Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America

Lena, who has a twin sister Madeleine, comes often to sit under the bridge connecting Washington, DC, to Virginia and look out at the water. Three bodies have been pulled from the river this summer, and she thinks of them and her own fear of drowning. Often, after leaving, she goes to Adams Morgan and smiles at strangers so they will buy her cigarettes, which she does not smoke but lights because they remind her of Madeleine.

Lena reflects on how different she and Madeleine are. While Lena does everything she can to make her mother happy, Madeleine often acts out, dressing and doing her hair in ways that upset her mother. As they lie on the floor of Madeleine’s loft, Lena notices the burn marks on Madeleine’s thighs where she puts out her cigarettes, as well as fresh cuts along her wrists.

At dinner, their family eats in silence until their mom brings up the cotillion rehearsal, a ball for the wealthy families of the area for their daughters and sons to dress up and be “shown off.” Lena is adamant that she does not want to go, but her mother insists she go with James, Madeleine’s boyfriend.