Chapters X-XII Summary and Analysis

Michael goes into Valentino's bedroom. Valentino tries to talk to him, worried he is looking at the photographs of his girlfriend Tabitha. The thought of Tabitha sends Valentino into a story about how they met. In Kakuma they attended the same Home Economics class run by Miss Spatula. Tabitha was unusual among the Sudanese in that her mother refused to allow her to marry early and instead encouraged her to learn. Such an upbringing gave her the opportunity to move to the USA, and she settled with her brothers in Seattle. Valentino states that many of the Sudanese in America want a Sudanese wife but find they have to travel back to Sudan to get one. For this reason Tabitha was coveted by all the Sudanese men. When Valentino moved to America, he got back in contact with her...