Your House Will Pay

The Park family gathers in Yvonne’s hospital room during visiting hours. Yvonne and Miriam are reunited after two years, but the moment doesn’t feel joyous. Yvonne looks terrible. When Yvonne sees Grace’s face, she seems to guess that Grace knows her secret now. Afterward, Paul tells his daughters that the police have made an arrest for the shooting: Ava Matthews’s cousin.

Grace visits Woori Pharmacy. She sees Javier (Javi), the tech, and worries that he has seen her racist rant online and now thinks she is an “internet racist” (158). Uncle Joseph takes Grace out to lunch in the Hanin Market food court. Joseph asks after Yvonne. Grace asks if Joseph knew that her mother killed Ava Matthews; he did. He is part of the Valley Korean United Methodists Church that banded together to help her after the incident: The church paid for Yvonne’s reputable lawyer, a Black man who painted Yvonne as a victim. After the Hans became the Parks and moved to the Valley, Joseph hired Paul and thus helped save their family. He also helped them bury Yvonne’s history. Even Joseph’s daughter knew their secret. To Grace, it seems like everyone knew but her.

Upset, Grace cannot imagine how her mother lives with what she has done. Joseph defends Yvonne by saying that everyone is a sinner, and one can only try to make things right with God.

Ray is being held in the Men’s Central jail downtown. Nisha hires a reputable lawyer named Fred MacManus, and Shawn is being as supportive as he can. Shawn wonders if his cousin was foolish enough to settle a grudge two months out of prison. He hasn’t been able to talk to Ray because Ray is only allowed one visitor (Nisha).

Shawn is at home looking after Monique when Duncan calls and asks to talk at his bar. He brings Monique to Duncan’s empty bar in the middle of the day. Duncan gives Monique paper and pens to draw while the two men talk.

Shawn learns that Ray had been arrested while working at the bar. Duncan knows Ray didn’t shoot Jung-Ja Han because they were together when it happened. This is a relief to Shawn, who finally admits to himself that he was beginning to suspect his cousin. Duncan avoided telling the truth because Ray was cheating on Nisha that night. He defends Ray, but Shawn is disappointed, as Nisha loyally waited for him for 10 years. Duncan wants to know if Ray wants his alibi. Shawn thinks it will hurt Nisha but agrees to it.

Yvonne returns home from the hospital, only a day after waking up from her coma. Grace also returns home, but feels unnerved because the house feels “haunted” (175). On the way home, Miriam picks up food from Hanin Market and the family has a celebratory dinner in Yvonne’s bedroom. The celebration feels forced.

The next day, Grace is charged with nursing her mother. Miriam has an important lunch meeting, and Paul does not consider nursing his responsibility. As Grace bathes her mom, she notices how weak she is. Feeling vulnerable, Yvonne tells Grace that she knows that Grace knows about Ava Matthews. However, instead of acting remorseful, Yvonne defends her actions. She clearly still harbors anti-Black sentiments, explaining how scary it was to be in South Central and calling customers gangsters and animals. She regrets her actions only because she is still being forced to pay for it. Yvonne laments how much more she must pay, and if she must lose her daughters because of what she did. She calls her murder of Ava Matthews “the worst thing that’s ever happened to me,” as if Ava’s death was something that happened to her rather than something she did (182).

Feeling guilty by association, Grace begins reading Jules Searcey’s biography of Ava. She struggles to look at Ava’s photo on the cover because doing so forces her to confront her family’s role in Ava’s death. She feels guilty about fearing for her own mother’s life when Ava lost both her parents when she was much younger. Ava was helped by a choir teacher who gave her free piano lessons, which led to her winning a prize in a Chopin competition for her performance of the “Farewell Waltz.” Grace grew up participating in similar piano competitions, and this shared experience forces her to empathize with Ava in a new way.

Grace calls Jules Searcey. Searcey tells Grace that he was appalled by Action Now’s behavior and asks to meet in person. Searcey wants “her side of the story,” which is something people keep asking her for. She tells him that she wants to talk to Ray Holloway. When Grace learns this can’t be arranged, because he is in jail, she asks to speak to Shawn Matthews instead. Searcey doesn’t think this is a good idea. He says it would be unethical to give out contact information, but tells her that she should talk to her sister.

Despite Duncan coming forward and telling the police about Ray’s alibi, there are enough conflicting stories to keep Ray in jail. While Nisha visits Ray in jail again, Grace visits the Holloway household. Aunt Sheila invites her in, tells Darryl and Dasha to go to their rooms, and calls Shawn to come over. When Shawn arrives with Chinese takeout, Sheila and Grace are sitting at the table. Grace introduces herself, but Shawn does not return the courtesy. He asks Sheila if she has seen Grace’s video. Sheila doesn’t know about it; Shawn himself hasn’t watched it, but knows the gist of it. Sheila explains that Grace only just learned about her mother and Ava.

Frightened and fumbling over her words, Grace tells Shawn that she recognizes there is injustice in the world and wants to help. She wants to help Ray and apologize for the video, her mother, and all the pain her family has caused Shawn’s family. She claims her mother is apologetic too, but both Shawn and Sheila see through her lie. Angry, Shawn asks Grace why she truly came. Grace does not have an answer, but Shawn thinks she wants forgiveness. It is what Searcey and others want after they learn who he is. They act like his sister is a body that was just discovered, which means he must bury her over and over again, all while they expect him to give them absolution. Shawn tells Grace that she will not receive his forgiveness, but tells her that she doesn’t need it. She wasn’t present for the shooting, so it’s not hers to apologize for. His family has survived all this time without an apology.