Summary

Section 3. July introduces Maureen to his wife. The woman says nothing. Maureen shakes her hand and the hand of July’s mother, but neither attempts to welcome Maureen and her family into their village. July attempts to smooth things over by telling Maureen his wife says she’s happy to have her there. July’s wife had never touched a white woman before holding Maureen’s hand. She expressed her surprise at how different white people were in reality. She thought they would be prettier and wear beautiful dresses. She also thought Maureen’s hair was funny and ugly. Maureen used to send presents home for July’s family every time July returned to the village on leave, but she meets them for the first time in fifteen years. Maureen knows July’s woman in town. She is an independent black woman who speaks in...