Clap When You Land: Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

Yahaira was small the last time she saw her parents kiss, but it’s still hard to learn that Mami wasn’t happy. Papi always seemed happy, though, so Yahaira wishes she knew what caused them to grow apart. She used to think it was that Mami was jealous of how Yahaira and Papi bonded over chess. But even when Yahaira became more interested in nails and Mami’s job, Mami still acted like she didn’t like Papi. Now, Yahaira wonders if Mami did know about the other woman, even if she never saw the certificate. “Unhappy” can contain so many questions.

Thirty-One Days After. On Monday night, Tía Lidia comes for dinner. They eat in silence until Tía Lidia asks about Yahaira’s college essay. Yahaira shares that she’s thinking of applying to different schools. At this, Mami perks up and sharply says that they only have each other, so Yahaira should’ve said something. She says that Papi always had more people than he needed in his life. Then she storms away from the table. Tía Lidia gently tells Yahaira that Mami is having a hard time. Her marriage was difficult, and though Papi was a great father, he wasn’t always a good husband. It's confusing that Papi could’ve been so many things. Yahaira almost asks if everyone knows—but if nobody knows, she can’t “reveal the dirt on [her] father’s name.”

Yahaira keeps thinking about a chess tournament she went to in Memphis with both Mami and Papi. It’s a happy memory, both because she won, and because the Mississippi River boat tour was amazing. The guide spoke about how the river stays constant, even as the world around it changes. People have lost gold and boats in it, and cities have risen and fallen on its banks. But the river just keeps rising and falling. Yahaira thinks about this as Mami angrily storms around the house. Anger might be like a river, crumbling things and hiding skeletons.

Thirty-Five Days After. Yahaira logs on to social media for the first time in weeks. She peruses the messages and notifications—and finds a friend request from a Camino Rios in Sosúa, Dominican Republic. Her skin’s a bit lighter than Yahaira’s, but Yahaira can’t take her eyes off the profile picture. Yahaira is in a red bathing suit, Papi’s arm around her shoulders. There’s a sinking feeling in Yahaira’s chest; she can barely breathe.

The feeling in Yahaira’s chest grows and chokes her. She yells for Mami, who runs immediately into Yahaira’s room. Yahaira asks who the girl is, if she’s a cousin, and why Papi is with her. Mami slaps a hand to her chest. She says that she knows Papi was Yahaira’s hero, and she’s gone out of her way to let him stay that way. But the girl, Mami says, is Papi’s other daughter from his other family.

Yahaira, shaking, closes her laptop so she doesn’t throw it. She wants to shatter the picture of the girl and Papi. How could nobody have told her she had a sister? And Yahaira has been holding what felt like a huge secret for a year now, but she never imagined Papi could have another child. It seems like everyone knew about his other family, even Mami—the very person Yahaira tried to protect by staying silent. Yahaira has spent a year trying to come to terms with Papi’s other life, but she didn’t even have the whole story. She pulls away from Mami’s comforting hand, thinking that the lies her whole family has swallowed must be rotting in their stomachs.

Yahaira admits that she knew about Papi’s other wife, and she can’t believe that nobody told her. Mami says they didn’t want to burden her, but Yahaira gasps that she only now found out about “This—person.” Mami gently reminds Yahaira to breathe. But Yahaira feels like she’s falling apart. She has a sister.

Yahaira listens, confused, as Mami explains that Papi’s other wife was actually her friend; Mami met Papi through her. Papi married the other woman after Mami, so it wasn’t legal—but the other woman didn’t learn that until later. Mami explains that she defied her father’s wishes to marry Papi, and she almost died when she learned Papi betrayed her. Then, her voice breaking, Mami says that Papi’s other wife died 10 years ago, and she and Papi never got over it. Mami says she always wanted her to go away, but she died horribly. Yahaira wants to hate “this dead woman” for making Mami so obviously upset. It’s that woman’s fault that Papi left every year, had a child, and died. But Yahaira realizes she wants to hate a dead woman—and a girl who probably hates Yahaira for keeping Papi away from her.

Yahaira asks Mami why Papi would do this to them. Mami says that Papi once said he felt like he had to perform and prove he was good enough for Mami. He never felt like that around his other wife, who was a childhood friend. Mami was the smart choice, while the other woman let Papi be a dreamer. She continues, explaining that Papi sacrificed everything for his other daughter, and that he loved both Yahaira and Camino. Papi probably even loved both Mami and his other wife; he was a complicated person. Mami says that when the other wife died, she refused to bring the girl here, but Papi refused to abandon her. Mami knows she never should’ve asked him to. This led Papi to “create[] a theater of his life” and lose himself in his various roles.

Mami looks just as exhausted as Yahaira feels. Yahaira doesn’t want to talk anymore, so Mami kisses her goodnight and leaves the room. Deep down, Yahaira knows this isn’t Mami’s fault—but she’s tired of everyone lying to her, and Mami is here to be mad at. Yahaira stares at Camino’s message and at Papi hugging another girl. Yahaira should delete the message and ignore this girl. She decides to decline the friend request.