The Guard Asked Who They Were Here to See

gray around the mouth. My mother kept twisting a handkerchief in her lap until it looked like a wrung-out bird.

Then came the part I hadn’t expected.

The host asked if any family member wished to pin the additional star.

I’d planned to have Naomi do it. That was settled.

Before I could motion to her, my mother made a sound. Barely a sound. More like a continue reading …