Summer of the Mariposas: Chapters 16–22

by Guadalupe García McCall
As the oldest of five sisters and the only one who can legally drive, Odilia must lead a supernatural odyssey from the Rio Grande to Mexico to return the body of a drowned man.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–10, Chapters 11–15, Chapters 16–22
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    “Nowadays, people are too cynical and don’t believe in magic anymore,” Abuelita Remedios said as she drove us down the road.
  2. enamored
    marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness
    Looking around the busy streets with their modern buildings, I thought Mamá would be enamored of this place. Monclova looked as beautiful and as cultured as any large city in the United States.
  3. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    I put my foot in front of me and took a tentative step forward.
  4. dissipate
    go away, scatter, or disappear
    As we wandered along the shallow shore, the mist dissipated, exposing an entire community of canoes being steered by both men and women on the surface of the lake.
  5. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    The sky above us was blushing with the promise of sunrise. My eyes had adjusted to the meager light and I could see details now.
  6. imposing
    impressive in appearance
    Complex clusters of stone buildings, so tall and imposing they looked like gods rising out of the water, reached for the sky.
  7. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    We spent the next few minutes watching the fishermen pull up their nets in the subtle darkness before dawn.
  8. render
    cause to become
    By the time she settled into her seat, Abuelita was crying so much she was rendered speechless.
  9. sparse
    not dense or plentiful
    We hiked through the sparse woods, making our way carefully down the beaten path we had created that summer, the summer of the mariposas.
  10. iridescent
    having a play of lustrous rainbow colors
    When we got to the roses, we both gasped. Their pale complexions blushed with an iridescent splendor that made them look almost magical.
  11. manifest
    reveal its presence or make an appearance
    The Virgen said they would transform Mamá, and I wondered how the change would manifest itself.
  12. fanfare
    a gaudy outward display
    As if his long, unexplained absence had been nothing more than another one of his trips, he took a small step forward, and with little fanfare, he opened his arms to us in a wide, welcoming arc and said, “Chiquitas, I am so glad to see you. Come, come, give your Papá a hug.”
  13. implore
    beg or request earnestly and urgently
    “Delia. Velia,” Papá whispered, his eyes imploring them to go to him, even as he hugged Pita to himself like she was his lifeline. “Please. It’s been so long. Come give your Papá a hug.”
  14. dispassionate
    unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice
    Looking at her dispassionate face, I wondered how Papá could’ve traded our sweet, loving Mamá for this cold woman.
  15. terse
    brief and to the point
    “Now is not the time for what?” I asked Papá in a terse voice, barely suppressing the rage simmering inside me.
  16. derision
    contemptuous laughter
    “Live together?” Juanita’s eyes sparked with derision. “Here? You mean you all, us, and Mamá? Who do you think we are, the freakin’ Brady Bunch?”
  17. vagrant
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
    You look like vagrants. Even street urchins are cleaner than you are.
  18. vagabond
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
    “This is our house. You don’t live here anymore. You never did. Everyone knows it. The whole neighborhood talks about it. You’re a desaparecido, a vagabond, a lost cause. So why don’t you do what you do best—why don’t you just get lost!"
  19. gall
    the trait of being rude and impertinent
    “The girls have a right to be mad at you. You’ve done nothing but put them aside all their lives. And now you have the gall to bring this usurper into our home, to parade your new family in front of us like we were less worthy of your affection. How dare you!”
  20. usurper
    one who wrongfully seizes and holds the place of another
    “The girls have a right to be mad at you. You’ve done nothing but put them aside all their lives. And now you have the gall to bring this usurper into our home, to parade your new family in front of us like we were less worthy of your affection. How dare you!”
  21. balk
    refuse to proceed or comply
    Papá’s woman balked at his retreat. “We can’t go. You said we’d live here. That this house would be ours.”
  22. coy
    affectedly shy especially in a playful or provocative way
    Seeing Mamá acting so coy and proper on the sofa next to Special Agent Gonzales had been enlightening to say the least.
  23. demure
    shy or modest, often in a playful or provocative way
    We’d never seen Mamá act so feminine with anyone else other than Papá. He probably wouldn’t have liked seeing her act so demure.
  24. fortuitous
    lucky; occurring by happy chance
    “A coincidence?” Juanita asked from behind us. “Maybe, but quite fortuitous. Don’t you think?”
  25. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    Given our recent journey, and Mamá’s assurance that we were indeed under the protection of the Virgen, we had a newfound appreciation for the religious relics that surrounded us, making the experience doubly profound for us.
  26. homage
    respectful deference
    Together, we paid homage to the Virgencita, our Mother in Heaven, and our very own protector, by lighting five small candles, one for each of us.
  27. garb
    clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
    Remembering the warmth and love she had bestowed upon us on the hill, I reached up and caressed the Virgen’s glorious blue garb, tracing the embroidered stars delicately with the tips of my fingers.
  28. engrossed
    giving or marked by complete attention to
    Shocked, I turned to the twins, but they were too engrossed in prayer to see what I was seeing.
  29. rendition
    a performance of a musical composition or a dramatic role
    We finally sat down with the girls to watch a rerun of the 1967 rendition of Corazón Salvaje.
  30. curt
    speaking in a terse, rude, or abrupt way
    “No, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me, because I can’t figure it out.”
    I realized I sounded curt, but I couldn’t help it.
  31. bemused
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    “¿Rosas?” she asked, bemused by the white, blushing petals glowing magically in the dark.
  32. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    Her longing was almost palpable.
  33. facade
    a showy misrepresentation to conceal something unpleasant
    Her entire facade changed, until the ghostly La Llorona became as radiant and alive as a young woman bronzed by the sun.
  34. meticulously
    in a manner marked by extreme care of details
    Delicate silver and gold threads unraveled and wove themselves into the fragile wings of the frozen mariposas, converting the tiny creatures into magical designs stitched meticulously into the bodice of La Llorona’s gown.
  35. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    Then out of the corner of my eye, a light swirled and unfurled beside us. I took a step back as la Virgen de Guadalupe, Tonantzin, materialized.
  36. tenacious
    stubbornly unyielding
    “Your Mamá is Mariposa too, tenacious and fierce, but generous with her love,” the Virgen assured me.
  37. incandescent
    emitting light as a result of being heated
    A brood of cheerful, incandescent snout-nosed butterflies trailed behind me, glistening in the moonlight—like fireflies, like hope.
  38. foliage
    the collective amount of leaves of one or more plants
    “Are you all right?” I asked, keeping an eye to the left of me, trying to figure out who was hiding in the foliage.
  39. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    As I walked toward him, Papá turned to look at me, and his face broke into a rueful smile that didn’t quite match the sadness in his hazel eyes.
  40. transpire
    come about, happen, or occur
    Stories about him and what had transpired after he left our house that last time were everywhere in our neighborhood.
Created on Tue Oct 04 15:33:13 EDT 2022 (updated Thu Feb 02 15:33:58 EST 2023)

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