Summary

In Chapter 13,“The Pessimist and the Optimist,” it is 1969. Chacko has moved out of his room so Margaret and Sophie Mol can be together. Sophie Mol and Margaret are napping there. Sophie Mol wakes and after feeling trapped, she thinks of Joe while Margaret sleeps. Chacko and Margaret’s wedding picture is on the bedside table. Margaret’s mother is in the picture, but she doesn’t look happy. Margaret’s father had refused to attend the wedding because of his prejudice against Indians. In the corner of the picture is a man on a bicycle. It is implied that this might be Joe.

There is a flashback or memory to when Margaret and Chacko met. Margaret’s father owned a bakery, and her mother was a hat-maker’s assistant in a shop. Margaret did not live at home, and wished to become a...