Near Christmas, Ashima spends an afternoon creating greeting cards she plans to send to family friends. She has grown somewhat used to living on her own, as Ashoke rarely visits from Ohio and only on short weekends. She has started to work part time in the local library, and she made her first American friends after 28 years in the country. Ashoke calls her to tell her he is waiting in a hospital’s emergency room because he is not feeling well. Ashima is not concerned until evening comes and Ashoke has not phoned again. When she reaches the Cleveland hospital, an intern informs her that Ashoke has died of a massive heart attack.

Sonia flies from San Francisco, where she is studying for her LSAT (Law School Admission Test) to be with Ashima, and Gogol travels to Cleveland to identify his father formally. Having arranged for cremation with the funeral home, he takes his father’s rented car and drives back to Ashoke’s rented apartment, which he proceeds to clear out of everything his father owned, as Indian customs dictate. He feels empty and tired and decides to spend the night in the apartment, despite Max’s advice to go to a hotel.