So I am participating in a writing contest this month, where I have to write a novel of 50,000 by the end of the month. I am more than halfway there but…I have yet to land on a title that is catchy enough. I thought about calling it the gift but I am not sure, read the synopsis and the excerpt attached and tell me what you think…

Synopsis: The Gift
It is Christmas and Victor Gonzalez must figure out how to provide for his family in the midst of a recession. Having lost his job as a lawyer, he places his trust in God to come through until his wife leaves him. Now he must provide for his four children alone, and with no other job prospects in sight he turns to illegal means. After a unique turn of events, however, Victor comes to himself and realizes that he must act quickly to save his wife and his children, without risking his own life.

Excerpt: The Gift
The events of the last few hours left Victor physically and emotionally drained. Instead of climbing the stairs to share a bed with Flor, he decided to camp out downstairs. After fixing himself a cup of hot chocolate and retrieving a blanket from the shelf of the coat closet, he sank into the arms of his beloved black leather chair and turned on the television. Bing Crosby’s White Christmas was on, which Victor had not seen in years. Although he was not particularly fond of the movie, he found himself delighting in its plot this evening as it took his mind off of matters that tonight he would not be able to resolve. Not much time passed before he was completely knocked out.
Victor awoke hours later, gripping his chest and feeling as if his life was over. Partially because of all that transpired the night before, partially because he could not shake the literal pain that he felt in his body. He arose from what had been his resting place the night before and walked into the kitchen to search for some much needed Zantac. After searching for about ten minutes, he yielded no results and so settled for Tums and an ice cold glass of skim milk. He hated skim milk, well milk in general. He could never get over the thick, milky taste that it carried no matter how watered down it was. But duty called and he would just have to endure the odious taste. It satisfied the heartburn but proved to be something of a drug as well. It reminded him of the time a few years back when he had to have his wisdom teeth pulled out. Days before the surgical removal he downed Orajel like it was kool-aid, which numbed the pain for a little while. It was not a permanent solution, however, and did not address the root of his problem; only the surgery did. His present state brought him back to that time, only he did not know what would address the root of the problem that had reared its ugly hair between himself and Flor.
He walked back into the living room and noticed that the television was still on. He did not like to waste resources such as electricity, especially in these financially constrained times but the voices provided comfort to a lonely soul. He took his place back on the couch and glanced at the clock on the wall above the television. It was only 5AM, and Victor knew that the kids would probably come bounding down the stairs in an hour or two, as they had done before in years past. Still this year was different, much more different than years past. Not just because of money, as well acquainted him with poverty, but because of his wife’s infidelity. How could she be so cruel? What about the vows they took and swore before God and man almost 20 years ago? What about the promises, the years, the children, the memories. They all seemed like a joke, as a matter of fact, they seemed like a very bad dream that he was finally stirring from. It was amazing how one act of indiscretion could turn his whole world upside down forever; he did not just know to what extent that turn would be!