What's Mine and Yours

Gee is another protagonist of the novel, “the heart of this book” according to Coster (347). At six years old, Gee witnesses the murder of his mother’s boyfriend, Ray Gilbert. Gee is a sweet, sensitive boy and this Shared Tragedy weighs heavy on him from the beginning. He remarks to his mother that his babysitter said Ray wasn’t his father, which confuses him, because Ray is the only father Gee ever knew. His nickname, “Gee,” is even a tribute to Ray as it is the first initial of Ray’s last name. Ray was clearly an important influence on Gee, but Gee’s memories of Ray are few and faded, causing Gee grief as the years pass. After Ray’s death, Gee quickly learns to suppress his emotions, as his attempts to reach out to his mother are rejected.

In high school, Gee is a quiet, intelligent young man who feels forced to be something he isn’t. Like any other teenage boy, he struggles to find his own identity, but he feels pressured by his teacher and his mother to be successful, a role model for other Black students. His suppressed emotions cause him great physical stress, such as clenched teeth and tight shoulders. When he meets Noelle, he feels safe with her, but he also feels that he must hide who he is from her. Deep down, Gee believes he is a bad person, and he struggles to understand his identity.

When Gee becomes a man and begins going by his given name of Nelson, he settles into marriage with Noelle and develops a career as a photographer. However, Nelson cheats on Noelle multiple times for reasons he cannot express to himself, let alone anyone else. Sexual relief has always been a release for Nelson, a way to deal with the tension that comes from the tragedy of his childhood. When Noelle experiences a miscarriage, Nelson cannot help her with her grief because he cannot deal with his own. Instead, he flees to Europe and turns to affairs, eventually destroying his marriage with Noelle. Nelson struggles to figure out why he turned his back on Noelle when she needed him the most, but the end of the book shows him reconnecting with his mother through their shared grief over Ray’s death, indicating it is not too late for Nelson to learn to express his feelings.

Lacey May is an antagonist and one of the main mother figures in the novel. Originally married to Robbie Ventura, she is a housewife who does not have the education or the work experience to support her family when Robbie goes to prison. Lacey May finds herself in an impossible position when she runs out of money and cannot pay for gas to heat her home. Rather than lose her daughters to social services, Lacey May agrees to move in with her high school friend, Hank Gibbs. Lacey May loves Robbie, but she is a practical woman and she understands that Robbie will never be able to take care of her and the children the way Hank can. Like her daughters, especially Noelle, Lacey May is an example of Strong Women Fighting for Their Futures.

Lacey May believes that everything she does, she does for the good of her children. Lacey May wants her children to have a better life than she or Robbie ever had. For this reason, Lacey May marries Hank, even though her heart is with Robbie and Hank only let her move into his home under the condition that they would become intimate. This is also the reason she fights against the transfer of 200 students of color to Noelle’s high school; she believes she is protecting Noelle from “bad,” potentially violent children. Ironically, it is Lacey May and the other parents who create a violent atmosphere in the school, which leads to Gee—a student of color—being assaulted by a group of students. It is also this violence that promotes the relationship between Noelle and Gee. Hank repeatedly warns Lacey May that she will lose her relationship with her daughters if she continues to be openly prejudiced, so she eventually steps down from the protest group. However, when Noelle marries Nelson (formerly Gee), Lacey May continues to express contempt toward him and refuses to ever accept him into the family. Though it is implied part of her disdain comes from his treatment of Noelle and his lack of emotional expression, Nelson’s narrative thoughts openly describe her as racist. Despite her racial prejudice, Lacey May openly accepts Diane’s sexuality, a contrast that makes her a dynamic and complicated character.

Lacey May is a mother who did what she felt she had to do for her children. At the same time, Lacey May tends to put herself first. She repeatedly allows Robbie close to her, enabling their emotional bond, while simultaneously pushing him away, knowing that his addiction prevents him from being able to offer her a stable life. In the end, Lacey May never has the relationship with her children she wanted; the girls come together to be near her when she is diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness, but it is clear that Margarita and Noelle are uncomfortable around her. Only Diane stays close to home, and even Hank expresses distaste of Lacey May’s behavior despite their many years of marriage.