If Beale Street Could Talk

Tish recounts the night she and Fonny consummated their relationship sexually. Back at Fonny’s place on that night, he explained that he was a sculptor first but would always give everything else to her. They made love (using withdrawal as their only form of birth control). By the time they finished, it was seven in the morning. Wary of getting Tish in trouble with her parents, Fonny took her home and told her family that he wished to marry Tish. Joseph, Sharon, and Sis were skeptical about a teenager like Tish making such a big decision, but the seriousness of both Tish and Fonny convinced them that there was no stopping the marriage.

Back in the present, Tish and Sharon visit Hayward, Fonny’s lawyer, who tells her that Mrs. Rogers refuses to change her testimony and has now likely fled to Puerto Rico, putting her beyond the reach of Hayward. Hayward tells the two women that Officer Bell is likely coaching Mrs. Rogers to identify Fonny as the rapist, so the likelihood of uncovering the truth is low.

Even worse is that Daniel Carty, Fonny’s friend who is willing to testify that Fonny, he, and Tish ate dinner together on the night Fonny is supposed to have raped Mrs.