Status Updates From Wachten op Bojangles

“It was kind of far-fetched, but life is often like that, which is fine with me.”

“The song went on for so long that I had time to see Mom’s ghost dancing in the distance and clapping like she used to do. People like that never really die completely, I thought with a smile.”

“They only brought up happy memories, so they laughed a lot, and I wound up laughing, too, because you can’t be miserable all the time.”

“I knew there were rules for the living, but it turned out there were rules for the dead, too. Who knew? It was strange, but that’s how it was.”

“Mom’s eyes stayed open so as not to add to his misery, because sometimes lies are gentler than reality.”

“I had to lie; I couldn’t bear to tell our son that to spare other people’s lives, that was where his mom would have to die.”

“Madness may be in the eyes of the beholder, but it was no longer possible to ignore the sadness lurking behind her surges of rapture.”

“You know, son, your mom’s got lots of imagination. She fiddles with everything, even her filiation. But in your tree, Mom is your roots, your leaves, your branches and your treetop all at once, and we are her gardeners. So we’re going to do our best to keep our favorite tree standing upright, and not let it get uprooted, all right?”

“I would never repent my folly. In my head, a small voice said this was wholly right, I should not get upset, such beauty could not result from poor choice or error. For such wondrous light, there could be no regret. Not ever.”

“We were driving forward to get back to our old life, which we were also leaving behind . . .”

“The real problem was that she was losing her mind and didn’t know where to find it.”

“If you want a fresh start, you’ve got to look the part!”

“Everybody could tell little white lies, because in terms of tranquility, they were better than the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

“In the blink of a cocktail, the whirl of a dance, she twirled me in her veil, I didn’t stand a chance. That flighty woman filled my whole soul with gladness by inviting me to share her madness.”