Where has everyone gone, leaving janie alone?

Answer – A ball game

In Chapter 10 of the 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God which was authored by Zora Neale Hurston, an African-American writer, we find that most of the town went to a baseball game, leaving Janie alone at the store. Because of this, Janie decided to close up the store early but before she could, a tall stranger came to the store to buy cigarettes from her and then starts making flirtatious small talk with her, making her laugh with his jokes.

He was an inventor here are some of his inventions.