Cashier

The cashier is a young, colored (mixed-race) African woman who works at the grocery store across the street from Dr. von Leinsdorf s home. When she delivers razors to Dr. von Leinsdorf s apartment for him, she refuses a tip and seems happy to help. She also agrees to bring his groceries to him two or three times a week.

The cashier has a small frame and a delicate face. Her skin is not dark, and Dr. von Leinsdorf sees it as "the subdued satiny color of certain yellow wood." She wears her hair drawn back in a chignon. There is a gap between her front teeth that shows when she smiles.

The cashier lives with her mother, a laundry worker, in one of the black townships outside of town. She is one of nine children and quit school when her mother could not afford the required clothing...