Chapter summaries The Celebrants Steven Rowley

The Jordans: Chapter 5 Summary, Themes, and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens with an explanation of a long-running debate between Jordan and Jordy about which date truly counts as their anniversary. The day they met at Berkeley? They were barely friends then. The day they first consummated their relationship? That memory is muddled by the death of Alec. Their wedding anniversary? That date was chosen after Jordan's first cancer diagnosis, partly to distract from the chemo and to take photos before he lost his hair. Marriage equality wasn't even law in New York until 2011, so their wedding came decades into their relationship. Instead, they settle on the early June day, three weeks after graduation, when Jordy packed a duffel, left Southern California, and buzzed Jordan's fifth-floor walk-up in New York City.

That first night, Jordan had only leftovers from his mother's recent visit: homemade ajiaco (a potato and chicken soup) and beef empanadas. Jordy ate everything, impressed, and asked if Jordan ate like that every night. Jordan smiled and told him not to get his hopes up. Over time they learned to cook together, though Jordan had more of a knack for it.

In the present, Jordan returns from a walk in Central Park to find Jordy cooking. The smells awaken an appetite that has lately been dormant. Jordan panics briefly, afraid his mother Carmen Vargas might be there to scold him for not wearing a jacket. He has told his parents the cancer is back but downplayed its seriousness—they are both in their eighties, and he worries the news might be terminal for them too. Jordy reassures him she's not there.

Jordy reveals it's June 4th, their anniversary, and he's making the soup. The empanadas came from the place, a detail Jordan loves as part of their secret language of relationships. Jordy jokes about reenacting the whole night, but Jordan is relieved they won't—his body is too brittle lately, and he worries about snapping in half. He passes on wine because it doesn't mix with his meds, and he's impressed Jordy found guascas, the soup's signature herb, at the Latin American grocer where they took his mother. Jordy got the recipe from Carmen herself, though he had to keep her from coming down to make it herself.

Jordy hands Jordan a card containing two plane tickets to Bogotá, Colombia. He took a chance on the dates and hopes Jordan still wants to go. Jordan studies the tickets, moved that Jordy listened and took him seriously.

Then Jordan makes a confession: when Jordy first showed up on his doorstep decades ago, Jordan had just started seeing someone else. For a moment, he wasn't sure he was happy to see Jordy—he even thought it might have been the other man buzzing his apartment. Jordy is stunned; he didn't think they had any more big secrets. He mentions Craig's funeral, suggesting they'd moved past that. Jordan speaks over him, clarifying: when he woke up the next morning, everything felt right, and he's been glad every day since that it was Jordy. Jordy kisses him and wishes him a happy anniversary. Jordan returns the wish, wondering how soon they'll eat.

Key Events

  • The chapter establishes the couple's chosen anniversary: the June day Jordy arrived in New York City

  • Jordy cooks Jordan's mother's ajiaco soup for their anniversary, with empanadas from their usual place

  • Jordy reveals he got the recipe from Carmen Vargas and had to keep her from coming to cook herself

  • Jordan's cognitive fog is shown: he struggles to remember it's their anniversary

  • Jordy presents plane tickets to Bogotá, Colombia

  • Jordan confesses he was seeing someone else when Jordy first arrived and briefly wasn't sure he was happy to see him

  • Jordy reacts with surprise, referencing Craig's funeral as a past secret

  • Jordan reassures him that by the next morning everything felt right

  • They exchange anniversary wishes

Character Development

Jordan: This chapter reveals Jordan's vulnerability in two ways. Physically, his cancer has returned and he's dealing with nausea, medication side effects, and a cognitive fog that frustrates him—he has to work harder to access memories that used to be front of mind. Emotionally, he makes a confession he's never made before: that he briefly wasn't sure he was happy to see Jordy on that first night. This honesty, decades into their relationship, shows both his trust in Jordy and his awareness of time and urgency. He also shows care for his elderly parents by downplaying his illness to protect them.

Jordy: Jordy emerges as a devoted caregiver and romantic. He's learned to cook his mother-in-law's soup, tracked down the signature herb, and planned a trip to Bogotá. He's attentive to Jordan's limitations—he doesn't push the wine or the reenactment. His surprise at Jordan's confession shows that even in a decades-long relationship, there can be undisclosed moments. His reference to Craig's funeral hints at his own past secrets.

The relationship: The chapter shows a couple who have built a private language—the place, the anniversary date, the soup—and who continue to choose each other. The confession, rather than driving them apart, ends with reassurance and affection.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Anniversary and commemoration: The chapter opens with the couple's ongoing debate about which date counts. The chosen date isn't their wedding or their first meeting, but the moment Jordy arrived and was welcomed into Jordan's life. This suggests that for them, commitment is about the choice to be together, not the legal or ceremonial markers.

Food as love and cultural connection: The ajiaco soup is central. It's Jordan's mother's recipe, a connection to his Colombian heritage. Jordy learning to make it is an act of love and cultural engagement. The empanadas from the place and the guascas from the Latin American grocer show how food anchors their shared history.

Cancer and mortality: Jordan's illness is ever-present—the nausea, the meds, the brittle body, the cognitive fog. The chapter shows how illness shapes daily life and how the couple navigates it with humor and tenderness.

Secrets and honesty: Jordan's confession about the other man is the chapter's emotional core. It shows that even long marriages hold undisclosed moments, and that revealing them can be an act of intimacy rather than a threat.

Memory and cognitive decline: Jordan's frustration with his foggy brain—struggling to recall the anniversary—adds poignancy. The chapter contrasts his difficulty accessing memories with the couple's rich shared history.

Homecoming as a milestone: Jordy's arrival in New York was a homecoming that became the foundation of their life together. The planned trip to Bogotá is a kind of return to Jordan's roots.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens the reader's understanding of Jordan and Jordy's relationship, showing both its foundations and its present fragility. It introduces the reality of Jordan's recurring cancer and its effects on his body and mind, raising the stakes for the rest of the novel. The confession about the first night adds complexity to a relationship that might otherwise seem idealized, and it echoes the book's broader interest in what friends and partners keep from each other and what they choose to reveal. The chapter also establishes the importance of food, heritage, and ritual in the couple's life, themes that likely resonate throughout the book.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why do Jordan and Jordy celebrate the day Jordy arrived in New York rather than their wedding anniversary?

Their wedding anniversary was chosen after Jordan's first diagnosis, partly to distract from chemo and to take photos before he lost his hair. Marriage equality wasn't law in New York until 2011, so their wedding came decades into their relationship. The day Jordy arrived in New York represents the moment they chose each other—when Jordan said come in, he meant both into his home and into his life.

2. What does Jordan's confession reveal about the nature of their relationship?

It reveals that even a decades-long marriage can hold undisclosed moments. Jordan had just started seeing someone else when Jordy arrived and briefly wasn't sure he was happy to see him. The confession shows both vulnerability and trust—Jordan is willing to share something that could hurt Jordy because their relationship is strong enough to absorb it. Jordy's surprise suggests he believed they had no more secrets, and his reference to Craig's funeral hints at his own past.

3. How does the chapter use food to express love and cultural connection?

The ajiaco soup is Jordan's mother's recipe, a link to his Colombian heritage. Jordy learning to make it—getting the recipe from Carmen, finding guascas at the Latin American grocer—is an act of devotion. The empanadas from the place and the shared secret language around food show how the couple's history is woven through meals. The soup also awakens Jordan's dormant appetite, a small sign of life amid his illness.

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