Summary

In “Returning,” the flight attendant woke the narrator after landing in Garboza, her husband Peter’s home country (88). The plane was empty. Peter was gone.

The narrator scanned the airport, but did not see Peter. She could not go through customs because Peter had their “passports and visas” (89). She asked the attendant to call Peter over the intercom. She explained that they were there for the Morning Festival. After a conversation about the festival, the attendant called Peter.

Before coming to Garboza, Peter “had been working a lot” (91). The narrator spent most of her time alone. One such night, she attended “an informal college reunion” hosted by her former classmate Y (91). She talked to a woman about “the linear narrative of marriage” (93). In the kitchen, Y made her a drink he said she had liked in college. She thought he was confusing her for...