“Mother”

At a Chinese restaurant, circa 1980 in Washington DC, an
elderly woman (let's call her "mother") is telling a story to
demonstrate the absence of racism in her character during
the time she lived in the pre-civil rights South: "I've never
told you this before but I was once invited to dinner by a
black minister's wife. Their daughter, a cheerful midget,
was loved by everyone in town, negro and white. Actually,
the minister's wife asked, 'If I invited you to Christmas
dinner, would you come?' But I knew what she meant."
On Christmas day "mother" called a cab and went to an
address in the black section of town. She walked into a
"modest but well kept" house past a dozen or so people on
the porch. None of them came in. She was served an
elaborate meal seated alone at the kitchen table. After
dessert, she thanked the minister's wife, called a cab and
went home. To better understand this story does it help to
notice that the "c"s in Christmas and cab are the same letter

that stands for the speed of light in a vacuum, as in e = mc²

Joan Retallack