"There are," she allows. She remembers some better than others.
"The fifth Maria was my mother's mother, Maria Alondra. I actually met her, although I don't remember her very well - we only visited the once, and she let me help her make tortillas. I remember rolling them out on her countertop, flour up to my elbows and down my dress and in my hair, and she let me sneak bites of mazapan and horchata after dinner. I don't remember her face outside of the photo, but I remember how she smelled, and I remember her hands warm over mine showing me what to do, strong but gentle."
She smiles while she talks, running her thumb over the face of one of the marigolds.
"My mother was Reyna Espinosa," she says, softly. Lovingly. "She's the one that moved us to the United States. She had a green card at first but my father had told her it didn't matter, that he'd marry her and care for her always, but he never did. So she worked and worked and worked to stay, always moving us around, always taking me to different jobs with her. It was just the two of us - she died when I was nine years old. Pneumonia."
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"The fifth Maria was my mother's mother, Maria Alondra. I actually met her, although I don't remember her very well - we only visited the once, and she let me help her make tortillas. I remember rolling them out on her countertop, flour up to my elbows and down my dress and in my hair, and she let me sneak bites of mazapan and horchata after dinner. I don't remember her face outside of the photo, but I remember how she smelled, and I remember her hands warm over mine showing me what to do, strong but gentle."
She smiles while she talks, running her thumb over the face of one of the marigolds.
"My mother was Reyna Espinosa," she says, softly. Lovingly. "She's the one that moved us to the United States. She had a green card at first but my father had told her it didn't matter, that he'd marry her and care for her always, but he never did. So she worked and worked and worked to stay, always moving us around, always taking me to different jobs with her. It was just the two of us - she died when I was nine years old. Pneumonia."