It was an average rainy night in the U.K. and Edward Maher was sitting in the pub on Windsor Road with his good old childhood friend, Anthony Roberts. Edward was wearing his old and faded out work uniform with a breast pocket that was half ripped off and very faded jeans, which had been washed too many times .They were sitting in the Yorkshire Pub, which was an old English pub. The pub at one time had a built in bar filled from head to toe with different wines, hard liquors, and beers, straight from the tap and a wooden mahogany table surrounding it. The pub had chairs, tables, and booths made of mahogany with low light chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, which when it first opened would make the pub feel warm and cheerful. But now all the furniture was old and chipped in some place, dust was everywhere, and the chandeliers were rusted and had cobwebs. The built in bar that once was magnificent and was filled with an array of alcohol now had the most basic of hard liquors and beer that only came in a glass bottle—they had stopped using the tap a long time ago. The pub now felt dreary, sleazy, and old with a mildew smell from old age and poor maintenance. Edward and his friend were catching up on life because they hadn’t seen each other in a while since they both have jobs and families to take care of. Anthony had just ordered two beers to celebrate the weekend and to congratulate his friend on his newborn baby son.
“So Edward how’s life been treatin’ you,” said Anthony trying to start off the conversation on a good note while looking at his friend. Anthony was wearing a grey buttoned down shirt and beige slacks all from the thrift store but which were still better than Edwards worn down uniform.
“It’s been treating me good. I got a newborn son at home and a happy wife though I got a crap ass job. What about you?,” replied Edward with a smile and smirk on his face. Edwards job was at a small cable company as a cable installer in his tiny town of Ozark where he only got paid £6.00 per hour. Though he worked forty-hours a week the money he got paid was never enough to cover the rent and support his family with the rising expenses.
“Well my two kids are happy and healthy, my wife is doing fine, and I can’t really complain about my job because at least I’m gettin’ money unlike the rest of these bums in this lousy old place. You know a babies expensive how you gonna afford it with the job you got?” Anthony said. Edward took a moment and looked around at the people sitting in the pub who looked bone-tired, miserable, and worn out from the ups and downs of life. All the men were smoking and drinking their troubles and paychecks of the week away one shot and one beer at a time. While Edward was lost in his thoughts the beers had arrived and Anthony passed a beer to him. They both opened their beers and a cold mist came out the top and Anthony, trying to make his friend laugh, said, “At least they got cold beer here in this dump,” before he took a sip.
Coming back to reality Edward responded, “I don’t know man things have been tough already without the baby and now I don’t know…I really don’t. And my wife and I have been thinkin’ about what I should do and trust me we’ve thought and done everything. We’ve been to so so many job interviews and done so much to just to make pay the rent and car stuff. And since our baby boy was born we’ve been wonderin’ how were gonna get the money to pay for everything he needs and….man I told her my idea and she thought I was crazy but I told her how it would help us and make our sons future better. And we think we’re gonna have to…”
“Come on man I don’t got all night. Spit it out…what are you guys thinkin’ of doin’?” said Anthony with impatience and curiosity.
Edward crouched forward towards his friend and spoke in an intense and serious whisper, “Man I think we’re gonna have to rob a bank.”
“Wait, are you serious!? Or are you just pullin’ my chain again?” Anthony said with shock and giving his friend a look as if he had just grown a third eye. And having no idea whether or not his friend was serious or not. Anthony probably wouldn’t have been as loud but with the music blaring from the old radio he knew that no one would over hear either of them.
Edward, with a serious look on his face, replied, “Yes I’m very serious…look man you know and I know we got no other choice. We got a kid who’s gonna need a lot of things we can’t afford to give him because of my crappy job and because she’s unemployed. How am I suppose to pay the rent and other things? I’m neck deep in debt!” Anthony looked at his friend wanting not to believe because he knew his friend wasn’t kidding around. Anthony leaned back in his chair and let out a big and long sigh. Edward began to get tense, and looked his friend straight in the eye and said, “I know what you’re thinkin’ and I’m not gonna ask you to rob a bank with me because I know you got your own family to take care. And I’m not askin’ you to help plan it with me all I’m askin’ is that you don’t tell nobody I told you and that if I get away with it you act as if you had no clue I was gonna do this.”

Anthony had to take two long gulps of beer just to calm his nerves. He looked at his friend who looked distressed but determined to make his family’s life better. And looked at his friend with the same intense look he had on and replied with “Man what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t help you? If you’re serious about this….”

“I’m serious…”

“OK well you know I’ll help you anyway that I can and I’ll even help you get the supplies you need…I know people that can help with that. How are you guys plannin’ on doin’ it?” Anthony said in a curious tone and wondering how the hell his friend will get away with this.

