The Tortilla Curtain

After the community meeting, Delaney walks through Arroyo Blanco. The subdivision does not have streetlights, making him feel closer to nature, but his peace is interrupted by a car driving by with headlights and rap music blaring. He wonders who would drive through Arroyo Blanco in “a car like that” (67) and suspects they might be criminals. Safe in his house, he notices that the bedroom light is on. Kyra is waiting for him, even though it is past her bedtime. He reflects that “the little tragedies of life” often arouse his wife, and he enters the room to find her waiting in lingerie (68). They begin to have sex, but Kyra asks Delaney if her dog is really dead, and he admits to finding the severed foreleg. Kyra accuses Delaney of lying and demands to see the leg.

The next morning, Kyra struggles to muster her typical enthusiasm for work. Arriving at the first listing, she finds a large puddle of water on the front porch. Annoyed by the gardener’s incompetence, she sweeps the water away and wanders through the empty house, reflecting on the property and her career. She is responsible for 46 listings and feels a sense of ownership over these houses as if she is “the queen of some fanciful country” (73).