Sugar

Billy is so sore after his day of work that he doesn’t cut cane for the next two days. With Tom no longer on the job, Mister Wills makes Billy the new overseer, and asks Mister Beale to help teach him. Sugar is excited about this change, because she knows “Billy won’t just stand, watch, and see. He’ll work, cutting cane” (205). The workers are given more snack breaks, and Billy convinced Mister Wills to give the workers a half-Sunday break even in the middle of harvest.

Sugar is bored on half-Sunday; the adults are all taking naps. Beau knocks on her door, holding a beautiful kite in his hand. He tells her to come with him, and she follows him outside. Together, they get the kite in the air. When it flies close to Billy’s window, he sticks his head out to tell them that he’s on his way down to join them.

Soon, all the adults are awake and watching the children play with the kite. The scene is serene: All of the workers and even the Willses are together, enjoying the beautiful day and laughing together. Sugar thinks “this is the way River Road should always be” (208).

Later that day, Sugar and Billy are determined to show Beau his first alligator. They lead him down to the marsh to find one. They creep closer and spy several alligators sunning themselves on the shore. Sugar and Billy tell Beau that they are dangerous, and Beau adds that they resemble dragons. From their hiding spot, they look at the clouds and form dragons and gators out of them. Billy asks Beau if he knows any dragon stories.

Beau tells the children of Yellow Dragon, who lived in the waters of Chengdu in China and was looking for a new home. Billy asks if dragons are dangerous, but Beau assures the children that in China, dragons help people, like Emperor Jade. In Beau’s story, Yellow Dragon’s river home kept flooding, causing crops to fail and people to go hungry. Yellow Dragon dares the River to flood and it does, flowing into channels instead of onto banks, and this saves the crops. The River grows angry and pleads with the Rain to help, but because the water has already been redirected, even then, the crops are spared from the Rain. The Emperor, grateful for Yellow Dragon’s help, opened a village to serve as their new home.

Later, the trio attempt to get close enough to the baby alligators to feel their bellies, which Billy says are “soft like velvet” (215). They wait for the babies’ parents to return to the water. Finally, their wish is granted, and they are left with three baby alligators to pet. Sugar picks one up and hands it to Beau. They admire how soft the babies are when they spy a mother alligator. The trio gently set down the baby and tiptoe away, slowly and stealthily.

Unfortunately, the trio bump into Overseer Tom, who is sneaking around with a hunting rifle. He is still bitter over being fired and doesn’t hide it. He insults Billy’s father and tells Sugar that she deserves to be whipped. The children try to charge at Tom, but Beau holds them back. Tom is dissatisfied with Beau’s reaction and strikes his head with the butt of his gun. He then lifts the barrel and points it at Beau’s chest. Still, Beau maintains his composure.

Eventually, Tom leaves. Billy asks Beau why he didn’t fight back, and the latter says he did it to protect them. If he had fought and lost, Tom could have hurt Billy and Sugar without resistance. It is in this moment that Billy gets a glimpse of prejudice from a white man.

After the terrifying incident with Tom, Sugar is grateful to be home and “surrounded by her River Road family, Chinese and African” (223). As she and Beau snap beans for Missus Beale, she looks at the cut on Beau’s head from Tom’s attack. She asks him if it hurts, and he insists he’s fine. Sugar tells Beau that she learned Mister Zheng got his scar from his brother throwing a rock at him. The thought makes her wish she had a brother. Beau says he will take on the role for her; his own sister died at the age of five long before he came to America, and he has taken to Sugar. Beau (who was born in the Year of the Ox) and Sugar (who was born in the Year of the Monkey) seem destined to be close, as the Ox and the Monkey have a strong bond in Chinese mythology.

That night, Sugar studies the stars. She maps out the constellations Billy taught her, and looks for new animals, ones that match the Chinese calendar. Beau finds her and gives her a gift: It’s a beautiful map of the world, and on the bottom of the parchment, is Sugar’s name in Chinese. Beau also gives Sugar a quill and ink. Carefully, Sugar copies her name.

Mister Beale comes over to see what the pair are doing and is astonished to see Sugar writing her name in Chinese. More people gather around, and Sugar is filled with pride. She leans in to study the map more, taking in all of the places she wants to visit. With map in hand, she feels she can go anywhere.

Another season is almost over, and everyone works hard to push to the end. Mister Wills is proud of the workers, and of Billy, who is becoming a fine overseer. Sugar makes up a new song for everyone to sing while working. They cut at all hours of the day, only sleeping for an hour at a time. Meanwhile, the mill is boiling syrup; the sugar crystals will be separated later.

By the last row of cane, everyone is working, even Mister Wills. It’s difficult for Sugar to hate sugar anymore, as it is what brought everyone together. Eventually, the last stalk falls and everyone cheers.

Sugar invites Billy to celebrate with the workers. She tells him that they are planning to exchange animal stories, and he won’t want to miss it. Billy starts to leave when his mother tells him to wait—as she wants him to bring baskets of food to share.

