Summary

In Chapter 17, King and his father walk into the streets of New Orleans to find a spot for the family and Auntie Idris to watch the Mardi Gras parade. King is nervous about his father’s silence and about his plan to run away with Sandy that night. His father tells him they need to talk, and King fully expects him to say that he is disowning him, thus he pre-emptively says, “I’m sorry…for – for thinking I might be—” (232). But King’s father tells him that King’s sexuality is not the reason he is so unhappy with his son. Rather, he is disappointed that King hid Sandy from the town and put him in danger, then lied about it for days. He tells King that he does not know what to think about the issue of King’s sexuality yet...