“I heard you lookin’ for somebody you can trust to helps you with the kids. I know’s this gal. She a real nice gal, I tell you. And she sure could use the money. She be good with kids too. I think you would like her, Mrs. Eidel. Can I bring her by to meet you maybe on Sunday?”
“Sure,” Dovid said, then he turned to Eidel. He could see that she was unsure by the look in her eyes. “Let’s just meet her. I trust Cool Breeze’s judgment.”
“What’s her name?” Eidel asked.
“Glory. She be a right good friend of mine,” Cool Breeze smiled.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Cool Breeze and Dovid drove to the South Side on Sunday morning to pick up Glory. She was waiting outside of a tall apartment building when they arrived. Two men wearing berets leaned against the side of the building.
“Black Panthers?” Dovid asked Cool Breeze.
“Yes, that’s what they be. They be a new gang,” Cool Breeze answered as Glory got into the car. She was a tall, slender, spirited girl with a bright pretty smile.
“Glory, this be Mister Dovid. He my friend.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” she said.
“Nice to meet you too. You can call me Dovid. No need for the sir.”
“All right.”
“So, Cool Breeze speaks highly of you. How do you two know each other?”
“I works part-time at the little general store on the corner right down the street from the tavern. But I sure would like a new job. Crawford say you be good to work for. He say you be kind and fair.”
“Is that what he says? I’ve never heard anyone call him Crawford,” Dovid laughed. “So,” Dovid turned to Cool Breeze. “Is that what you say about me, Crawford?”
Cool Breeze laughed. “You the nicest white man I ever met. In fact, you pretty close to the nicest fella I ever met.”
When they got to Dovid’s house, Dovid introduced Glory to Eidel and the children. When Glory lifted the children in her arms, even though they didn’t know her, none of them cried. Not even Abby, who was the most difficult to please. Eidel and Glory talked for several minutes before Eidel nodded at Dovid. She smiled and then she hired Glory.
From the first time Dovid saw Glory and Cool Breeze together, he knew that they were dating. He could also tell that Cool Breeze was smitten with her. And it was easy to see why. She was at least ten years younger than Cool Breeze and exceptionally pretty. With deep brown eyes that slanted slightly, high cheekbones, processed hair, a light gloss of red lipstick, and matching nail polish, she looked more like a model than a nanny.
Glory fit in with the kids right away, and before long she became good friends with Eidel and Ida. On the days that Ida came to visit, the three women enjoyed several cups of coffee together. At first, Glory was shy and quiet around Eidel. But within a week, Glory’s shell began to crack and she began to share her past with Eidel. She told Eidel how she had been born to a poor family in Alabama and how at twelve she had left her family home. With almost no money, she’d taken a bus to Chicago to live with her aunt who worked as a maid for a white family. Glory explained how she went to an all-white school and how uncomfortable she was being the only dark-skinned child.
“Childrens can be cruel. They turn a hard heart towards someone who is different than they are. I dropped out of school in the sixth grade. I wish’d I would a gone longer. Breeze said he went through the seventh grade then he had to drop out too. His reasons was different than mine though.”
“That’s not only children, Glory,” Ida said. “I was in a concentration camp. The Germans were supposed to be the most civilized, educated, refined people in the world. But when the Nazis took over, the Nazis were heartless. They had methods of torture that could only be devised by the most terrible of monsters. My sister and I were experimented on, like lab rats, by an educated man. This man was a real doctor. He was so atrocious that he killed my dear beloved sister.” A tear formed in the corner of Ida’s eye, but she continued. “So it’s not only children who can be cruel. It is anyone who feels threatened by someone who is different. Sadly, sometimes people feel that they must destroy what they are afraid to understand.”
“My Sweet Jesus,” Glory said shaking her head. “I heard tell of stories of slavery but this doctor tops it all.”
