Summary

Gonzalo started visiting Memorial Park daily. He “tried to absorb . . . the landscape” (139). He wrote poems. He studied the visitors.

Two months later, Gonzalo had a book of poems solidified. He titled it Memorial Park. It was eventually accepted by Why Not Editions. Although it “wasn’t the ideal offer,” Gonzalo “was happy” (140). Gonzalo lay awake thinking about the publication” and the “government grant to finance a doctorate in New York” he had won (141). The grant was what Fatty Salgado had really been referring to. He worried about telling Carla because she was still grieving the lost baby.

When he finally told her, an argument ensued. Carla did not want to go to New York. Later, after having sex, Carla lay awake. She decided “her story with Gonzalo was over” (146). She knew he had raised and loved Vicente, but...