Pink Convertibles and Running Water

Feb 6,1957 The smell of coal smoke permeated the warm school house as my teacher, Mrs. Walker, led me to the side door nearest my first grade classroom. She was nervous and shaking. As I looked out the glass pane wondering why she had brought me here, she leaned down to my level, “Your mom has just gone to the hospital. She won’t be gone too long and she’ll bring back your babies.”

My babies! I knew something BIG was going to happen soon, but the abstract was becoming a reality and I was riding the wave of excitement. Suddenly, I was held in high regard by my classmates. I doubt that there ever were twins born in Fairdealing, let alone a boy and a girl! I wore my new status proudly--Big Sister.

At 17, my sister lived in the dorm at college and got word that Mama had gone into labor and Daddy was taking her to the hospital. Her boyfriend offered to drive her in his pink convertible to meet daddy and mama at Baptist Hospital. I will never forget that pink convertible.

In those days, no one could go into delivery with the woman in labor--not the husband, not the daughter, no one. Daddy, my sister and her boyfriend went to the cafeteria to get coffee and wait. Noticing how big Daddy’s hands were when he picked up his coffee cup, the young man commented, “I hope I’m a man like him some day”. Our Dad was strong in body and spirit.

Mama was in the hospital for several days, which gave Daddy time to lay new flooring in the kitchen and install a sink and faucet. Until then, we used the cistern on the side porch for our water. These babies were going to improve all of our lives!

The next few days, my brother Johnny and I would spend with aunts, grandparents and neighbors. I was lonesome for mama. I never wanted to be away from her. At Aunt Mira’s, I embarrassed Johnny by crumbling my cornbread into my white beans at supper. He gave me a look. But that’s the way I ate them at home and Aunt Mira didn’t seem to notice or mind. Another night we stayed at Miss Pearl’s, our neighbor across the road. We both had to sleep in the same bed and of course, I peed on it. . . and Johnny.

Our home at this time was a “shotgun” house that had once been a log cabin, and was now covered with white clapboard. The first room was the living room with a Warm Morning stove in the middle of it. We burned coal and I still love that smell. The room had a couch, a chair and a rocking chair. The next room was the kitchen. There was a fireplace that spread ashes everywhere, so it was rarely used. The small back bedroom was where Daddy, Mama and I slept. They were in a bed on one side of the room that barely squeezed between the walls. I slept in a half bed on the other side. There was a window on each side of the room. No curtains. The two bassinets would have to fit between the two beds.

Upstairs, my two brothers shared a room. One tiny window looked into the front yard where three “climbing” trees stood. I spent many summer days climbing my favorite tree and collecting locust shells that were stuck on the bark. They were treasured finds!

Our sweet sister’s goal was to have everything cheerful and cozy when Mama arrived with the twins. The day before Mama came home, she drove from college to the house to get it ready for Mama’s arrival. She stayed up all night cleaning, beautifying the fireplace, sweeping, mopping, sewing curtains and preparing the bassinets. They would be placed strategically, so Mama could easily sit up in bed and see the babies’ faces.

Through the night, our little home transformed into a doll house. All the changes are magnified in my memory as I walked through the house for the first time since the day my teacher gave me the exciting news.

The kitchen fireplace glowed with a cheery fire that reflected on the new burgundy and beige flooring. I saw cozy, beige curtains hung at the bedroom windows, the magical bassinets adorned in blue and pink pastels and waiting for the new tiny bundles who would change our lives forever.

~Nora Davis