Chapters 37-40 Summary

The years pass and still Amabelle waits for an answer to her letter to Doctor Javier. Amabelle spends her days with Man Rapadou sewing dresses for women who pay her with gourds, a meal, or a smile. She enjoys the simplicity of the work as her body gets old and tired. She thinks often of Father Romain but only sees him in Cap Haitien on the day the streets erupt in joy over the assassination of General Trujillo. The dictator has been shot as he was driving down a highway bearing his name. The celebration is the first time since the reporting to the justice of the peace years before that Amabelle has seen a crowd remembering the slaughter. The people dance and cry and bang pots. Someone refers to Amabelle as "Man Amabelle," and with this sign of respect she...