The following contains spoilers from the book.

Dear Reader,

My favorite line in the book is actually the last line in the book. This is actually a spoiler. Which is also weird to say about a grief memoir. My wife isn’t coming back from the dead. She isn’t a vampire. But the last line is really the emotional coda of the entire book, so if you care about that sort of thing, don’t read ahead.

The first letter I write to Luciana is about a panic attack after I forget her Mommy’s favorite flower. I do end up remembering it, and I write:

Your Mommy’s favorite flower was pink peonies.

Yay, I finally remembered, now what do I win? Existential dread.

The last letter in the entire book is a letter to Luciana when she is fifteen years old, in the future.

The last line in the entire book is:

Mommy’s favorite flower is pink peonies. I remembered.

With only a minor hint of existential dread.

The grammar is on purpose. When I first lost Vanessa, I talked about her in the past tense. But her favorite flower will always be pink peonies, no matter how long she has been gone.

Also, if you look at the cover of the book, there is a pink peony on both the front and the back cover. For that exact reason.

Besitos,

Michael