Joshua Wolfson: She visits him there, beside a lilac bush, framed by Casper Mountain and the city where he died.
A pair of vases bookends the headstone they will someday share. She wipes away dust from the marker and arranges the flowers. Lilies around Easter. Orange roses — his favorite — when she can find them.
She buys small American flags from Hobby Lobby or the Dollar Store and keeps them in her car. Four times a year — on Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day and his birthday — she sets a new one in the vase above his grave.
Before she leaves, Darlene Mitchell says a prayer.
She’s been leaving the flags since her husband, Patrick, died 14 years ago. More than anything, that’s what he wanted.
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