Summary

At the start of Chapter 9, Phaedra is woken up by Hyacinth stirring in the middle of the night. Her grandmother tells her if she wants to see a baby born, then she has five minutes to get dressed and to come with her, and that a baby waits for no one once it is ready. Phaedra follows Hyacinth out of the house and up the hill to Ms. Husband’s house, Donna’s mother. When they get to the house there is a man smoking out on the veranda. It is too dark to tell who the man is, but Phaedra believes it is Father Loving by the sound of his voice, though she is too wary to ask. Hyacinth tells the man to go find someplace else to spend the night and to come back in the morning.

They are greeted...