Summary

This chapter brings the narrative focus back to Hero. She finds that it is hard to imagine that there was a time when she had spent her time doing “something that wasn’t fucking around with Rosalyn” (293). They hide their relationship from their friends and family but make the most of every second they have alone. Meanwhile, the community is worried about the eruption of Pinatubo in the Philippines, and Paz is especially concerned for their relatives still there. Hero is disconcerted because the Philippines and the eruption feel so far away from her now; she stops to wonder if Teresa was gathering the cadres in a rescue mission. Hero continues to wait for “her body to just get bored” with Rosalyn, but to her surprise (and annoyance) this fails to happen (299).

Hero turns 35 years old but keeps it a secret so...