Her cousin appeared by her side, also offering a handful of stubby flowers.
Mother laughed and accepted the gift.
"Oh thank you! These make me so happy!"
The girls bounced around, giggling, "We made her happy! She not sad anymow!"
We smiled and resumed talking, but a few minutes later the girls reappeared with a collection of dead leaves, obviously having run out of dandelions in the small courtyard.
Mother accepted this yet again. We all grinned.
The girls came back once more with a couple more leaves and a stalk of johnson grass. Mother stuck the wheat-like stalk in her mouth sideways, farmer like, and gave the girls a goofy face. They shrieked in delight and ran off.
I thought that would be the last of them, but Dulce came back with one more surprise. At the sight of her I broke down in laughter.
Dulce had stuck johnson grass in her mouth sideways like Mother, but instead of one stalk she had about twenty. In her lacy dress and pearls, she looked like a little white cow in mid-bite.
This immediately caught Carmen's attention and being the mother she was, she exclaimed, "Dulce! Get that grass out of your mouth! You'll get dirt on your dress!"
The conversation ended soon after this (most likely for fear of the girls getting into more mischief as they ran around with little supervision).
But mother did indeed look happier as we walked back to the sanctuary, the bathroom forgotten. It might have been Carmen, or Dulce, or both. Whichever it was, I was happy that she was smiling.
Mother laughed and accepted the gift.
"Oh thank you! These make me so happy!"
The girls bounced around, giggling, "We made her happy! She not sad anymow!"
We smiled and resumed talking, but a few minutes later the girls reappeared with a collection of dead leaves, obviously having run out of dandelions in the small courtyard.
Mother accepted this yet again. We all grinned.
The girls came back once more with a couple more leaves and a stalk of johnson grass. Mother stuck the wheat-like stalk in her mouth sideways, farmer like, and gave the girls a goofy face. They shrieked in delight and ran off.
I thought that would be the last of them, but Dulce came back with one more surprise. At the sight of her I broke down in laughter.
Dulce had stuck johnson grass in her mouth sideways like Mother, but instead of one stalk she had about twenty. In her lacy dress and pearls, she looked like a little white cow in mid-bite.
This immediately caught Carmen's attention and being the mother she was, she exclaimed, "Dulce! Get that grass out of your mouth! You'll get dirt on your dress!"
The conversation ended soon after this (most likely for fear of the girls getting into more mischief as they ran around with little supervision).
But mother did indeed look happier as we walked back to the sanctuary, the bathroom forgotten. It might have been Carmen, or Dulce, or both. Whichever it was, I was happy that she was smiling.
