Chapters 21 and 22 Summary

Chapter 21 - Enter Marietta - Narration reveals that after finishing high school, Essie's daughter, Marietta, moves north to be with her mother. A lengthy narration refers to what "north" meant to black people from the south - freedom to ride the bus anywhere they wanted, being able to shop in the same stores and drink sodas from the same soda fountains, and a place in which black and white young people went to school together.

At the apartment, Laura and Buddy flirt with each other while they're waiting for Essie to come back from the bus depot with Marietta. They say that business at the church is getting better now that they're moved into their new space, and discuss how Essie's getting too holy and that Buddy is the real brains behind the church's success. Buddy asks Laura for money so...