The night before Christmas and Maria is helping her mother prepare Tamales before her family arrives. Maria is enjoying this special time because her mother allowed her to feel like a grown-up. Maria’s mother let her wear her favorite cooking apron and even her lipstick. She saw her mother’s ring and wished that if only she could have the ring on too. When Maria’s mother took a brief break from the kitchen, she left her ring on the countertop. Maria looked at the ring in amazement. Maria really wanted to wear her mother’s ring. She decided she would just put it on, if only for a minute. Maria then returned to mixing up the masa forgetting the ring was ever on her finger. A few hours later when the family arrived Maria and her cousins took off
