Birdie arrives in Boston and finds Dot at the address on the postcard. Dot tells Birdie that she got a letter from her father in 1977 but has not heard from him since. She tells Birdie that Sandy has never been in real danger from the FBI: “Your mother’s running from something, but it’s not what you think it is” (312). Birdie does not believe Dot and asks her why she left for India. Dot tells her that she felt she and her friends involved themselves too deeply in Black Power, fighting over skin color; she wanted to get away from it all. Dot had a spiritual awakening in India and finally felt free. She has a three-year-old half-Indian daughter named Taj.

Birdie realizes Dot has called Sandy to let her know where Birdie is. Birdie tells her mother that she is not coming back. Staying with Dot, Birdie realizes how grounded Dot’s life is and that she doesn’t fixate on race. Dot’s friends from her spiritual center come from all different backgrounds. Dot believes in auras, not race, as what defines people’s color. When Birdie asks what color she is, Dot tells Birdie she is a “deep, dark red” (321).