The word "no" had become a familiar refrain by the time shadows stretched long across the pavement. Bank tellers, shop owners, office managers, each polite rejection had chipped away at my optimism, but not my resolve.

I'd heard worse than "we're not hiring right now."

The last man I'd spoken to at the hardware store had been kinder than most.

"Try Finch Construction," he had said, wiping grease from his hands with a rag. "Heard they need someone for the books."

After several wrong turns ...