“Slavery was a terrible thing too. Did you know that the Jews were slaves at one time too? Did you also know that it is against the Jewish religion to have slaves?” Ida said.
“I didn’t know. So the Jews never had slaves?”
“They weren’t supposed to. We believe that as long as anyone is suffering it is our responsibility as Jews to fight for them.”
“Mrs. Eidel, was you in a camp too?” Glory asked.
“No. I would have been but my birth mother had me smuggled out of the Warsaw Ghetto before she was sent to a camp. I was brought up as a Catholic in Poland.”
“You all has some stories too,” Glory said.
“Yes, we do. That’s why I never want you to feel that you are different here. I want you to know that you are a part of our family. Both you and Cool Breeze work for us but you are not like employees, you’re like relatives. I know my husband, Dovi, feels the same way. We both are so happy to have you here with us.”
“Well, thank you, Mam. Thank you. It makes me feel good to know I’s wanted.”
“Eidel. Call me Eidel.”
The family Glory’s aunt had worked for allowed Glory to stay with them, but Glory was given strict instructions to stay out of their way.
“The less they saw of me, the better. It was like I was supposed to be invisible. Sometimes I feels like I ain’t never had a chance to be a child.”
“Well, that’s all in the past now.”
Eidel would have liked to offer Glory a place to stay at the Levi’s house, but there was no room. Cool Breeze had been living in the basement and being that the two were not married, Eidel would never have suggested that Glory stay there with him. Eidel and Dovid slept in the master bedroom, Haley and Abby shared a room, and Mark had the other bedroom.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Ida loved her new-found freedom. She also relished the fact that she had a car and was able to drive. Even though she was all alone with Harry gone all evening, she was finally able to do as she pleased. Harry got home in the morning. He ate then he slept. While he was sleeping she took classes. Every day she made sure that she was at home by the time he awoke to prepare his dinner. He ate and was off to work by three in the afternoon. From that time on, she was free to go wherever she pleased. The Art Institute closed at five, but one afternoon she drove downtown to see it anyway. She only had an hour to explore the wonderful treasures, but it was well worth the drive. Another day she went to the Field Museum, where she saw a mummy and the bones of giant dinosaurs. Then, on another occasion, she took a ride on a train through the coal mines and experimented with the future of telephones at the Museum of Science and Industry. Occasionally, she stopped for dinner at small ethnic restaurants. It was as if she were seeing Chicago for the first time. The car had given her independence and she was enjoying every minute of it.
By the summer of 1966, Ida had a part-time job. She loved to cook and found work preparing authentic Polish dishes at a restaurant right outside downtown. To her excitement and surprise, the restaurant received a wonderful review in the food section of the Sun Sentinel. Ida’s name was mentioned. The restaurant owner showed her the review, and then he hung it on the wall in front of the cash register. Ida felt like a celebrity when she saw her name on the printed page of a paper. Harry wasn’t as pleased as Ida that she was out working at night.
“I’m doing well. I’m earning a decent living. Why do you need to do this?” he asked.
“I enjoy it? It keeps me busy?”
“But why do you want to drive all the way downtown?”
“Because that’s where this restaurant is. They needed a Polish cook.”
“How did you ever find it?”
“I saw a want a
d in the job section of the newspaper. I can read English now, you know.”
“Yes, you are thriving here in America.” His voice took on a sarcastic edge.
“You sound like you don’t like it that I am doing so well.”
“It’s not that, Ida. I just feel like I am losing you.”
She shook her head. “Oh, Harry. We have been together for too long, and we’ve been through too much for you to lose me.”
“But you meet so many other men …”
“Yes, I do.”
“And they probably try to ask you out.”
“Sometimes, yes.”
“And what if someday one comes along who you decide you like better than me?”
“Harry, I don’t know what the future holds. All I know is that you have a life to live and I have one too. You are just going to have to take that chance because I am not quitting my job.”
He looked at her then shook his head. “You are one stubborn woman, Ida.”
