Nina didn't get married, of course, because her beau saw her naked arm. Came up onto the porch when they were trying a new gown on her. Alta, now Alta was engaged to Luther, and you know what happened there. I'm 11 and am chopping apples in a hot, crowded kitchen listening to the talk of the women in my family while they baste the turkey, stir the conrbread, cream the corn, slice the yams.
Mother tips the pan of potatoes over the sink to drain off the steaming, milky water, and continues.
Now, Alta, well, she was going to marry Luther, he never was any good, though I met him when I was 13 and he was nice to me. That was when my sister and I spent the summer with him and Alta in Dysart, when my brother was born. I'll never forget Mother when she stepped off the train to pick us up. She had on a pale blue taffeta skirt, a white sating tucked blouse, a jacket with puffed sleeves and a broad peplum, and a white hat with netting that covered her face. It was 95 in the shade, and that's what she considered fitting for a train ride.