After everyone has had their fill of food, Master Liu and Beau bring out the Chinese lanterns they made. The lanterns are beautiful, with “[s]ticks and paper boxes of color that glow red and yellow. Gold threads dangle from their four corners” (237). Beau then brings out another surprise for Sugar and Billy: a beautiful dragon that covers two people at a time. For it to work, the pair must work together. They wear the dragon and weave through the crowd.

Sugar notices that Jade the cat is missing. She is worried, for “Jade has become family, too. When he’s near, [she] feels calm” (240). She decides to look for him, wandering deep into the woods and calling out Jade’s name.

As Sugar approaches the mill, she hears faint meowing inside. There is also light in the mill, which should be empty by now. Suddenly the lantern from inside is thrown down, and flames begin to engulf the mill. Tom runs out of the mill, apathetic to Sugar’s presence.

Sugar runs into the mill to find Jade. Flames rise all around her as she coughs and sputters between calling out for the cat. Billy arrives and yells at her not to go further in, but she ignores him. Sugar finally spies Jade, his fur singed and skin blistering. All around her, sugar is melting. Billy tries to help Sugar, but a beam falls and blocks his path.

All hope seems lost when Billy opens a window and shouts for Sugar. Holding Jade close, she climbs out the window and jumps.

Sugar wakes, and her legs and feet are bandaged; Jade, slightly singed but recovering, lays sleeping on her chest. As she begins to come to, she hears a whistle outside. Billy appears at her side, and her memories come back. Everything after Sugar jumped from the mill window is a blur—Mister Beale and Beau coming to help, checking on Jade.

Sugar has been sleeping for a long time, her recovery far slower than Billy’s. Just as Sugar came to his aid when he needed her, Billy ensures she is comfortable; Sugar is grateful. Meanwhile, everyone else is trying to salvage what little they can from the burned mill. Billy tells Sugar that when the fire happened, Mister Wills initially blamed her. This worries Sugar, but Billy made sure to tell his father that it was Tom who burned down the mill. This revelation both shocked and saddened Mister Wills, who thought he knew Tom. Sugar tries to stay awake, but nods off.

In Sugar’s dream, all of the animals from both the Br’er Rabbit stories and the Chinese tales are together, as well as her found family. The animals are all on a steamer, and though Sugar doesn’t know where they are headed, she knows it’s somewhere wonderful. When she awakens, she tells Billy her dream.

Much to everyone’s chagrin, Tom does not end up in jail. His crime is not acknowledged by those who agree with him, those who share his hatred for people of color. Billy tells Sugar that his Pa can’t understand why so many white people want to see him fail. Sugar realizes that River Road is truly radical, in that its Black and Chinese workers genuinely enjoy each other’s company and work together. The news that people don’t appreciate this unity, and even despise it, makes her heart ache.

Sugar continues to heal and listens to animal stories. Otherwise, the mood at River Road is somber, with a whole year’s worth of work gone. Mister Wills has already paid all of the workers, but now, the fate of the plantation is in jeopardy.

Mister Wills gathers all of the workers for an announcement: He has to sell the plantation. He is unable to afford the land anymore, so he sold it to Jean DeLavier. The workers are free to stay, or leave. Everyone is at a loss for words. Then, Mister Wills announces he and his family are moving to New Orleans.

Sugar and Billy are shocked by the news and look to each other for comfort. The workers also look to each other but remind themselves that they have been through worse. If they’ve survived years in slavery, and sailing to America after starving in China, they will get through this sudden change too.

Sugar is upset by everyone’s begrudging attitude. She suddenly feels trapped and thinks, “[w]e got freedom, but the Beales, me, everyone else is stuck at River Road” (259). Then, her Ma’s last three words come to mind again (“Do. See. Feel.”). With sudden clarity, Sugar realizes that her Ma wouldn’t want her to stay, and her Pa isn’t coming back. The next step she must take is clear: She and the Beales must go north.

Everyone gathers to say goodbye to the Willses. Sugar says goodbye to Billy, trying to cheer him up by reminding him that he always wanted to leave River Road. Billy agrees but says this isn’t the way he wanted to leave. The pair exchange a sweet goodbye, and then Billy gets in a cart with his parents and leaves for his new life in New Orleans.

Beau pulls Sugar aside and tells her that he and Master Liu have decided to take jobs in Hawaii. Though Sugar is sad to see them go, she knows new opportunities await them. To prepare the Beales for their own journey, Sugar cooks for them. Once she has their attention, she announces that the three of them are going north. The Beales protest that they are too old and weak to make the journey. Sugar argues that moving to Missouri will not be as taxing as their current work on the plantation. She compares the Beales to foolish Hyena, who would stay in his home even if it were on fire. The Beales are afraid of the unknown, but at last, Sugar convinces them. She runs outside to tell everyone that the three of them will be moving north.

Sugar is on a steamboat headed for Missouri, finally free of sugar. She begins to reminisce about her and Billy playing pirates on their raft. She is grateful for the friendships she made at River Road but is ready for a new adventure. Sugar thinks about her name one last time, and decides she does like it, after all.