Donny crumbled on a chair as he watched the tiny peanut resting on the table next to a pot of wilted roses. The sunlight from the kitchen’s window shined upon it like a spotlight.
“You paid 10,000$ for this?”
Annabella clutched the handbag in which the family credit card sat, that treacherous piece of plastic. She was wearing old gardening clothes covered with dirt, a sign of how much the recession affected her, a woman of class and prestige. “Prices went up, hon’, and it was the best price I could get. You’re the man here, you’ll a find a way.”
“I’m the man now, uh? When it’s time to pay I’m the man? We’re roasted and salted like that damn peanut! How’s anyone supposed to live with inflation like that? It’s out of control!”
Annabella shook her head as she scowled at her husband from up top her crossed arms, then she lit up as though she remembered something. “Oh, by the way, our rent is going to be increased soon. Cat lady told me about it on the phone.”
“How much?”
“Many peanuts.”
Donny slammed his hand against the glass table with much force than he’d anticipated. Luckily, it tolled like a bell in a cemetery instead of breaking in thousand pieces.
Annabella grabbed the peanut and held it on the palm of her hand right in front of Donny’s nose the same way a master hands a treat to a dog.
“Eat it. You’ll need the energy to get us out of this.”
The salty surface of the peanut rubbed on his fingers as he threw the nut in his mouth. He masticated slowly, taking in the flavor, and ruminated on what to do.
“Maybe it’s time,” he said.
“Time?”
“Remember those bitcoins I buried in the backyard two years ago?”
“I thought you kept them for retirement.”
“There won’t be retirement if the government keeps on doing me from behind.” Donny rose from his chair and stretched his arms. “Bella, bring me a shovel.”
###
The hole was deep enough for a man to stand knee-deep in it. Donny wiped the sweat off his burning forehead leaving behind a streak of the dirt that clung to his rugged hands.
“Just a bit a more.”
Annabella watched him work, sitting on her knees on the neglected lawn overgrown with weeds.
“I don’t see why bitcoins would have any value at all. They’re just computer numbers,” she said. “I think you should do something more productive.”
“You’ll get a say in this when you’ll be workin’ instead of watching.”
Donny dug carefully so as to not damage what lay underneath. He had engraved his private key on a piece of metal and then put it in a plastic bag and dumped it deep in the soil of his backyard. For extra security, he’d let the weeds grow over to prevent water from seeping downwards.
Anabella sighed as he rustled around to find a more comfortable sitting position. “You should give it up. Just leave it there. Find another way to make money. I’ve heard there’s a program that gives free bread for those who need it.”
“I don’t need no freakin’ free bread. I’m a master of my own destiny.”
The hours went by and Donny’s arm felt painfully sore from all the work he’d been doing, but the deeper he dug to more worry overtook him.
“It should be here. I’m at the right spot. I know because I planted a stake on exactly where I’m digging. But I’m too deep and it’s not there.”
“It’s not a big deal. You can find another way out of this.”
Donny threw the shovel out of the hole and climbed out of it. He sat on his butt with his legs sprawled while he caught back his breath.
“It’s gone,” he said with voice filled with defeat, his shoulders slumping. “I’ve dug so deep. I should have found it by now. Damn it, we’ve lost our retirement and we’ve lost our way of this mess.”
“Hon’, it probably wasn’t worth anything anyway.”
He glared at his wife. “You’re not worried that we’ve lost all our bitcoins? They could’ve been worth millions!”
Annabella looked away.
“You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”
She didn’t answer. Donny grabbed her jaw and forced her to look at him. His fingers dug so deep in her cheeks he couldn’t see his nails. “Tell me.” When he removed his hand, dirt remained on her face.
“I used them to buy the peanut.”
“What?”
“I woke up in the middle of the night and dug this very same hole. I thought it would save us. Help me pay for the groceries. But as it turned out, bitcoins have become worthless. I exchanged them on the black market for a peanut.”
“Shit...” whispered Donny.
And they both watched the hole, a reminder of how empty their wallets have become, of how non-existent their options have become, of how little they looked forward to the future.
Yet, they were still alive.
Donny reached for Annabella’s hand with his own dirty hand. She recoiled in surprise. With his other hand Donny tried to remove the dirt he’d smeared on her beautiful face. He only managed to smear it further.
And they both laughed.
THE END