In this scene, a boy is confronted by a woman after an unspecified incident, likely involving theft, as suggested by her mention of wanting things she couldn't have and her past mistakes. The atmosphere is tense, filled with long pauses as they exchange words. The woman shares her understanding of unattainable desires and hints at a complicated past without giving details. She instructs the boy to sit while she prepares a meal, instructing him to tidy up as well. Despite the opportunity to flee, the boy chooses to remain, aware that he is under her watchful eye, indicating a mix of uncertainty and a desire for trust. The scene encapsulates themes of vulnerability, understanding, and the complexities of human connections.
summerize thsis The water dripping from his face, the boy looked at her. There was a long pause. A very long pause. After he had dried his face and not knowing what else to do dried it again, the boy turned around, wondering what next. The door was open. He could make a dash for it down the hall. He could run, run, run, run, run!The woman was sitting on the day-bed. After a while she said, “I were young once and I wanted things I could not get.”There was another long pause. The boy’s mouth opened. Then he frowned, but not knowing he frowned.The woman said, “Um-hum! You thought I was going to say but, didn’t you? You thought I was
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3 going to say, but I didn’t snatch people’s pocketbooks. Well, I wasn’t going to say that.” Pause. Silence. “I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son—neither tell God, if he didn’t already know. So you set down while I fix us something to eat. You might run that comb through your hair so you will look presentable.”In another corner of the room behind a screen was a gas plate and an icebox. Mrs. Jones got up and went behind the screen. The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now, nor did she watch her purse which she left behind her on the day-bed. But the boy took care to sit on the far side of the room where he thought she could easily see him out of the corner of her eye, if she wanted to. He did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.
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