His name was Gareth Delaney. He prepared his own meals, made his own wine and polished his own shoes. He was a very independent man. Born January 17, 1945, he grew up in the hard but modest streets of South Side, Brooklyn in the 1950‘s. Every moment of his life was life threatening. Condemned with an unknown disease, Gareth had great philosophy. “You must dare, to be Great!” he would shout whenever he felt sick. He worked hard to become successful after his the past had escaped him. He was ready for a new life and a new beginning. He was tired.



Gareth’s strong attitude and personality was the cause of his success. Money was his demise, he had already reached his peak. Gareth was the conquistador who later lost it all by an act of greed and violence. The longer he was on top, the faster his decline would be. He lived and begged for some light. Gareth lived in the shadows his entire life until he met his wife, Meredith Delaney. He knew he had found his guardian angel. He married her to regain hope. His hope was to become in absolute redemption. His life became unknown and insignificant to the world. Gareth was now a husband who had quit his job of corruption and hate. He never meant to cause any trouble in Brooklyn, his organized crime days were over.



It was July 18, 1968. Gareth Delaney had come out of his shell and like other men, it was the time for a new opportunity. He had left behind his old house, neighborhood, barbershop and church just to start over. He moved to Chicago. He was so desperate for a new start. He was eager to get a head start. He picked up the newspaper at the nearest kiosk. He skipped the sports section and the breaking news section to immediately turn to the employment ad section. His change would begin by changing his career. His wife, Meredith , would shine light in his world of horror. She helped him gain the confidence he lacked since his early career.

“How much?” Gareth asked the clerk in a New York accent.

“ Twenty Five cents .” The clerk responded.

As Gareth reached into his pocket for a quarter, the clerk stopped him and asked, “You are not from around here… Are Ya?”

“No.” Gareth responded nervously, afraid that his past came to haunt him.

“Alright then. Sir, you have a good… no, Great Day!”

Gareth took his hand out of his right pocket and reached for his wallet. He took out a dollar bill and put it on the stand. “ Here you go. Keep the change and have a great… no, good day!” Gareth said, almost mocking the clerk. The clerk smiled at him. Gareth walked away. Gareth went to the parking lot by the diner to check if his car was still there. 1958 Chevy Impala, Classic. Seeing that it was still there, he went on looking for the nearest place that was hiring.

He read the whole section boxing in the jobs he was interested in and crossing out the ones he was not. Out of a total of twenty-three jobs listed, he crossed out twenty-one. Left with two he decided to go with this one:






NOW HIRING!


Success is right around the corner. Tired of people


Telling you that you are not good enough? It’s time


To change all of that and become… successful.


Part time, Full time, Half time? No worries, No problems.


Your future is now at Al’s Major Automobile Emporium.


Become a car salesmen, cheap prices for big benefits!


Call Us: 1800-CARS-R-US



He knew this one was the one. He had a business background and had lots of experience. He thought he was a great salesman and deserved this job. The place was only a few blocks from where he was and he decided to call “Al” on a pay phone. He looked around for the nearest phone available. He spotted one besides the stand he was at earlier. Gareth knew better and avoided any conflict with that clerk. He walked around the opposite corner to look for a pay phone. Urgency took over his thoughts. He promised his wife he would get a job that very day.

Meanwhile, Meredith was planning a congratulatory dinner for him. She thought this dinner would motivate him. She hadn’t been satisfied by her husband since he was diagnosed with the disease. The mixture between his smoking habits and the pollution of New York City have caused consequences. Meredith saved his life by making him quit smoking. Gareth was very determined and with treatment, he would live for more than twenty years. Although the cancer was asleep, he didn’t feel like Meredith deserved a man like him. He was self centered, he wanted to keep Meredith for his benefit. He was a better man now. Meredith was ready to make this night, a night they shall both remember forever.

Meredith seemed like the perfect wife. She knew how to cook, wash the dishes, and iron . Most importantly, she didn’t like arguments. Her payment was mediocre. Gareth would fix himself up for her. Nothing was as mediocre compared to the debt he owed her.


