Annie John

Annie’s mother lets her sleep late when there is no school, but Annie’s father rises at seven every morning when the Anglican church bell rings. Anne hears her mother prepare her father’s bath and cook his breakfast while he shaves and dresses. Annie’s mother has visited the obeah woman—one who heals and casts spells as part of an African diasporic tradition. On the obeah woman’s advice, Annie’s mother puts oils and various herbs in the bathwater for herself and Annie because the obeah woman told Annie’s mother that one of the women with whom Annie’s father has children is trying to harm Annie and her mother. Next, Annie and her mother go shopping, and her mother carefully explains each purchase. This all makes Annie feel important. When Annie was very little, there were several times when her mother would snatch her up and move quickly past the home of a woman who was angry that Annie’s father married her mother because he had children with her and would not marry her.

At home, Annie’s mother cooks lunch with Annie at her heels, and she includes Annie in everything she does. At lunchtime, when her father returns home, Annie doesn’t look at him much, but she dotes on her mother’s beauty.