The Murmur of Bees

The first-person narrator compares the Morales’s return to Amistad to his own return to his childhood home as an old man. Both Francisco Junior and his parents expect things to be the same, but almost nothing is the same.

When Francisco goes to collect his mail, the postmaster tells him he’ll need a wagon. The narrative reveals that Francisco returns home in a fury, though the source of his ire is unspoken. Beatriz calms Francisco and she berates herself for not understanding how Francisco would react when he learned of Carmen’s secret romance.

At the post office, Francisco receives a huge sack of mail containing 89 love letters from Antonio, Carmen’s suitor. Everyone in the town seems to know about the letters.

This infuriates Francisco, who takes the letters into his study, where he kicks and throws them. A servant, Martín, finds Beatriz and tells her Francisco is having a fit. Beatriz rushes home to find Francisco frowning, his eyes closed. She fears he has had a stroke until his eyes open and he explains his anger. Beatriz admits she knew about Antonio. They discuss the aspects of Carmen’s romance, and Francisco sets down some rules about what will happen.