Summary

In Chapter 17, Hortensia says yes to Beulah’s request to bury her grandmother’s ashes at the tree. She and Marion attend the small ceremony, but Hortensia goes back inside afterward with a headache. Marion and Beulah get to talking about the land-claims situation. Beulah reveals she herself is a lawyer and is pregnant. Beulah begins to talk about how people were scattered from the land, and how blacks were tortured using a giant wheel designed to break bones. Marion later checks on the progress of her house. Later, Marion and Hortensia get to talking about life and aging. Hortensia thinks Marion romantically fancies Dr. Mama, but Marion thinks she is too old for romance. Hortensia asserts that getting old is nothing more than more and more aches. As the conversation turns to children, Hortensia urges Marion to face her children. Marion feels as...