Chapters 3-4 Summary

In chapter 3, Ruth relates the story of her mother's life as it was told to her by her Aunt Sid. May was the oldest of eight children and therefore had the burden of the chores placed on her shoulders. One of May's brothers was deaf and moved to a deaf school when he was only six. As a child, May would often tell her sisters she was going to kill herself. May's main chore as a teenager was the laundry. Sid tells Ruby that May would often have her boyfriend, Willard Jenson, over while she did the laundry and they would dance among the piles of dirty clothes. Everyone liked Willard Jenson; he was a good looking and charming young man. When they finally married, most people thought it was because May was pregnant from all the time they spent alone...