The Personal Librarian

Twelve months later, the country plunges into a recession. The president appoints J.P. to intervene, something he has done in the past. J.P. assembles financiers and businessmen to solve this problem. Belle flatters him and strokes his ego until he produces a solution. As the two celebrate, Belle impulsively embraces him. They back away from each other, but he acknowledges for the first time how much he values her (more than his own family, he claims). He wants Belle to be “at his side forever” (94).

Belle returns with her family to Washington, D.C., four months later for the funeral of Grandma Fleet, the matriarch of Genevieve’s family. When they arrive, their extended family is cool towards them because they disapprove of Genevieve’s decision to pass. Genevieve tells them that passing is the only wise course these days. The new Jim Crow laws will soon destroy the elite Black district where the Fleets live. Mozart Fleet, Belle’s uncle, later warns her that she is grave danger because she is passing as white. Being unmasked by powerful people like J.P. could be life-threatening.