The year is 1935. Bettina, just turned six, is spending her summer vacation with Granny and Dada, her grandmother and grandfather, in Kalenda, a small North Texas town. In addition to her grandparents, the household includes Franky, their cook / housekeeper / laundress, whose husband Professor, principal of the K-12 Negro school, drives Franky to work and spends time at the kitchen table with Dada, discussing world events, and Rufus, the gardener / handyman / chauffeur. Frequent visitors are Nanny, Granny's crippled younger sister, and her husband, Harry, who drive into town from their...