Summary

Milkman buys a car and drives to Shalimar, Virginia. His car breaks down next to Solomon's General Store. He walks past two women who remind him of Pilate and goes into the store. The owner of the store, Mr. Solomon, tells Milkman an unnamed friend of his drove by earlier, leaving a message: “your day is here.”

Milkman realizes the friend is Guitar, and wonders why the message is the one given to victims of the Seven Days group. He sits outside, looking around, and sees a group of children standing in a circle. A boy is in the middle with his arms outstretched, turning like an airplane. The others sang a rhyme: “Jay the only son of Solomon / Come booba yalle, come booba tambee / Whirl about and touch the sun / Come booba yalle, come booba tambee...” (ch. 11, pg. 264). The game intensified as the children sang...