Doctah, Tea Cake ain’t tellin’ yuh everything lak he oughta. We wuz caught in dat hurricane out heah, and Tea Cake over-strained hisself swimmin’ such uh long time and holdin’ me up too, and walkin’ all dem miles in de storm and then befo’ he could git his rest he had tuh come git me out de water agin and fightin’ wid dat big ole dawg and de dawg bitin’ ’im in de face and everything. Ah been ’spectin’ him tuh be sick befo’ now.”

Through the screaming wind they heard things crashing and things hurtling and dashing with unbelievable velocit

We’se goin’ back tuh Miami where folks is civilised.”

White doctors always gits mah money. Ah don’t go in no nigger store tuh buy nothin’ neither. Colored folks don’t know nothin’ ’bout no business. Deliver me!”

The next morning Janie asked like a woman, “You still love ole Nunkie?”

She got to the place she could shoot a hawk out of a pine tree and not tear him up. Shoot his head off. She got to be a better shot than Tea Cake.

Tea Cake must be hunting all over the city for that fish. She kept that thought in front of her in order not to think too much.

Ah done lived Grandma’s way, now Ah means tuh live mine.”

No’m. And nobody wouldn’t marry Tea Cake tuh starve tuh death lessen it’s somebody jes lak him—ain’t used to nothin’. ’Course he always keep hisself in changin’ clothes. Dat long-legged Tea Cake ain’t got doodly squat. He ain’t got no business makin’ hisself familiar wid nobody lak you. Ah said Ah wuz goin’ to tell yuh so yuh could know.”

Then in a moment it was gone. Tea Cake wasn’t strange. Seemed as if she had known him all her life.

When Janie emerged into her mourning white, she had hosts of admirers in and out of town.

They came to the store and ostentatiously looked over whatever she was doing and went back to report to him at the house.

Laughing at him, and now putting the town up to do the same. Joe Starks didn’t know the words for all this, but he knew the feeling. So he struck Janie with all his might and drove her from the store.

He felt like rushing forth with the meat knife and chopping off the offending hand. That night he ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store.

liver-lipted nigger ain’t done took and beat mah baby already! Ah’ll take a stick and salivate ’im!”

Brother Starks our Mayor until we kin see further.”

Ah thought you would ’preciate good treatment. Thought Ah’d take and make somethin’ outa yuh. You think youse white folks by de way you act.”

Us lived dere havin’ fun till de chillun at school got to teasin’ me ’bout livin’ in de white folks’ back-yard.