Summary

When John asked how far along Wamuhu was, she told him it had been three months. She worried her mother knew. He wanted her to wait three more weeks before telling her parents. Wamuhu laughed. Anxious, she said she must know if he would marry her. He promised to tell her the next night, secretly unsure why he was indecisive. After she left, John became weak and collapsed. Lying on the grass, he was overcome by anxiety. He did not want to tell his parents. Suddenly he started praying, but did not know whose God he was addressing.

When he woke up, he was disoriented. He stumbled home. He heard talking and laughing, saw fires and stars. He felt sick. He wished he could "defy all expectations" and marry Wamuhu, but knew his father would never approve (71). She was circumcised and uneducated. Besides...