“Your brain is a jerk.”
She laughed, the sound filled with relief. “It is.”
“Do you want me to give your brain a talking-to?” I joked, but inside I felt a flare of sympathy and frustration for her. Rose’s shallow breathing—it was a way for her to calm that troll brain down. I knew that dealing with something like this wasn’t as simple as hanging out with friends to forget your worries, but I was glad to be that friend for her these days.
We finished up our hot dogs and headed to our next destination, a lobster-roll truck in Glendale. As far from the ocean as you could get in LA, but I guess things didn’t always make sense.
CHAPTER 26
A few days later, my dad hopped into the truck, where Rose and I were setting up for the day. “Ladies,” he said, giving each of us a nod.
“Man,” I said with an exaggerated bow.
Wearing a stiff new Dodgers cap, my dad rubbed his hands together. “All right, how did yesterday go?”
Rose grinned. “Great. We ran out of pork, so we stopped by the store and got more ingredients on the way back.”
He gave me a little sideways hug in greeting. “Good job, my ladies.”
“Please stop saying ‘ladies.’ Blech.” I elbowed him in the side.
“And!” Rose exclaimed, holding up a finger. “We had our bestday ever, money-wise!” She and I bumped fists, then did a little dance.
I looked at my dad for his equally celebratory reaction, but instead he had this strained expression on his face.
“Hello? Pai? Aren’t congratulations in order?”
He ducked into the driver’s seat before answering. “Yeah, definitely! All right, let’s head over to Mid-City before traffic gets bad.”
I glanced at the clock. It was almost five. Fat chance.
Nearly an hour later, we arrived at a craft fair set up on a big parking lot off Wilshire.
As my dad and I prepped the food, I glanced at him. “So, what’s up?”
My dad kept his eyes on the green bell pepper he was chopping. “What do you mean?”
“Why are you acting all weird?”
He made a face but didn’t look at me. “I’m not?”
“Yeah, you are.”
He sighed. “Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now.”
“What is it?” I asked, a little nervous. My dad rarely stressed out in front of me, and it only really happened when things were serious.
My dad finally looked at me. “The investor I was counting on for the restaurant just backed out.”
I felt a knot form in my stomach. Growing up without much money, it was still an instant reaction—a wave of dread passingover me every time my dad worried about finances. “Oh no. What does that mean?”
“It just means that after all my work and planning this summer, everything may have to be put on hold.”
I blinked. “Sorry, Pai. That sucks.”
“What about the competition?” Rose piped up from the order window.
I whipped my head around and stared at Rose with huge eyes, telepathically telling her to shut up.
