The Salt Eaters

As Obie goes in for his massage, he chats with the masseuse, Ahiro. Obie thinks about his fears surrounding Velma and coding his journal, as well as the issues in their sex life. He considers asking Doc Serge for help with Velma. Ahiro tells Obie he needs a good cry and opens the window as Obie calls him motherly. The music they hear is also heard by Fred. It comes from a dance class being held above the Regal.

Geula Khufu, formerly Tina Mason, teaches elderly women stomach flutters. As they shake, Geula opens the windows further. She encourages various women, especially Black women, to “remember” an ancient spirit of dance (166). The narrator goes over the various names she has used for her dance students, including the current one: ladies. Musicians accompany the women, and the narrator goes over various things the man playing the pan has called the academy.

The music from the dance class meets the music Minnie plays in the healing. Under her shawl, Velma remembers Jamahl, her prayer partner, and Obie. She recalls going to the marshes and seeing a man with a dog there, then sitting on a fallen tree and waiting.