5
Langston and Denise first met in the university bookstore after he returned to Georgia, following his one dreadful year at Hudson College in New York. Before heading north as a freshman, he had believed racism existed only in the South.
But when the dorms proved too noisy and he searched for off-campus housing between semesters, that illusion was shattered.
Every affordable studio or basement apartment somehow became rented between the time of his initial phone call and the moment he showed up at the landlord’s door. Even if he made the call from one block away.
Eventually, he inquired at the home of Mrs. Papadakis, a raven-haired Greek in a green mu-mu and Jesus sandals, who had a basement apartment at just the right price.
