The Lowland: Part 7, Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

One afternoon, Bela takes her daughter Meghna to the beachy cove where Subhash first taught her to swim; on the way back, she notices a stand selling corn, and stops her car. No one is manning the stand, and there is an honor system in place—a price list, and a coffee can with a slit in the lid. Bela wonders who would be so trusting and begins visiting the stand once a week.

One Saturday, a man is there, running the stand. He has some lambs with him in a crate. Bela begins talking with him, and they find that they were both born in Rhode Island and had attended high schools near one another. The man introduces himself to Bela—and Meghna­—as Drew. Throughout the week, Meghna asks about Drew and his animals, and each time Meghna and Bela visit the stand she plays with the lambs, chicks, puppies, and kittens Drew brings while Bela and Drew talk. Drew gives Bela free produce and explains that he lives on and works his family’s farm with the help of some people from the community. One afternoon, Drew offers to give Bela and Meghna a tour of the farm and drives them over.

Bela and Drew begin seeing each other. Bela helps him with his farm stand, and Drew begins making small toys for Bela. The two grow closer, and soon Bela introduces Drew to Subhash and Elise, but Bela is still not fully honest with Drew—she tells him that her mother is dead. This is what she always tells people when they ask. Bela has repeated the lie so many times that she has begun to believe it herself.

Drew wants to escalate his relationship with Bela—he wants her to begin spending nights at his house, so that they can wake up together in the mornings. Bela insists she has Meghna to think of and does not want to take such a step casually. At the end of the summer, Drew tells Bela that he is in love with her, and that he wants to be a father to Meghna. Bela at last tells Drew the truth about her mother and explains that Gauri’s abandonment is the reason she has never stayed with just one person or in just one place. She tells Drew, too, about Udayan, and the truth of her parentage. Drew listens intently and promises Bela that he isn’t going anywhere.