Call Your Daughter Home

The narrative shifts to Annie Coles, the wife of the wealthiest plantation owner in town. Annie comes from the planter class herself and has always lived in luxury. Today, she is getting used to her new telephone and its ringing signals. She finds technology, such as the phone or automobile, interesting and sees it opening up a world of possibilities. Annie has an entrepreneurial spirit. She manages the Sewing Circle in part to build the confidence of her younger son, Lonnie, who has a stuttering problem. He doubts himself but is very good at building the business.

Annie’s thoughts are interrupted by a telephone call from Lonnie. He says that a store in Charleston wants to stock the Sewing Circle’s menswear line. Annie is delighted. As a reward, she goes up to the attic to search out her father’s pocket watch, because she intends to give it to her son later that day.

After finding the watch, Annie sets off in her automobile for the Sewing Circle. When she arrives, she sees that Lonnie is flustered about the order and apprehensive about giving a sales pitch to his potential customers in Charleston. Under the pretext of giving the speech on his behalf, Annie offers to write down all the thoughts Lonnie wants to present. When several pages of notes are complete, Annie instructs her son to memorize these words and tells him that he must do the talking at the meeting. She will travel with him for moral support.

Annie thinks of her five children. Lonnie has always been in his older brother Eddie’s shadow. Her eldest son, Buck, died by suicide, and her two daughters blame Annie and their father for his death. Annie’s husband, Edwin, banished his daughters from the house after this accusation. Annie is now estranged from both her daughters, but she would like to reconnect with them. Because of the new telephone directory, she knows that they have since married and live in Charleston. Annie decides to call Sarah because she is more approachable than the combative Molly. She is about to make the call when Edwin arrives home.

The story switches to the point of view of Oretta Bootles. Retta is the housekeeper for the Coles family, as her mother was before her. Her family was once enslaved by the family before the Civil War, but they now live in an independent Black community called Shake Rag.

As she walks home after having Mary foisted on her, Retta is worried about the child’s survival. She is religious and believes in signs and omens. Earlier that day, a swarm of redbirds (cardinals) appeared on the tree in the Coleses’ front yard. They are omens of death, and Retta worries that Mary might die. Because Retta is elderly, she has experience dealing with Mary’s symptoms and brews some worm tea to flush out the parasites. The child is listless because she is so weak but is also fearful of being separated from her mother.

When Retta’s husband, Odell, returns home, he immediately pitches in to help. Odell lost his leg years earlier in a boiler explosion while he was shoveling coal on a train. Despite his injury, Odell still takes odd jobs around town and wants to make himself useful. He builds a fire so that Retta can give Mary a proper bath. In addition to being sick, Mary is starving, which is making her condition worse. Retta thinks, “The child’s being eaten up from the inside, and them worms need something other than human flesh to feed on. Tomorrow I got to get something of substance in her stomach that can pass through” (51).

Gertrude is still in the swamp, wondering whether the large alligator will eat Alvin’s remains or not. If the reptile has fed recently, she might go a month without eating again. Gertrude resigns herself to her fate if her crime is discovered. A big storm is coming that might churn up everything in the swamplands. She goes back to the cabin to wait until the storm passes.

The next morning, Gertrude expects the arrival of Alvin’s father, who is their landlord. He will demand to know where his son is because he’s due to work at the sawmill. Gertrude braces for the worst, but because of the flooding, Alvin’s father doesn’t appear.

Retta begins by musing about the ghost of her friend, a white woman named Mrs. Walker, that she sometimes sees in the lane outside her house. Shortly before she died, Mrs. Walker gave all her chickens to Retta. The ghost never speaks but just stands and observes life passing by. As the day begins, workers are clearing storm debris from the streets. Odell and Retta load Mary into their wagon and head toward the Coles house. Odell then goes fishing while Retta takes Mary inside and places her in her room. Retta has her own key, so she knows that no one will disturb the child, but Mr. Coles walks into the kitchen before Retta can get Mary settled.

She explains Gertrude’s situation to her employer, and he allows Mary to stay three days but says that they shouldn’t trouble Mrs. Coles with the news. Then, Mr. Coles produces a shiny nickel and gives it to Mary. Retta looks on warily as he says, “I think I ought to get a hug for big money like that, don’t you?” (66).

Gertrude cleans the now-empty hovel from top to bottom to eradicate everything that remains of Alvin’s presence. She salvages whatever belongings she can and packs them for the move into town. She hasn’t eaten in days and gratefully consumes the beans and bacon that Retta gave her.

By Monday, Gertrude has everything prepared for her move when she hears Alvin’s father, Otto, coming up the walk. He is belligerent and demands to know where his son is. Gertrude protests that she hasn’t seen Alvin since Friday. Otto throws a tantrum but can’t do anything about the situation. Gertrude thinks, “I want to tell him, I put your boy down, Otto, but I don’t. I see the man for what he is. No worse, no better than his son” (71).

After Otto leaves, Gertrude walks to the swamp to see if Alvin’s body has surfaced. She spies a fragment of the cloth from his shirt. Climbing a tree limb, Gertrude intends to lift the garment using the tip of her shotgun. She realizes that the water below her is rippling with a hundred newly hatched baby alligators. Alvin was probably their first meal. Their mother is sitting on the empty nest, looking directly at Gertrude.

On Sunday, Retta sends Odell to church without her. She knows the neighbors will be gossiping about the white girl in her house. Later that day, the minister arrives for dinner, and Retta believes that Odell asked him to come by. She assumes he has come to criticize her for interfering in white people’s affairs. Instead, he offers support and quotes a passage from scripture that cautions Retta to be wary of “spiritual wickedness in high places” (77-78).

On Monday morning, Mary is strong enough to walk, and Retta gives her some yarn to crochet a blanket while the housekeeper works in the Coles home. Retta and her Indigenous helper, Nelly, are busy preserving food for the Homecoming Camp in October. This is a seven-day annual harvest festival during which all the local people gather to socialize and feast.

At noon, they have to prepare the midday meal for Mr. Coles and his dozen workers. Retta hears a noise coming from Mary’s room: The girl has accidentally kicked over the chamber pot. When Retta looks out the window, she sees the farm hands and Mr. Coles cleaning themselves up at the pump. She also notices a new nickel on the windowsill. Mr. Coles sees her, and she closes the curtains.