The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Chapters 21 and 22 Summary & Analysis

Summary: Chapter 21

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tibby stops eating and watches TV in her room, ignoring the ringing phone. Mrs. Graffman leaves a message, asking Tibby to visit Bailey. Tibby can barely handle the pain she feels, and she wishes she could somehow go to sleep in Mimi’s box.

Carmen calls Albert. She’s tempted to apologize, because she knows Albert will instantly forgive her and they can close this episode forever. Instead, she tells him how disappointed she is in how the summer turned out, and how uncomfortable she feels around his new family. Sobbing, she asks him why he left her and Christina, and why he hardly ever visits her. Albert, crying too, apologizes. This is the first time Carmen has heard him cry.

Carmen visits Tibby, but Tibby doesn’t feel like talking. The phone rings, and Mrs. Graffman leaves a message saying that Bailey isn’t well and that they’d like Tibby to visit. Carmen leaves, but she comes back shortly thereafter. She tells Tibby to visit Bailey, gives her the Pants, and then leaves. Late that night, Tibby is suddenly afraid she’s too late. She rides her bike to the hospital, fast. Tibby finds Bailey’s room, where she sees that Bailey has a lot of tubes connected to her. Bailey is asleep, but Tibby squeezes onto the bed with her and holds her hand.

Lena’s family and the rest of the town celebrate an important holiday, the Assumption of the Virgin. After eating and drinking with all the revelers, Lena retreats to her room, watching the party from her window. She sees Effie dance with Andreas. She sees Kostos dance with her grandmother and the other old women, even though lots of young girls are watching him eagerly. Lena cries, but she doesn’t really know why. Later, she looks at the moon from her window, and she sees her grandfather in his window too. She knows she’s a lot like her grandfather, but she hopes she can open herself up enough to find love, like he did.

Summary: Chapter 22

“All Moanday. Tearday. Wailsday. Thumpsday. Frightday. Shatterday.”
—James Joyce

When Effie comes into Lena’s room to borrow clothes, she sees the picture that Lena made of Kostos. She claims that now she knows Lena is in love with Kostos and tells Lena she has to do something or she’ll always be sorry.

Tibby wakes up in the hospital with Bailey. She tells Bailey that Mimi died. Bailey tells Tibby to go to work, because Duncan needs her there, but to come back later. Carmen is waiting for Tibby in the hallway, and they trade pants before leaving the hospital.

Previous section Chapters 19 and 20 Next page Chapters 21 and 22 page 2