Louise softly kissed her two daughters as they slept soundly in the bed they shared. She then checked on the baby, her youngest daughter who was also sound asleep. The woman breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her three girls were all sleeping peacefully. But peace was the furthest thing from her heart as she went to the front room and looked out the window, wondering where her husband was that night.
It was a difficult time for them. The country was going through a recession. Hundreds of businesses were closing and thousands of people had lost their jobs, her husband included who worked in the construction industry.
They were okay for a while, living off the money her husband Tom had saved up but their savings were nearly gone. Tom asked friends and visited different construction companies asking them if they had any jobs available, but there were none available.
Louise’s husband tried to reassure her that he would find a way to take care of them, but it only made her worry even more when Tom would go out in the evening and stay out the whole night. She wondered what he was doing, but was afraid to ask because she had a feeling that she would not like his answer. After being out for hours he would come home with groceries and a bit of money. As grateful as she was for the food and the cash, she still felt uneasy that her husband was doing something dodgy.
Louise found out a few days later. She had collected her children from school a little later than usual because she had to take the baby to the GP. Her little one had a slight fever and a cough and she wanted to take her little one to see a doctor before it got worse. So she called the school and asked if her two older daughters could stay in after school club that afternoon and she would pick them up after her appointment. The school agreed and when Louise was on her way to pick up her children she saw a man in a dark grey hoodie and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.
The man was stealthily moving in between cars in a parking lot across the street. Then she saw him take out a tool and he easily picked the lock on the car and opened it. He searched quickly and took out a few items. He closed the car door softly and looked around.
Suddenly, his eyes locked onto his wife’s eyes and the look she gave him was one of shock, horror, and then disappointment. She could not believe that she saw her husband break into a car and steal! She shook her head and walked a little faster towards the school. Tom suddenly felt ashamed and left the parking lot, unable to steal any more from the parked cars.
When he finally got home, the kids were already fast asleep and he found his wife sitting on the couch with an anxious worried look on her face. “Where have you been?” she asked angrily.
“I had some business to take care of,” Tom replied avoiding her eyes.
“I saw you today,” the wife said. “I can’t believe you were out stealing! Is that how you’ve been able to buy food and give me money?”
“Yes!” he replied firmly. “I have a responsibility to take care of you and the girls and this is the only way I know how until I get a job!”
“Well I want you to stop,” said Louise. “What if something happens to you? What if you get caught or you get arrested? Then what are we supposed to do?”
“I won’t get caught,” the man replied confidently. “I’ve been doing this for weeks and I have never gotten caught.”
“But I saw you,” the woman argued, “and if you’re not careful, someone else will see you too and you will get in trouble. Please don’t go out there anymore to steal. Please!” she begged.
Tom sighed in defeat. “I’m trying to do the best I can to take care of you and the girls. But if you don’t want me to steal anymore then I won’t. But we still need money to pay the bills and food to eat.”
“Then we’ll figure out another way to do that,” the woman replied. She put her arms around her husband and squeezed him tight. “I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you.”
“I understand what you’re saying and I know how you feel, but I’ve got to do something to support our family,” Tom said in frustration.
“I know,” the woman replied. “It’s late and I’m really tired. Let’s go to bed and in the morning we’ll put our heads together and figure something out, okay? Two heads are better than one, as the saying goes.”
Tom looked at his wife and smiled as he reluctantly agreed to her suggestion.
Click here to read A Desperate Thief Part 2.
Click here to read A Desperate Thief Part 3
