Vina is Gabriel’s mother and Patrisse’s grandmother. The first time she and Patrisse met at Gabriel’s graduation ceremony from a sobriety program, she hugged Patrisse and welcomed her into the family. Vina is from a small town in Louisiana—the daughter of a white father and a Creole mother—and had two daughters who were the product of being raped by a white man when she was young. Patrisse feels that trauma like this gets passed down generation to generation. Still, Vina is extremely warm and, despite having very little money, threw big holiday parties and planned weekly family barbeques in the park. While Gabriel was in prison, Patrisse lost touch with Vina and missed her.