On the evening of September 26, Nella and Malaika browse haircare products while waiting for Owen at Curl Central. Malaika mocks the names of different brands of hair grease, scoffs at their harsh chemical ingredients, and critiques a cardboard cutout of author Miss Iesha B. that is on display next to copies of Black Hairapy: Ten Ways to Key into the Power of Your Locs. They bump into owner Juanita Morejón and head to the Young, Black ’n’ Lit event.

Owen makes a conspicuous entrance as he travels to the front of the audience and back again for a round of drinks. Nella is acutely aware that he is one of two white people in attendance. She thinks of the white men she met in college, who pursued her as a conquest, and compares them to Owen, who always treated her as a serious love interest. While Owen is away, Malaika asks how he feels about the threatening notes, and Nella confesses she hasn’t told him.

Hazel appears onstage and announces that, in addition to co-sponsoring the event, Wagner Books has committed to recruit more people of color. A bald woman in the audience, later identified as

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