Then it happened. There was a fire on his block. A big fire. No one was injured, but by the time it was under control, several stores and homes, including the ones on either side of the soda store had suffered significant damage. Solly’s store? Nothing. No smoke damage. No water damage. Nothing.
The firemen couldn’t believe it. Neither could Solly. Then it dawned on him. Maybe. Just maybe, This was his Zaide’s sign. There could be no other explanation. This had to be it!
Solly recalled the promise he made – that he would change his life. But how to go about it? He decided the first step must be to stop working for big Barney. In order for that to happen he would need to sell his store. And he would have to leave. Not just Mile End, but Montreal. He would have to go away. Far, far away. He approached the owner of the store next door which had suffered extensive water damage and they quickly came to an agreement. The owner, Louis, would buy Solly’s store, but not publicise the sale until after Solly left. More importantly, all of the purchase money would be given to Solly’s mother and sister. This was the easy part.
The difficult one was Big Barney and how to break away from his organisation. Solly knew that people just didn’t leave. Everybody knew that. Those who tried enjoyed a very brief retirement. Very brief. Then he remembered the insurance policy in the Lowney’s chocolate box. The one he had kept “just in case”. It was now “in case” time. He got word to Big Barney about the ledger. He made it clear that the details of the money he had distributed were in the secure possession of someone with instructions to share it with the authorities and newspapers should Solly fail to call in and instruct him otherwise, on a pre-established day each month. All he wanted in exchange was his freedom. With that, his silence was guaranteed. A simple plan he had to admit, but a safe one.
Without waiting for an answer from Big Barney he quickly, very quickly left his flat and went to the train station and bought a one way ticket to New York. Solly never got on that train. Instead he went to the bus station and bought a ticket to the farthest place he could. Haines Junction in the Yukon.
There is a happy ending to this story. I hope. When last heard of, Solly was working at a remote fishing camp near Whitehorse. He had even made a friend. Which much to his surprise, he enjoyed having. He hoped that his Zaidie would be proud of him.
