From her seat next to the window, Erica Smith watched fields of yellow poppies stretch out and then pass from view. The spectacular sight signaled the final leg of the long trip home. Three train transfers and one layover later she was finally about to reach her destination. Traveling by train across the country had left her restless and eager to be home. The eldest child of Gary and Susan Smith, it had been nearly two years since she'd seen her parents and younger siblings, Cora and Ned.
The extended visit with family in St. Louis had been her mother's idea. Worried that her daughter's advanced age was going to leave her a spinster, Mrs. Smith sent her back east to stay with her family. There she would be able to attend parties and dances with the most prominent members of society.