The Plague Of Doves

Antone Harp falls in love at first sight of Geraldine at the tribal offices, finding her aloofness alluring even when Geraldine rebuffs him. “It took a long time before Geraldine would even talk to me, longer still before she’d sit down and drink a cup of coffee in my presence” (90). Their relationship grows slowly as Antone doesn’t want to upset the famous Milk temper. He uses his love of Shamengwa’s violin as an excuse to see Geraldine, who sees right through his façade and jokes about cutting his hair. Antone convinces her to go fishing with him, and he gets so distracted by her lipstick he almost crashes the boat. They talk about biases and history, including the lynching, and discuss the three dying farm towns that border the reservation with whom there are historical antipathies.

Geraldine and Antone catch a turtle, and Geraldine gets excited by the prospect of French turtle soup. When Geraldine sees it on the boat, she goes silent, and Antone talks about the biology of turtles to fill the awkward silence. Geraldine shows Antone the initials G & R carved onto the turtle’s back, indicating this is the turtle she and her dead ex-boyfriend, Romeo, caught and released long ago.