Chapter 5

Summary

• The narrator returns home to an empty apartment, indicating a habitual utterance towards their absent grandmother, still feeling the need to announce their arrival.
• They reflect on their shared routines and the emptiness of the home without their grandmother, including their daily and weekly household chores.
• The narrator begins to clean, adhering to the Monday cleaning routine taught by their grandmother, and reminisces about her practicing cleanliness as a way to lead a good life.
• Gran's presence is felt throughout the apartment in the form of landscape paintings and the teachings she instilled in the narrator.
• A heavy sense of loss permeates the chapter as the narrator emotionally cleans the apartment, avoiding Gran's room, which remains closed.
• The cleaning process is a time of contemplation for the narrator, triggering memories about their family, specially about their absent mother and disreputable father.
• Gran's industrious work ethic is remembered as well as her life savings, known as “the Fabergé,” a safety net for the narrator's future.
• The troubling past with schoolmates and the choice of pursuing a profession as a maid is revealed, a path influenced by admiration for Gran.
• The narrator recounts their initial experiences at the Regency Grand hotel, meeting staff and the excitement of their first interviews and trials.
• Gran's supportive presence is evident not just at home but in guiding the narrator towards adulthood and independence.
• The narrative shifts to a past relationship with a character named Wilbur, who seemed innocuous at first but later betrayed the narrator's trust and stole from Gran's nest egg.
• Confronted with Wilbur's betrayal, the narrator chooses to protect Gran from the disturbing truth rather than recover the lost money.
• Gran's health declines, revealing a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, leading to a painful acknowledgment of her impending death.
• The narrator musters strength and continues to support Gran, hiding financial distress caused by Wilbur's theft, and enduring extra work shifts amid the emotional turmoil.
• The chapter concludes with Mr. Snow, the hotel manager, calling the narrator, informing them about the traumatic death of Mr. Black and requesting the narrator to fill in for a distressed colleague the following day, which the narrator agrees to despite having gone through a trying day.