Time's Undoing


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
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 Copyright © 2023 by Cheryl A. Head
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 library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
 Names: Head, Cheryl A., author.
 Title: Time’s undoing: a novel / Cheryl A. Head.
 Description: New York: Dutton, Penguin Random House, [2023]
 Identifiers: LCCN 2022031003 (print) | LCCN 2022031004 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593471821 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780593471838 (ebook)
 Subjects: LCGFT: Novels.
 Classification: LCC PS3608.E227 T56 2023 (print) | LCC PS3608.E227 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23/eng/20220810
 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022031003
 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022031004
 Cover illustration by Sarah Oberrender based on an image by Mark Owen/Trevillion Images; image of man in tree courtesy of the author
 book design by daniel brount, adapted for ebook by estelle malmed
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author’s use of names of historical figures, places, or events is not intended to change the entirely fictional character of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
 pid_prh_6.0_142549203_c0_r0
 
 
 
 To Willie Mae McGarrah,
 Mama, this story is infused with your memories and perseverance.
 To Robert Harrington,
 I never knew you until I did.
 
 
 
 
 White people are endlessly demanding to be reassured that Birmingham is really on Mars.
 —James Baldwin
 Our memory is longer than our lifespan.
 —Professor Kristie Dotson, University of Michigan
 
 
 
 
 
 Prologue
 1929
 Four hours ’til dawn. The single streetlamp at the alleyway splays veiled illumination on the wet pavement. The rumble and squeak of streetcars ended two hours ago, and the in-a-hurry owner of the diner hauls out the last of the garbage, which tumbles onto the slick red bricks as he slams the door.
 Cress lifts the collar of his tight-fitting jacket against 
 ONE
 
 
 
 The Decision
 1929
 It’s quitting time and a group of my coworkers are in conversation in the mill parking lot. One casually leans against my brand-new Franklin Victoria sedan. I take offense.
 “Get off my car, Arthur. I spent a lot of time on that wax job.”
 “Boy, nobody’s bothering your damn car. You think you’re all big and bad just