long moments before answering were the words, yes. “I’ll take care of this, I’ll be seeing you in the here-after, friend.” Joey then hung up the phone and Henry finally allowed himself a moment of silence before packing up his worn knapsack and exiting his apartment with his pistol concealed underneath his buttoned up flannel.
Henry walked the quiet streets, darkness overcoming him from every alley he crossed to get to Joeys place. He passed by sleeping hobos, wondering if this plan goes through if he would end up sleeping in a deserted alley way being bit by rats thinking you are a dead body, he then shook his head and went on when he reached a gate to a tenant building. He opened up the rusted gate and heard another ear splitting screech as he entered in the tenant’s property, he then searched the mailboxes and found Joeys, and he placed his letters into them and a personal note for his wife’s eyes only. He left the tenant building and the squeaky gates smiling, his last order of business done with it was time to go down to Little Italy and settle his score with Dominic.
He walked along the road into Little Italy, as it was next to his tenant building, in fact Henry noticed that he passed through Dominic’s territory every time he walked to the factory. It was all irrelevant now, Henry thought as he approached the casino and strolled past the two armed guards, not that they were openly armed but given Dominic’s nature they sure as hell were armed tooth and nail. After he entered in the vast casino, the breath taking fountain staged the center piece of the establishment, making it seem like a palace rather than a place people go to throw away their money for no good reason other than the illusion to get lucky or to get rich.
Henry approached a red door, the guards normally stationed there walked away for whatever reason, and Henry opened up the door into this vast office with velvet carpet, a big desk cluttered with papers and other miscellaneous items a business owner would keep, however the office chair turned around revealing Dominic himself. Dominic is a big Italian, very muscular, and even as hairy, his face could force a mime into pleading for mercy as his presence would make a blind man run for cover. He only turned around and saw Henry, immediately recognizing him as he pulled out a gun from his suit as the door was shut and locked with two armed men from the entrance guarding it, leaving Henry no point of escape.
Henry pulled out his own concealed weapon and shouted at Dominic, “This is for all of the lives you have ruined and ended monster!” He shoot the weapon, it was the most horrid crack he had heard in his entire life, he has never held a fire arm much less have been so close to one firing, however it only grazed Dominic’s ear leaving behind a thin trail of blood.
“Nicea try, Wright, but you havea fucked with the wrong man.” Dominic walked over and put his gun into Henrys mouth, all Henry could see is the sadistic pleasure of the kill in Dominic’s eyes, money, power, that is all Dominic wanted, he didn’t give a damn about the diamond he just wanted to stain it’s memory with blood to send a message out to the other people not to cross him. Henry couldn’t speak, he was shaking uncontrollably but accepted what was to come next as the last he heard was the condescending voice of Dominic mocking him, “Youa brave man, too bad this is the only option left for the both of us.” Henry heard the crack again, he felt the pain, and then he felt nothing. He saw his body for one last time, laying there with the head caved in, a whole in his head with leaking brain matter, but this is it, Henry succeeded where he had failed before, his family can live on through this without needing to worry about money for two or three years with a new place to stay, it’s over and done, Henry did his job.
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