Summary

The narrator introduces the town of Money, Mississippi and its unofficial “suburb” (12) Small Change, “a not-so-small collection of vinyl-sided, split-level ranch and shotgun houses” (12), where a family gathering was taking place. The gathering involved Wheat Bryant, his wife Charlene (also called Hot Mama Yeller for her CB handle); Wheat’s mother Carolyn (also called Granny C), who rode a motorized wheelchair; and Granny C’s brother’s youngest son Junior Junior (so named because his father, J.W. Milam, was called Junior). Granny C expressed regret for having told a lie years ago about a Black boy, to whom she referred using racial slurs, having done something “Bob and J.W.” (16) insisted he did.

At a later point in time, Deputy Sheriff Delroy Digby received a call to go to Junior Junior Milam’s house. Junior Junior’s wife Daisy said that she...