JUST ONE INCH

JUST ONE INCH is a unique story in that there are two stories where one story has an impact on the other. THE STORY BEGINS WITH ELDERLY RACHEL’S STORY: Rachel falls while saving a child and hits her head on the pavement. In the hospital she finds out she has a brain tumor. The mother of the child Rachel saved, Lakeisha visits her in the hospital. As they walk down the hallway, they see a quote from the Talmud on the wall about ancestors. Lakeisha asks Rachel about her ancestors.

THE STORY FLASHES BACK TO RUSSIA IN 1897: Vladimir is summoned by Tsar Nicholas II. He is afraid he is about to be accused of something and is surprised when the Tsar hires him to be his scribe. As his scribe, Vladimir's wife and daughter will also live in all the palaces. Wife Svetlana is to cook for the Romanovs, and daughter Elizabeth will be tutored and grow up with the Romanov children. Svetlana teaches Elizabeth to cook which later helps her survive. When the Bolshevik Revolution occurs, Vladimir and his family flee because the Bolsheviks want to kill anyone associated with the Tsar as well. Vladimir and his family hide in the forest until they are discovered by the Bolsheviks. Svetlana is shot. Vladimir and Elizabeth jump into a river. Bullets zip by them underwater. A bullet misses Elizabeth by JUST ONE INCH. On the other bank of the river, Vladimir sacrifices himself to save Elizabeth. There is a tear-jerking scene where he says goodbye to her, floats away, and is shot. Elizabeth must now survive alone in the forest to find her uncle Moyshe's farm. She faces insurmountable odds to survive, but perseveres. After about a week, hungry, tired, and thirsty, she finally finds her uncle Moyshe. She lives a happy peasant life on the farm until the Bolsheviks are on their way again. Elizabeth bribes a clerk to get a ticket to America. En route aboard the ship, Elizabeth falls in love with Nathan who is smitten with her and proposes as the ship sails past the Statue of Liberty. They marry, have two sons who die, then a daughter Ruth. Nathan has a clothing store which goes bankrupt thanks to the Depression. The loss of income and the death of his two sons causes him to drink to death. Elizabeth must now survive alone again. She sells soup on the street during the Depression to survive. Daughter Ruth grows up and meets a meat cutter named Max. They fall in love, but World War II intervenes. Max almost dies. After the war, Max and Ruth marry. They move with Elizabeth to California where granddaughter Rachel is born. Elizabeth becomes a cook at a restaurant near a Hollywood studio. Lenny Bruce and Frank Sinatra frequent the restaurant and are so impressed with her cooking, Sinatra convinces Elizabeth to become a chef at Foxy’s Restaurant in Las Vegas. Years later Elizabeth returns to live with Ruth and Max in Malibu. A severe flood knocks down their home. Max and Ruth perish. Elizabeth and Rachel survive. At the cemetery, Elizabeth's heart can't take the loss of her daughter, and dies of a heart attack.

THE STORY REVERTS BACK TO RACHEL’S STORY AT THE HOSPITAL: Since she's elderly and retired, Rachel feels the surgery would be pointless. After hearing the story of Rachel's ancestors, Lakeisha admonishes Rachel for giving up on life. She gives Rachel the epiphany that she should never give up. So Rachel decides to have the surgery. Afterwards the doctor tells her had the tumor been JUST ONE INCH to the left or right, it would have been inaccessible to surgery. Rachel still questions Lakeisha why she's still alive. Lakeisha happens to be an author. She suggests Rachel write about her ancestors. Rachel agrees and dedicates the story to her grandmother.