Arturo walks with Carmen and his parents to city hall for the public forum. Cari will deliver a few remarks, as will Wilfrido and any residents who wish to register their opinions on either proposal. The elected board members of the council will then vote, presumably taking into account the opinions of their constituents.

The group makes an unexpected stop at La Cocina when they see “about forty of Vanessa’s friends sitting in next to a bulldozer” (206). As Cari demands that the construction worker move the machine off her property, Wilfrido appears, wearing a suit so bright it resembles “a bag of Skittles” (206). He sneers at her claims to the property, asserting that the city owns it, and quips that the bulldozer will crush La Cocina the moment the council votes in favor of his proposal. Arturo’s father, who is an imposing six-foot-two, whispers a few words to Wilfrido, and he backs off.

Inside the chamber at city hall, the forum begins with a board member roll call, and then the chairman reads both proposals. The legal description of La Cocina’s location disenchants Arturo, who questions “how a place that held real memories and had real people working and eating inside of it for so many years was nothing but an address and a property line to the board members” (209).