THE BEAUTIFUL WOMAN SHE WAS

“Is my bald spot showing?” 

…was the routine question in the mornings before work and school.

“Let me fix it,” I’d say, and comb through a layer of curls with a purple pick, then spray my mom’s hair with a cloud of noxious White Rain as she stared in the bathroom mirror.

I’d watch her line her eyelids a smoky brown and dust on some Cover Girl powder.