Chapter 2 Summary and Analysis

Though Granny wants Herb and Mama to live with her, they set up house in a two room apartment on Park Road in Northwest Washington D. C. since Herb liked the city. The only convenience is the long hallway which allowed Herb to avoid waking Mama when he returned from work in the early hours of the morning, and he read until Mama woke. When Mama gets pregnant shortly before their first anniversary, Granny rushes to stay with Mama, worried about her daughter being alone at night while Herb worked. When Granny hires Jensy Custis, a black woman who worked for her in Ballston, to clean the house once a week, Jensy and Granny dissuade Mama from giving birth in a hospital. Herb buys a second rollaway bed and moves to the living room, causing Granny to praise him for being...