The Reckoning

In Part 2, the narrative jumps back in time to 1925. Pete is 22, just graduated from West Point, and spending a few weeks at the family farm near Clanton before reporting to Fort Riley in Kansas. He is invited to Memphis by a friend and attends a debutante ball where he meets Liza Sweeney. Liza is 18 and dreams of traveling to places like Paris and Rome. Liza becomes pregnant, and the couple elopes. Their first child, Joel, is born in an Army hospital in Germany. Stella is born two years later at Fort Riley. Pete and Liza are happy with Pete’s career in the 26th cavalry. They want more children but are unsuccessful, and Liza has two miscarriages.

Pete’s father dies shortly before the stock market crash of 1929 that ushered in the Great Depression. His mother dies in 1932, and Pete resigns his commission and moves back to the family farm, although he remains in the Army reserves.

By 1933, Pete has restored the fortunes of the farm. Nineva and Amos are family servants. They have a grandson, 15-year-old Jupe, who often helps around the farm. He is fascinated by Liza, but shy around her.