Paying the Price - A Short Story

_{by Linda Jo Martin
...}

Was she worth it?

This is what Anton asked himself as he took off the gloves. They were the type of blue leather gloves farmers, gardeners and working men wore – but Anton was none of those things,and now they seemed to be in the way. He had them because he thought they might help him get through the air shaft without cutting his hands, but now he was stuck, and they only made his hands sweat. Plus, he thought that perhaps some traction between his palms and the sheet metal might do the trick to dislodge his overly-round body.

Jenell, the dark-haired woman who lived downstairs from him, was special – but what a demanding female she'd become. When he proposed to her – he thought she'd be thrilled to find a father for her two-year-old son. That, however, was no motivation to her. “What's in it for me?” was what she wanted to know.

“A good husband. True love. A faithful man.”

“Not enough,” she said. “You can't propose to me without a ring.”

“What kind of ring do you want?”

“One great big diamond. Size seven.”

“Sure Jenell. I'll see what I can find.”

He found one – with a price tag of $6700. Too much for his meager salary, but pretty. Something that would look great on Jenell. He wouldn't have thought to steal it were it not for the kid. He wanted a son – and Jenell's kid needed a father like a thief needs a pair of gloves.

Strange, he never felt too big before. He thought he was reasonably slender until this moment when it became clear he was slightly too large to get through the air shaft – and back to freedom.

And what if the heat goes on? Will I burn up in here?

Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead. The thought of being stuck with hot air on one end or the other – it would be on his face, he was sure – was enough to frighten him out of that position he was stuck in.

Some thief I am!

Anton used a glove to wipe away the perspiration.

Here I am – stuck and about to die with one God Almighty gorgeous diamond ring in my pocket, and no money. So much for taking only the one ring I needed to convince Jenell to marry me. So much for being honest enough to leave the rest!

The kid. That's the thought that hurt most. There was no other way for him to have one. Ever since his motorcycle accident, five years before, he'd been sterile. Marrying a woman with a son was his one hope of having the family he longed for. But it wouldn't be Jenell. She wouldn't like hearing about this fiasco. He rested his cheek against the worn blue gloves, and sighed.

Every now and then he wiggled a bit, trying to edge himself backwards, but he couldn't move more than an inch or two. Going forward was impossible. It seemed that by some error of construction, the air shaft became smaller at that point.

Now look – I got myself in here. I can get myself out!

What had possessed him to try to get out this way, undetected by store alarms, security guards, or motion detectors? In retrospect it seemed stupid – especially as he could die there and who would know until they realized they were getting no air – and instead there would be the scent of rotting flesh.

Don't think that way!

Anton stretched out and wiggled, trying to move himself backwards. He put the gloves under his cheek and extended his arms, pushing against the sides of the air shaft with both palms. He couldn't budge.

This is impossible!

He pounded against the sheet metal.

Conserve your energy!

Most likely nobody would be there to hear the noise he made until morning.

By that time I could be dead!

Anton rearranged the gloves under his head. They would have to be a pillow for now. He wasn't going anywhere. He wished he was wearing a watch – there was no way of knowing how much time had passed or when people would return to the store. At least he had a pen-sized flashlight so he wasn't in a panic because of the darkness.

Jenell. What a witch! If she cared about me – if she cared about her boy – she wouldn't have demanded more than I could give.

If it were not for her, he wouldn't be stuck. He wouldn't be desperate. But, he reasoned, he would probably still be stupid, for only stupid men get stuck in air shafts.

Periodically he bang, bang, banged on the silvery sheet metal. The noise reverberated through the building and eventually he heard footsteps coming toward him.

“Help! Get me out of here!”

He wished he could take that diamond ring out of his pocket, and hide it in the air shaft, but he couldn't reach down that far.

“Where are you? What are you doing?” A surprised security guard spoke to Anton's feet.

“I'm stuck. Can you help me find a way out of here?”

“You're not supposed to be in there. What's going on?”

“Working on the system,” Anton said. “But I'm stuck now. How about pulling on my feet?”

“I can't reach them.”

“Then call the heat and air people to get me out.”

“I'm calling someone,” the man said. “We'll get you out, alright.”

No more Jenells, Anton decided. Not that there will be any in prison. But when I get out, I'll be my own man. No more putting on the wrong gloves for someone else.