There was no sunlight that day, and flowers with banners naming the giver had no aroma. The Godfather theme music played in Maria's head while a cast of characters, like sepia photos in her mother's ... [+]
The four-leaf clover should not have been there, caught in Esteban's hair. It was a surprise there was any clover at all. The cows had already been through twice that week, pulling at the remnants of dry grass. They mostly got mouthfuls of root and grit that wore their teeth down so much my husband John was worried he'd have to get the vet to do something, and we all knew that was out of the question. The vet lived a half day away down by the interstate and cost what he cost. The feeble rain from three weeks ago hadn't replenished even the shallow well down near our creek bed. How could any pl
