Summary
As "Caroline’s Wedding" begins, Grace Azile emerges from a Brooklyn courtroom, clutching her newly acquired U.S. citizenship certificate. Eager to share the moment, she phones her mother, affectionately known as Ma, who urges her to swiftly secure a passport, claiming it as the true symbol of American identity. To obtain this passport, Grace must briefly part with her certificate at the post office, a necessity that stirs unease within her. Memories of her mother’s harrowing experience—arrested in a sweatshop raid while pregnant with Caroline and detained for three days in an immigration jail—loom ominously over her thoughts.
Back at home, Grace finds Ma busy in the kitchen, simmering a pot of bone soup. This traditional Haitian dish, believed by Ma to possess the mystical ability to sever romantic bonds, has been a nightly staple ever since Caroline announced her engagement. Ma disapproves of her fiancé, Eric, because he hails from the Bahamas, not Haiti.
Caroline entered the world without a left forearm, a fact Ma attributes to a drug injected by a prison doctor during the sweatshop raid. Despite this, Ma considers Caroline fortunate to have been born at all. Unlike Grace, Caroline is a U.S. native.
Family Traditions and Tensions
Ma summons Grace to her bedroom, lamenting how Eric’s courtship of Caroline starkly contrasts with her own experience back in Haiti, where formal rituals defined their romance. Grace and Caroline’s father, referred to as Papa, has since passed away.
One evening, the sisters indulge in a Haitian free association game centered around the word "lost," a tradition passed down by Ma from her own youth. Ma interrupts their play to invite them to a mass for a deceased Haitian refugee woman. Grace complies, but Caroline opts out. The Catholic Church, catering specifically to the Haitian community, resonates with shared sorrow as the priest lists the names of refugees who perished at sea that week, many of whom are familiar to the congregation. He offers a prayer for the woman who died after giving birth on a boat, her child lost to the ocean's depths before she followed in despair. Grace reflects on the Haitian belief in underwater resting places for souls who chose to jump from slave ships, joining ancestors in eternal sleep. The priest asks the congregation to hold memories of their lost loved ones dear, and amidst rising cries, Ma departs abruptly.
Dreams and Memories
Caroline and Eric are planning a civil ceremony. Ma, clinging to tradition, insists Eric should bring his family for courtship recognition and seek her blessing through his father, as per old Haitian customs. Caroline confides in Grace about a dream featuring Papa, marking ten years since his passing. After Papa’s death, Ma instructed her daughters to wear red panties to deter his spirit from mistaking them for his wife, a superstition the girls ignored, yearning instead for his spectral visits. In their dreams, they chase him across barren fields, never catching him.
Grace shares tragic news of Mrs. Ruiz’s son, a Cuban neighbor, who was fatally shot by a plane pilot during an attempted hijacking from Havana to Miami.
Grace reminisces about childhood fantasies, hoping one day Caroline’s missing arm would magically emerge from Ma’s belly and float back to her. Though Caroline often wishes for someone to gently touch her arm stump, fears of offending her keep others at bay. She chillingly notes that severing a vein within her stump could prove fatal.
Bridging the Past and Present
In a dream, Grace finds herself at a masked ball, yearning to reach her father, who stands alongside Caroline. Her cries of exclusion...
(This entire section contains 1576 words.)
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echo through the scene, a poignant reminder of his vivid recollections of their life in Haiti and its cherished traditions.
With a month until Caroline’s wedding, Ma feigns enthusiasm for what she insists is the "real wedding," concealing her reluctance to prevent Caroline's resentment. She refuses to cook a customary wedding-night dinner. In an act of sisterly love, Grace plans a bridal shower for Caroline, despite Ma’s disdain for what she perceives as begging.
Confronting Change
The trio—Ma, Caroline, and Grace—visit Eric’s home for dinner. Ma’s disinterest in both Eric’s culinary skills and his character is palpable. Grace considers that hiring a Haitian cook might have warmed Ma’s heart. Despite her desire to stay with Eric, Caroline returns home with Ma and Grace, mindful of her mother’s fragile feelings. Ma cautions her daughter to cherish her reputation and shield herself from gossip. Once Ma falls asleep, Caroline discreetly calls a cab, slipping away to Eric.
