Arundhati has not seen her mother in seven years. Looking back, she will not be able to recall how the two were reunited, but in 1984 her mother visits her in Delhi. Mary is initially combative but then settles down a bit and even gifts Arundhati a small refrigerator and her old typewriter. She is not able to remain kind and respectful for the entirety of her visit, however, and her old animosity returns. After she leaves, she begins writing angry, vitriolic letters to Arundhati. Rather than read them herself, she gives them to Sanjay with instructions to relate only pertinent details.

Her father too re-enters her life at this time. Her brother finds her after reading about her film and comes to Delhi with their father, who goes by the nickname “Mickey” because of his Mickey Mouse ears. Mickey still drinks and looks severely malnourished. He regales Arundhati and LKC with stories of their childhood, and Arundhati is not sure what to make of him. He pees his pants during their visit, but doesn’t seem to care. He explains that the pants will just dry, and that it’s nothing to get worked up about. Arundhati is shocked when he lands a managerial job on an estate similar to the one he’d held while married to their mother.