Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered

156/260in ’em theyselves. You know dat. Maybe Tea Cake might turn out lakdat. Maybe not. Anyhow Ah’m ready and willin’ tuh try ’im.”“Well, when you aim tuh step off?”“Dat we don’t know. De store is got tuh be sold and then we’segoin’ off somewhere tuh git married.”“How come you sellin’ out de store?”“ ’Cause Tea Cake ain’t no Jody Starks, and if he tried tuh be, itwould be uh complete flommuck. But de minute Ah marries ’im everybodyis gointuh be makin’ comparisons. So us is goin’ off somewhereand start all over in Tea Cake’s way. Dis ain’t no business proposition,and no race after property and titles. Dis is uh love game. Ah donelived Grandma’s way, now Ah means tuh live mine.”“What you mean by dat, Janie?”“She was borned in slavery time when folks, dat is black folks,didn’t sit down anytime dey felt lak it. So sittin’ on porches lak dewhite madam looked lak uh mighty fine thing tuh her. Dat’s whut shewanted for me—don’t keer whut it cost. Git up on uh high chair and sitdere. She didn’t have time tuh think whut tuh do after you got up onde stool uh do nothin’. De object wuz tuh git dere. So Ah got up on dehigh stool lak she told me, but Pheoby, Ah done nearly languished tuhdeath up dere. Ah felt like de world wuz cryin’ extry and Ah ain’t readde common news yet.”“Maybe so, Janie. Still and all Ah’d love tuh experience it for justone year. It look lak heben tuh me from where Ah’m at.”“Ah reckon so.”