Momma decides to take Maya and Bailey back to California so that they can be with their parents. Maya suspects that Momma is hiding from them the real reason for their departure, or, as she calls it, "The Truth" (194), which is her fear for their safety. Momma spends hours sewing new clothes for her grandchildren and plans to accompany Maya to Los Angeles, where their father lives, and Bailey is supposed to join them a month later when money for his trip becomes available.

Although she doesn't voice her observations, Momma sees that Maya and Bailey are different from other Black children in Stamps. As a thirteen-year-old, Bailey has developed a habit of speaking with an English accent, emulating his favorite book characters, D'Artagnan and the Count of Monte Cristo. One afternoon, he comes home shocked after being forced to help retrieve the dead body of a Black man from the pond. The experience shakes him and "raised the question of worth and values, of aggressive inferiority and aggressive arrogance" (198). Afterward, Bailey becomes sullen and withdrawn, and he can't understand why white people have such hatred toward Black people. Maya guesses that Momma began making arrangements for their trip to California the same night.