LYMON: I see why you gonna call it the Good Shepherd Church. You dreaming about them sheep people. I can see that easy.

BOY WILLIE: Doaker say you sent some white man past the house to look at that piano. Say he was going around to all the colored people’s houses looking to buy up musical instruments.

AVERY: Yeah, but Berniece didn’t want to sell that piano. After she told me about it . . . I could see why she didn’t want to sell it.

BOY WILLIE: What’s this man’s name?

AVERY: Oh, that’s a while back now. I done forgot his name. He give Berniece a card with his name and telephone number on it, but I believe she throwed it away.

(BERNIECE and MARETHA enter from the stairs.)

BERNIECE: Maretha, run back upstairs and get my pocketbook. And wipe that hair grease off your forehead. Go ahead, hurry up.

(MARETHA exits up the stairs.)

How you doing, Avery? You done got all dressed up. You look nice. Boy Willie, I thought you and Lymon was going to sell them watermelons.

BOY WILLIE: Lymon done got sleepy. We liable to get some sleep first.

LYMON: I ain’t sleepy.

DOAKER: As many watermelons as you got stacked up on that truck out there, you ought to have been gone.

BOY WILLIE: We gonna go in a minute. We going.

BERNIECE: Doaker. I’m gonna stop down there on Logan Street. You want anything?

DOAKER: You can pick up some ham hocks if you going down there. See if you can get the smoked ones. If they ain’t got that get the fresh ones. Don’t get the ones that got all that fat under the skin. Look for the long ones. They nice and lean.

(He gives her a dollar.)

Don’t get the short ones lessen they smoked. If you got to get the fresh ones make sure that they the long ones. If they ain’t got them smoked then go ahead and get the short ones.

(Pause.)

You may as well get some turnip greens while you down there. I got some buttermilk . . . if you pick up some cornmeal I’ll make me some cornbread and cook up them turnip greens.

(MARETHA enters from the stairs.)

MARETHA: We gonna take the streetcar?

BERNIECE: Me and Avery gonna drop you off at the settlement house. You mind them people down there. Don’t be going down there showing your color. Boy Willie, I done told you what to do. I’ll see you later, Doaker.

AVERY: I’ll be seeing you again, Boy Willie.

BOY WILLIE: Hey, Berniece . . . what’s the name of that man Avery sent past say he want to buy the piano?

BERNIECE: I knew it. I knew it when I first seen you. I knew you was up to something.

BOY WILLIE: Sutter’s brother say he selling the land to me. He waiting on me now. Told me he’d give me two weeks. I got one part. Sell them watermelons get me another part. Then we can sell that piano and I’ll have the third part.