My favorite dish is 面片 - though we called it “ 面片儿”, with our Beijing accents.

Sometimes she slept with her clothes on, and that was when I knew the cocaine was on her person, hidden in her pockets or bra, stashed away with cash and small fifths of liquor and sometimes weed, pills.

Photograph of Kirsti Jewel, author of “I’ll Breathe For You,” published in this month’s issue in the Nonfiction section, and her husband, Kwame.