affection they share.

However, he cannot linger too long on these memories, as he must face the stark realities that drove him to leave Santo Domingo in search of a better life in the United States. "If this was another kind of story, I’d tell you about the sea," he notes. He wishes he could poetically describe the stunning Dominican landscape, but he cannot because it is inhabited by "[m]ore albinos, more cross-eyed niggers, more tígueres [street children who often resort to stealing and prostitution in order to survive] than you’ll ever see." He is momentarily sidetracked by thoughts of beautiful young Dominican women before returning to his narrative about Santo Domingo and its rundown vehicles that fill the city streets. He describes the makeshift homes where most of the city's residents, including his grandfather, live without running water or a proper toilet. Reflecting on his birthplace, Calle XXI (21st Street), he wonders whether it will remain stuck in the past or finally progress toward the modernity it desperately needs. Ultimately, still puzzled by the lack of development in his homeland, the narrator concludes, "Santo Domingo is Santo Domingo. Let’s pretend we all know what goes on there."

Yunior, the narrator, holds onto the hope that he and Magda can rekindle their past closeness by engaging in activities that once bonded them, such as visiting his family. However, this time, Magda seems uninterested and, to Yunior's surprise, openly admits it, which he sees as a drastic shift in her demeanor. Despite this, Yunior tries hard to be a gracious host, highlighting new developments like restaurant chains since his last visit and sharing stories about his country's history. Yet, he reluctantly acknowledges that things are not going well, as usually talkative Magda remains silent during their bus ride from Santo Domingo to the countryside.

Magda and Yunior continue to disagree on how to spend their vacation. While Magda wants to visit the beach, Yunior prefers the countryside. He blames Magda's friends for their issues but manages to keep his frustration in check. Eventually, he concedes and arranges for them to travel to the resort town of La Romana earlier than planned.

Part 3

Upon reaching La Romana, the roles reverse, and Yunior finds himself bored. His mind drifts towards intimacy rather than watching TV. He laments the infrequency of their sexual encounters and how much more challenging it is to entice Magda now than before. Their intimate moments have become routine, lacking any excitement or romance.

Yunior is dissatisfied with their accommodations. It's not that the hotel is lacking; rather, it's too flashy and isolated, keeping them away from anything that might disrupt the facade of luxury. He feels "cut off from everyone else," especially the everyday people he misses. Yunior likens the resort to a foreign land where "the only Island Dominicans you're sure to see are either serving you or cleaning up." Breakfast is served by "cheerful women in Aunt Jemima outfits."

The couple continues to argue over how much time they should spend apart during the vacation. Magda suggests she needs some alone time "maybe once a day," but Yunior insists they stick together. They settle on a compromise by taking a golf cart to the beach.

Yunior comments again on the differences between the resort and the rest of the country. "Casa de Campo has beaches like the rest of the island has problems," he observes. After listing the many joys of Dominican life missing from the resort, Yunior shifts his focus to the numerous white Europeans, the "budget Foucaults," who crowd the beach, admiring the local girls. He describes each tourist as resembling "some terrifying pale creature the sea has spit out."

When Yunior sees Magda in a new bikini, which her friends helped her choose, he immediately suspects they are plotting to "torture" him. Instead of boosting his confidence, Magda's beauty only heightens Yunior's insecurities. He confesses to feeling "vulnerable and uneasy." The confidence and swagger that once defined his sexual allure vanish, leaving Yunior pleading with Magda for a declaration of love. She remains unmoved, dismissing him by calling him a "pestilence."

Yunior's insecurities intensify when they arrive at the beach. He worries that they don't appear as a couple and becomes painfully conscious of the attention Magda attracts in her new bikini. Meanwhile, Yunior feels as if everyone is eyeing him with suspicion.

An Assistant District Attorney, also a Dominican from Quisqueya Heights like Yunior, takes an interest in Magda and begins chatting with her. Yunior feels a surge of jealousy and possessiveness, threatening the Assistant D.A. with violence. The Assistant D.A. expresses deep empathy for his fellow Dominicans who stand before him in court. However, Yunior sees him as a traitor, thinking, "I’m thinking he sounds like the sort of nigger who in the old days used to lead bwana to the rest of us." Yunior's aggressive stance toward the Assistant D.A. prompts Magda to leave in disgust. Yunior doesn't argue because he already anticipates her response: "Time for you to do your thing and me to do mine."

That evening, Yunior decides to spend time by the pool and at Club Cacique, the local bar. There, he meets Lucy, a "Dominicana from West New York" who physically resembles Magda, except Lucy is Trigueña, with wheat-colored skin. Although Yunior is drawn to Lucy's beauty, he resists temptation when he notices a "spiderweb of scars" on her stomach. Later, he encounters "two rich older dudes drinking cognac at the bar," who turn out to be the Vice-President and his bodyguard, Bárbaro. Yunior describes the Vice-President as "a young brother, in his late thirties, and pretty cool for a chupabarrio," though there are questions about whether he gained his wealth legally. "I must have the footprint of fresh disaster on my face," Yunior thinks, as the Vice-President quickly orders shots of rum for everyone. Soon after, the Vice-President and Bárbaro begin offering Yunior advice about women, advice that mirrors what Yunior's friends in Quisqueya Heights have told him.

Yunior questions whether his tendency to be unfaithful is an inherent trait. Did he cheat on Magda simply because he is Dominican? Magda’s friends claim that “all us Dominican men are dogs.” Yunior rejects the idea that his cheating is due to genetics, instead pointing to what he calls “[c]ausalities.” He attempts to soothe his bruised ego by asserting that every relationship encounters “turbulence” at some stage.

