The story begins in the present, with Mama Johnson narrating events as they occur.  In the beginning of the story, she reflects on Dee's childhood: what she was like, what Mama tried to do for her by raising the money to send her away to school, and so forth.  But when Dee arrives, the story seems to proceed almost in real time, as the family greets one another, discusses Dee's new name, eats a meal together, and finally ends up in the bedroom with the quilts.

In this sense, then, Walker uses time as an ordering device because she presents us with the past, the background information we need to really understand this family's dynamic and their potential dysfunctions, via Mama's memories, and then she proceeds with the present, presenting conversations and actions in chronological order.