Olga Dies Dreaming

In October of 2017, a blindfolded Prieto is in the mountains, called back to Puerto Rico by Mercedes, a member of the news crew with whom he had been embedded. When he landed on the island, Mercedes showed him a graffitied stencil of a woman, which Prieto immediately recognized as an image of his mother. The Pañuelos Negros have managed to get supplies to places where FEMA could not. Mercedes contacted their leader, who agreed to allow Mercedes to come to their compound, but only blindfolded, without her cell phone, and with Prieto in tow.

They arrive at the compound hours later. They receive a tour from a man named Tirso, who points out classrooms, dormitory spaces, medical buildings, and storage. The Pañuelos Negros have also created their own water purification system to provide water to areas where FEMA does not try to go. While Mercedes meets with the leadership, Prieto is allowed to wander. He sees members putting together boxes of supplies—many are teenagers and college students. Reggie is a major investor in many of the companies supplying insulin and wind turbines. Then, Prieto finds a small arsenal. An armed escort leads him back to Tirso, who takes him to see leadership.

Olga is hesitant to fly to Puerto Rico, feeling like it is her mother’s territory, but she wants to send money to help. She is expecting Reggie’s assistant to come pick up the cash, but instead Karen shows up, accompanied by two escorts in black bandanas. Karen reveals that Blanca is going to call them soon. Olga is overwhelmed, and then the phone rings. Blanca’s voice makes Olga feel as though she is a teenager again. When her mother affirms her actions on Good Morning, Later, Olga is brought to tears by her mother’s pride. Blanca wants Olga’s help to get a large number of solar panels because she saw a picture of Olga with Dick, who owns one of the largest producers of solar panels in the United States. When Olga protests that they split up, her mother suggests that she offer to reconcile—this is Olga’s chance to do something for her mother and her people.

Knowing that Olga is in love with someone else, Karen points out that Olga does not have to do what Blanca says. Karen does not agree with Blanca’s approach to her children. Then, Olga asks about Prieto, and Karen reveals that he’s been taking money from the Selbys for years.

In Puerto Rico, Prieto sees his mother and immediately breaks into tears. He tells her how much her granddaughter looks like her, but Blanca quickly shuts him down, moving to the point of their meeting. PROMESA did her cause a favor, drawing attention to US machinations in Puerto Rico. He assumed that Blanca brought him here for the sustainable energy project, but when Blanca says that Olga is going to help with that, Prieto grows concerned.

Blanca chastises Prieto for taking money from the Selbys. He counters that he has never taken bribes—they are blackmailing him. Icily, Blanca hopes it’s not because of his interest in men. She insults him for having HIV and for pursuing pleasure. Prieto angrily demands to know why she bothered having children when all she cares about is what others can do for her. Blanca answers that she only had Olga and Prieto because her husband wanted a family. It was not enough for her, and she felt smothered by that life. She left them for Puerto Rico and for herself. Blanca tells Prieto to stay out of Puerto Rico. She wants to create a community-led society without a government. Then, she calls for Prieto to be escorted to the airport and tries to hug him, but he recoils.

Content Warning: This chapter contains mention of sexual assault.

Olga reaches out to Dick, and he invites her over to his apartment for dinner. She compliments his cooking but reminds him that she asked to see him because she has a business proposition. She tells him that she has a buyer interested in two million dollars’ worth of solar panels, but he does not take her seriously and continues to try to get her into bed. Pulling away from his advances, she reveals that she is seeing someone and goes to leave. Enraged, Dick pins her to the counter and rapes her. Afterwards, he calls Nick Selby and promises not to bring any solar panels to market until Selby gives the go-ahead.

Prieto decides that Blanca is a “mad genius” (332). When he arrives home, he picks Lourdes up from school. He comes out to her and adds that he is HIV-positive. She is unfazed, having seen a character on TV who has the illness. Lourdes knows he will be alright. When she asks if he’s going to tell everyone, he says yes.

Olga ignores Prieto’s calls. Prieto tries to meet with Reggie, but has no luck reaching him. Instead, Prieto sets the FBI on Reggie’s tail, even though he worries that it might lead back to his mother. He believes that Reggie will come to him to get the FBI off of his back, and he’s right. When they meet, they discover that both of them have been in communication with Blanca. Reggie is annoyed that Olga failed to do what Blanca asked. Prieto berates him, pointing out that Blanca will leave Reggie high and dry if she needs to. Prieto agrees to call off the FBI, but Reggie has to stay away from Olga.

