Chapter One
December 1939 Cleveland, Ohio
Daintily patterned snowflakes fluttered in front of the large display window at Maybees department store on the square. Little children pushed their faces up against the glass to observe the wonderful yearly holiday spectacle. Large layers of white cotton bedded the many toys and plush mannequins of elves bobbing up and down. The toys hovered over the train that ran across the layout and around the back to reappear again on the other side. A large Santa in the rear bounced up and down in laughter.
Ho ho ho , Rachael thought as she stood on her tiptoes to see over the many young heads in front of her. A tall man with a little boy on his shoulders stepped in front of her. She had to move to the right to get a better look.
She pulled the collar of her coat up around her neck and chin and held it there to block the cold air from her face. Now worn and thin from age, the garment had seen better days. It was of no concern to Rachael; most everyone else had either old clothes or hand-me-downs. The depression was making it impossible for many to afford new wardrobes or anything new for that matter. Jobs were scarce, leaving many without the necessary means to support their families or themselves. Rachael, on the other hand was one of the lucky ones. She had a part-time job at the farmers' market in town, where she worked three days a week at various jobs. It not only paid a few dollars but it provided some food items she didn’t have to pay for. The market also supplied many of the churches with leftover foods for their soup kitchens. With little means for refrigeration, the ice melted much too fast. They would rather see the food go to the people who needed it most, especially the children and elderly.
While she worked at the market, her father spent days on the road construction projects the government put in place through the Works Project Administration, known as WPA. As a husband and father, Andrew Taylor made sure his family was taken care of despite the hard times.
The crowd in front of the window began to dwindle as the light from the sun lowered in the western sky and clouds hovered overhead. The streetcar would soon be arriving and it was time for Rachel to go home. She stepped away from the departing viewers and walked to the stop sign where the streetcar would stop.
In her hurry, she collided with a young man who seemed to have moved right out in front of her. “Excuse me,” she said as she tried to go past him. She looked up into his blue eyes and was about to say something when he interrupted her.
“I couldn’t help watching you back there. You had a wonderful, happy face when you viewed that display. I always liked what they did in the window too.” His brown curly hair stuck out from his knitted hat. It was pulled tightly over his head and framed his square face. His five-o’clock shadow brought out the masculine line of his jaw. "Will you be getting on the next streetcar?”
“Yes, I will be. I need to get home before dinner. My folks will be waiting for me.”
He stepped aside for her to pass but kept up with her as they walked along. “I’ll be taking the same car,” he told her.
The clang clang of the streetcar bell signaled the arrival of her ride. It had started to snow. Rachael brought her coat collar up around her chin and blinked when the snow hit her eyes. Soon it was coming down much harder and large flakes rapidly covered the sidewalks and roads.
Hopefully, the snow and wind wouldn’t detach the electrical wires above and halt traffic.
With the screeching of the streetcar’s wheels coming to a stop, everyone huddled on the corner hurried from the curb to get into the car and out of the elements, Rachael and her admirer right with them. He took her arm and helped her up the metal steps. Passengers dropped their coins into the box next to the conductor while they piled in, then moved on to the seats behind him. The car filled up
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