Answer the question Big Ma asked "Cassie, whats the matter with you, girl?" How do parents recognize a problem with their children?

Mothers know when their children are not happy. Cassie is morose and staring out the window,

As I was looking out the kitchen window at the charred remains of the cotton fields, Mama interrupted my daydream.

"Cassie, what's the matter with you girl? Why ain't you eating?" Mama asked. "Are you still upset about Papa goin' back to the railroad?"

Papa left one week ago, when his leg finally healed, even though he still couldn't do a whole lot on it though.

"No'm, It's 'bout T.J.," I replied.

"Sweetie, that was two months ago, sometimes you just have to let go of things in life," Mama sympathized. "If T.J. would have stayed out of trouble and listened to his parents he would be alive today."

Big Ma probably has an idea but wants to hear it from Cassie. It's Big Ma's, and mothers in general, way of helping her child. Once it is out in the open, she can begin to help.