James is the only one who can calm down Chaurisse when she is a colicky baby. He also teaches her to drive years before she is legally able. During those driving lessons, he tells Chaurisse about his past and how he came to own a limo service because he realized “driving the car, you are always the boss” (225). He proposed the idea to Raleigh and Laverne but neither of them saw the genius in it yet. Miss Bunny, Laverne, and Raleigh all chipped in to help him get started, and eventually he was able to pay everyone back. However, when he went to repay Raleigh, he proposed they enter a “partnership” and instead use the money to purchase another vehicle for the business. 

While one of the popular girls from Chaurisse’s town is celebrating a decadent sweet sixteen, Chaurisse is getting paid to work it, both as a stylist in her mother’s salon and as an “attendant” for her father’s limousine company. Waiting for the party to end, James, Raleigh, and Chaurisse eat at an IHOP restaurant. While there, Chaurisse contemplates a question many of the women in her town often ask: Why is Raleigh still single? People muse over whether he is gay or guilty of adultery, but Chaurisse assumes it is because “he had us” (231).