The Dew Breaker

While Beatrice Saint Fort is napping, a journalism intern arrives at her house in Far Rockaway, Queens. The intern is a young Haitian American girl with dreadlocks and a nose ring, who introduces herself as Aline Cajuste. Beatrice, a bridal seamstress, is a small woman, but has a loud voice. She invites Aline in and then leaves her for half an hour to get ready, donning a purple dress, makeup, and a wig. Although Aline is eager to begin, Beatrice makes coffee first, which takes another 20 minutes.

Aline has a girlfriend who’s 30 years older than her, a psychology professor at Florida International University. The girlfriend gave her an espresso maker for a graduation gift, but Aline has not been able to make coffee that tastes as good as Beatrice’s. Beatrice says that the secret to her coffee is time, explaining, “I always take time, whether it’s getting dressed, making coffee, or sewing wedding gowns.” Aline asks if she can start recording, reminding Beatrice that the interview is for Haitian American Weekly. Beatrice once made a wedding dress for the paper’s editor, Marjorie Voltaire.

When Marjorie heard that Beatrice was retiring, she sent Aline to profile her. Beatrice comments that if only Aline had written the paper before she retired, she could have attracted more clients and been able to retire earlier. Aline asks how old Beatrice is, but Beatrice doesn’t really answer. Aline asks about Beatrice’s desire to retire earlier, but Beatrice says things always happen in their own time. She explains that she has been making wedding dresses since she lived in Haiti. She says that she asks her customers to call her Mother as a sign of respect, and says that she has to explain to them that the dresses they have seen advertised on tall, skinny models will not suit them.

Beatrice expresses pride at the fact that the dress is always the center of attention at every wedding. Aline asks if Beatrice has ever been married, and Beatrice replies that it is rude to ask that question to a woman her age. Aline writes in her notepad, “Never married.” Beatrice then suggests they take a walk around her neighborhood. Though Aline is not enthusiastic, Beatrice insists. She takes Aline outside and points to each of her neighbors’ houses, telling Aline their professions (baker, policewoman, dentist, social worker, teacher) and national identity (Italian, Guyanaian, Dominican, Jamaican.

When Beatrice points to the house of a Haitian prison guard, Aline asks where he works, thinking about the fact that there are no prisons nearby. Beatrice says she knew the guard back in Haiti, but when Aline asks if they were friends, Beatrice sucks her teeth in disgust. Back at her house, Beatrice serves the rest of the coffee and asks about Aline’s studies. Aline explains she majored in French. She took the internship after her girlfriend dumped her, hoping to impress her and also to impress Aline’s parents, who live in Somerville, Massachusetts. She knows that she shouldn’t be letting Beatrice ask her questions, but she enjoys Beatrice’s interest.

Aline asks Beatrice what she will do after retirement, and Beatrice says she plans to move again. When Aline asks why, Beatrice explains that her neighbor, the guard, is a choukèt lawoze, a dew breaker. Back in Haiti, the guard asked her to go dancing with him and, because she had a boyfriend, she turned him down. He arrested and tortured her by whipping the soles of her feet, then left her to walk home on a tar road in the sun. When Aline hesitantly asks if Beatrice is sure it’s the same man, Beatrice angrily replies that she “would know him anywhere.”

After the interview, Aline calls Marjorie and tells her Beatrice seems “a bit nutty.” Sitting in her car, Aline notices that guard’s mailbox is overflowing. She looks through its contents, most of which consists of flyers or letters addressed to the “occupant.” Aline walks around the house, peeking through the window, and hiding when a group of teenagers pass. The rooms of the house look empty, the walls freshly-painted. A car pulls up and a man—presumably the Jamaican teacher Beatrice mentioned—asks if Aline is a “friend of Dolly’s.” Aline said she thought a man was living there, but the teacher replies that the last person to live there was a Colombian woman named Dolly, who has been trying to sell the house for years.

When Aline returns to Beatrice’s house, she finds Beatrice unbraiding her cornrows. Aline says that the house was empty, and Beatrice replies that the guard lives inside empty houses. She explains that he has to be in hiding, otherwise he would be sent to prison himself. She adds that she believes he finds her wherever she moves because she always sends notes to her customers, explaining where to find her. She concludes that this time, she will lose him forever. Aline’s “sheltered” youth makes her unaware of people like Beatrice, whose lives are dominated by “tremendous agonies.” She wants to write about more people like Beatrice, and also imagines perhaps going home to tell her parents the truth about herself.