She opens the book. Each sheet has one or two antique photographs stuck with corner tabs. The images are neither black and white nor gray, but hold that brownish gold of time and exposure to air.This man is your great grandfather. Look at that face, Pedro. It is a mean mean face. He's standing in front of a wood pile, holding an axe. I think he was only a teenager there, a long time before he met my mother. But look how handsome he was. And how mean.It's funny the way she smiles when she talks about him. Saying he's mean has a perverse joy for her, as if she can stick her tongue out at him and his hands are tied so he can't slap her for doing it. She's right, though. There's no lingering smile, no potential for mirth in the burlap of his skin. I notice snow on the ground at his feet, but he's wearing a thin, unbuttoned shirt, showing no sign of cold.
~ Laurie Perez