“I suppose I am, but I think it’s what kept me alive, Harry. I refused to give up even when I saw my sister die, and I refuse to sit at home and wait for you to get off of work, paralyzed with fear of living life to its fullest. I cannot promise you that I will never leave you. Nobody can honestly say that they know what the future will bring. You could leave me someday. It could happen,” she said.
He shook his head. “Never,” he said.
“Harry, Harry, Harry. You are one special man. But, let’s face it; we can never be sure of anything. But what I can tell you is this … right now, at this moment in time, as we stand here in our kitchen … I love you and I have no intention of going anywhere without you.”
“Even after all these years of marriage, Ida, you keep me on my toes. Maybe that’s why I’m so crazy about you.”
She kissed him. “Let’s make love before you have to go in to work,” she said.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
By the winter of 1967, Cool Breeze and Glory were engaged to be married. Cool Breeze asked Dovid to teach him to drive. It was a fiasco that took all of Dovid’s patience. Dovid had to help him improve his reading skills as well as his driving ability so he would be able to pass the written test. But, after several weeks, Cool Breeze, with the excitement of a child, finally got his license. Dovid drove Cool Breeze to a used car dealership where Cool Breeze bought his first car.
“I suppose Glory and me should be thinkin’ about getting a place of our own,” Cool Breeze said. “Or at least payin’ you some kind of rent. I been livin’ here rent-free for years. Now when Glory and me gets hitched, we both gonna be livin’ here? It ain’t right. I owes you something.”
“Are you happy living here with us, Cool Breeze?” Dovid asked.
“Of course, who wouldn’t be happy? I got me a nice apartment with tile floors and a clean bathroom with a sink, a tub, and a toilet, right there by my bedroom not down no hall the way they got it in a flophouse. But sometimes, I feels bad, like I should be payin’ you some kinda rent.”
“No need. If I ever need any money from you, I’ll let you know. Now, let’s talk about your wedding,” Dovid said.
“Ain’t nothin’ to talk about. Glory gonna invite her aunt. I don’t speak to none of my brothers. Wouldn’t even know where to find em. My Ma and Pa long dead. So, it’s just us.”
“Well, then, I’ll take everyone out for dinner,” Dovid said. “We’ll invite Ida and Harry, and we’ll all go downtown to the Blackhawk steak house. The only problem is … a babysitter,” Dovid said.
“I have an idea,” Cool Breeze said. “Why don’t we bring in food? That way we can take the kids to the courthouse for the wedding, and then we can all come back here to the house to celebrate.”
“You think Glory would like that?”
“Yeah, she be so grateful to you folks for all you done for us.”
Dovid smiled. “I am blessed, Cool Breeze. I don’t know how or why, but God has seen fit to give me plenty of money. It is my pleasure to be able to share it with those I care about. You and Harry are my best friends.”
“You got a good heart, Dovi Levi. You sure ‘nough do.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
February 1968
Not much changed after Cool Breeze and Glory were married. Glory moved into the basement. Then one day she surprised everyone. In accordance with the new hairstyles, she let her hair go natural.
“It’s called a fro. Do you like it?” she asked Eidel.
“It’s big,” Eidel said. “And full.”
“This is the way my hair looks when it’s not processed.”
“What is processed?”
“You remember how my hair was flat but wavy before?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Well, it took my hairdresser hours to get it to look like that. She had to straighten it with some stinky, burning chemicals, then press it with hot irons. Sometimes, if she wasn’t quick enough, it would burn off. The way that you be seein’ my hair right now is the way it is when it’s natural. For years, black women was trying to look as white as they could. So, they would go and have a process done to make their hair look more like white women hair. Now, we tryin’ hard to make folks see that black is beautiful and black womens can be beautiful just they way God made ‘em.”
“I think this is a good thing, Glory. You are a beautiful woman, no matter how you wear your hair,” Eidel said.
