Returning Home

An English couple living in San José decide suddenly to return to England, prompting the wife’s eager preparations and reminiscences of family left behind. The narrative sketches expatriate life in a quiet Central American coffee town, arguing that distance sharpens attachment to home and that women especially suffer dullness abroad. Practical obstacles and travel choices create tension: a long Pacific descent requires coastal waiting and an isthmus crossing, while other routes pose different hardships. Interpersonal details—husband, his partner, the couple’s infant and the memory of a child buried at home—frame a gentle exploration of homesickness, domestic comforts, and the work of arranging a distant return.