Jazz

The narrator boasts that it is “risky” to try and understand anybody’s mental state, but that she is determined to try. She notes that Joe likely never knew about True Belle, about what happened after Violet’s father joined a party that advocated for Black voting rights and Rose Dear had the house taken away. When True Belle arrived, the family was living off of whatever Violet and her sisters could forage, plus what the neighbors could spare.

True Belle stayed with Violet and her siblings for 11 years. During that time, True Belle talked constantly about Vera Louise, the white lady in Baltimore she used to work for, and Golden Gray, Vera Louise’s son. Golden was named because of the color of his skin and his hair, which was darker than his mother’s but radiantly gold. Both True Belle and Vera Louise devoted all their time to the baby boy.

Vera Louise told everyone that she had come to Baltimore because she hated country life. But the real reason Vera Louise left home was because of her affair with an enslaved Black man. When Vera’s parents learned that their daughter was pregnant with Golden Gray, they kicked her out, giving her enough money to sustain herself for the rest of her life.

Vera wanted True Belle to come with her, so True Belle had to leave her own small children. Though True Belle had no choice in the matter, she tried to convince herself that it would be fun to live in a big city, and that Vera might one day pay her enough money to buy her children’s freedom. True Belle stayed for 22 years before, after convincing Vera that she was dying, she returned to Vesper County with the wages that Vera had “held in trust” for her since the war ended.

Now, the narrator pictures Golden Gray, as clever and handsome and fancy as True Belle has described him to be. In the narrator’s mind, Golden has set off from home in a small carriage, with a stately black horse pulling the way. In the back of the carriage, Golden has brought beautiful items from home. It is August and pouring rain, and Golden’s carriage hits a pothole. He gets out to examine the damage. 

Suddenly, Golden notices a dark-skinned woman in the woods. When the woman sees him, she runs in terror and hits her head, knocking herself out. Golden is not quite sure if the woman is real or if he has hallucinated her, so he gets off his horse and goes to the place where the woman fell. He holds his breath, worried about catching anything from her, anything that might “touch or penetrate” him.

Golden thinks about leaving the woman in the woods, but he decides against it; he thinks Vera Louise would be shocked by the idea of him bringing the woman into his carriage, and this image pleases him. So Golden hoists the woman and carries her into the carriage, noticing the blood on her neck and hoping she will not die. He wonders what his father, a Black man whom he has never met, will think of his son showing up with this woman in tow. Every time Golden thinks of his father, he uses a slur.

Finally, Golden arrives at the house True Belle has described to him. He ties his horse up front, then goes in and puts his trunk down in the small, tidy cottage. Then, Golden brings the woman from the carriage into the house and lies her down on a cot. To avoid ruining his coat, Golden finds a green dress in the house, and he lays it over the woman. 

Golden thinks back on the last week. His whole life, he believed that he was white—but now, he has learned from his mother that his father is a Black man named Henry Lestory, the man who owns this house. True Belle had told Golden where to find his father, her final kindness after a lifetime of mending his shirts and sending him homemade treats when he went to boarding school. His whole life, Golden had thought there were only two types of people—white people, and “True Belle’s kind. Black and nothing.” 

Golden finds some liquor in the house, and he drinks it. The narrator wonders if she should hate Golden, as he worries about his trunk before he worries about the injured woman (“he checks the fastenings, but not her breath”). But then the narrator decides to forgive him, because she imagines he scrapes the mud off his “Baltimore soles” as he enters the dirt cabin. 

Back in the cabin, Golden is still avoiding the woman on the bed. As he struggles to process his conflicting emotions, the narrator reflects that he is shaping a story “to tell his father”; Golden thinks he is being a hero to this young woman, though the narrator knows that he is really a “hypocrite.” The narrator resents that Golden wants to brag about his behavior, but when she thinks about how young he is, that he is “hurting,” she decides she doesn’t “hate him at all.”

A young Black boy on a mule, later identified as Honor, approaches the house, and Golden comes out to see who it is. Golden is rude, but the boy (assuming that Golden is white) notes that he is slightly less rude than most white people. Honor informs Golden that Henry will be back soon, though Golden misses the pride in Honor’s voice when he mentions that Henry has entrusted him with some household tasks.

Now, Golden changes into his nicest outfit. He marvels at the fact that he never missed having a father until he learned that he had one; he feels that this parent is like a phantom limb that he needs, even though it will cause him pain. For a moment, Golden decides he does not care about his father’s race. All he hopes for, he thinks, is that “we will both be free, arm-tangled and whole.”

The narrator now berates herself for not giving Golden enough credit—“I have been careless and stupid,” she confesses, “and it infuriates me to discover (again) how unreliable I am.” The narrator wonders what kind of private hurt Golden walks around with, and she hopes that he finds some measure of peace. Golden orders Honor to tend to the woman on the bed, and the boy does so. Golden realizes he is ready for the woman’s “deer eyes” to open.