Summary

In Chapter 9, Viola arrives at Althea's Kitchen and Grocery, meeting David, her childhood best friend. The restaurant was the site of Althea and Proctor's crimes—where they stole charity funds raised by the community to help victims of a flood. David arrives with a chainsaw and notices the popped blood vessel in Viola's eye, evidence of her bulimic episode in the motel room. David and Viola use the saw to detach a piece of wood from the restaurant's bar, which Viola thinks Proctor would like to have as a keepsake, because he built the bar himself. She recalls becoming friends with David when she was six and her mother, a teacher's aide, brought him home to play with her. David had a brother that died, and after Althea's mother passed away, David told Viola about “Olam Habah” (67), the Jewish conception of the afterlife...