The Farming Of Bones

The scene in this chapter parallels the scene in Chapter 3, with Amabelle and Sebastien talking in bed together at night, except this time he is asking about her father instead of her mother, and Amabelle is more reticent to reply. Amabelle says her father was “joyful” and playful in ways her mother was not (33). She then asks about his father and he reveals that as a young boy, he tried to carry his dead father as blood poured from his father’s throat. 

Señor Pico Duarte, Señora Valencia’s husband, arrives and runs with joy to his wife and newly-born children. He names the boy Rafael after the Generalissimo. Señor Pico then dismisses Juana and Amabelle so he can be with his family. Juana and Luis sit down to have dinner together and Luis reveals that on the way home, Señor Pico hit and killed a pedestrian with his vehicle. Before the conversation can further develop, Doctor Javier and his daughter, Señorita Beatriz, arrive to check on the newborn twins. Shortly after their arrival, Juana is asked to stay the night and Amabelle is sent home. Señor Pico tells Señora Valencia that he has a new assignment in the military, but Señora Valencia is less than pleased with this advancement, as she fears it means Señor Pico will spend even more time away from her.