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She had clasped Bibi and was kissing him effusively. Bobinôt’s explanations and apologies which he had been composing all along the way, died on his lips as Calixta felt him to see if he were dry, and seemed to express nothing but satisfaction at their safe return.
While Calixta’s affection toward her husband and son might seem natural for a wife to feel and display, small hints in the story suggest that her demeanor toward them has been somewhat strict, perhaps even detached. Bobinôt buys the shrimp out of affection for his wife, but also as a peace offering for coming in late and muddy. He is nothing short of stunned by this sunny, loving wife but decides to enjoy her company and laughter for as long as it lasts. Readers know, however, the real reason for Calixta’s happy mood. They know that it is a façade when given to Bobinôt because her actual happiness comes from Alcée. Nevertheless, her mood is infectious and the family, as the narrator concludes, is happy because the storm has passed.
Alcée Laballière wrote to his wife, Clarisse, that night. It was a loving letter, full of tender solicitude. He told her not to hurry back, but if she and the babies liked it at Biloxi, to stay a month longer. He was getting on nicely; and though he missed them, he was willing to bear the separation a while longer—realizing that their health and pleasure were the first things to be considered.
After his afternoon of passion with Calixta, Alcée projects a façade as he writes his wife, whose name only now enters the story. On the one hand, he is filled with tender love, which spills out into the letter and by which Clarisse, reading it, is “charmed.” On the other hand, the source of this sudden tenderness is not new-found love for Clarisse but rather the passion he just shared with the bountiful Calixta. Still, the façade reconnects husband and wife from afar, and both are happy.
