Between Two Kingdoms

Part 2 introduces the present tense into the narrative. Chapter 25 opens with a quote from Susan Sontag’s book Illness as Metaphor: “Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick” (199). Suleika enters the kingdom of the well. She still has her port, but she no longer has cancer.

She clears out everything that connects her to Will, even deleting his phone number. Suleika is 26 years old and wants to have a normal life. She goes to see a friend’s performance and invites an old friend and jazz musician, Jon, to join her. They met at band camp when they were teenagers. She feels self-conscious as he watches her walk toward him in the lobby.

Jon asks about her health and Will. When she tells him that Will and she split up, he seems stunned and says, “Y’all seemed so…solid” (201). Suleika brushes off his shock. She finds out Jon is single too. She feels excitement but admits that she isn’t in any shape to be in a new relationship: “My personal life is a mess.