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had broken up because they reminded her of him), and lit it. Freda thought of inhaling that first puff, but decided against it. She handed it to Mildred.
    "One thang I do know," Mildred continued, "and you can mark my words. Y'all ain't never gon' have to worry about eating, that's for damn sure. It may not be steak and onions and mashed potatoes and gravy, but you won't go hungry. And y'all ain't gon' never be caught looking like no damn orphans, either. If I can't give you what you need, you ain't gon' get it, and I don't care if I have to beg, borrow, or steal, every last one of < y'all is going to college. I mean it. All y'all got good sense, and I'ma make sure you stretch it to the fullest."
    Mildred took two quick puffs on the cigarette and tossed it out the window. Freda listened intently. She loved it when her mama went off on a tangent like this.
    "And baby, let me tell you something so you can get this straight. That big fancy house ain't the only thang in life Worth striving for. Decency. A good husband. Some healthy babies. Peace of mind. Them is the thangs you try to get out of life. Everything else'll fall in place. It always do. You hear me?"
    "Yeah, I hear you, Mama," she said.
    "What'd you say?"
    "I mean yes. But I'm still gon' be rich anyway, 'cause from what I see being poor don't get you nowhere and just about everybody we know except white people is poor. Why is that, Mama?"
    "'Cause niggahs is stupid, that's why. They thank they can get something for nothing and that that God they keep praying to every Sunday is gon' rush down from the sky and save 'em. But look at 'em. What it takes is real hard work. Ain't nobody gon' give you nothing in this world unless you work for it. I don't care what they tell you in church. One thang is true, and this is the tricky part. White folks own every damn thang 'cause they was here first and took it all. They don't like to see niggahs getting ahead and when they feel like it, they can stop you and make it just that much harder. But with all you learn in them books at school, least you can do is learn how to get around some shit like that. Anybody can see through something that's crystal clear. Just keep your eyes open and don't believe everythang—naw, don't believe half the shit people tell you 'cause don't nobody know everythang. Not even your mama. Believe me, I ain't gon' steer you too far off in the wrong direction. Mark my words. If y'all just learn to thank for yourself, don't take nobody's bullshit, I won't have to worry about you. I don't care if they white, purple, or green. Always remember that you just as good as the next person. How many times I told y'all that? All you gotta do is believe it."
    Mildred pressed her foot down on the accelerator and the car jutted forward in spurts. They began to see smaller houses ahead. Freda didn't like Point Haven and dreamed of leaving after she graduated. She had no idea where she would go, but she knew that there had to be a better place to live than here. Mildred had never given any thought to living anywhere else.
     
    Most people who didn't live within a seventy-five-mile radius had never even heard of Point Haven. It was in the thumb of Michigan, and from a hundred feet above, the town would look like a blanket of gray and black stripes spread out beside Lake Huron. Most of the streets were pressed black dirt with rocks still stuck beneath it. There were so many trees and fields that no one appreciated them, except in hot sticky summers. There were blueberry, blackberry, elderberry, and strawberry patches in back yards and miles of woods.
    And there was plenty of water, which meant good fishing, something the black folks cherished most about the town. They could never catch enough pickerel, catfish, perch, or sheepshead to satisfy their insatiable appetites for fillets dipped in egg batter and yellow cornmeal, dropped in hot grease, and smothered with Louisiana hot sauce.
    A lot of people had drowned from undertows