Rosanne Olson stood in the shade of Fred's Fruit truck at the Schuyler Square Farmer's Market and studied the list Mavis had given her. It didn't make sense. In the first place, Mavis rarely ate fruit, preferring distilled grains to anything fresh. In the second place, Mavis had instructed her to purchase all of the items from Fred Uster. No one bought anything from Fred Uster, especially not after the last summer when almost all of the fruits and vegetables that Fred had sold wound up being tainted with salmonella. Rosanne couldn't believe Fred was still able to set up a stand. Money must have changed hands somewhere along the line for that to have happened.
"That's quite a list you have," someone chirped at Rosanne's shoulder.
Rosanne looked up and saw a petite woman in her 50s standing next to her. "Yes, it is," she agreed.
"I'm DeeDee Robertson," the woman said, sticking out her hand for Rosanne to shake. "My husband Steve and I just moved to Schuyler Square. Who do you recommend to buy produce from?"
"Well, I usually buy from the Henderson's booth. They grow organically and I've always had good luck with them."
DeeDee pointed at Rosanne's list where Mavis had written BUY ONLY FROM FRED USTER TODAY! "So why are you buying from Fred Uster then? Is he having a sale?"
"I don't think so. The woman I work for wants produce from Fred today for some reason."
"Maybe I should buy from Fred today too," DeeDee said. "I want to make pasta tonight with fresh tomato sauce and I'd also like to get some melons."
"No!" Rosanne urged. "Don't buy from Fred. I think you'll be a lot happier with anything you get from the Henderson's." Taking DeeDee by the arm, she led her over to the Henderson's booth and introduced her to Jeanne and Larry Henderson.
"Aren't you getting anything today?" Jeanne asked Rosanne.
Oh, what the heck. It wasn't like Mavis Schuyler would know where she bought the family produce. Besides, there was no way that Rosanne was going to talk to Fred Uster. The man was seriously strange and had body odor that overpowered every other scent at the farmer's market. "Yes," she said. "I'd like half a dozen musk melons, some fresh spinach and a quart of strawberries."
Larry Henderson laughed. "That's funny. Those are exactly the items that Fred Uster had such trouble with last summer--remember? A lot of people got real sick around here."
DeeDee looked at Rosanne a little suspiciously but didn't say a word. Rosanne didn't blame her. She would have looked at her suspiciously too. As she paid for her purchases, Rosanne wondered what Mavis was up to. Surely she wasn't trying to make the entire household sick, was she? Then again, knowing Mavis Schuyler and her mixed-up way of thinking, anything was possible...
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