Howard slowly slid out from under the covers, making every effort to avoid jostling the bed or making a noise that would wake up his Wanda.  He loved Wanda more than anything in the world and every day of their marriage over the last year had been such a blessing.  Now she was three months pregnant and needed her rest.  And more importantly, she would worry if she knew he was going out with the gang to resolve a territorial issue.

Grabbing his shoes, socks, and pants, he quietly left the bedroom and walked down the hallway.  As he stepped into the front room, he could still see embers from the last of the burning wood piled on the bottom of the fireplace.  Feeling the chill in the air, he gently pulled back to protective chain link mesh covering the fireplace, cringing at the sound of metal on metal scraping and stood perfectly still, listening to see if Wanda had stirred.  Satisfied that he had avoid waking her, he added several pieces of wood to the fire, then for good measure, added one more large round shaped piece directly on top.  Remembering the noise from the chain, he consciously decided he would forgo the protective screen for now and replace it once he was home.

Dressing quickly, he grabbed his coat and headed out the back door and over to a waiting car in the street.  There he greets two other members of his family, Danny and Chase, as he climbs into the back seat of the sedan.  Once they are moving, they begin discussing what had brought them out this night. 

Howard said “Ok, did you guys bring the gasoline, glass bottles, and rags?”

Chase, glancing back over his shoulder from the front passenger seat, he replies “Yeah, we did.  These guys are going to be running home to their mommies when we’re done with them”.

Danny follows up with “Burning down their hangout might be a little extreme, but we have to protect our territory.  Just received word tonight from Benny that they have started shaking down a few of the local businesses.  The same businesses that we are supposed to be protecting.” 

Thirty minutes later, the three gangsters stood outside of an old closed down barbershop, each had two glass bottles filled with gasoline and a rag stuffed in the top.  Howard reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out the lighter his sweet Wanda had given him for his birthday earlier this year.  Rubbing his thumb across the engraving, he whispered to himself “LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK, WANDA” and a smile crossed his face.  With a flick of the wrist, the lighter is open and a small yellow flame extends into the air.  Lighting each of the rags, the gangsters begin to throw the bottles, which shatter on impact, up against the face of the building.  Chase also has a brick which he throws at the large plate glass window and the night is filled with the crash of broken glass.  While the first three bottles spread ignited gasoline all of the fascia of the building, the next three bottles landed inside.  Satisfied that the job is done, the three gangsters jump back in the car and speed off, taking a less direct path home.

The three drove through the night, filled with adrenaline from a successful hit on the other gang.  Passing a bottle of bourbon around, they speculate on what the reaction would be from the gang, since they were so new to the town.  Would they retaliate?  Would they even know who did this?  Would they move to another part of the town?

As they turned onto the street where Howard lived, flashing red beacons could be seen in front of his home.  As they drove closer, Howard’s chest began to fill with trepidation as he saw firemen spraying water onto a large hole in the room and through broken windows.  Howard began to shake as Danny stopped the car a half block away.  In shock at first, Howard climbed from the car and started to walk, then jog, then sprint toward his home.  As he approached, several firemen and two police officers noticed him running toward the house and move to intercept him.  As he approached, he screamed out “WWWAAAANNNNDDDAAAAA, Oh God, WWWWWAAAAANNNNNDDDDDAAAA” just as the police officers tackled Howard, preventing him from entering the damaged home.

Looking frantically at the officers with pleading eyes, Howard says “My Wanda was home, where is my Wanda?”  With that question, a look of sadness and dread fills both of the officer’s faces.

“Son, your wife didn’t survive the fire.” Was softly said by one of the officers.

Beginning to sob, Howard asked “But, but what happened?  I was just here a couple of hours ago and everything was fine?  Oh, god, what happened?”

With a deep breath, the officer says “Well Son, it appears it started in the front room, near the fireplace.  That is where a majority of the heavy damage occurred."

As if a heavy weight had been placed on his shoulders, Howard dropped to his knees and the sobbing became uncontrollable.  His mind raced as he remembered placing one more piece of wood on the fire and then choosing not to close the protective chain mesh out of fear of waking his Wanda.  The mesh that would have prevented the burning log from rolling out in to the front room.

“Oh god, no, no, NO.  I’m so sorry Wanda, I’m so sorry”