“My abuelita placed a plate in front of me and ran back to the stove. From where I sat at the counter, I saw thin flumes of smoke rising from the edge of the corn tortillas that had caught fire. She grabbed the opposite end of the tortillas with her bare hands, flicked them once…

“I thought about unbridling my mouth like I had on our first date and simply letting it all spill out with the sincerity and hope that can only be given to someone you don’t yet know. I could tell him his attentive care was wonderful, but it was not coming from the right man. I…