Out of Darkness

Naomi strikes up a friendship with her neighbor Muff, the wife of an oil field worker, who teaches her how to make southern food. Henry once complained about Estella cooking traditional Mexican fare, and Naomi has been made to understand that he expects country cooking.

While Wash develops a strong friendship with Beto and Cari, taking them fishing several times a week, Naomi tries to keep up with her domestic tasks. She finds peace in the length of Henry’s workdays, which keeps him away from the house for 12-16-hour periods. She shops at Mason’s store in Egypt Town, where one day she overhears two young women talk about Wash in a way that suggests he might be a romantic interest of theirs.

When Henry takes Beto and Cari to a diner they have wanted to try, he is reminded of the sign reading “No Negroes, Mexicans, or dogs” and tries to convince them to go elsewhere. Naomi is happy to be rid of Henry and encourages the twins to go to a different diner. The twins had planned to go fishing with Wash, so she brings her schoolbooks to the river to explain why they won’t be coming. Instead, Wash helps Naomi with her homework. Naomi confides in Wash about her mother’s death and the fact that Henry is not her biological father.

Later, on route to a job site, Wash’s friend Cal tells him a story about a man named Blue who lived in their community several years ago. According to the local parlance, Blue was a Black man who lived in a remote setting with the woman he loved. Somehow, a rumor began, and a gang of white men went to Blue’s house. When they saw the woman Blue had been living with and perceived her to be white, they lynched him and took photographs they later turned into souvenir postcards.

One night, the oil that Henry and his coworkers have been digging for is ready, and the former insists that Beto, Cari, and Naomi come with him to watch it erupt. An acquaintance who attends their church, Gilbert “Gil” Harris, approaches Naomi and strikes up a conversation, offering her his letterman jacket when he sees she’s cold. As they wait, they see Zane Gibbler, owner of the oilfield, being chauffeured onto the site. With him is popular girl Miranda, who Naomi realizes is his daughter. Miranda hurries over to Gil. Naomi is anxious to get away, using her friend Tommie as an excuse to do so. Tommie, ever observant, mentions how jealous Miranda seemed when she saw Naomi and Gil together. She tells Naomi that Gil and Miranda used to be romantically involved, but Zane influenced the college Gil was meant to attend on scholarship to rescind their offer and threatened to blacklist him from working in the oil industry if he did not end their relationship.

Hiding in one of the bathroom stalls to escape Miranda and her clique, Naomi hears two mothers from the PTA enter and gossip about her. They acknowledge how bright the twins are and doubt their relation to Naomi. They also criticize the threadbare nature of Naomi’s dress, attributing it to her seeking attention rather than acknowledging that she may not have new clothes to wear. The women perceive the conversation between Naomi and Gil as Naomi throwing herself at him, and assert that because she is Mexican, she has animalistic sexual urges which are difficult to control.

One afternoon, Naomi watches, hidden in a tree in Wash’s yard, as Wash shares pies his mother baked with her half-siblings. Wash tells the twins that the person responsible for the beautiful piano music they’re hearing is his neighbor, Fannie, who has not allowed the fact that she is blind to impede her skills as a pianist. After the twins have gone, Naomi waits, watching Wash’s house. Wash walks to Fannie’s house, and she clings to his arm so he can guide her—but Naomi, not knowing about Fannie’s blindness, sees the two so intimately intwined and believes Wash is romantically involved with her, and finds herself jealous and angry.