Summary

27. As she and Marcus arrive in Memphis, Tennessee, Joy recalls how their driver suddenly and inexplicably stopped by the side of the road for two hours. “Is there any greater mystery than the separateness of each person?” (194), she wonders. Then, after getting lost in Memphis, they find themselves spending the night in a dirty barn, in the morning watching a bird of prey capture a rodent. Desperate for something to eat and for water, they approach a run-down house where a woman wearing angel wings is watching them. The woman introduces herself as Darcie and welcomes them to her home, which she calls The Mansion. Joy’s narration suggests that for a while, she and Marcus are desperate to just take care of the needs of the body; getting to Joy’s mother seems to have been forgotten. As Darcie is showing...