He turn his back to me and wait, and I do my part like I’m sposed to—help him snap his garter to his stockins; zip up the skirt; tie the silk square round his neck to cover the things ain’t meant to be seen.

The cover art for the issue is photograph by Nicole Acosta of “Abrazo entre las Dos Patrias,” a mural by Evaristo Angurria for the Santurce es Ley Festival, 2018.

[T]hey haven’t internalized that the women in the Vargas family don’t sleep. They ain’t sheep. And they definitely ain’t like they are in my familia: all mouth and no hands.