Harry Was A Newsman • 2
The Plan
Missed Chapter One? Read from the beginning.
Once he got outside, Harry opened his notebook and wrote:
The Charlton provides free steak and lobster dinners to the staff of The Daily News to celebrate the retirement of newsman Harry Reak.
Harry crossed the street and went inside The Charlton. He usually never dined at fancy places like The Charlton. They were too expensive for a reporter, but Harry wanted to try out the notebook again.
“Good evening Mr. Reak. We have been expecting you. Follow me please,” the Maître D said and led Harry to the banquet room where several large empty tables were waiting.
Once Harry was seated, Mr. Charlton, the owner, arrived and asked, “Good evening, Mr. Reak. We are honored to have you here tonight and pleased to help you celebrate your outstanding career in journalism. I have one hundred steak and lobsters ready. I hope that will be enough. I wasn’t sure how many journalists The Daily employs. I can get more if necessary. I want this to be a special evening.”
“Thank you, Mr. Charlton. One hundred will be more than enough. I am sure it will be a night to remember for everyone,” Harry replied.
As soon as Mr. Charlton left, Harry got on his phone and called editor Daily.
“Boss, call everyone and tell them there’s a change of plans. Murphy’s is out. Have everyone meet me at The Charlton for steak and lobster dinner. On me.”
“Are you insane? That will cost you a fortune,” Daily replied.
“Nope. It turns out Mr. Charlton is a huge fan of mine. Who knew? Right? He is footing the bill.”
“Harry, have you been drinking already?”
“Nope, it’s legitimate, Boss. Come on over and see.”
Soon the room was full of Daily workers enjoying their steak and lobster dinners. Harry was actually having a good time. He now had something to look forward to. The possibilities seemed unlimited. He patted the notebook in his rumpled shirt pocket.
Everyone eventually made their way to Harry’s table, congratulated him on retirement, and thanked him for the great dinner.
“What are your plans now, Harry?” Editor Daily asked.
“I think I am going to do some traveling. An island maybe,” Harry replied.
“Gonna see how people with lives live, eh?”
“Why not?”
“Why not?” Editor Daily said and raised his beer glass.
“To Harry!” He shouted.
“To Harry!” Everyone echoed.
Eventually, the party ended, and Harry made his way back to his apartment. He was too tired and a bit too fuzzy to think about the notebook. He would do that in the morning since he didn’t have to go to work.
The next morning Harry woke up around 10:00 am. He grabbed his notebook and wrote:
Reporter Harry Reak finds basket with hot breakfast and coffee outside his door.
He opened his apartment door, and there was a basket with hot coffee and a full breakfast in it. I can get used to this, Harry thought.
As he was enjoying his omelet, Harry had a scary thought. He grabbed his notebook and counted the pages. Only four sheets left. He walked over to his bookcase, where a stack of pocket notebooks was piled on a shelf. He grabbed one and wrote:
Reporter Harry Reak finds $100 dollar bill on his living room floor.
He looked around but couldn’t find any money. He grabbed another notebook off the stack and wrote:
Reporter Harry Reak finds $100 dollar bill on his living room floor.
Nothing. No cash. Harry tried every notebook in the stack. None of them worked. So he grabbed the notebook he had been using all week and wrote:
Reporter Harry Reak finds $100 dollar bill on his living room floor.
He turned and saw a brand new $100 bill lying in the middle of his living room floor. Alright, no need to panic, he thought. I still have four pages left. That’s plenty. I can always write smaller.
Harry began making plans in his mind so he wouldn’t waste paper. First things first, he thought, a place to live. Ever since he had been stationed at Pearl Harbor in the navy, Harry had dreamed of living on an island once he retired. But he didn’t like tourists. He decided he would buy his own private island.
Harry checked realtor websites until he found the perfect island in the Caribbean. Not too big. He didn’t need much. But it cost close to three million dollars. No Daily reporter could afford to buy a private island. And he didn’t want to draw suspicion to himself, so he grabbed the notebook and wrote:
Reporter Harry Reak wins lottery in the amount of 7 million dollars.
A lottery ticket appeared on his coffee table. Later that evening, the numbers came in. He had won. After taxes, Harry had enough money to buy the island, a boat, the supplies he would need to live on a remote island, and still deposit a little over one million dollars in the bank.
Over the next few days, Harry purchased everything on his wish list and had the boat and supplies shipped to his new island home.
Read the conclusion, The Island:
I enjoyed part two. Looking forward to seeing how this all pans out!
I've had days like that.