The Immortalists: Chapter 23 Summary & Analysis

Raj and Ruby agree to come for Thanksgiving. When they arrive on the Tuesday night before the holiday, Daniel greets them. He sees how adult Ruby is and initially calls her “Rubina” even though he knows she rarely uses that name. She has Klara’s smile. Daniel also notes that Raj is fitter than he remembers and neatly groomed. Raj has a nice watch and Ruby has a Louis Vuitton suitcase. He gets Raj settled in the guest bedroom, while Ruby will stay on a fold-out couch in his office.

The next morning, Daniel wakes at 10:00 a.m. The previous night had gone very well—a relaxed two-hour dinner with Raj, Ruby, Mira, Gertie, and Daniel. After dinner, Daniel stayed up and Googled Ruby and Raj, his curiosity piqued by their expensive accessories. In 2003, Raj and Ruby replaced Siegfried and Roy as The Mirage’s main act. Their estate had been profiled in Luxury Las Vegas, and Ruby is the youngest millionaire in Las Vegas. Raj bought her a pony when she was 13. Daniel was shocked that he didn’t know any of this and embarrassed at the state of his own modest home in comparison.

Daniel then thought about the possibility of returning to work on Monday, and what might happen if he held his ground on writing the waivers. He worried that without a job, he wouldn’t know who he is. Daniel was struck by the image of himself sitting in the bathroom while he looked up information about his brother-in-law’s wealth, and he promptly went to bed.

Daniel gets up and sees that Raj and Ruby are already eating. He apologizes for his lateness. Raj says casually that they always get up early because Ruby’s school starts at 7:30 a.m.—unless it’s a performance day, when she has school at home. Ruby and Raj argue briefly over whether this is a complicated system. Meanwhile, Daniel tries to make a cup of coffee, which Mira usually makes, but he can’t get the machine to work until Mira comes into the kitchen and points out that it’s unplugged. Ruby asks about Daniel’s work as a doctor. He explains that he really likes his work, but inside he burns with humiliation over the prospect of losing his career.

Mira changes the subject to Raj and Ruby’s work, and Raj says that she and Daniel are welcome to visit Vegas anytime—they perform four nights a week. Mira comments that it must be exhausting, and Raj says that he doesn’t think so, but “Rubina” does. Ruby says not to call her that, and Daniel apologizes for calling her Rubina the previous night. Ruby says it’s okay, because he’s a “stranger”—then she apologizes for using the word. Raj tells her not to worry and that everyone understands what she meant.

Daniel, Mira, Gertie, Raj, and Ruby drive to the maritime museum and take a hike through a preserve. Daniel enjoys racing with Ruby across a field, and Ruby seems sincerely interested in hearing about Gertie’s ailments. Gertie is delighted, and Daniel is grateful for Ruby’s interest.

That night, Daniel thinks about Eddie’s question—whether the fortune teller predicted Simon’s death. Daniel doesn’t know when the fortune teller claimed Simon would die—but he remembers that Simon said “young.” Daniel burns with guilt: he feels that he had not protected Simon. He wishes he had tried harder to bring Simon back to New York and he thinks that, like Klara, Simon was vulnerable.

Daniel wonders if what happened to Simon and Klara was like the placebo effect. People who believe they have taken sleeping pills—even if the pills are fake—fall asleep immediately. It’s possible that Klara and Simon experienced the fortune teller as though they had taken pills with the power to change their lives, but in reality they had taken a placebo and the consequences had originated in their own minds. Daniel feels sorrow and empathy for Simon and Klara, and he wants to call Eddie, whose card is in Daniel’s office.

Daniel knocks on the office door and finds Ruby listening to music and reading. Daniel grabs the card, but before he leaves, Ruby asks if he has any pictures of Klara. He does, and he digs out his old albums to show them to her. As he retrieves them, he thinks how strange it is to have Ruby there. He and Mira never had children—when he asked her to marry him, she told him she couldn’t have children and didn’t want to adopt. Daniel didn’t want to say goodbye to Mira, but privately he mourned—he had always imagined himself as a father.

Daniel returns to the office with the albums. As he shows Ruby the pictures, he recounts different memories of Klara, Varya, Simon, and Gertie. Daniel is shocked when he hears Ruby call Klara “my mom,” Simon “Uncle Simon, and Gertie “Grandma.” He is touched by the fact that Ruby thinks of the Golds as her family. Ruby asks Daniel to tell her something about Saul that she doesn’t know. When he says that Saul could eat a whole jar of miniature pickles in one sitting, Ruby is delighted, as she says that she likes to put pickles on peanut butter sandwiches. She and Daniel laugh together. He is very contented sitting with her.

After Daniel leaves Ruby, he calls Eddie. He explains that he remembers Simon said he would die “young.” Daniel says that if Simon was rattled by the prophecy, it makes sense that he would act recklessly. Eddie isn’t very affected by Daniel’s information, and Daniel is disappointed by Eddie’s tepid response. Daniel then asks the fortune teller’s name, and Eddie gives it: Bruna Costello. But when Daniel asks where Bruna is now, Eddie says he’ll call Daniel when the investigation’s over.