Behold the Dreamers

When Neni arrives at the house weeks later, she is awed by its “profuse elegance” and “spotlessness” (112). Everything is pure white, and Neni nervously wonders how she will keep herself from spoiling anything. Mighty is there, and because he is a wonderful little boy, Neni settles into an easy relationship with him from the beginning. Vince is briefly there with Cindy and Mighty, and everyone seems happy.

Neni observes that Cindy is hungry for happiness and has a bottomless need to belong. Cindy’s neediness is puzzling to Neni because Cindy is such a superior human being, one who speaks deliberately, “as if she had the right to take up as much of the listener’s time as she wished” (115). Cindy tells Neni in no uncertain terms that she cannot abide “dishonesty, poor communication, and not acting with poise when company was around” (115). Despite her own seeming poise, Cindy spends hours on her phone ferreting out what party she has not been invited to or what activities she has been left out of.

Five days after she arrives in the Hamptons, Neni discovers Cindy in her bed. Cindy had told Neni not to wake her during her nap, but Neni absentmindedly enters Cindy's bedroom while housekeeping. Cindy is unconscious, pale, and drooling. Neni calls Jende in a panic to ask what she should do. Jende advises that she should leave Cindy. If she is dead or dying, it would be better for Clark or Vince to discover her. Neni then calls her friend, Betty, who advises her that Cindy is probably just high on drugs. Betty tells Neni gently to wake Ms. Edwards to make sure she is fine. If she is not, Neni should call Clark, instead of the police.

Neni manages to wake Cindy and gives her a glass of water. The empty prescription bottle beside the bed catches Neni’s eye. Cindy tells Neni that Clark and Vince will be out that night. After taking her bath, Cindy drives away in the family’s Jaguar.

The next day, Neni is forced to wake a groggy Cindy again. Cindy thanks Neni after Neni serves her breakfast. Neni says she was glad to help Cindy because she was sick, but Cindy interrupts her by saying that both women know Cindy was not sick at all. Neni apologizes for finding out about Cindy's drug abuse. Cindy responds by telling Neni her life story. Cindy came from nothing; she grew up on Spam and food stamps. She despised her poverty. Her mother once slapped her for asking for shrimp and vegetables for dinner one night.

Cindy worked her way through college and got a job and an apartment. She is a self-made woman and will do anything to keep all that she has fought for. Because of her origins, Cindy insists that her drug habit must be kept secret. She appeals to Neni as a woman and a mother to keep her secret. Neni agrees to do so, and Cindy gives Neni some of her many castoff designer clothes, some of Mighty's old toys, and a bonus to help with the baby, a “win-win solution” (125).

Back at home, Jende and Liomi live like bachelors while Neni is out. They sleep in the same bed, eat the meals Neni left in the freezer for them, and eat out every few days. One day, Liomi tells Jende that he overheard Neni talking about them going back to Cameroon. Jende reassures Liomi that they will never go back to Cameroon. Jende calls Neni and angrily asks why she was talking about the possibility of deportation. It could be years before they must go, according to Bubakar, so there is no need to be talking about it. Jende turns on Neni when he realizes that she must believe they will be deported. Neni apologizes and admits that she is just fearful of such an outcome.

That night, father and son go to a classical music concert in St. Nicholas Park but sleep apart. Jende takes Liomi swimming the next day, instead of going to work. As he watches his son move in the water, Jende can imagine the man he will become and thinks about how the little boy watches how his father carries himself as a man. He prays for his son that night as they fall asleep in the bed together.

A week and a half into the vacation in the Hamptons, Vince informs his family that he will be going to India. One evening, Neni overhears Cindy in an argument with Clark, whom she blames for Vince’s decision to go to India. Clark counters that Vince is “‘responsible for his own happiness’” 133) and that all Clark does is work hard to support his family. Cindy answers him by accusing him of prioritizing work over his family. Clark walks out.

