[ WP ] He has unlimited capital , for a short amount of time

Leon sat at the cheap Formica table in the cramped dining room of the company owned house that he and his wife Molly rented. After 35 years, it really did feel like home. Sighing, he opened another envelope from the pile of mail he was sorting, and withdrew a bill; this time for heating oil. He rubbed at his forehead. How could they have gone through so much so quickly? They kept the thermostat at 58 which was hard enough on Molly's given her condition; not that she ever complained. He put the bill underneath an already large stack of bills that sat at the head of the table. 
 
 
 `` I'll have a talk to the foreman. Maybe I can get another advance at work or pick up a few more extra shifts.'' He frowned at the empty chair across the table. He knew there were no extra shifts; Not for grunt workers his age. The clock in the kitchenette rang and brought him back his task at hand. Finish sorting the mail and get going to work. 
 
 
 “ Molly…Is the coffee on yet? You know I ’ ve got to get going. My shift starts early today. ” Leon slit open the last envelope from the pile. He had never before received a certified letter from United Mine Workers Credit Union. Whatever it was, he didn ’ t want it. Long ago Leon had learned that new things were seldom good. 
 
 
 “ Leon, do I ever send you out of the house without your coffee? Leon, did you hear me? Leon! ” She walked into the room from the kitchenette. “ Here you go honey ” Leon kept his head buried in the letter. “ Leon, what ’ s wrong? ” 
 
 
 “ This can ’ t be right Molly. The bank sent us this letter about our checking account. ” Beads of sweat sprung up on his head, and he dabbed them away with his crumpled handkerchief. 
 
 
 “ Oh my. Did we go over again? I thought we had enough in there for the rent. How bad is it Leon? Are we going to be alright? ” She came around the table and put the cup and saucer of coffee on the table. The two dishes clattered against each other until she let go. She always shook when her stress was bad. The docs said the shaking was a side effect of her treatment. 
 
 
 Leon snaked a hand around his wife ’ s waist. “ Come here you sassy girl. ” Molly pulled away. “ You tell me what ’ s going on this instant! ” 
 
 
 “ Molly…We ’ re rich. ” The words barely made it out of his mouth. “ The mistake is in our favor. Some bank in the UK called HSBC Holdings'' He pronounced the name slowly to get it straight. `` Whoever the hell they are, they deposited all of their assets into our checking. Can you believe it? It says here that it comes to over 3 billion dollars. ” 
 
 
 “ But it ’ s not our money is it? They ’ ll want it back I expect. ” Molly gave the sign of the cross before tucking her hands under her chin. Her hands always ended up their when she tried to think things through quickly. 
 
 
 Leon glanced at her and then back to the letter. “ You ’ re right, but since they are in the UK and we ’ re in the US. They can ’ t take it back right away. Something about customs and international laws regarding ‘ hostile money transfers of amounts over 50 million dollars. ’ Our bank says, we have about 48 hours to spend as much as we can before what ’ s left goes back to wherever it came from. ” 
 
 
 “ Oh Leon. It ’ s a miracle! Do you think we should ring the paper? They might want to do a piece on this. I wonder if it would be on the front page. What are we going to do first? ” 
 
 
 Leon stood up slowly. He turned slowly looking at the wood paneled walls of the cramped room where he had eaten breakfast every day for 35 years. His wife ’ s porcelain dolls lined the shelves. He saved a little money out of each check so that he could buy her a new one each Christmas. Ugly things, but they made his wife ’ s face light up with joy. The look on her face when she unwrapped new one was precious to him. She ’ d spend weeks dotting on it making sure it was in just the right place. 
 
 
 The smile on his face faded “ I ’ ll tell you what we are going to do. You ’ re going to pour my coffee to go, and I ’ m going to get to work. I ’ m late. Pray they don ’ t dock me the hour. We need the money. ” 
 “ You ’ re crazy! You don ’ t have to go to work anymore. We need to go out! The Buick is on its last leg, and I know there is a new heating oil bill. What about Jenny ’ s tuition? We need to buy you a new... ” *SLAP. * The silence echoed in the room. Leon stared at his hand, and the tears welling up in his wife ’ s eyes. The open palmed hand print turned crimson on her cheek. 
 
 
 “ I ’ m so sorry Molly. I ’ ve never. …. Can ’ t you see…. ” He thrust his arms through his West Virginia Miners jacket. “ Listen to me. This is no miracle, it ’ s a goddamn curse and we aren ’ t telling a soul. We aren ’ t going to spend a penny, and in 48 hours we are going to pretend that this never happened. I should burn this letter. NOW GET MY COFFEE. ” 
 
 
 Molly stood dazed as he flew around the house getting the last of his things for work. She didn ’ t seem to notice when he snatched the thermos of coffee from her. As he opened the back door to leave, something clicked. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his check “ Be safe in the mines today. I love you. ” She whispered. 
 
 
 “ I ’ m sorry. ” He said and left. 

