Part One: Chapters 6 & 7 Summary

Florence wakes in the morning to discover that her father has left in the middle of the night with his box. Newspapers announce that the segregation boycott starts today. Worried about Florence's haggard, unkempt appearance, Mimi takes her to the beauty parlor for a much needed haircut. Mimi is concerned about Mama and asks a lot of questions about her recent behavior. Florence considers all the things that worry her about Mama but doesn't mention any of them. She simply says, "She's behaving" (p. 120). When Mimi doesn't stop condemning Mama, Florence finally snaps and insults her grandmother's favorite hat. Hurt, Mimi sends Florence out of the house and down to Zenie's for the rest of the afternoon. Zenie is not pleased when Florence joins her for the walk home, but lets her fall into step beside her. As they...