"We could have said no, but then we would have died. We both felt thankful that he was offering something as respectable as marriage. Other women who end up under his dominance don't fare so well. It was because I was pretty and shapely and I had earned a reputation for being the prime catch in my extended neighborhood. I guess he thinks this is the way to make him legitimate in the community, to elevate himself in everybody's estimation."
"So he bought you like a piece of meat, and your father closed the sale," I snarled, wiping away my own tears now. "Why don't you go to the police?"
Shavonne sighed. "You understand so little about us. Black people don't go to the police. We haven't exactly been the best of friends over the years. The police have always been uneasy adversaries at best
