Marisela's fifteenth birthday party in the backyard at Fresno Street — papel picado strung over the yard, a cake from the bakery on César Chávez, and her grandfather's trio playing until the neighbours joined in.
What happened
The dress took Mamá Lola three months. The cake leaned. Nobody cared.
What came of it
The papel picado was folded and kept, and went up again for every party for twenty years.