It was almost farcical except it wassincere.
“Okay, okay,” Rose said before blowing her family a kiss and helping the next customer.
The Carvers sat at one of the picnic tables scattered at the market and eventually left with waves and cheerful good-byes.
I watched them walk away into the crowds, swinging large baskets full of produce. “Are you guys for real?” I asked Rose. We had a break from customers so I sat on the floor and took a swig from my water bottle. It was boiling in the truck.
Rose wiped her brow and adjusted the little oscillating fan so that it was aimed directly at her face. “Are you being a jerk?”
I pulled my shirt away from my chest, airing it out a little. “No, for once in my life, I’m being sincere. Your family is pretty cool to show up. Plus, Jessie’s rad.”
“Jessie can be ‘rad’ when he’s not being a little know-it-all.”
“Pardon me?” I held my hand up to my ear. “Did… didyoucall someone aknow-it-all?”
Rose tossed an ice cube into her mouth and crunched it, making me cringe. “Believe it or not, I amnotthe worst in my family. Know-it-allness is a shared trait among the Carvers.”
“Well, you definitely seem like a family of total brains.”
She crunched the ice again, making my arm hairs stand on end. “Let me just say this one thing to explain the Carvers: we have a weekly dinner pop quiz.”
I stopped fanning myself with my shirt. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. About the week’s news, likeWait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” She noticed my blank expression. “It’s a weekly quiz show on NPR.”
“Of course.”
“Anyway, yeah. Every Friday evening, we invite some person over, like a city council member or teacher or something, and we do the quiz with my parents as the hosts.”
I snorted. “Wild Friday nights with the Carvers.”
She laughed. “I mean, I know how it sounds. But I actually like hanging out with my family.” Her fondness was apparent inhow she perked up when talking about them. Again, I felt a pang of curious jealousy. Rose’s family kind of seemed like my worst nightmare. Or maybe it was the worst nightmare in some narrative about myself that I wasn’t sure was totally accurate.
Another ice cube crunched in her mouth and I pointed at her. “Don’t!That sound is the worst thing inthe entire world.”
Rose rolled her eyes but tucked the ice cube into her cheek so that it bulged out. “Well, I’m sure my family seems super boring compared to your like, cool-dad life.”
I made a face and fanned myself with a napkin. “Cool-dad life, oh my God.”
“It’s true! Your dad is so awesome.”
“Please don’t get a crush on him.”
Her mouth dropped open slightly. “I won’t!”
“Good.” I took another sip of water.
Her eyes lit up. “Hey! Also, not to be a creep, but I found your mom online through the truck’s Instagram account. What is herlife?”
Whenever people found out about my mom, I wasn’t sure what to feel—pride? Embarrassment? In most cases, I feigned ambivalence. So I shrugged. “Oh, she’s a social media influencer. Or something.”
Rose mulled that over. “That’s her job?”
“I guess.”
“How do you get a job doing… that?”
The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Extreme narcissism.”
