If it's a fairy tale you're after, keep looking because Delphine doesn't get some perfect mom by the end of the book. In fact, she learns that her mom doesn't regret leaving the girls and moving to California. She was young when she had them, plus she has poetry to write and the Black Panthers to support. It might seem selfish to some people, but Cecile doesn't care. Part of Delphine's journey is accepting who her mom is instead of waiting for her to be who she wants her to be.
Just because she's not a great mom doesn't mean Cecile doesn't care for her girls. She might not be the homemade cookies type, but she sees them off at the airport with love and concern in her eyes. As Delphine tells us:
It was a strange, wonderful feeling. To discover eyes upon you when you expected no one to notice you at all. I smiled a little and faced front to find something to do with myself. (33.28)
Delphine gets that her mom wants to do her own thing in California but still cares about her daughters. Like we said, this is no fairy tale, but at least Delphine gets closer to understanding her mom's reasons for leaving them and forges a bit of a relationship with Cecile.