As if that wasn’t enough, the global economy had collapsed. 'The Great Depression' as President Hoover referred to it. The hard and desperate times that began on that fateful Black Tuesday, weren't going away anytime soon. And, would change the world forever.
I found work on the Mesabi iron range, to make ends meet. I was sending my hard earned pay back to my wife, in Nebraska. Most of my wages went to paying off the loan I had taken from the bank, to keep from losing my farm. All I could do was wait till the land could grow my wheat crop again.
A neighbor sent me a letter, telling me that my wife, and the banker that she had run off with, had declared me presumed dead in a mining disaster. The bank had repossessed my farm and put it up for sale. Citing, nonpayment of the loan to steal my farm.
My journey from Minnesota to Nebraska, to get my farm back, started with just the clothes I was wearing, a bedroll, and fifty dollars in my pocket.
I made it back to my farm in the fall of 32. The faded, weather beaten for sale sign swayed lazily in the chilly, dry wind. An all too common sign of the times everywhere you turned. I pulled the wooden stakes out of the ground and tore the sign to shreds.
Nothing was going to stop me from getting my farm back.
~
I passed through many shanty towns, or, Hoovervilles, as they were becoming popularly known across the country, on my way to Lincoln, Nebraska. They were named after Herbert Hoover, who was President when the economy crashed and was being blamed for not taking action sooner to avoid the economic disaster.
Each one was the same as the last. Hungry kids still played and ran around, laughing and screaming. Broken old men and women sitting on rickety chairs, secretly wishing they were dead, instead of being a burden to their families. Men and women trying to hold on to fast, fading hope. Worried and wondering where the next meal would come from. Everyone was talking about the New Deal, that Franklin D. Roosevelt, the newly elected President promised us in the fall of 1932. All the country could do was sit and wait for better days.
~
When I reached the city, I passed a crowded, dirty alley. The noisy crowd had formed a circle around two men engaged in a bare knuckle fight. I walked towards the crowd to size up the competition.
My dad and grandfather had been prize fighters. If a year’s harvest didn’t yield enough to cover the cost of staying in business, they made good money in the ring to cover the expenses. I had been trained in the art of fisticuffs by both of them, much to the disapproval of my mom and grandmother. I lost count of how many times my dad and grandfather caught shit for training me to fight, from mom and grandma at the dinner table. The memory brought a smile to my face.
My mom’s words had stayed with me. Every time I told her I wanted to be heavy weight champion of the world, just like John L. Sullivan. And, every time, she would remind me that he had died with only fifteen dollars to his name.
“Who’s next?” a voiced boomed out of the alley.
I made my way through the crowd to take a look at who was in the circle waiting for an opponent. He was a big man. Six foot-six, full beard, bald, thick muscular arms, thick around the waist and a neck as thick as a brahma bull’s.
“How much?” I called out to the barker.
The crowd became silent and all eyes turned to me.
The barker pointed at me and announced, “Half of the bets against you, and I’ll match what you put up. If, you can beat the reigning cham-peen, Mountain Jack!”
The crowd broke out in laughter and jeered me, “Go home grandpa! You’re too old! He’ll kill you!”
I had turned forty years old a few months back.
I took the last six dollars out of my pocket and made my way to the barker, “Six dollars. Count it.”
He waved the money over his head and announced with a chuckle, “Six whole dollars! I’ll give seven to one odds on the elderly gentleman to win!”
The crowd cheered and continued to laugh at me. The mountain in the middle of the circle grunted and beat his chest.
A beautiful, young redhead bumped in to me on her way to place a bet.
I tapped her shoulder and smiled at her when she turned around, “Don’t bet against me, you’ll lose your money.”
She looked up at me, unfazed, with fire in her big, green eyes and replied, “You’re a good looking man.” She stood up on her toes and kissed me. “Now you can tell everyone the last beautiful woman you ever kissed was Doreen O'Shaughnessy! Because after Jack punches your face out the back of your head, no woman will ever kiss you again!”
The crowd hollered and laughed.
Once all the bets had been placed, I took off my dirty shirt and made my way to the middle of the circle drawn in the dirt. Doreen bit her lip and felt a rush of sexual arousal as she stared at my muscular back, wide shoulders and slim waist.
The barker stood between the mountain and me and announced, “When I’m clear of the circle, fight!”
The mountain swung his ham of a fist at my head, before the barker cleared the circle in the dirt. I was ready. I had seen my dad fight many times, in and out of the ring. I knew every dirty trick in the book. I bent at the knees and bobbed to my right. I countered with a lightning fast, vicious right uppercut to his exposed chin, as I straightened out my legs, putting all of my two hundred pound body weight behind the punch.
Blood, sweat, and a few of his teeth flew straight up in to the air. His body hit the ground with a dull thud, before the teeth I had knocked out of his mouth did. The crowd went deathly silent. I looked at Doreen and winked at her.
The barker handed me ninety six dollars and asked, “Will you be back?”
“Maybe,” was all I replied.
I bent down to pick up my shirt. Doreen stepped on it with one foot and lifted the hem of her dress up to the top of her thighs. I stared at her smooth, slender, shapely legs and smiled as the crowd whistled and hollered.
“I hope you fuck longer than you fight,” She said to me, and asked, “You a hitter?”
“I’m farmer. As to how long I can fuck, how bad do you need to know?” I asked with a grin.
“In your dreams, boyo. If you don’t get your fool self killed in a fight, I’d surely fuck you to death in a bed,” She snickered and walked out of the alley.
I liked the little redhead’s spirit. I looked forward to seeing her again.
