My sister wrote: At least hire someone hot next time.
A cousin added: She really said HGTV but make it tragic.
They were laughing. Not the uncomfortable laughter of people who know they have gone too far and are trying to smooth it over. Real laughter, comfortable and easy, the laughter of people who have long ago decided what role you play in the family story and are confident you will keep playing it.
My father noticed me first. He did not reach for the remote. He did not look embarrassed.
“Aw, don’t be sensitive,” he said. “Everybody knows we’re kidding.”
My mother added, “If you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?”
I looked at the screen one more time. At my body working under a July sun while the people I had come to help turned me into a punchline for family entertainment.
