She said: “Tía, when I was a baby did you carry me?”

And I said, “Yes. Lots.”

And she said, “Was I heavy?”

And I said, “You were extremely heavy.

You were the heaviest baby in Illinois.”

And she laughed like a drain for about a mile.

Part Twenty-Seven: Five Things

I have been asked to talk about this twice — once at a continuing education thing for court reporters, of all people, and once at a training day for kinship caregivers that Dovie Mwangi’s office runs.