NOVEMBER, Beans with Chile Tezcucana-Style
- In honor of John and his Aunt Mary (who came from Pennsylvania to attend their wedding), Tita prepares the yummy bean dish.
- She also fixes Pedro's breakfast—when he learns of her meal for John he gets pissed.
- Pedro wants Tita to tell John she's 1) not marrying him and 2) she's preggers with Pedro's lovechild.
- Tita refuses and Pedro threatens to do it for her.
- Not so fast, chico. Tita tells P-daddy that she's not pregnant.
- In a not-so-cute way, Pedro gets sulky and asks if she's having doubts about being with him.
- Tita is shocked by his attitude and thinks he has turned into a "monster of selfishness and suspicion" (11,721). Agreed.
- Tita has to eat lunch alone whilst Chencha is off having her first baby (when that happened, we're not exactly sure).
- Just as Tita digs in Rosaura comes into the kitchen, somehow 65 pounds lighter in 7 days…take that, Jenny Craig.
- They lock eyes whilst Tita breaks the ends of her tortillas for the chicken.
- Rosaura breaks the silence and they get into a huge argument about Pedro, family tradition, and Esperanza.
- Rosaura tells Tita she can sneak around with Pedro and be a "loose woman" but that she intends to be his wife.
- Esperanza starts to wail and cry.
- Rosaura leaves and tells Tita that she can never feed Esperanza again.
- Natch, Tita's hurt and wishes Rosaura would be "swallowed up by the earth" (11,745).
- Tita feeds the tortilla pieces to the chickens and stares at the handmade diapers she made for Esperanza hanging on the clothesline.
- Hitchcock would love this scene: the chickens peck at each other for the last scraps of tortilla and one starts pecking out the eyes of every hen.
- The birds spray Esperanza's white diapers with blood, destroy everything, sweep Tita off her feet, and fling her to the opposite end of the patio.
- Shaken (we would be more than shaken), Tita goes inside and sees that her beans are undercooked.
- She remembers that Nacha said when people argue food won't cook well and the only solution is to sing to the food.
- Tita sings a waltz and thinks of the first meeting with Pedro in the dark room.
- Eureka. The beans cook to perfection.
- Upstairs, Tita brushes her teeth with powder and thinks of her childhood teacher, Jovita, who was said to have been a widow and mom at 18 and eventually ended up sweeping the streets.
- Tita serves John and Aunt Mary the beans and of course, she's impressed.
- John asks if Tita is okay (in Spanish so the aunt won't understand).
- Tita says "John, I think we'd better call it off" (11,775).
- When John asks why Tita confesses she is not a virgin anymore. Snap.
- Good ol' John tells her that he still loves her and wants to marry her, but that it's her decision.
- When John and Aunt leave, he says "I don't want to put any pressure on you, I just want to assure you that you would be happy with me" (11,795). Is it just us, or is John too nice?