Olga Dies Dreaming

In 2017, Olga walks through Williamsburg and spots Matteo playing dominos with three other men. She is shy but delighted to see other Puerto Ricans when Brooklyn has become so gentrified. There is a small bar in the building where Matteo is playing dominos—Sylvia’s Social Club, “[t]he last of the Puerto Rican social clubs” (72). Matteo explains that he brought her there since they met in a dive bar.

In the club, they talk about going to school in New England, where Matteo felt like an outsider. He asks how her parents felt about her choice of college. Based on what he saw around her apartment, he gathers that her parents were members of the Young Lords, a paramilitary, prosocial activist group that wanted to bring justice to people of color in urban areas and to gain independence for Puerto Rico. Olga berates Matteo for asking questions about her parents’ approval. In response, he kisses her, and then explains that he’s not trying to judge her and that he wants to get to know her. He tells her to ask him anything.

She wonders if he is Puerto Rican. When he admits that he is not, she reveals that he knew too much about Puerto Rican history. Matteo has a Jewish mother and Black father. He grew up in Brooklyn with his mother, and many assumed that, because of his curly hair and skin color, he was the child of the Puerto Rican family that lived next door to him. He went to Bennington College and became an investment banker, but after his mother was diagnosed with cancer, he quit his job and stayed home to care for her. Olga is in awe of his story and his willingness to share it, feeling like her own is also complicated. Matteo might understand her.

Olga tells Matteo about her life. Her father died before she left for college; her mother, though not present in her life, wasn’t pleased about her choices. Her parents joined the Young Lords together, but once the Lords fell apart, her mother wanted to keep working for revolutionary causes, while her father wanted to live a more normal life. Eventually, they split up. Her mother remains involved with groups dedicated to forging an independent Puerto Rico. Olga isn’t exactly sure what her mom is doing, but somehow her mother keeps tabs on both her and Prieto and still writes them letters. Olga hasn’t seen her mother in over 25 years.

When Olga was a child, others pitied her because her mother was gone. Since then, Olga has resolved to never let others feel pity towards her ever again. She fights back her instinct to refrain from confiding her frustration and sadness to Matteo, lest he react with pity.

Matteo asks about Prieto, teasing that her brother comes across as “gimmicky” (81). Olga emphasizes that Prieto grew up wanting to be different from other politicians and believed that he could show people he cared about them. Olga’s profession is very materialistic, and she likes having money, but her brother “wants to fix it. For people like us” (82). Matteo teases her for pretending to be cynical when she really believes in her brother’s cause, and then ushers her onto the dance floor.