“Well I know I’m gonna go to a bank and go in take the money and run…I ain’t gonna do no holdup because that’s how everyone gets caught…”

“Yeah but how are you gonna get away with it? Cause if you really want to get away with this you gotta fake your own death…they’ll never figure it out that way”

“I can’t do that because I’m doin this for my family so we can live a real life and so we don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck…so I can’t fake my own death. Instead I’m gonna take the money and run to a motel where my family will be staying and we’ll get disguises and take a plane to another country.”

After hearing all this Anthony knew that his friend had already planned out how he was going to do this and knew that his friend had been planning this for a while. He figured Edward was just waiting to tell him. “So when is this gonna go down? And if you’re plannin’ on gettin’ out of this country then you’re gonna need fake passports, and birth certificates…basically the whole nine yards. Am I right?” Anthony said with a kind of smirk on his face.

“You know me too well man…what would I do without you?,” Edward said with a smile on his face wondering what he did to deserve such a loyal and trustworthy friend. Edward and Anthony went on well into the night talking about how and when Edward was going to rob a bank and get away with it at the same time with him and his family. In the process they had each ordered and finished six beers and by the end of the night they had the basics planned out.
They eventually were forced to leave the pub and so they decided to meet the following day at Edwards’s house to go over the plan. And so they walked out together into the misty and rainy weather to say their goodbyes. The two friends hugged each other and patted one another on the back, each appreciating what one has done for the other. After their hug they shook hands and looked into each other’s eyes and knew at that moment that no matter how long or how far apart they were their friendship would forever stay strong.
The next day Anthony showed up at Edward’s house at twelve and they, with Edward’s wife went straight to work to make the plan perfect. They decided that they would rob Lloyds Banks in Felixstowe at 12:30 because that’s when most people would be on their lunch break so there wouldn’t be many people Edward would have to deal with. Anthony had called some of the people that he knew and they said they would hook him up with fake passports, birth certificates, and anything else they needed. Though Anthony didn’t tell them what he needed the documents and supplies for or what he was going to do with them. All Anthony needed from Edward and his wife was passport-sized photo of each of them including their baby boy and what they wanted their names to be, the rest Anthony’s friend would do. Edward had decided that his family would fly to the United States right after the bank robbery, acting as if they were taking a family vacation. No one would expect a family going on a vacation with a baby to be running from the law. The day before Edward would do it he would quit his job saying that he had gotten a better job and his family would stay at a motel near the airport. It took a while for them to set the day they would rob the bank but they eventually decided on a Thursday because they figured out that’s when the bank had the most cash and when most people would leave to go on vacation. Now that they had everything planned out all that was left was to get and pick up the supplies. By the time Anthony left it was already nine o’clock pm and dark outside with a little drizzle of rain. Anthony said goodbye to Edward’s wife while Edward walked him out. While he said goodbye to Edward he handed Edward a black and sleek 9mm gun telling him in a serious tone but mocking tone, “Here you’ll need this buddy. I’ll call you when I got the other stuff you’ll need to pull this off…just make sure to go on with your life as normal that’s the most important thing you gotta do…besides not gettin caught.”
Edward laughed at his friends mockery said “Thanks man…don’t know what I’d do without you. I guess I’ll see you next week…my apartment seven-thirty pm?
“Yeah sure…why not? Maybe your wife can make me her great tastin’ apple pie”
“Of course wouldn’t be a good day without my wife’s lovely apple pie…I’ll talk to you later man,” Edward said with a happy and joyous laugh while Anthony got in his car and Edward walked back into his apartment. When Edward was inside his house he talked to his wife a little more about their plan, checked on his baby boy, and headed to bed wondering what tomorrow was going to be like.
Three weeks later Edward was in a motel room close to the airport with his wife and baby boy. It was early in the morning and Edward was getting ready to Lloyds Banks in Felixstowe. Edward looked around the sleazy motel room with the cracks along the ceiling, the yellowing walls, and the dirty bed that hadn’t been changed in who knows how long. Then he spotted the two medium-sized luggage they had on brought with them, which contained just the essentials, the rest they left at home. He turned towards his wife and looked at her wife while she was fixing her hair and thought how beautiful she was while wondering if he’ll ever see her again. He also looked at his little boy who barely even knew him and had no idea what his father was about to do for him. He just hoped that he lives to see his boy play with other children and have the life he wishes for him.
It was time for Edward to leave for the bank so he said his goodbyes to his wife with a long passionate kiss and hug, not needing words to say goodbye. He then cradled his baby boy for what could be the last time, while staring at him trying to remember every last inch of his angelic face. Edward picked up his bag, which contained all the supplies that he would need to pull this off and headed out the door. He took a cab to the bank and thirty minutes later got out on the street opposite the bank. Edward looked at the big brick building with a bronze colored sign reading “Lloyds Banks” in big letters in front of the building. The building to Edward looked intimidating and for a second he thought he couldn’t do it but remembered whom he was doing this for. He then looked around at the people around him, going about their day not knowing that he would be robbing this bank today and hopefully not hurting anybody in the process. Edward knew it was now or never and taking a deep breath while trying to get rid of his nervousness walked across the street hoping that everything went according to plan.