Letters Across the Sea Genevieve Graham (best inspirational books .TXT) 📖

home country. A shiver ran down Max’s spine at the thought of going to Germany at a time like this.

“Tell her the boys must come and see me,” his father said. “No one is going back to Germany.”

Max sighed. “You cannot hire everyone, Papa.”

“I can hire some.”

Max felt guilt coming off Molly in waves. “It’s not your fault. Don’t let it bother you.”

“He’s right,” Hannah said, but Molly didn’t look convinced.

A loudspeaker squawked, making everyone jump, then Hannah nudged Molly. “Hey, you’ll probably want to stand with Jimmy for this instead of with us. Papa wants me to listen to the Yiddish speaker with him and Mama, so—”

“There’s a Yiddish speaker?” Molly asked.

“There are so many people here that there will be several speakers,” his father replied. “They’ll address the crowd in different sections of the park so we all will be able to hear their messages. Some will speak in Yiddish, others in English.”

Max wasn’t sure what to do. The plan had been to stay with Molly, but Hannah’s unexpected warning had burrowed in his brain.

“I think Jimmy wandered off,” Molly said, scanning the area near the flagpole where a different group had now gathered. “Maybe I’ll come with you, and you can translate.”

His father looked at Molly kindly. “But that won’t do. You need to understand the words. Max, you go with Molly. Take care of her.”

“Of course,” he said.

The family headed away, but not before Hannah shot him a look, which he answered with one of his own. Then Molly turned to Max. “I’m sorry. Which speaker did you want to listen to?”

“I’m with you, Moll. Come on. I know where we should go for the best view.”

He guided her through the crowd toward the base of the Sir John A. Macdonald statue, and she stepped onto the base for added height.

“Can you see well enough?”

She stood on her tiptoes. “I can see some of it.”

He nodded toward the statue. “Let’s go a bit higher.”

Without hesitation, she stepped closer to him, and he wrapped his hands around her waist then hoisted her onto the statue so she stood beside Macdonald’s cool metal feet.

“Much better!” she beamed. “I can see everything from here. You coming?”

He braced his hands on the platform beside her and launched himself up. From their perch, they took in the throngs of people, the waving signs and banners, and the various stages set up around the park. A contagious energy filled the air. He could tell from intermittent cheers rising like waves around them that the speeches were underway elsewhere, but theirs hadn’t started yet.

“Best seat in the house,” he said.

Molly’s gaze had dropped to a couple of women that he recognized from earlier, outside Eaton’s, and he noticed her unconsciously rubbing the tips of her fingers with her thumb.

“You okay?”

She nodded, sheepish. “Seeing all these causes being protested in one big, united front… It feels amazing. Our backgrounds, races, and religions are different, but we’re all coming together. I feel like we might actually be able to change some things.”

Max took her hand in his and touched the calluses, put there by hours and hours of drudging work.

“You’ve worked hard your whole life, Molly, just like so many here. Today is for all of us. That includes you.”

He wasn’t sure if it was what he’d said or if it was simply the emotion of the day, but suddenly she was looking at him, holding him with those green eyes, and he couldn’t turn away.

“Thank you for bringing me, Max,” she said.

“The factory would have let you go anyway.”

“It wouldn’t mean as much without you.” She hesitated, and he could swear he felt a shift between them. “Everything means more when you’re with me.”

He suddenly felt the need to say something. Something he shouldn’t say.

“Molly, I—” he began.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention, please!”

A voice called from the direction of the legislative building, and Max caught the rest of his words before they got him in trouble.

“Welcome, welcome, everyone! Thank you for coming out today and showing solidarity with so many causes. We are stronger together, and in this city, as we face rising prejudice and violence, we need each other more than ever.”

Max listened hard, ingesting every syllable, letting them feed his mind and soul. Beside him, Molly was transfixed.

“We stand with our brethren in Germany who are being subjected to the Hitler regime’s hateful persecution of the Jews,” the man continued. “The Nazis plan to rid the world of the working class and of anyone who dares sympathize with them. They burn books and ban public gatherings. They deny citizens their right to free speech. We cannot allow their ignorance to poison this city. And we cannot assume that today’s event will guarantee change. We must be militant in our struggle to stand up for people, no matter who or where they are, and fight for their human rights.”

Molly shivered involuntarily, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world for him to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her close. She leaned into his chest, and he held her for the remainder of the speeches, amazed at the way she could make him feel both strong and yet helpless at the same time.

It seemed to Max that everyone who had stayed home the day before came out to celebrate the next day, lining up along the sidewalks and waving Union Jack flags as the Orange Day parade passed by.

“You know, we could get away with just about anything today,” Arnie said. He and Max had grabbed a table by the front window of Shopsy’s Deli before the other regulars came in, and now they were watching the procession. “We could rob a bank.”

Max gave him a sideways glance.

“What? All I’m saying is, the police are all busy, marching in their little parade.”

“I wouldn’t call it a ‘little’ parade,” Max said, picking up his pastrami on rye. “Three hours long this year, they say.”

“Good. We’ll have lots of time