Volviera tras una crisis

[Michael30000]

Hola a todos,

La frase en cuestión es del libro Tinta invisible de Javier Peña.

En aquella habitación de hospital yo ya no albergaba dudas de que mis miedos infantiles se cumplirían y mi padre moriría sin estar yo presente. Solo podía visitarlo una o dos veces por semana; vivíamos en ciudades distintas y yo estaba inmerso en la promoción de mi segunda novela, por lo que viajaba por todo el país. Tampoco voy a mentir, qué sentido tendría eso ahora: rechacé pasar las noches en el hospital junto a mi padre; me parecía excesivo, como si una pareja que volviera tras una crisis decidiese meterse en una hipoteca. Creía que para sentirnos cómodos, para curar las heridas imaginarias que ambos nos habíamos infligido, necesitábamos tiempo, justo lo que no teníamos.

I understand why el subjuntivo is used (because of como si), but what does the phrase itself "volviera tras una crisis" mean?

Does it mean that a couple had a very bad financial situation and then they managed to overcome it?

Thank you.

[Rusty]

Kind of.
The ordeal (crisis), whatever it was, was overcome, but the author is comparing 'staying nights with his father too' as being excessive, like ('as if') a couple who overcame one crisis deciding to take on another (a mortgage) right away.

[Michael30000]

Thank you, Rusty.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

When you break up with your partner and get together with them again, we use the verb "volver":
- No hables mal de Juan. Adriana ya volvió con él. -> Friends must be careful not to talk bad about Juan, because he and Adriana are together again after breaking up.
- Yo estaba muy triste con el divorcio de mis padres, pero ya volvieron y eso me da mucha alegría.

Since it seems the author had a bad relationship with his father before he was sick, staying with him all night long in the hospital sounded to him like a commitment or a sacrifice he was not ready to make.

[Michael30000]

Thank you, Angelica.

Yes, the author did have a bad relationship with his father before he was sick.