“We will go. Nowhere we know. We don’t
have to talk at all.”
—Beck
Summary
In first-person narration, Carmen describes the girls’
birthday celebration. They gather at Gilda’s, with a birthday cake,
candles, and the Pants, on which they’ve written about their summers.
Carmen feels like she and her friends are somewhat separated by
the private experiences they had this summer. But now that they’re
together again, they’re becoming reacquainted, even though they
still seem unfamiliar to one another. Carmen knows they have plenty
of time to catch up, and that next summer they’ll use the Pants
again.
Analysis
Although the girls have spent their lives being inseparable,
their summer apart has shaped them as individuals rather than as
a group. The triumphs, failures, problems, griefs, and disappointments
they faced this summer are theirs alone, and telling the whole story
to one another would be impossible. The changes that happened are
too personal, and the emotions they felt are still too raw to share.
For the first time, the girls face a friendship that is more about appreciating
one another’s secrets than sharing absolutely everything that happens.
The Pants represent this close bond, which doesn’t need full disclosure
to survive. As the girls get older, with boyfriends and college
on the horizon, they can take comfort in the fact that the friendship
doesn’t need daily feeding. Rather, this friendship is rock solid
on its own, and the girls can count on it always being there for
them, even if they have to spend time apart.
