One Crazy Summer

The officer who is arresting Cecile asks her about her children, but Cecile claims not to have any children. When the officers see her daughters, all three of them claim to be the Clark sisters from down the street. Delphine wonders why the police have arrested her mother and concludes that the reason must be the same one she learned at the center: “In Oakland they arrested you for being something. Saying something. If you were a freedom fighter, sooner or later you would be arrested” (169). When Fern asks why Cecile denied having children, Delphine explains that it was to protect them and to prevent them from being split up and sent to a juvenile detention center.

When she enters the house, Delphine is horrified to see that Cecile's printing press is in pieces. She also notices that Cecile's letters are all over the floor, the stool is broken, and there is paint everywhere. Delphine serves the girls dinner and tells them that they have to clean up Cecile's kitchen. The girls protest, but they both wonder what will happen if the police keep Cecile locked up like Hirohito’s father.