1920s: A baby is born, Christmas is coming and Nash is starting to panic

 

As the news of the stock market crash reach the world, Nash is more worried than he lets on. Josephine has never been one to care too much of economics and numbers and politics, but Nash has to, and he knows how much they owe the bank, and how much less money they now have when the stock he's invested in has plummeted in value. What is worse, is that his clients money has done the same.

The bank isn't pleased.

It's also not doing very well. As many other banks at the time, they have loaned out too much money to too frivolous investments, and they now see the worth of their loans dwindling - and those who have money in the banks more eager to remove them. During the depression 9000 banks in the US failed and had to close. Several of them overnight. It is not that bad for the bank Nash works for, but that doesn't stop them from laying off people, and Nash is one of the ones being laid off.

He returns home devasted and embarrassed, but tries to keep up appearances for the children. Only after they are put to bed does he tell Josephine about what happened. At first she's shocked, then angry that they could possibly do something like that. But surely he can just speak to his brother-in-law who owns part of the bank, or go to the unemployment office and get a new job - a better job - where they know to value his vast knowledge. "You'll figure it out, I'm sure. Besides, Christmas is coming and you wouldn't be working anyway. You have time to find something new!" 

To his credit, Nash does try to live up to his wife's view of him. He spends the next day sitting outside the unemployment office. He sees the secretary looking at him, and people come and go, but after waiting in line for a full day, the office closes before he even gets inside. There are simply too many people in line, too many people who, like him, has been laid off as businesses crashed and went belly up. "Perhaps you can come back after Christmas," the secretary says as she gets up to leave.

So Nash does the second best thing, he goes to beg his sister to sway Rhett to give him his old job back. Or any job really. He's fine with being demoted as long as he can pay his bills, and the payment on his loan. Morgan seems sympathetic enough when he speaks to her, but as Rhett comes home he puts his foot down. How would it look if he stepped in to help his brother-in-law when so many others were let go too? When there were others with better results than he had on the stock market? No, he will not under any circumstances sway the bank to keep him on, nor will he influence the bank to give him extra time to pay his mortgage. He even refuses to lend Nash money. Nash is forced to go home with nothing to show for his efforts.

He walks home slowly, unsure of how to tell Josephine of how badly today has gone, but as he arrives he finds himself off the hook as she goes into labour. In a flash, Abigail is called over to help with dinner, dishes and the children, as Josephine retreats back to her room in order to deliver the baby. Nash is in panic, his paranoia getting the better of him again and again, but he forces himself to keep it together for his children, distracting them the best he can from the sounds coming from upstairs.

And then, a new sound, and the family gathers in the bedroom to meet the new bundle-of-joy. Nash wishes he could just rejoice at their little Christmas present without worrying how in the world he is going to feed his new born son. He wishes he was more successful, and feel a new and sudden urge to be as he is suddenly plunged into an early midlife crisis. He cannot fail his family, he has to find a way!

As the kids go to bed, and Josephine falls exhausted into bed, Nash goes to check the post. He knows the bills are coming, and as he expected they are waiting for him in the mail box. 

§15 000 in bills.
§4 900 on the account.
And tomorrow is Christmas Eve. 

How in the world is he going to fix this?