I went into the baby’s room and picked him up and brought him back to the bed and sat down upon it and gave him a breast but he wouldn’t take it now. He was hiccuping from crying. I watched Malcolm packing.

“Be sure and see Pepper Allen when you get there,” I said. “You can take her out and buy her some peppermint ice cream. Her little cutey favorite.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Rhoda. What are you talking about now?” He had the suitcase in his hand. He was leaving. I bent my head down over the baby and began to cry. Tears were rolling down my face and falling on the baby’s head. I was about to drown my tiny little baby in my terrible, terrible tears. “Please don’t go,” I sobbed. “I love you so much. I can’t stand it if you leave. We’ll go tomorrow together. Tomorrow we’ll go to Atlanta and start our life. Oh, Malcolm, please don’t leave me.” He put the suitcase down upon the floor and came back to the bed and put his arm around my shoulder. With his other hand he began to touch the baby’s back with his finger. “I won’t get an abortion,” I said. “I swear I won’t. I don’t know what made me say a thing like that.”

“I’m sorry I got mad. I really need to get out of here, Rhoda. I can’t work for your daddy another day. I’m so goddamn sick of being dirty.”

“Okay, we’ll leave tomorrow. We’ll leave as soon as we get packed in the morning. Call Minx and make sure the apartment’s ready.”

“It’s ready. It’s a new development they just finished building.”