1930s: Forced to move

As bills pile up Josephine sees more and more of her furniture vanish. First the piano (they weren't using it that much anyway), then the desk (why keep it when there is no typewriter?), Josephine's pearls (I'll replace them I promise!) some of the artwork on the walls (they can put up pictures of the kids), then the vanity table in their bedroom, the Tiffany lamps Josephine felt such pride for... With every sale something breaks in Josephine. It's not the things per say - but the house no longer feels welcoming, just a stark reminder of what they no longer have. Ashamed, and unwilling to admit the truth, Josephine no longer ask her friends or family to come over and visit, but instead prefer to take the children to visit them, keeping up appearances as much as possible.

It's also taking a toll on their marriage. Nash knows he's supposed to provide for his family and feels like a failure when he can't, and while Josephine wants to be supportive and unquestioning, every sale is preceded by another fight.

After every fight, Josephine feels horrible. It's not that Nash doesn't try, and Josephine knows it. Every morning he goes to the unemployment office, taking any odd job they offer. Rarely they have jobs for his skillset, but he no longer has any standards. If it will put food on the table, he is happy enough, but with him constantly being tense, he often fails the jobs he takes, and his rating as a worker is not moving up. Most of the jobs go to men with more muscle, more grit and less manicured hands. Besides, even when he does succeed the pay is too low to help pay the bills, and so there is another fight, another thing sold, and then the guilt for them both.

More and more, Nash is thinking about moving somewhere else. Somewhere he can get a job, where his family can thrive once more. He tries to breach it with Josephine, but at first she won't hear of it. This is their home. Their house. That they, themselves, had built. Their family lives in this town, everyone they know. How could they possibly move? Then one day, as the girls are giving her a run for her money and baby Arthur is even more intense than usual, her mother, having a sixth sense about these things, is suddenly at the door. As Josephine is busy upstairs with the kids, Nash lets her in to wait as he heads out the door to see if there are any jobs for him today. Abigail is in shock. The house, once so cared for and welcoming feels empty and cold. What on earth is going on? 

Josephine is mortified! She never wanted her mother to see this, but instead of admitting the truth, she hears herself lie: "I meant to tell you," she says with a gaiety she does not feel. "Nash has been transferred to a new post in San Myshuno. I know it's sudden, but it has gone so fast and I'm all up in arms with all the packing. I promise I did intend to come and see you before we leave." 

A part of her cannot believe she's lying to her mother, but it's too late to take back now. She'll never be able to look her mother in the eye again if she does, and so the option to move has now become more than a suggestion but a reality. Abigail is, of course, heartbroken. All her babies will now be gone from town. Anna in San Myshuno or galivanting around the world, Alice in Del Sol Valley, William in Britechester and now Josephine too? And with her grandchildren! She's so upset that she does not even think to question her daughter's story. "I am so sorry you had to find out like this," Josephine tries to comfort her. "But times are hard, and we have to go where Nash's job takes him. We'll return when the bank opens up again."

That night, Nash is relieved. As hard as he worked to keep it from happening, he knew it was only a matter of time before the bank foreclosed on their house. This way, at least they'll have some control over the sale. "It will be better once we're in the city," he promises. "There must be more jobs to be had there. And it's not like you won't have any family. You'll have Anna. I'm sure the kids will love playing with her dog." He hopes he's right, but even if there are more jobs in the city, he is also competing against more people. A third of the population in San Myshuno is unemployed at the moment, but still... there are still functioning banks. Perhaps he can get a job at one of them. He must at least try.

They start by selling all their furniture, and most of everything else as well. Even most of the kids' toys, a part from a few favourites that they can pack and carry themselves. The last night, they hold a quiet birthday celebration for the twins, on the table they've just sold but that has not been picked up yet. Josephine has struggled with what she's had, and after reading about it in a magazine, has sown new dresses for them out of a bag of flour. The girls don't know of course, but love the fact that they match. Josephine is just mortified, but pretends to be happy for their sake.

They sleep on the floor that night, in sleeping bags that Nash has arranged for them. The kids think it's a great adventure, but Josephine has a hard time relaxing, and toss and turn with worry and grief and worry. What is worse, or better, she's not sure, is that she's already pregnant again. She doesn't quite know what to feel about it. If this was hard with three children and an infant, what will it be when there is yet another mouth to feed?

Things are what they are, however, and the next morning they're off to San Myshuno to an apartment Nash has secured only by phone. They have not even seen pictures, and when they arrive it's worse than Josephine's worst nightmare. She imagined something like their home in Britechester. Cramped, not really to her taste, but at least proper. This is not it. The carpet is stained by things she does not even want to know about, the walls have no covering and the rooms are even smaller than the ones in Britechester. Looking around what will be her new home, all Josephine wants to do is cry. "It will get better, I promise it will," Nash says, but Josephine isn't sure she believes him anymore.

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