Clap When You Land

At the pool hall that her father owned, Yahaira’s family has made a memorial. Yahaira recalls the night Papi took her to the pool hall to celebrate a match she won, when he put on bachata music and gave her Coke “he had splashed with a little bit of rum” (173). Yahaira leaves a black queen chess piece at his memorial outside. She cites the ancient Greeks, who made sure to die with money to be ferried into the afterlife.

On the train ride home from Papi’s memorial, we learn that Dre has come to guard Yahaira, who has grown to dislike train rides. Yahaira recounts the attack on the train that marked the last time she would play chess. After winning and shaking hands with her opponent, Manny, Yahaira boards the train with her back to a man leaning on the doors. While the train runs for three stops, Yahaira feels the man gripping her legs and eventually feeling her inside of her underwear.

As school draws to a close for Yahaira 21 days after the crash, representatives from the airline come to Yahaira’s and Mami’s home with an advance payment of half a million dollars in reparation for Papi’s death.