Mami was left by Papi in the Dominican Republic, where she continued to raise the boys, Rafa and Yunior. Mami felt lonely and depressed knowing that Papi had another woman in the States; so, she took a “vacation” to get away from all the stress and to turn over a new leaf. Mami was raising both Rafa and Yunior without Papi, which became a challenge for her as she was trying to cope with her husband not being there. When she came back, she seemed renewed and rejuvenated and ready to continue her life as a mother of two. She then let go of the memories with Papi as a symbol of moving on “the part of the city is not here anymore” (87), but she loved him too much, that it was hard for her to let go. She refrained from seeing other men, even though