Mama, in her last days, had told him to buy her a plot, if he could afford it, on the east side of the cemetery so the sun would rise on her grave. And he’d done it for her. Being buried in America was itself not an issue for her. No, Mama had embraced American life, finding delight in small things, in everyday places. The Dollar Tree, where she could buy everything from gardening gloves to bags of beans. She bonded with their Puerto Rican, Irish, and Black neighbors over exchanging coupons. She splurged on her Elizabeth Taylor Passion perfumes from CVS, and her Wet-n-Wild 99-cent lipsticks.
...more
