Summary

Leda points out to Nina that her husband and sister-in-law are nearby, and Nina is surprised. Together, the two women walk towards Rosaria and Toni, Nina greeting them and reminding Toni who Leda is. Neither Rosaria nor Toni is especially friendly toward Leda, and they go off down the street with Nina and Elena, leaving Leda wanting to go home.

Leda does return to her apartment and immediately finds Nani. She undresses the doll and takes her to the bathroom sink, where she holds her, face down, shaking her so that “hard, dark drops of water trickled from her mouth” (122). Leda begins to think about her own pregnancies. When she was pregnant with Bianca, she was happy to find that “life was reproducing in [her]” and she “wanted to do everything as well as possible” (122). Leda sees herself as different from the other women...