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56. Guess Who’s Back?
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
Before Emoni knows it, it’s Saturday and she’s struggling to get Babygirl’s shoes on so Tyrone can take her. Though Emoni clearly needs help, Tyrone is just angrily sitting and doing nothing. When Babygirl accidentally kicks Emoni in the nose, ’Buela takes her into the bedroom so Emoni and Tyrone can talk. Tyrone insists he has nothing to say, but Emoni persists. She points out that there are all sorts of pictures on social media of Tyrone with girls and Babygirl—and she notes that she and Tyrone will be Babygirl’s parents forever, so they can’t act like children. Emoni understands now that it’s true you become your own parents: she sounds like ’Buela.
Emoni points out that Tyrone is in no way acting his age, or like the father he is. Instead, he’s acting as much like a toddler as his toddler daughter is. It’s possible to see, in Emoni’s speech to Tyrone, that she’s internalized lessons from Chef Ayden’s class already. Essentially, she’s asking Tyrone to realize that they must be a team and parent Babygirl together. They can’t just ignore each other or try to control each other. And she comes at this calmly, making it clear that she, at least, is ready to be on the same team with him.
Themes
Sighing and looking ashamed, Tyrone says it’s fine that they decided not to stay together, but he thought Emoni wasn’t going to see other guys. Slowly, Emoni says she can date. She says it’s fine that Tyrone has people around checking in on Babygirl, but it’s not okay for him to keep tabs on her dating life—it’s just going to hurt Babygirl. Tyrone says nothing, but when ’Buela returns with Babygirl, he takes the toddler and asks Babygirl to kiss Emoni goodbye. This is as close as Emoni will get to an apology. Babygirl barely stirs when she realizes Emoni and ’Buela aren’t coming with her, so Emoni closes the door. ’Buela says that Emoni is doing well, but Emoni feels lost.
Up until Malachi entered Emoni’s life, dating didn’t seem all that attractive, and so there was no issue with Tyrone. Now, though, Emoni is entering a slightly new phase of life, one where she must balance romance with being a coparent to a toddler. Once again, Tyrone seems to be the one struggling with this transition the most, highlighting his immaturity. This becomes especially apparent as Babygirl doesn’t fuss about leaving her mom and great-grandma—she, too, is growing up.
Themes
