At this moment of love for America, it may be the closest Ifemelu comes to becoming “American.” Unfortunately, after the height of this shared experience with the Blaine, there is not much left to hold their relationship together. The old restlessness she felt with Curt returns, and with it a new longing for the familiarity of home. She cannot put into words the thing that is driving her back to Nigeria, but it is a feeling she cannot shake. It could be that she wants to return to her own people, or maybe it is the desire to reunite with her long-lost first love Obinze. It is hard to tell her reasoning, but her past with Obinze likely plays a part. She and Obinze were together for a long time, dating through school and university; they seemed
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She may be afraid to be confronted about her silence over the years, or maybe she is afraid of the feelings she still has and what could happen between them. After they do finally meet again, it does not take long for them to fall back into their old relationship. Their feelings for each other are still very much alive, and the fact that Obinze is now married with a daughter does not change that. Eventually Obinze must confront this reality, however, and he finds it very difficult to leave his family. He and Ifemelu again lose contact for a few months, but Obinze realizes he cannot live without her. The novel concludes with them coming together once more. It is not surprising that Ifemelu and Obinze end up together. This ending helps fulfill the readers hopes and expectations for both Ifemelu and Obinze, and there is something Ifemelu says to him in the final pages that helps to explain her previous relationships and maybe why she returned home. “‘The thing about cross-cultural relationships is that you spend so much time explaining. My ex-boyfriends and I spent a lot of time explaining. I sometimes wondered whether we would have anything at all to say to each other if we were from the same place,’ and it pleased him to hear that, because it gave his relationship with her a depth, a lack of trifling novelty. They were from the same place and they still had a lot to say to each other.” (Adichie
She may be afraid to be confronted about her silence over the years, or maybe she is afraid of the feelings she still has and what could happen between them. After they do finally meet again, it does not take long for them to fall back into their old relationship. Their feelings for each other are still very much alive, and the fact that Obinze is now married with a daughter does not change that. Eventually Obinze must confront this reality, however, and he finds it very difficult to leave his family. He and Ifemelu again lose contact for a few months, but Obinze realizes he cannot live without her. The novel concludes with them coming together once more. It is not surprising that Ifemelu and Obinze end up together. This ending helps fulfill the readers hopes and expectations for both Ifemelu and Obinze, and there is something Ifemelu says to him in the final pages that helps to explain her previous relationships and maybe why she returned home. “‘The thing about cross-cultural relationships is that you spend so much time explaining. My ex-boyfriends and I spent a lot of time explaining. I sometimes wondered whether we would have anything at all to say to each other if we were from the same place,’ and it pleased him to hear that, because it gave his relationship with her a depth, a lack of trifling novelty. They were from the same place and they still had a lot to say to each other.” (Adichie