I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Chapter 26

Maya is afraid of what will happen when she sees her mother. She still thinks about Mr. Freeman. Her mother meets them at the train station and gets them settled in L.A. before going back to her home in San Francisco. Her father visits them sometimes, but only briefly, and always bringing gifts. Maya does not realize at the time how well her grandmother, who has lived her whole life in the tiny town of Stamps, adjusts to living in the big city. Then Momma leaves. Bailey and Maya are afraid: what will living with their parents be like? On the road to San Francisco, their mother sings and tells jokes. They are reunited with the Baxter family, still as fiesty as ever, though a little saddened since Grandfather Baxter is dead. One night their mother wakes them up and invites them to a party-just the three of them, in the bathroom. She gives them sweets, and they dance and tell jokes. Maya and Bailey cannot resist her, and fall in love with her all over again.

Mother is absolutely honest with them, no matter what question they ask. She has a temper, but she is fair. Maya knows a story of something that happened before she came to San Francisco. Her mother had a business partner who was not fulfilling his responsibilities. She got angry, and he called her a bitch. She shot him. He staggered toward her, and she shot him again-all she wanted was to be rid of him. He recovered, and good feelings remained between them: she had warned him she would shoot him, so she was only being fair.

World War II begins soon after Maya comes to San Francisco. Grandmother Baxter tells her not to worry, because Roosevelt is a good president. Mother marries Daddy Clidell, who is to be Maya's first real father figure. He is successful, and moves Bailey, Maya and Mother into their own house.