Chapter 8 Summary

Esperanza spends her first day alone with the two babies. At first, she is proud of herself and that she is at least contributing in some way. However, she gives the babies raw plums that make them sick. To make matters worse, she forgets to add water to the pot of beans on the stove as she was asked, so they are burned and the pot blackened. She saves most of the beans, and remembers when she was little and sick Hortensia would give her rice water. She makes some for the babies and that seems to help them, and her day ends a little better than it started.

Late in the summer, her friends Melina and Irene come to her cabin for a visit. The grapes are ripe at this time, and everyone works seven days each week to get them picked...