The Barbarian Nurseries

Araceli goes to jail to wait for a judge with a group of other women. One nervous Latina woman says she’s going to try to make a run for it, since this is her third arrest. However, when she goes into the courtroom, she does nothing and returns broken and crying.

Araceli goes before the judge. She asks her public defender if she is going to be deported and is told: “not for the moment” (332). Her bail is set at $10,000.

Ian Goller watches the arraignment from his office. He is worried because of collected evidence: a spa receipt and Araceli’s bus tickets that prove Maureen and Scott are lying. He decides to continue with charging Araceli, reasoning that he can still win by pressuring Araceli into a plea deal. She will be released but then immediately deported.

Maureen and Scott struggle without Araceli to care for the house. Maureen is preoccupied with taking care of Samantha, and the boys, who do not help, and she has to push Scott to do the dishes and other chores. Maureen worries about finding daycare for Samantha once she starts volunteering at the school again, “because they could never again hire a stranger to work in their home” (336).