Matteo comes to see Olga. She has been ignoring him, hiding in her apartment because she feels ashamed that she thought she could will herself to sleep with Dick if she needed to. The third time Matteo comes by, she slips a note under the door that reads “I’m sorry […] I told you I’m a terrible person” (340). She avoids her family, but Igor’s connections with the Russian mob scare her enough that she returns his calls. She also texts Reggie, saying that it didn’t work out and that Dick got very angry. Olga hopes her mother will reach out to make sure she is okay, but Blanca doesn’t.

Eventually, Tía Lola and Mabel come in using their key. Olga calls for Mabel to lie down with her. She slowly begins to tell her everything. Mabel emphasizes that Olga didn’t do anything wrong and that she should let Matteo love her. When Olga comes out of the shower, she feels better. Then she realizes that there is a pile of her mother’s letters in front of them on the table.

Tía Lola reads the letters aloud, and after hearing them, she and Mabel tell Olga that her mother’s words are a form of emotional abuse. In turn, Olga recounts all of her recent dealings with her mother. Tía Lola calls Prieto, declaring that they’re all going to meet and deal with everything together. When Olga protests that Prieto has been taking money for votes, they decide to talk about that too. They go through every letter, including ones that Blanca sent to Johnny and to Abuelita. They see how Blanca tried to create chaos amongst them as a family. The letter that hurts the most is to Papi. At the end of the night, Olga says that they need to leave Blanca in the past.

At a press conference, Prieto reveals that he is gay and HIV-positive. He goes on to explain that his father passed away from AIDS and points out that Black and Latin people die at higher rates from this virus than white people, even though the fatality rate for AIDS is much lower now. He plans on addressing this issue and on working to ensure that Democrats regain control of Congress in the upcoming 2018 midterms. Prieto will also work on measures to protect the people of Puerto Rico. Reporters ask questions about his romantic life and about Reggie’s recent plans to open a solar panel production facility in Puerto Rico. The questions reveal that many other representatives have been taking money from the Selbys, a story that Olga leaked to the press.

Olga goes to Matteo’s house. They have texted but not seen each other for a month. In her first text, Olga apologized, adding that something bad happened to her, and asked for another two weeks to recover before meeting face to face. Now, she confesses that she’s been laundering money for the Russian mob. Then, she tells Matteo about everything else, from the failed TV pilot, to Reggie, to what happened with Dick, and more. At the end, she feels free.

Matteo doesn’t know what to say, but he makes it clear that he still wants to be with her. He suggests that they both go to therapy, him for his hoarding and her for her self-sabotage in trying to push him away. He also thinks that she should stop working for the Russian mob. When she wonders how she will earn money, Matteo reveals that he is very wealthy. He has picked up a variety of properties throughout the years. Olga thinks he is a superhero, saving many businesses that would have otherwise been bought up by large real estate developers and sold at higher prices.

The novel flashes forward into the future. Prieto is engaged to a man named Marcus, and Olga is planning the wedding. Mabel has divorced the freeloading Julio, and Olga sometimes watches Milagros, Mabel’s daughter. Olga is still with Matteo, though they have not been able to have children. He continues to invest in real estate, and they have gotten rid of much of his furniture.

Prieto calls Olga: Their mother just set off a bomb. Her movement has had some success, building on Puerto Rican disenchantment with the US government. Local Puerto Rican politics also helped. In 2019, the governor was ousted as thousands flooded the streets. Then, a solar tax was passed, charging Puerto Ricans for using the solar panels on the island, and protests and a lawsuit overturned the law. Now, however, the Pañuelos Negros bomb has killed a man Blanca long believed to be a traitor to Puerto Rico, as well as many others. People flood the streets, and, on the flag of the Pañuelos Negros, Olga recognizes the stenciled face of their mother. For the rest of the day, the protesters remove American flags and the Pañuelos Negros bomb different parts of the island, including airports, to cut it off from the rest of the world. This, Olga thinks, is revolution.

Olga buys a burner phone and dials the number of Agent Bonilla to report a tip on her mother. However, she realizes that any attempts to take Blanca down will only result in her becoming a martyr, haunting Olga forever. Olga drops the phone in the gutter and goes home.