In another haunting dream, Grace sees Papa reaching from a helicopter as she stands on a cliff, desperately trying to grasp his outstretched hand, seeking rescue from the abyss below.
Grace entered the world amidst the struggles of her parents, who lived in a humble shantytown in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They dubbed her their "misery baby," fearing she might not survive. In a bid to escape Haiti's harsh realities, Papa secured a visa through a sham marriage with a widow destined for the United States. Years down the line, after severing ties with the widow, he sent for Ma and Grace. This clandestine arrangement was a truth kept from Grace and Caroline until after his passing.
A Wedding Shower and Unspoken Emotions
At Caroline's wedding shower, once the guests have departed, Ma presents her with a silk teddy. Alone with Ma, Grace expresses surprise at her mother's choice of gift, assuming such items weren't to Ma's taste. But Ma counters, saying that living in America for twenty-five years leaves its mark. Concerned, Ma suspects Caroline is marrying Eric out of fear that no one else might offer his hand. Grace, however, suggests Eric's feelings might be genuine. Ma, with a touch of bitterness, comments about the stony nature of human hearts, hinting at her own disappointment with Papa's past choices. She then retrieves a bundle of letters from Papa, penned during his time in America, filled with mundane matters but void of love's warmth.
Before the Ceremony
The eve of Caroline's wedding finds her attempting to convey to Ma the reason behind their modest civil ceremony with Eric—a choice made to avoid lavish expenses. With a judge friend of Eric performing the ceremony in his office, Ma remarks on the "mechanical" nature of the event, labeling it as a quintessentially American approach.
Caroline models her wedding dress for Ma and Grace, complemented by a new prosthetic arm to alleviate the phantom pains she endures. Though not an amputee, she likens the emotional stress of the wedding to such a loss. Ma, reflecting on universal struggles, remarks, "In that case, we all have phantom pain."
The Wedding Day
On the morning of her wedding, Caroline wakes with a pained arm, apprehensive about the impending vows. Ma shares that she felt similarly on her own wedding day, then prepares a traditional herbal concoction, giving Caroline a soothing bath and rubbing the leaves on her skin. As Caroline gets ready to start her new life, Ma expresses anticipation for visiting her daughter's future home.
The family, alongside Eric, gathers at Judge Perez’s office for the ceremony. Grace is overcome with a sense of Caroline's departure from the family fold into new bonds. Post-ceremony, Caroline's spirits buoy, and during lunch, Grace raises a heartfelt toast, echoing Ma's sentiments that Caroline will always remain a part of the family. Sisters part ways, exchanging tearful goodbyes.
Dreams and Reflections
That evening, Ma receives a bouquet of red roses from Caroline, inhaling their fragrance as she affectionately murmurs "Sweet, sweet Caroline." In her dreams, Grace envisions herself beside Papa by a stream of rose-hued blood. They gaze at the stars, with Papa assuring Grace that she can always see them, no matter where she is. He engages her in a familiar game of questions, pondering what landscapes they'd paint or the name of a future daughter. Grace finds herself at a loss, realizing she’s forgotten the playful exchange. She awakens, for the first time, unsettled by the spectral presence of her father in her dreams.
Grace seeks Ma’s thoughts on Caroline’s wedding. Ma shares that when Papa left her for the widow and America, she crafted a charm to try and retain his love, aware his affections had shifted. She reveals a romantic letter of Papa’s proposal filled with respect, and softly concludes that Caroline’s wedding was pleasant.
New Beginnings
With the arrival of her passport, Grace finally feels a sense of belonging in the United States. She muses over the sacrifices her family endured for this document, then visits Papa’s grave, presenting him with the passport as a token of her newfound stability.
As Ma stirs bone soup in the kitchen, she informs Grace that she assured Caroline her bed would always be waiting, reversing her previous decision to discard it post-marriage. Grace, handling a bone, lets it slip into the pot, the splash leaving a red mark on her skin. She poses the questions Papa had once asked in her dream, but Ma, taking her rightful turn, inquires first. She poses a classic Haitian question Papa often asked: why is a lost item found in the last place you search? Grace smiles, knowing the truth lies in the simple fact that once you rediscover it, the search ends.
