Esmeralda and her family move into a new place—a house this time—where Esmeralda once again must share a room with her sisters. The house is near Esmeralda’s cousin Alma, and the two make plans to move in with each other when Esmeralda graduates from high school. However, when their mothers learn of the plan, they object: “[A]ccording to our mothers, two young women living together were still alone if there was no man to keep an eye on them” (139). Mami gives birth to her son, Charlie, and Don Carlos re-inserts himself into their lives. An angry Tata belittles both Don Carlos for being a scoundrel and Mami for taking him back. Esmeralda’s cousin, La Muda, and her long-time boyfriend, Luigi, break up when their relationship becomes increasingly volatile. Luigi returns to Puerto Rico, where he dies under mysterious circumstances; some people think it was his arthritis, while others believe he committed suicide.

At school, Esmeralda’s teachers and counselors urge her to go to college, but Esmeralda wants a different path: “I wanted to be out in the world, to earn my own living, to help Mami, yes, but also to stop depending on her for my every need” (141).