Neni finds Cindy crying and sitting on the kitchen floor. When Neni tries to comfort Cindy, Cindy tells her even more of her life story. Cindy’s father is an unknown man who raped Cindy’s mother. Like this rapist, Clark thinks he has the right to arrange life for his benefit, and Vince thinks he has the right to throw away everything. Cindy knows she has been a good wife and mother. Vince says such cruel things to her and is giving up everything just to spite her. She cannot understand why Vince thinks it’s wrong to be wealthy. Why can't Vince just find the truth in New Mexico, she wonders? Cindy fears she will die if something happens to Vince while he’s in India.

After returning to the city, Neni sorts through all the designer clothes, shoes, and toys she lugged from the Hamptons. She talks with her friend, Betty, who is amazed that Cindy gave her all these things. Neni tells Betty that Cindy is deeply unhappy, despite having all these things; “‘[m]oney is truly nothing’” (139) if Cindy's life is any proof, Neni concludes. Despite her wealth, Cindy suffers because of her history and the fact that she is the child of a rapist. Neni found empty bottles with the word “Vicodin” on the label, she tells Betty. Betty tells Neni that these are highly-addictive painkillers.

Jende becomes aware that Lehman Brothers is in trouble because he overhears angry conversations between Clark and people on Clark’s cell phone, and because of some conversations he has with Leah, Clark’s administrative assistant. Jende also regularly takes Clark to two-hour long appointments at the Chelsea Hotel, where Clark likely has encounters with sex workers. One day, Clark asks Jende to drop him off at Hudson River Park. Moments later, Clark asks Jende to join him down at the piers.

The two men sit there and enjoy the sunset. Clark tells Jende that Vince is going to be moving to India. Jende encourages Clark not to be angry with his son. Clark tells Jende that he admires his son for rejecting the life that Clark has made for the family, especially as Clark observes some of the dishonest dealings happening on Wall Street, and at Lehman Brothers in particular. The one thing with which Clark disagrees when it comes to Vince’s rejection of this lifestyle is its efficacy as the solution to problems in society. Clark believes that “[w]e’ve got to fix ourselves before we can fix the whole damn country” (146).

Clark is nevertheless proud of how much he’s gotten because of his willingness to work hard. Clark says that he went to Stanford and studied finance—instead of more academic subject that would’ve led to a professorship—because he wanted more financially for his own family. He is proud that his financial success enables him to pay bills for his parents and less affluent family members. That security, he believes, is something that Vince fails to understand.

Jende says that it’s always this way with children. He reassures Clark that the weather is so extreme in India that Vince will be back in no time. Jende also tells Clark not to worry because he imagines that Vince will be happy no matter where he is: “A man can find a home anywhere” (148). Jende says that his own story as an immigrant shows the truth of this matter. Clark then shares with Jende a poem he has written about home always being there if a person wants to return. 

Back home in New York, Neni longs for all the delicious food she used to eat when the Edwards family was at the Hamptons. She gets her wish one day when Anna calls to ask if Neni will help to serve at a brunch Cindy is having with her friends in Manhattan. For this help, Cindy will play her $100. Neni is pleased when Mighty comes up to her, clearly glad to see her after such a long time.

Neni is surprised by how friendly all the affluent, white women are at Cindy’s party. The women compliment Neni on her beautiful skin and give her tips and advice on her pregnancy. Later, as she talks about their reactions with her friend, Betty, Neni decides the kindness and interest must be because “it wasn’t every day they met a beautiful pregnant Cameroonian woman from Harlem” (154).During the party, Anna convinces Neni to tell Clark about Cindy's alcoholism, but when Neni goes in to talk to Clark, she loses her nerve and says nothing.

In preparation for Vince’s departure for India, Jende invites Vince over for a home-cooked Cameroonian meal. At the last minute (and without his family’s knowledge), Vince brings along Mighty. Despite the somewhat shabby appearance of the neighborhood and the apartment, Vince and Mighty seem perfectly at ease during the visit, Neni notes. Liomi and Mighty play with each other, and both Vince and Mighty dive right in when the meal is served. When it’s time for Vince to go, Mighty pleads to stay and is not reassured until Liomi promises to visit Mighty at the Edwards’ home.