Laura bundled the twins into their coats and mittens, then put her own coat on and left the apartment with the Wedemeyer twins, holding tightly to Jeremy's and Jennifer's hands. The wind blew brisk and cold as they stepped outside, lifting Laura's hair from her neck, and she was thankful for the thermal underwear she'd worn.

"It's this way," said Rachel.

Laura's teeth chattered as they walked along. "I guess you're used to this," she remarked. The twins just laughed.

The park was large, with several swing sets, slides, and monkey bars. A light covering of snow lay over the ground and covered the playground equipment like frosting on cupcakes.

"I'm scared of the slides, but I like to swing," said Jennifer.

"It's a little cold for that," said Rachel. "I thought you and your brother might like to make a snowman with us."

"Snowman," echoed Jeremy, whose speech wasn't as advanced as his sister's.

"That's right!" said Rhonda, who'd already begun to roll snow into a ball.

"Want to help?" Rachel asked the twins, and together, they soon had the bottom snowball finished. Laura took a turn helping roll the middle ball, and then her children made the smaller ball for the head almost completely by themselves.

"Now we have to find things to use for the eyes, nose, and mouth," said Rachel. The three adults looked around near a tree until they found some pieces of bark and a twig.

"Perfect!" said Rhonda. She stuck the twig into the head ball for the nose, and then she and her sister arranged the pieces of bark into eyes and a mouth.

"This is the first snowman I've ever made," said Laura. "Good thing I brought my camera along!"

Rachel and Rhonda posed on either side of the snowman, and Jeremy and Jennifer stood in front of it, both of them grinning ear to ear. Laura snapped several photos of the group.

"I can't wait to get them developed," she said as she returned her camera to her purse. "It's been fun, but I think we'd better go back soon. Jeremy and Jennifer are getting cold."

"Would you like to go to Jake's Deli first?" asked Rachel. "It's nice and warm in there."

"Sure!" said Laura, realizing for the first time that she was hungry. Jake's Deli was on the corner of the street the apartment building was on. Laura felt a blast of warm air as Rachel opened the door. Along one side of the deli was a long counter with a variety of meats, cheeses, and breads, and across from the counter were several rows of square tables with four chairs each. On the wall beside the tables and chairs were various photographs, and on the back wall was the refrigerated area where the drinks were kept.

"It's so homey in here!" Laura remarked.

"We've been coming here all our lives," said Rhonda.

"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Jennifer whined.

"We'll be eating very soon," Laura told her. Looking at the menu over the cash register, she was relieved to see they sold hot dogs, but other than that, she felt totally lost. Most of the offerings were foods she'd never even heard of!

"What's good to eat here?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound too ignorant.

"I've always loved the corned beef," said Rachel.

"Pastrami's nice, too," Rhonda added.

"I'll try the corned beef," Laura decided. "The twins can have hot dogs."

As they were eating, bits and pieces of a nearby conversation wafted over to them. Laura thought it sounded familiar.

"Is that German?" she asked.

"It's Yiddish," Rachel told her. "Similar to German, but not quite the same."

"Do you understand what they're saying?"

"No, but my Dad would." Rachel took another bite of her sandwich.

"What about your Mom?"

Rhonda shook her head. "She wasn't raised Jewish, so she never learned Yiddish. She converted after she and Dad were married."

"Did both your parents grow up around here?"

Rachel nodded. "They even went to the same junior and senior high schools. Why don't you come over and meet them when we're finished eating?"

"Sure!" Laura was curious about Mr. and Mrs. Wedemeyer.

The group finished their meal and then walked back to the apartment building. As it turned out, the Wedemeyer's apartment was only a few doors down from Max and Toni's. Rachel opened the door, and the group walked in.

Mr. and Mrs. Wedemeyer were sitting on the sofa but rose to meet their guests. They were both about the same height and had white hair and blue eyes.

"What darling children!" said Mrs. Wedemeyer, after Rachel had introduced Laura, Jeremy, and Jennifer. "It's been so long since mine were little like that!"

"Thanks," said Laura. "They'll be three in April."

Mrs. Wedemeyer went into the kitchen and returned with two small cups of milk for the twins. She handed them to Laura and then went back into the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with a steaming hot cup of coffee for Laura.

"Thanks," said Laura, looking around the living room. The furnishings were very similar to Max and Toni's, except that the walls were eggshell blue, the carpet was navy blue, and the sofa was cream colored. "Nice place you have here."

"Thank you," said Mrs. Wedemeyer. "We've been here since 1950."

"My husband and I used to have a nice little white house." Laura's voice grew soft with the reflection. "It had blue shutters and a porch, and there was a white picket fence around it and a pecan tree in the back yard. It was small, but it was ours."

"Where do you live now?" asked Mrs. Wedemeyer.

"Back with my parents. After Stephen died, I couldn't keep up the payments, so I had to give it back to the bank." She felt tears forming behind her eyelids.

"Oh, you poor dear!" said Mrs. Wedemeyer. "I'm so sorry!"

Laura nodded. "It's been hard."

"Well, at least you have your parents there to help you."

"I know, but I still miss having a place of my own."

Mrs. Wedemeyer patted her hand. "You will again, someday."