Lu

Christina Richardson is owner of Picasso of Produce, a fruit sculpture business, which Lu helps with during his summer vacations. Lu explains that his mother has “made it all. I’m talking about baby cribs out of watermelon rind, cars out of cantaloupe” (63). Christina’s sculptures are both creative and take on symbolic meaning in the text. An important aspect of Christina’s character is that she always views people and things as being more than what they appear to be on the surface. Christina explains to Lu how she came to fall in love with his father, Goose, who at the time was working as a drug dealer: “When I met him, your dad was a street dude. At least that’s what everybody said. But after I started talking to him, I realized he was more than what people thought about him. He was more than his stutter. More than Goose. And that’s why we worked” (147). It would have been easy for Christina to listen to the warnings from those around her and write Goose off. But instead, Christina chose to get to know him. Much like the creations she makes out of fruit, Christina sees the potential in those around her and helps them reach their full potential.