Summary

In Chapter 4, the narrator and Adriaan go to Adriaan’s apartment. They fall asleep together in the bed that Adriaan and Gaby had shared until recently. The narrator gets up at one point to use the bathroom and get water. On a wall, she sees a framed photograph of Adriaan, Gaby, and their children, and she worries that Adriaan and Gaby will eventually get back together. She also worries that Adriaan sees her simply as a temporary placeholder for Gaby. The narrator manages to dismiss her worries for the time being and simply focus on how much she enjoys being with Adriaan.

In Chapter 5, the narrator goes to work. Amina will soon be on maternity leave, so the narrator is preparing to take over interpreting for a trial in which Amina is one of the current interpreters. The defendant is the deposed president of...