The Farming Of Bones

Despite several offers to help him, Señor Pico insists on digging his son’s grave. Señora Valencia wants to join but Juana convinces her she needs to care for Rosalinda. Señora Valencia begs Juana to talk about Señora Valencia’s mother and Juana concedes, describing her as a happy mother and, after some initial hesitancy, a happy wife. Amabelle leaves to go to Sebastien’s and stops by Don Carlos’s compound on the way, in order to try and speak with Kongo. Félice is sitting outside his lodgings and announces he will not let her in, but he allows Amabelle in. Kongo tells Amabelle how helpful Sebastien has been to him. She explains that Papi, Señora Valencia’s father, wants to visit him and to pay for Joël’s funeral but Kongo refuses. She goes to Sebastien’s, where they tussle over Sebastien smiling at Rafi’s death. He is angry that she is so defensive of the folks she works for and walks her back to stay the night with them. The next morning, Señor Pico leaves to bury Rafi. Señora Valencia helps to prepare him for burial but stays at home to care for Rosalinda during the ceremony. While she is sitting on the verandah, she sees a group of cane workers walking by and asks Amabelle to invite them in. They’re suspicious but based on Kongo’s actions, a bunch of them follow Amabelle back to Señora Valencia’s. She has Juana and Amabelle make them coffee and use her orchid-patterned tea set. Kongo separates from the group and approaches Señora Valencia. He tells her he understands her pain as he just lost a son, too. The cane workers then leave, knowing they could lose money if they don’t come to work on time. When Señor Pico comes home and finds out about Señora Valencia’s guests, he breaks all the orchid-patterned teacups.

Amabelle recalls how her father used to make lanterns shaped like monuments for her. When she asked him to make a lantern of his face, he said that “It would be too vain […] to spend more time than God reproducing oneself” (117).