When Mrs. Raymond passive-aggressively pressures her maid into helping out with a gathering last minute, she is surprised when her demand is rejected. Ellie Maie is almost always willing to work overtime and fulfill any requests, but tomorrow is the one day she refuses to concede on. After giving a final no, she promises to bring another girl to fill her spot and rushes off through New York City. She arrives at a hall in Harlem where everyone is pushing to get a ticket for a boat ride. To Ellie’s relief, a ticket seller she knows has saved some just for her. On her way back, Ellie is mad when she sees her son, Roy, playing with some boys on the streets instead of staying with his older cousins, Veronica and Lucy. When the two girls return home, she scolds them for leaving Roy alone and not keeping an eye on him. She worries that they are following the footsteps of their mother, Ruby, who is always chasing after a new man. Whereas Ellie is the cautious and responsible one, her sister goes through life carelessly without regard for the future. Ellie looks forward to the boat ride as a sort of personal holiday that allows her to escape life and responsibilities. When they arrive at the pier the next day, there is a huge crowd pushing to get on the boat. Ruby has brought along her date and his friend, who Ellie takes a small liking to. The police push through the crowd and announce they will be checking for fake tickets. Ellie immediately panics at the idea she may not be able to go on the boat. They check her ticket and claim it is a fake, causing Ellie to lash out against the committee and officers. She is spurred on by the large crowd yelling for them to let everyone on. The police swear at the crowd and refer to them with racial slurs. Although her family is being swept by the crowd behind them, Ellie walks to the boat in a trancelike state. She cannot hear the policeman warning her to stop, and everything goes black when something knocks into head.