~
I paid for a week's accommodation at a nearby hotel. I shaved, trimmed my goatee, and took a long overdue bath. Got dressed in new, second hand clothes and made my way to the bar to eat. I spotted the pretty redhead laughing as she served and chatted with the men at the bar. I took a seat; Doreen spotted me in the mirror and walked slowly towards me.
“You cost me a week’s worth of tips this afternoon,” She said as she poured me a whiskey.
“I told you not to bet against me,” I flashed a cocky smile at her.
“What’s your name?”
“Gil,” I replied and placed a dollar on the bar.
Doreen’s eyes shot to the door, she leaned in close and whispered, “You got company, and not the good kind.”
“I’m looking for the hitter,” a woman calmly announced while her bodyguard pushed people out of her way, clearing a path for her straight to me.
She was dressed like a movie star, long black dress, high heels, and a big, red silk hat. I spotted the barker from the alley following closely behind her.
“I’m a farmer who got a lucky punch in, not a hitter,” I said to the bold, well dressed woman as I turned in my seat to face her.
She looked me over, “I’m Isabelle. I was hoping you would be interested in joining my stable of fighters. You’d make good money,” She smiled as she spoke.
“I’ll make more farming. All John L. Sullivan had when he died was fifteen dollars to his name,” I replied.
I looked at her bodyguard and sized him up. He was big, wide and had a boxers face. The scar tissue around his eyes and his twisted, flat nose, left no doubt that he was a professional fighter.
“Like I said, it was a lucky punch. Besides, I’m sure we can all agree that I’m much too handsome to be a hitter,” I added.
The crowd laughed and Doreen wolf whistled.
“Come now, don’t insult me. I’ll admit that Marco,” she turned to the boxer and placed her hand on his shoulder, “is a hitter. You do the same, and we can talk about a fight. You’ll make a lot of money.”
I chuckled, “Your gorilla is pro, not a hitter.”
She smirked as she replied, “I’m glad we understand each other. And, I suggest you watch what you say about Marco. He’s killed three men in the ring.”
“He’s a big boy. He’s more than welcome to make the first move if he doesn’t like what I say about him,” I growled at her.
Marco finally spoke, “I’m not afraid of anyone my father’s age.”
The crowd laughed at Marco’s remark and started chanting his name. Doreen looked at me with concern in her eyes and shook her head, signaling me to stop.
Marco was grinding his teeth and sweating hard. His pupils were dilated and he was fidgety. I’d seen the effects of cocaine in other fighters. He had obviously taken a few vials of it, in the event a fight broke out. When I fought him, I wouldn’t agree to rounds. He would have to take a lot of cocaine before the fight. There was no way I would allow him the opportunity to take more during the fight.
“I’ll cut to the chase, five thousand dollars to step in the ring with Marco. You have captured everyone’s attention. We should take advantage of that and schedule the fight quickly, before everyone forgets about you, farmer man. Go see Police Chief O’Hara if you’re interested, he’ll bring you to me,” Isabelle scoffed and walked out of the bar.
Doreen whispered to me, “No one can beat Marco. Leave the city tonight, if you know what’s good for you.”
I winked, smiled at her and replied, “And never get the chance to kiss you again, Doreen O'Shaughnessy? Not a chance in hell that’s going to happen.”
Her cheeks flushed pink as she fought back a smile, “Fool! If I kiss you again, will you promise to leave?”
“If you kiss me again, I might never leave,” I grinned.
“Idiot!” She huffed and walked away from me as she coyly smiled to herself.
A loud knock on my door woke me up late that evening. Doreen stormed past me when I opened the door. Her hair was still wet and tied back. The perfume she was wearing told me that she was in my room for more than just to try to get me to leave the city.
“Do you know who Isabelle is?” She asked.
“I know what she is,” I answered.
“Then you know you are out of your league, Gil. There is no way this turns out good for you. She just wants to take advantage of desperate people to bet on you and take their money. She’ll give high odds on you to win and a lot of people are going to borrow money from her to bet on you. She’s a heartless bitch who cares only about making more money,” She desperately warned me.
“She’s promoting the fight; she’s going to make a ton of money no matter who wins. Don’t bet against me, you’ll lose your money,” I replied.
I was dressed only in my underwear. Doreen looked over my chiseled body and became more aroused. The slight flushing in her cheeks made her green eyes look bigger. My cock shifted as it began to grow. It had been a long time since I had fucked a woman. Let alone, a woman as beautiful as the fiery, redhead standing in front of me.
I grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her to me and kissed her.
“You got your kiss, now, leave the city, please,” She couldn’t stop herself from panting the words.
I kissed her again as I slid one hand over her full, soft breast. Doreen moaned and pushed her chest against my hand. I placed my other hand on her firm, young ass and pulled her to me. The hardness and heat from my throbbing cock sent a shiver through her.
It had been a long time since Doreen had been pleasured by a man. She got up on her toes, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me back with an urgent, deep hunger. The wetness between her legs was a liquid fire. She lifted one leg and wrapped it around my waist. I lifted her in my arms and carried her to the bed.
“Uhhhhhhfuck!” She softly moaned.
I fell on top of her on the bed and slid my hand to the wet mound between her legs; she spread her legs and gasped as my finger slid inside her.
“Fuck me, please!” she panted.
I pulled my cock out of my underwear and aimed it at her slick opening. When she felt my hot, cock head touch her swollen pussy lips, she thrust her hips off the mattress, taking half of my cock’s length inside her.
“Fuck!” I grunted and stabbed the rest of my cock savagely inside her.
“Ohhhhhhyesssss!” Doreen gasped and pumped her hips faster.