Summary
Cara arrives for her fifth session and brings yuca arepitas for Lissette. She says she did not go to the housekeeping interview because the job that was advertised would be too far away for her to travel to every day. She talks about her neighbor, La Vieja Caridad, and mentions how she cooks for her every day, making sure that the food is soft enough for her to chew. Cara says that she worries about La Vieja Caridad because she "smells" cancer on her, but La Vieja Caridad refuses to go to the hospital.
Cara then says to Lissette that her brother-in-law Hernán mentioned a job opening at a hospital near where he works. She says that Hernán is a sensitive and thoughtful man. She adds that he is a good cook who wastes nothing and that she taught him everything knows. She comments on the fact that the test said she was an innovator, saying that this doesn't really surprise her. She tells Lissette that when she worked at the lamp factory, she was very involved in labor organizing.
Cara recounts how at the factory she and the other workers were not allowed to take their legally required breaks. After Lulu is injured, her doctor tells her she needs to avoid sitting all day. To mitigate the damage done to their bodies, Cara becomes determined to organize a secret system that allows people to take their breaks. She narrowly avoids a major confrontation when Maria, another worker who Cara doesn't trust, tells their boss she has been stealing toilet paper. She says it is important to know who you can trust in situations like these.
She also tells the story of her brother Rafa's marriage to a woman named Miguelina. She says that Miguelina kicked him out after he cheated on her. Cara says that he drank constantly and purchased a car for the woman he was having an affair with. Eventually, Miguelina changed the locks on the apartment and Rafa had to move in with Cara. Cara says that she was able to smell sickness on him too. He gets this diagnosis confirmed with the doctor who says he has diabetes. He then moves in with the woman he was having an affair with. Finally, Cara mentions how Lulu had a confrontation with the building management about water damage in her apartment. The chapter ends with a job interview prep form, as well as an application Cara fills out for a job as a nanny. The form indicates she was rejected for the job.
In the next session, Cara recounts the affair she had with a married man named Jose. She says that Jose owned the dollar store on her street and used to drop by her home for visits. She says that he frequently complained about his wife, which she took as a sign that he was interested in her. She says that their relationship never became very serious but that he would visit her and they would have sex. She says that she does not feel ashamed about it and that it helped her heal during some of her loneliest years. She adds that she also knows that Hernán is attracted to her which, despite nothing ever happening between them, makes her feel good about herself and her physical appearance.
She then tells a story about a time she went to the Statue of Liberty with her class from the English school. The professor asks Cara where she wants to go and she says the Statue of Liberty. She says that she surprised Lulu by being willing to take the stairs all the way up to the crown. She says that when they went to the top they looked out over the whole city and thought it was beautiful. She marvels at how she has come so far from the Dominican Republic.
Cara says she went to interview for the nanny position but said she couldn't live away from her home, as too many people depend on her. She says that Lulu depends on her, and talks about how she came over the other night. Lulu tells her that things with Adonis are very bad, as he was careless with his money, despite knowing he was going to be laid off. She is uncertain of what to do because she has no money to loan him. The chapter ends with another rent statement for Cara, indicating that her outstanding balance has continued to grow.
Analysis
Money appears as a key theme in this part of the book, as Cara talks about the exploitative labor practices at the lamp factory. She says that the management took advantage of people's financial vulnerability and never allowed them to take breaks or time off. She says that they used the threat of layoffs to force them to work in unsafe conditions. Cara gets around this by secretly meeting with people and setting up a system where people cover for each other, allowing them to take breaks covertly. This passage in the book highlights the way in which the factory management forced people like Cara and Lulu to work in conditions that actively harmed their health. It also underscores the fact that the management of the factory knew that no one could afford to lose their job, so they could treat them however they wanted to. This part reveals how the lack of money opened these people up to a much more significant degree of possible harm, as their bosses were aware of the precariousness of their finances.
Sexuality is another important theme in this middle section. Cara discusses an affair she had with a married man by the name of Jose. She goes into great detail about their relationship and talks about how he used to stop by and complain about his wife to her. Eventually they became romantically involved and she says that it never became a real relationship, but it was something she enjoyed and that made her happy. Her refusal to apologize for their relationship is indicative of the fact that she does not have a negative view of her sexuality, but instead views it as a regenerative and essential part of her life. However, she also acknowledges that part of what made her time with Jose happy was the fact that they never got married. She believes that if they had done so, he would have eventually grown tired of her and vice versa. In this way, Cruz shows how this relationship was beneficial to Cara without necessarily falling into the category of a great romantic love.
Generosity is also a major theme in these two chapters. Cara goes out of her way to be supportive of her neighbors and former coworkers. She cooks for Vieja Caridad and listens to Lulu talking about her problems. She ultimately does not pursue the job as a nanny because she is unable to commit to living outside of her apartment building. She notes that too many people depend on her for that to be workable. Cara talks about these things in a casual manner, repeatedly stating that it is simply what people should do for each other and that she views these things as small favors. Her downplaying of her own generosity underlines how giving she is to the people around her. For her, these kindnesses are not labor, they are simply basic decency.
Motherhood is another important theme in this middle section. Adonis returns home to tell Lulu about his mounting financial problems. Lulu learns that Adonis has wasted his money on unnecessary things like cruise vacations. Lulu says he did this despite knowing that he would be laid off the following year. She is worried as she has no money to give him. Adonis's callous and wasteful behavior demonstrates how his inflated ego has undermined his family's future. Cara does not say it explicitly, but this puts a new light on Lulu's constant praise of Adonis, as he never seemed to learn about consequences. Her constant celebration of him ends up making him irresponsible and selfish, too prideful to take on additional work to support his family.
These two chapters focus on developing the reader's sense of Cara's complexity as a character. She is extremely generous with her time and energy, taking care of people and showing compassion for them without any thought of repayment. At the same time, she is not a perfect, saint-like figure. As displayed in the moments with Jose and Hernán, she appreciates being desired even when the people interested in her are married. In these moments, the reader comes to appreciate the fact that Cara has competing wishes, as she wants to be fulfilled as an individual, but still believes it is her job to take care of the people around her, even when these two things come into conflict.