Meredith worked as a secretary at a law firm. She was known in the office by her alias, Meredith “Tabloid” Delaney. She was given this nickname because she knew everything about everyone in the law firm, and possibly Chicago. She started to prepare the dinner by greasing a pan with butter and reading from her ingredients. She was making a very boring, mediocre steak and salad dinner. That dinner was an American style Italian dinner. There was no way that Meredith would ever prepare a meal that came close to the aroma or zest Italians had. It didn’t matter to her as her plan was to obtain some satisfaction. The telephone rang. It was…

Gareth had asked pedestrians the location to a near pay phone. They all pointed to the same one. Gareth had no choice but to go to the one by the kiosk. He walked towards the phone. As he approached the stand, he turned his head towards the street to avoid eye contact with the clerk. Not paying attention to the walk ahead of him, he crashed into a light post. Surprised, Gareth looked around to see if anyone was laughing. He saw the smirk on the clerks’ face.

“What are ya looking at?” he screamed. He repeated the same thing three times adding slang and he began to swear. His commotion was lead to no one. He was just simply looking down screaming towards the pavement. There was something wrong with Gareth. He was paranoid. His life in Brooklyn effected his mentality. Finally realizing that he was making a fool of himself, he looked up seeing no one in the street. The Kiosk was being maintained by the clerk. He was paying no attention. Gareth really felt ignorant at that point and then walked by the phone. He dialed the number to Al’s. The phone was ringing and Al himself picked up the phone.

“ Al’s Major Automobile Emporium, how can I help you?”

“ Yes, my name is Gareth Delaney, I saw your Ad in the newspaper and I’m interested in working as a car salesman.” He was very nervous. His voice was not of a salesman and Gareth was afraid that he blew it.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Delaney, all I can say is, You are hired!” Al screamed with extreme over enthusiasm.

“Really?” Gareth said, confused.

“Yeah, I’m just happy someone called!”

Gareth was very excited and he jumped for joy. He attempted a heal click but he failed. It looked like a very ridiculous out of balance jump. This time the clerk saw it and began to laugh uncontrollably. Gareth heard his laugh but ignored it.

“Thank you Mr. Al”

“ Thank you Mr. Gareth, and you start tomorrow. Also, please call me Al.”

“No problem, Thank you Bye”

“Good Bye” Al said.

Gareth ran off the telephone. He remembered the clerks laughs. He went up to his stand. He gave him a big hug. It was uncomfortable because there was three feet of width between him and the other side of the stand. Gareth came back to the telephone and decided to call Meredith.

Now hearing the great news about her husband. Meredith was motivated to create the best dinner of his life. She even dressed up sassy for him. The door opened. It was Gareth. Very exhausted form his ride home, Gareth told Meredith to fetch him a drink immediately. No greeting, no kiss, no hello.

“Yes.” Meredith said interrupted by Gareth.

“Just give me my wine. I’m not interested.” Realizing that Meredith made dinner he said, “ Ahh, you made dinner! Good! Ill go upstairs and change…Wait, my drink.”

“I will fetch it” Meredith said doubting whether to congratulate Gareth about his day. She decided not to and went off. All she wanted was for her benefit. She just wanted her husband to be excited and lively for tonight. She went into the kitchen to get the wine from the cellar. She saw that she did not need to go to the basement because the wine bottle was on the dining room table. She reached into her pocket and added an ingredient to the food and the wine. This secret ingredient was Sildenafil citrate. A solution that would get a man at his peak in no time. A symptom of his disease consisted of erectile dysfunction. Meredith had begun to show despair. This night might be the night that she would benefit from her marriage.


She walked back to him and handed him the glass. Without saying a word to each other, he snatched the glass from her hand almost spilling it. He took a sip and smiled. He ran upstairs. She got herself ready by lighting some candles, and heating up the food once more. She waited for her husband to come down.

Meredith heard a weird noise coming from the stairs. Her first thought was that Gareth fell down the stairs. He was unconscious. A great shadow emerged over him as the light faded from his face. He was dead. Meredith checked his pulse. She didn’t bother trying to resuscitate him. It was over. She still had no idea what had happened that night or what killed him. She questioned whether it was the fall, or the wine that killed him. She overlooked one detail. She had killed the man she was guarding over. She lost the man she choose to wed. She betrayed her own light and committed the worst crime of all. She committed deception.