As Brave As You

Genie worries about the missing bird and desperately hopes that a swallow will spontaneously land near him so he can trap it and put it into the cage. He also spends time with Brooke in the sunroom, where they talk about Ernie’s upcoming 14th birthday. Brooke explains that he started a tradition of teaching his sons and the neighborhood boys (including Crab) to shoot a gun when they turned 14. The tradition began in response to the murder of a 14-year-old Black boy for supposedly whistling at a white woman. Over the years, it’s just become a rite of passage.

Genie, Ernie, and Tess build a live trap at the old house in the woods, and Genie waits anxiously for it to catch a swallow.

During one of their evening conversations, Brooke asks Genie to organize the money Crab has brought by folding down different corners to indicate which denomination each bill is. The task keeps Genie up late, so he misses going to the market the next day with Ernie and his grandmother because he oversleeps. When they get back, Ernie tells him that Binks the tooth seller is also a dentist.  

The boys have been in Virginia for two weeks. They talk on the phone to their parents, who are about to leave for two weeks in Jamaica. Brooke tries to jump in on the phone conversation to talk to his son, but the boys’ father eludes him, just as he has during Brooke’s previous attempts.

Ernie’s birthday is the next day, the Fourth of July, so when Crab comes in to pay Brooke for using his land, Brooke asks him to teach Ernie how to shoot since Brooke can’t. Ernie is reluctant. When Crab asks why he should teach Ernie, Brooke reveals that he knows that Crab’s been cheating him by telling him that he’s been paying more than he actually has. (That’s why Brooke asked Genie to fold down the corners of the bills.) Crab storms out.

The boys talk about the prospect of Ernie learning to shoot. Unlike his brother, Genie is excited by the thought and wants Ernie to participate in the ritual. 

The boys’ grandmother wakes them up early on the morning of Ernie’s birthday and takes them outside to set off fireworks. Crab decides to take Brooke up on his demand to teach Ernie how to shoot. When Ernie tries to get out of the shooting lesson, Crab taunts him about being scared. To save face in front of everyone, especially Tess, Ernie agrees to go through with it. Ernie, Genie, Crab, and Brooke go out near the old house in the woods where Brooke would traditionally give the shooting lessons. Genie realizes that all his nighttime walks with Brooke were preparing Brooke to come here for Ernie’s birthday.

Brooke insists that Ernie use his revolver, a family heirloom, so Crab shows Ernie how to use it. Brooke shoots a couple of bullets straight overhead, just because he misses the feeling of shooting. Ernie becomes increasingly nervous and trembles as he holds the gun. When he finally pulls the trigger, the gun jerks back and hits him in the face, knocking three teeth out. Genie, Ernie, and Brooke become hysterical—Brooke because he can’t see what’s going on, Ernie because he’s scared and in pain, and Genie because he’s worried about his brother. Crab hustles them all back to the house.