Summary

In Chapter 11, the narrator orders an excessive number of pastries, hoping her frustration with Hana will disappear. Hana says nothing and carries the “bags of food” home (158). The narrator realizes she is trying to be a good daughter-in-law.

Back at the apartment, Xavier and Tomas are waiting for them. Hana arranges the pastries, serves the coffee, and insists on making eggs. Irritated, the narrator dismisses herself to the bedroom. She lies in bed listening to their voices and imagining what they are saying about her. She keeps replaying what Hana said. She thinks about her dynamic with Xavier, realizing her memory of their relationship is “full of gaps” (160). She wonders if she has been a bad mother after all. Then she reflects on Tomas’s relationship with Xavier. She realizes Tomas may have hoped for Xavier’s return home all along. She...