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34. Three’s Company
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in With the Fire on High, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age and Teen Parenthood
Creativity vs. Professional Norms
Food and Connection
Caregiving, Independence, and Identity
Support, Community, and Mentorship
Summary
Analysis
Emoni convinces Malachi he doesn’t need to walk her home from the train station. She enters the house with a smile, but ’Buela isn’t smiling—she expected Emoni 30 minutes ago and Emoni hasn’t been answering her phone. ’Buela says she had to leave for a doctor’s appointment 15 minutes ago. Emoni asks if everything is okay. She explains to readers that ’Buela was a seamstress in the alterations department at Macy’s for decades, until she got her hand caught in a machine. Now, Emoni fears that something is seriously wrong or that ’Buela is sick and unwilling to tell her. Emoni feels panicky; she can’t live without ’Buela.
In some ways, Emoni is extremely mature. She takes on a lot of Babygirl’s care, she grocery shops, and she has a job. But in other ways, Emoni is still a kid who needs her own caregiver. So, it’s a scary proposition to consider that ’Buela may be unwell—and might even be sick enough to die—as this would leave Emoni without the most important person in her support network. This tension illuminates the extra difficulties she faces as a teen parent.
Themes
’Buela assures Emoni she’s fine; this is just a follow-up appointment, and she’s anxious because Julio called. He’s called twice in the last week, but Emoni has been avoiding him after how he left last summer. Emoni goes to Babygirl in the living room. She thinks it's silly for her dad to call his mom to get ahold of her, but ’Buela tells Emoni to call Julio. Squatting in front of Babygirl, Emoni brightly tells her daughter that when Babygirl’s an adult, they’ll both call each other.
Emoni takes Julio as an example of how not to parent. She doesn’t want to have the same kind of relationship with Babygirl when she’s older as Emoni has with Julio now; she’d rather engage more openly and directly with her daughter.
Themes
Emoni finds Julio confusing. He encourages kids in Puerto Rico to read, raises money for local causes, and hosts political lectures. But he never sends money home and seems not to care about his own family. Now, Emoni wipes Babygirl’s cheek and straightens the sofa cushions. Thinking about Julio makes her feel itchy and like screaming, even though she loves him. After a minute, ’Buela says Emma recently had a snack and that she’ll pick up dinner for herself on her way home.
Objectively, Emoni can acknowledge that Julio does lots of good things. But she can’t shake the feeling that he doesn’t care about her the way she’d like him to. This may explain why she relies so heavily on ’Buela: ’Buela is the only adult who’s consistently been there for Emoni throughout her childhood.
Themes
