- We open on Valerian, who is hanging out in his greenhouse on the night before Christmas Eve. He is happy that Son has brought luck to his greenhouse, helping certain flowers to bloom that Valerian had never before had success with.
- Feeling nostalgic, he asks Margaret to make a dessert his grandmother used to make called Ollieballen. It sounds like Margaret plans on cooking the entire Christmas meal for everybody, giving Ondine the night off.
- Margaret makes fun of the idea, but agrees. As they chat, we also find out that the two of them had sex the night before for the first time in… years, it sounds like.
- Valerian apologizes for ejaculating prematurely the night before, and then apologizes for the way he has treated Margaret in recent days.
- After his apology, Valerian offers to do something sexual with Margaret immediately. He kneels down in front of her, and though the scene gets very vague after that, it's possible that he performs oral sex on her.
- Meanwhile in the kitchen, Ondine is very annoyed that Margaret wants to step in and cook Christmas dinner. She certain that the whole thing will be a disaster and that she (Ondine) will have to clean everything up when it's over. Sydney assures her this won't happen.
- When that's settled, they gossip a bit about how Mr. and Mrs. Street slept in the same bed together the previous night. Apparently, it's a big deal.
- Ondine says that married people should sleep together, and she's not about to give them a trophy just for acting like a normal couple.
- Then we hear what's really on Ondine's mind. She thinks that Jade slept with Son the night before. We don't know why she thinks this, but Sydney thinks it's fine either way. Jade can do what she wants, as far as he's concerned. He knows that Jade will never be with Son long-term, so he doesn't feel like the guy is a threat.
- Ondine changes the subject to Margaret waiting for Michael to come, even though Ondine is certain that he won't. She starts talking about how Margaret has a lot of stuff to make up for in the way she raised Michael. That's why she's so obsessed with trying to be near him.
- Sydney accuses Ondine of hating Margaret, but Ondine says it isn't true.
- The two talk about how much they have sacrificed so that Jade can have the things that they didn't.
- The next thing you know, the narrator is informing us that nobody has come for the Street family Christmas. Michael's professor regretfully cancels, and there's no word from Michael at all.
- On Christmas Day, Margaret just mopes around and tries to make phone calls with the desperate hope that Michael will still come.
- As this is going on, Margaret (predictably) gives up on cooking the Christmas meal. Luckily, Ondine has anticipated this and has already prepared a second replacement meal with a nice ham roast. We also learn why Ondine is suspicious of Son and Jade: earlier that day, a local girl named Alma Estée handed her Son's pajamas, saying that she found them lying on the ground outside Jade's window.
- Jade, on the other hand, has everything she needs and is totally enchanted with the coming dinner. She gives Sydney and Ondine their presents early because she wants them to wear their new clothes to dinner.
- Son goes outside and finds Margaret sunning herself in a bathing suit. When she notices his approach, she reaches for a towel. But he picks it up and hands it to her.
- Son apologizes for scaring her that day in her closet. He tries to explain, and eventually gets Margaret to understand. Margaret, though, is in a bad mood anyway because Michael hasn't come for Christmas. Son gets on her good side by asking questions about Michael.
- Christmas dinner is a pretty tense affair, to say the least. Everyone sits around silently except for Valerian and Jade, who both try to make small talk. Margaret just stares off into space, while Ondine and Sydney feel awkward about eating at the same table as their white employers.
- Son remarks on how nice it would be for Gideon and Thérèse to be with them. While saying this, he informs everyone at the table that none of them ever knew Gideon or Thérèse's real names.
- At this point, Valerian casually says that he has fired both Gideon and Thérèse because he caught Gideon stealing apples from his kitchen.
- Ondine shouts at Valerian for firing Yardman without telling either her or Sydney.
- While this is going on, Son is burning up inside. He realizes that the rich, white Valerian doesn't care at all if Gideon and Thérèse starve to death.
- He also realizes how ludicrous this is, because he spent a whole week stealing from the kitchen and got a new suit and haircut out of it. The more he thinks about it, the more Son directs his hatred for Valerian against all of the white people in the world.
- Worst of all for Son, though, is the fact that Jade defends Valerian's decision and pours some wine for him.
- From Valerian's perspective, everyone at the dinner table is in his debt, so he can't believe that any of them would dare question him.
- Son scolds Valerian for being a selfish, egotistical jerk. Valerian commands Son to leave his house, but Son refuses.
- As the argument goes on, Ondine decides that she wants to shout out a big secret that she's been holding inside for many years. Margaret throws a glass of water at her, which makes Ondine jump up from the table and slap Margaret across the face. Margaret fights back and the two wrestle for a while.
- While they're fighting, Ondine shouts that when Michael was just born, Margaret used to stick pins into him and put out her cigarettes on his skin.
- Sydney pulls Ondine away and leads her back to the kitchen. The eyes of the table turn to Margaret, who just sits in her chair and says she is not "that kind of mother."
- To escape the scene, Jade takes Son by the hand and leads him upstairs to her room. They just leave Valerian and Margaret alone at the dinner table, with Valerian staring hard at Margaret.
- Jade asks Son if he thinks what Ondine said is true. He says he doesn't know and that Jade shouldn't think about it.
- Jade wants to know the larger meaning of what happened at dinner. Son more or less sums it up when he says, "It means […] that white folks and black folks should not sit down and eat together" (2.294).
- Son tells her that the best thing to do is get some sleep. Jade says she'll never be able to sleep alone though, and she invites Son to sleep in her bed. She wants him to know, though, that there's no way anything is going to happen between them.
- Son helps Jade get to sleep by asking her to close her eyes and to pretend what it might feel like to be a star. Not like a celebrity star, but a star in the night sky.