I Birthed a Nation
- Delphine wakes up early the next morning to get to work on the kitchen.
- There's so much to do, and she's the one (the tall one, the big one, the old one) who has to do it.
- Sigh.
- But she gets to work like she always does.
- Soon, Fern and Vonetta join her and they sort out all the papers, poems, and letters with all kinds of fancy fonts.
- Vonetta picks out one poem in particular called "I Birthed a Nation" and guesses that it's about them: Cecile's daughters.
- They are so moved by this poem, which they interpret as the story of Mother Africa losing her children, just like Cecile lost them, they decide to recite it for the performance at the rally.
- Then there's a knock at the door.
- Knock, knock.
- Silence.
- Another knock.
- Feeling worried? Don't worry; it's just Hirohito with an "Oriental lady" (27.14). Spoiler: the woman is his mother.
- Delphine invites them in but says their mother isn't home.
- It's the first time she's called Cecile her "mother" to anyone but Vonetta and Fern, she realizes.
- Of course Hirohito and his mom already know that Cecile isn't there because she was arrested. Word travels fast in a tight-knit community like theirs.
- Hirohito's mom (Mrs. Woods) has brought dinner for them, which they eat hungrily.
- They have to stick together, Mrs. Woods says. They know the same things.