Vivian Barahona

My Mother's Last Gift

I have always been very close to my Mother. We would meet for lunch or dinner weekly, up until the lockdowns due to the Covid-19 virus. It pained me so much not to be able to see her in person during those months of confinement. One evening at dinner, we were discussing my horrible, boring love life. Being as I was almost 43, she told me that she knew I would meet someone and could not wait to share a glass of her favorite merlot with him someday. She had taken a liking to this specific wine, not only because the woman on the bottle resembled her beloved grandmother, but she really enjoyed the notes of blueberry, leather, tobacco, and chocolate, and how the taste would linger around her mouth after every sip. I laughed at the thought of finding a decent partner, because I had never felt mutual love and it was starting to seem as if I never would. I asked her, “How will I know when I have found true love?”