Cool Breeze drove to work with Harry every day. They shared the driving. On Sunday, all three couples enjoyed dinner together. Sometimes they discussed the changes they were seeing in the world.
“We don’t use the word colored no more, it’s offensive. It makes us feel like we one step above slaves. Now we call ourselves black folks,” Cool Breeze said. “It’s part of this here new movement with Dr. King. He tryin’ hard to give us pride in our black heritage. Lots of white folks don’t like him. They think he makin’ us too uppity.”
“I like him, Cool Breeze. I believe that this is what the black man in America needs. And I also believe in my heart that one day there will be a black president of this great country because the black man is a big part of this great land. I hope it happens in my lifetime.”
“Ain’ it just like you, Mister Dovi, to say that. Sometimes I think you one of the best folks I ever knowd.”
“Come on, stop it. You and I both know that King is right. I am not one of the best men in the world. I am only being fair. I have plenty of faults but one thing I pride myself on and that is being fair.”
Cool Breeze nodded.
CHAPTER FORTY
On the fourth of April at six o’clock in the evening, Dr. Martin Luther King stood on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee. He looked out across the city; Jesse Jackson stood at his side. They had come to conduct a peaceful march with a group of sanitation workers who were on strike.
We are making progress, Dr. King thought, but the black man still has a long way to go before he is recognized as an equal. I intend to devote the rest of my life to bringing about a peaceful union between all of mankind.
As Dr. King surveyed the people and activity on the streets below him, a shot was fired from a 30-caliber rifle. The bullet seemed to come out of nowhere. It entered King’s jaw and then went on to pierce his jugular vein. A waterfall of blood poured from the wound.
An hour later, Dr. King died at St. Joseph’s Hospital. This was the end of peace. The leader of the black movement, who had a dream of love and people joining together in a world of equality and light, was gone. In the wake of his death came anger, violence, and terrible riots in the streets of all the major cities. One of the worst occurred in the city of Chicago, which was under the jurisdiction of Mayor Richard J. Daley. First came the looting of all the local businesses in the black areas of the city followed by fighting and shootings. Then angry mobs ran through the areas, setting everything on fire as they passed. Mayor Daley was not going to surrender the city. He came on television and said that he’d tol
d the police to “Shoot to kill…shoot to maim.” Chicago became a war zone between the blacks, the white business owners, and the police. Mayhem, destruction, and murders followed.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Cool Breeze was popping the top off of a beer bottle when Dovid came rushing into the bar.
“Did you see the news?” he asked Cool Breeze.
“Been too busy.”
Before Dovid had a chance to say another word a big metal trash can came flying through the window. A shard of glass soared through the air and cut Harry on the cheek.
“What the hell?” Harry said, ducking behind the food counter.
There was a roar of shouting as crowds of people grew larger outside.
“We have to close and get out of here,” Dovid said loud enough for both Harry and Cool Breeze to hear. Then he addressed the patrons. “Listen to me, we are closing. It’s time to leave. Go home. Hurry, get out of the streets.”
But there wasn’t time to leave. A band of looters came in. They were carrying guns.
“Gimme all the whiskey,” one of them said to Cool Breeze.
“You can’t carry all them bottles.” Cool Breeze looked at the young black man wearing a beret. “You be a Black Panther?” he asked.
“Yes. I am a Black Panther, and you’re an uncle Tom. You work for whitey. YOU kiss whitey’s ass.”
“It ain’t like that. I be the manager here. This be my place you in.”
“You don’t own it. Whitey takes advantage of you. He works you to death while he makes all the money.”
“That’s where you’re wrong young man. You don’t know nothin’ bout the owner of this place. He be good to me. He be good to black folks.”
“You just a brainwashed fool,” the Black Panther said, pointing a gun at Cool Breeze. “I said give me the whiskey, boy.”
“Give it to him,” Dovid said.
“Who the hell are you, whitey?”
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