Ninth Ward

On Saturday morning, Lanesha startles awake to find Mama Ya-Ya standing near her bed watching her sleep. Mama Ya-Ya, almost trancelike, reminds Lanesha how much she loves her and how she feels that loving Lanesha kept her strong over the years. She tells Lanesha for the first time that she buried Lanesha’s caul in the backyard when she was born but first used a drop of its blood for a tea for Lanesha’s mother. Mama Ya-Ya claims the tea did not work because Lanesha’s mother “didn’t want it to work” (88). Lanesha is anxious and upset over Mama Ya-Ya’s behavior, and stays in bed working on algebra for comfort.

Later, Lanesha is restless, especially after the mayor of New Orleans orders a mandatory evacuation. Mama Ya-Ya has no car and no money to leave town. Outside, the Watsons are leaving for Baton Rouge; Mrs. Watson wants Lanesha and Mama Ya-Ya to come along, but Lanesha sees there is no room in the vehicles for them. She fibs to Mrs. Watson that she and Mama Ya-Ya have another ride with her Uptown family. Lanesha is heartened when she learns that Rudy and Rodriguez are staying.