Yunior reminisces about the early days of his relationship with Magda. He remembers with precise detail how they truly became a couple after a year of dating. Although Yunior is willing to make the necessary compromises for a stable, albeit somewhat dull, relationship, his restless nature surfaces when he reflects on that first year with Magda: “Our relationship wasn’t the sun, the moon, and the stars, but it wasn’t [b—— sh——t], either.”

His thoughts turn to intimacy, and he justifies his eventual infidelity by mentioning the numerous chances for affairs he had previously resisted. In his mind, he is merely a victim of circumstance. He then considers how the affair with Cassandra began. “First week of knowing her, I made the mistake of telling her that sex with Magda had never been topnotch,” he admits. Although he does not fully accept responsibility for his part in the affair, implying again that he is a helpless observer and that Cassandra’s intense sexuality is another “causality” that contributed to the breakdown of his relationship with Magda, Yunior recalls feeling guilty for betraying the woman he loved, even in moments of passion.

As another vacation day begins, Magda and Yunior barely communicate. The resort is hosting a party that evening, inviting all guests. While getting dressed in front of the mirror, Yunior admires Magda’s appearance and fondly remembers the first time he kissed her curls, “shiny and as dark as night.” Hope for reconciliation briefly flickers in Yunior, but it quickly fades when Magda tells him she wants to be alone tonight. A heated argument erupts, with harsh words exchanged. In the end, Yunior departs, feeling sorry for himself and thinking, “I’m not a bad guy.”

Yunior heads back to Club Cacique in search of Lucy but instead encounters the Vice-President and his bodyguard. They are seated at a quiet corner of the bar, sipping cognac and chatting about the number of Dominican baseball players in the major leagues. "This place is killing me," Yunior remarks, prompting the Vice-President to suggest a drive. He wants to show Yunior "the birthplace of our nation." With nothing else on his agenda, Yunior agrees to join them. Before leaving, he takes one last look around the room and sees Lucy, who, despite looking a bit disheveled, remains quite alluring. Reluctantly, Yunior follows the men out of the club.

The trio sets off in a black BMW sedan along dark roads, the air fragrant with sugar cane as insects swarm like a "Biblical plague" in the car's headlights. The Vice-President and Bárbaro engage in conversation while passing around a bottle of cognac. Yunior wonders about their destination but reassures himself that he is in the company of the Vice-President, who must be competent to have reached such a position. However, Yunior harbors doubts about Bárbaro. The bodyguard's hand trembles as he recounts his past dreams of becoming an engineer, leading Yunior to question his suitability as a bodyguard. Yunior is mostly preoccupied with thoughts of Magda and the likelihood that he'll never be intimate with her again.

As they exit the car, mosquitoes feast on them while they navigate a slope overgrown with vegetation. Bárbaro holds a large flashlight, and the Vice-President struggles to remember the way. Yunior re-evaluates his opinion of Bárbaro when he sees him confidently wielding a machine gun, his hand steady.

Eventually, the Vice-President finds the location, a hole in the red earth that Yunior identifies as bauxite. The hole is deep and "blacker than any of us," Yunior observes as he peers into it. The Vice-President declares this is the Cave of the Jagua, "the birthplace of the Tainos." He dismisses Yunior's geographical corrections, insisting he is "speaking mythically," as he gazes at the site with reverence. Bárbaro's flashlight barely penetrates the darkness as the men continue to examine the hole.

When the Vice-President invites Yunior to look inside, Yunior can't clearly remember his response. However, he realizes he must have agreed, as he recalls Bárbaro giving him a flashlight before the men grabbed his ankles to lower him into the hole. As he's lowered, coins spill from his pockets, which are “bendiciones,” or offerings, to his ancestors' spirits. Yunior's view is limited, seeing only “some odd colors on the eroded walls” of the “cave,” while the Vice-President comments, “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Yunior thinks, “This is the perfect place for insight, for a person to become somebody better,” while hanging upside down. He envisions this as the spot where the Vice-President first dreamed of “his future self,” a person who would rise from poverty to become a successful businessman. Yunior also imagines Bárbaro, with his aspirations to help others still alive, buying a concrete house for his mother and teaching her to use the air conditioner. Instead of focusing on his future self, as he believes the others did, Yunior reflects on the past, recalling when he first met Magda during their college days at Rutgers. “And that’s when I know it’s over,” he realizes. “As soon as you start thinking about the beginning, it’s the end.” Yunior begins to cry, prompting the men to pull him back up. The Vice-President, witnessing Yunior's failure to seize this chance, criticizes him for being less than a man.

Part 4

Reflecting on the events of the night he visited the Cave of the Jagua, Yunior concludes that “some serious Island voodoo” must have been at play, as the ending he foresaw became reality. He and Magda returned to the United States the following day, cutting their vacation short.

Five months later, Yunior receives a letter from Magda revealing she's seeing someone new, a “very nice guy.” “Dominican, like me,” Yunior notes. Although Yunior has a new girlfriend, seeing Magda’s handwriting deeply affects him. He now understands that their relationship is truly over.

Yunior chastises himself for being so foolish. He recounts the painful end of his relationship with Magda on a night that once held the promise of happiness. In a flashback, he describes returning to the bungalow to find Magda with her bags packed, her eyes red and swollen from crying. “I’m going home tomorrow,” she tells him. He sits beside her and takes her hand, hoping she'll give him another chance. “This can work,” he insists. “All we have to do is try.”