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After a few minutes of quietly watching Marie be so gentle with the beautiful set, drinking from one cup and feeding her doll with another, Ethel got us started on the subject we needed to discuss. “I talked to the lawyer that helped me with the Frank mess. He will be happy to tie up the loose ends of Momma’s things. He said we need to agree on what to sell and what to keep in the family. He also said he could represent Caroline at Dix Hill for however long she will live there. Any problems with letting him take care of the legal part of this? We have to pay him, of course. But that can come from the sale of anything before we split the money.”
We all agreed that seemed to be the best thing since none us of knew how to do any of that.
Annie remembered to ask the most important question. “Ethel, I don’t think we ever asked if you wanted to sell the house and farm. I am sorry we did not. As you said, this is your home.”
I started to answer for Ethel because we had talked about this, but Ethel spoke quickly. “I don’t want to live here. This is not really my house, it’s Momma’s. When Marie was born, my plan was to get married and move away with Frank. You know that story. Frank wanted his parents’ money more than he wanted me. I stayed here to help Momma, and she liked having Marie close by. Now that Momma is gone, I couldn’t stand to be here seeing her in every corner of this house and land and know she’s not here. I need a new life for Marie and me. The sale of all this will make it possible for us to do that.”
Annie reminisced a moment. “I know what you mean, Ethel. When I see the swing out front and the fence that will be covered in yellow roses, it makes make me sad. The Virginia Creeper, that red vine beside the porch, now looks sorrowful to me. Remember when we used to climb that vine to get up on the roof? We could see the whole county up there. That vine was like us sisters. Changing every season. Growing green leaves in the spring and a stronger trunk in the summer. Then turning red in the fall before dropping its leaves. It hung there waiting to come back to life after winter. And then the flat land where the barn used to be. It is all too gloomy to stay around. Dianne, how about you?”
“This morning I was sitting on the front porch with my coffee and a black car went by and paused in front of the house. I just stared at it. A sharp memory came alive. It was almost as if time stopped that day the Army came to tell us that Daddy was killed in the war. Caroline was in Lila’s arms when Momma fell apart. Ethel, do you remember Lila?” Ethel nodded.
Dianne continued, “She was so easy with Caroline. I think Lila was the reason Caroline wanted to take care of children. That memory struck me in the gut this morning like someone punched me. I felt sick. At that point I knew it was the right thing to sell. Ethel is right. She usually is.”
By the end of the week we had written a list of everything we wanted to sell and each of us had our own list of what we wanted to take with us. We decided the house with the ten acres could be sold separately from the ninety acres of farmland. Since the crash in 1929, farming was a terrible way to make a living, but maybe someone would buy it with hopes of things getting better. Thank goodness Momma had been sensible with her money. She only owed the bank for last year’s seeds. There was no mortgage on the land. Momma never borrowed money to pay the farm workers. She paid them out of her savings every year.
On Friday, March 18, 1932, the Nash sisters, except for Caroline, signed the legal papers to settle the estate of Florence Nash. The lawyer signed for Caroline, as he was authorized to do. After more discussion we had agreed to divide any money we got from the sale of property four ways. If we did not make enough money for a fourth to cover Caroline’s medical bills, we would divide the money differently. Annie insisted that she didn’t need the money. She had a good job, paid her rent easily, and there were men around willing to buy her what else she might need.
Joe had a secure job at the mill, and I made money raising vegetables and sewing for other families. If need be, whatever was earned from the sale of the farm would be used to get Ethel settled in a new place and pay for Caroline’s care at Dix Hill.
The following week we packed up what we wanted from the house. Annie’s car was big enough for her to carry all her things back to Washington. Joe came from Burlington with a horse and wagon big enough to take what was on my list. Ethel would stay in the house as long as she needed to. We hoped she would take time to find the right house for her little family. We set a date to come back in the summer. Most likely it would take several months for anything to sell. It would be our excuse to help her pack up the rest of the dishes, linens, and furniture, and we could try again to visit Caroline.
As we stood in the front yard for one more goodbye, I decided to tell them my news. “I read somewhere that when a person dies another one is born. Well, that might be true. Joe and I are finally going to have a baby! If all goes well, Marie will have a cousin at the end of the summer.”
Tears trailed from Annie’s eyes. I couldn’t tell if they were happy or sad tears. She grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to her. “Oh, Dianne, this is so wonderful! I am happy beyond words for you and Joe!”
Ethel said, “Woo boy. What a load you will have on your hands! Those ladies in mill town are going to want to take over for you! They will boss you around in all new ways.”
She paused, then joined the Nash girl hug. “I guess I am gonna have to live closer to you so Marie will know her cousin. Hey, Joe, you got enough room in that house for all of us?”
Joe yelled back from the wagon, “I think if you are all coming, we’ve got to find a bigger house!”
I put my arm around Annie and walked her to the car. “Would you come too? Would you live with us?”
Drying her tears through a smile she said, “We’ll see. I am not sure I could find a good job in Burlington and certainly won’t find rich men! But we will see.”
As Annie got into her car, Ethel started belting out a song to the tune of America the Beautiful. She obviously had practiced it a few times, but not many.
How beautiful the Nash girls are,
With family waves of love,
For moving away from memories
To new ones that we’ll love!
Nash Girls! Oh, Nash Girls!
Let’s shed our grace on thee
And crown ourselves with sisterhood
From D.C. to Raleigh!
Annie backed her car around to leave but paused to hear the song. Joe and I pulled ourselves up on the packed wagon. I shouted as tears were pouring, “Sing it one more time, Ethel! I want to have it on my mind all the way home!”
So Ethel belted it out once more.
How beautiful the Nash girls are,
