Although Mama Elena’s suspicions were correct, she sent him away saying he could not marry Tita. The day after that, we meet Pedro formally at the De la Garza house. This is the start of Tita and Pedro’s relationship as they grow closer to one another when Mama Elena offers Rosaura, Tita’s sister, to him to marry. Although this is not the most conventional way of getting to know one another, it offers a way for Tita and Pedro to be near each other.
Tita, distraught by the news of Pedro and Rosaura’s engagement, lies awake that night unable to sleep. From there we hear her thoughts about the feelings she felt for Pedro last Christmas. She says:
“…she remembered it perfectly: the sounds, the smells, the way her new dress had grazed the freshly waxed floor, the look Pedro gave her…That look!...It was then she understood how dough feels when it is plunged into burning oil. The heat that invaded her body was so real she was afraid she would start to bubble—her face, her stomach, her heart, her breasts—like batter…” (Esquivel