Notes from the Deposition of Connie George, Chief Nurse Officer of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, describe Momma as a caring, but oddly so, neonatal nurse. The chief nurse recalls that Momma was too attached to the babies in her care. At the time of her employ, Momma’s husband—presumably Mary’s father—passed away, and Momma was not the same when she returned to work. She started “getting really agitated with the new mothers; she even started singing and praying hard over the preemies in intensive care” (79). Ms. George let Momma go, and some time afterward, Momma visited Ms. George with her new daughter, Mary. The nurse recalls “never seeing a new mother look so, well, regular, after giving birth. She was glowing. Good for her I thought. Seemed like having her little girl was helping her get back on track” (79).  

Ted accompanies Mary to Brooklyn Tech where she plans to take a practice SAT. The woman at the registration table questions Mary, and Mary must admit that she does not attend school, or have an ID or graphing calculator. The woman finishes processing the other students and then returns to Mary, who cannot even provide her address, for fear Ms.