Richard worked at a local grocery. Elizabeth met him when she went into the store to buy some lemons. He smiled at her, and they spoke briefly and she left, but it was the beginning of their romance. Elizabeth fought for and won permission from her aunt to move to New York City (with Richard, unbeknownst to her aunt). Elizabeth told her aunt that she wanted to take advantage of the greater opportunities the North held. In New York City, Elizabeth lived with a female relative and found work at the same hotel as Richard. The two planned to marry as soon as Richard saved some money, but, because he made so little and was also attending school, their wedding was not in the foreseeable future.
Despite her happiness with Richard, Elizabeth saw that there was little difference between the North and the South. The North promised but did not give, and what a person could take was snatched right back away again. Then one Sunday, Richard did not arrive for the dinner at which he was to meet the woman with whom Elizabeth was staying, and on Monday, he was not at work. Elizabeth shortly after discovered that Richard was a suspect in a robbery and had been arrested. She visited him in jail, and he told her what happened: The three young men who had robbed a store ran down into the subway and stood by Richard. When the police caught up with the three, the police assumed that Richard was with the robbers and arrested him too. The white storeowner identified the group as those who had robbed and stabbed him. Richard was beaten when he refused to sign a confession.
Elizabeth was terrified. She knew that she was pregnant and wondered what would happen if Richard was convicted and sent away. But Richard was found innocent of the charges and released. That night he wept in Elizabeth's arms, and she decided to wait to tell him that she was carrying his child. She never got the chance, however, because Richard committed suicide that night.
