Summary

On her birthday, at the beginning of Chapter 32, Tru looks again at the card Patsy had sent her 10 years prior. She tries to imagine Patsy, but cannot envision her face. Tru is going to Mama G's house for her birthday celebration. She puts on a yellow dress, and when she looks at herself in the mirror, she "feels like she does not belong to herself, imprisoned by the lace sleeves" (276). As she is about to leave the house Tru encounters Marva who is pregnant again. Marva remarks that at least Mama G can make Tru dress differently than the boys she hangs out with. Tru explains that she is wearing a dress because Mama G has planned something special for her birthday. Marva barely acknowledges Tru's birthday, but uses it as an opportunity to launch into complaints about hers being a...