The Great Depression

The Great Depression hit America hard and although everybody was suffering, there were some who suffered more than others. Cora fell into that category. She used to the be the only-child of a white-collared, famous businessman, but then some personal issues led to Cora being disowned. She had been able to scrape through for awhile, but after the Great Depression began, she lost everything.

"I'm not gonna be able to pay rent!" the brunette sobbed in despair as she realized she hadn't made enough this week to cover what she owed on the shabby shack she called out a house. To be honest, she was lucky she even had a job and a house. Most people were jobless and would live in places that ranged from a shared apartment to the streets themselves. But even though Cora was luckier than most, the fear of losing all of that blinded her and she began to panic.

"I'm gonna lose my house!! How will I eat? Where will I stay?" she asked. The Great Depression didn't just describe her financial state, it also described her mental state. She hadn't been in such a great depression since she was disowned but that had happened a few years ago.

The poor girl had been right in the middle of mourning when a loud knock sounded on her door.

"Oh no! Not yet! They aren't supposed to be here yet!" she lamented, wishing desperately that the ground would just swallow her whole so that she could end her misery and shame of going homeless. But no. She had to face this. And there was no point in pretending she wasn't at home either. The repo men would come back until they caught her. The brunette inhaled deeply and steeled her nerves. Best to get this over with quick...

"Cora Stein!" when Cora opened the door, the warm face of a girl about her age was not what Cora had expected to see.

"June Freeman?!" but she wasn't going to complain. June was a much more welcome sight than a repo man. "What are you doing here?"

"I got you a present!" the blond answered, shoving her way into Cora's tiny, now barren, house. Despite her dire situation, Cora laughed a little. It was so June to just barge in. Honestly, the brunette was amazed that she'd even taken the time to knock. June was just so free-spirited that she considered the world her oyster and the moment she and Cora had become friends, she immediately made Cora's house her house. Seeing her just barging in now pretty much summed up June as a person and summed up how June had entered her life: loud and proud.

"So, what did you bring me?" Cora asked, following June deeper into the house. "It's not more sock blankets, right?" she added hopefully. She was, of course, referring to that humiliating time when any spare cloth was sewn into blankets and that included socks and undergarments.

"No. Even better!" June squealed as she placed something warm, covered by a clean linen, in Cora's arms.

"June, what is this?" Cora removed the blanket and dropped it out of sheer shock. It was a fresh loaf of bread, still warm and soft. Cora was totally speechless. It was fresher food than she'd seen since the Great Depression began. "How? The breadlines are so long! How did-?"

"I've got ways," June interrupted with a smile, pleased by Cora's adorable and priceless reaction. "Now we'll have a real feast tonight!" she cried, pulling out what looked like fresh meat and cheese. Cora thought she must've been dreaming by that point. June only grinned, taking the bread back from Cora and making her way to the kitchen.

"Wait!!" Cora cried as she watched June use all the food. "We have to conserve. Who knows when such a gift like this will come again?"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" June flicked her arm dismissively as she set a large plate of bread and meats and cheese down between them. "I've got plenty more where that came from and you will too soon!"

"How?" Cora asked, wondering where on earth June was able to get so much food that this type of meal was considered trivial in her eyes.

"My family," June responded with a grin. "We pulled out our investments in time and we're actually doing pretty well," the blond explained. "Now, we don't live in luxury, but we are doing better than most. In fact, we're doing so well that have room for one more..." June trailed off, her green eyes meeting Cora's blue ones. Cora finally understood why June was really here, but she shook her head.

"No. I can't. You've given me enough. How can I just barge in on your family?" she asked as she ate.

"It wouldn't be barging, I'm inviting you," June said. "Besides, where else will you go? I know you're house is up for repossession soon," she added. Cora cringed at the reminder, but June paid no heed. "Please, come, live with me. My family will love you!" she begged.

"I can't," Cora repeated sadly, even though she wanted to accept. "I can't just take advantage of you like that."

"You aren't taking advantage if I've given consent," June repeated patiently, knowing that Cora's sense of honor could be strong as her own stubbornness. "Now, please? Come home with me? Besides, maybe I want you to live with me. Have you ever thought of that?" the blond asked, then she paused to let her words sink in.

Actually, Cora hadn't. In all their years together, Cora still never understood what June saw in her. She was just the shy, awkward baby girl that got disowned by her parents. How June ever even saw something worth befriending when she saw Cora was beyond her. But here she was now, offering the brunette a more permanent and direct place in her life! How could Cora turn down such an offer? June was her knight in shining armor, coming to her aid just in time! And the idea of living with June had been a dream of Cora's for awhile, even before the Great Depression.

But, at the same time, how could she be so selfish as to agree? June's family had enough mouths to feed without Cora adding another one. Cora had seen them, too, so she knew what she was saying when she said June had a giant family. She had her two parents and nine sisters. Yes. Nine. But still, even though moving in with June would make life harder on June and her family, it was such a wonderful offer. It would save Cora from the streets and it would grant Cora's deepest wish. And it really wouldn't be that selfish because, like June said, June had asked her to move in. It wasn't like Cora was asking June. So, should Cora decline June's offer and save her honor but risk the street? Or should she accept and feel bad about intruding, but know that she had a home to go to?

June saw Cora's face change as she silently pondered her friend's offer and she smiled inwardly. She was breaking Cora. She always knew how to get that insanely loyal brunette to bend to her will. Now at last, she could repay Cora for their years of friendship and all the times Cora got her out of trouble. Besides, June had felt a strong urge to ease Cora's plight since the moment Cora first admitted to being homeless because her parents had disowned her. Now she had an excuse to invite the girl home without sounding like she saw Cora as a charity case. In June's eyes, Cora was far more than just a charity case but she knew that asking someone to live with her because they were unable to support themselves could come across as a little charity-case-ish. But now June had an excuse to do this. Sharing houses wasn't rare in times like these. (Cora, just say yes...)

"Ok. I'll stay with you," Cora finally yielded. June let out the breath she didn't know she was holding with a smile.

"Great!" she cried. "We'll get you out of here just as soon as we finish our meal," she was grinning so hard she was sure her face would crack. Cora was just as ecstatic. To finally have a home and a family, with June no less, was the best news she'd heard since the Great Depression started and, just for a moment, she saw the sun through the clouds and the Great Depression didn't seem so depressive anymore.

AN: I know the girls probably died before the depression, but this was a fun write because it did give a more historical spin on things and I got to write about these two again and I got to flesh out their back stories (they'll be even further fleshed out in other stories).