Page 174 - Where the Dream Ends ebook

Marc Erdrich

for a long time. But when the business folded, Harry’s father,
with neither imagination nor a high school diploma, faced a
dismal future. He labored for the rest of his life, though in the
years preceding his retirement he was promoted to sales clerk
at the plumbing supply warehouse where he had worked for
more than 25 years.

Thanks to the union, Harry’s father brought home enough
money for the family of six to barely scrape by; but Harry’s
mother was miserable. She spent money recklessly, as if the
family of her youth would somehow return to bail them out.
They were always in debt. Harry’s father had to work longer
and longer hours just to pay the bills, but it was a Sisyphe-
an task. When there was no overtime to be had, his mother
would scream at him mercilessly late into the night, until the
neighbors hammered on the radiators or banged on the walls
to shut her up.

* * *

When the insurance salesman came to the door offering
Harry’s mother $15,000 cash, more than the value of their
new house — the year was 1960 — she invited him in for a cup
of tea. That was all he needed to secure an invitation to return
again that night when Harry’s father was at home.

On the surface, the offer was simple: In exchange for a lump
sum payment, the insurance company would take a second
mortgage on the house; but the refinancing plan was wrapped
around an elegant insurance scheme that, unbeknownst to
Harry’s mother, meant — given his father’s age — almost cer-
tain bankruptcy.

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