Chap­ter XIV begins with the nar­ra­tor reflect­ing deeply on the Beau­mont family’s unique traits, which have become an essen­tial part of their iden­ti­ty. These spe­cial gifts, known as “savvies,” are passed down through gen­er­a­tions and shape their lives in ways that set them apart from oth­ers. The nar­ra­tor recalls a con­ver­sa­tion with Grand­pa, who shared the family’s his­to­ry of extra­or­di­nary abil­i­ties, espe­cial­ly after Grand­ma Dol­lop’s pass­ing. In the com­fort­ing pres­ence of Grand­pa, the nar­ra­tor learns that these savvies, much like phys­i­cal traits, are inher­it­ed, and each generation’s abil­i­ties are influ­enced by the ones before. Grand­pa regales sto­ries about var­i­ous rel­a­tives, some of whom used their tal­ents for good, while oth­ers, like Grand­ma Dol­lop’s sis­ter Jubilee, mis­used her abil­i­ties for self­ish pur­pos­es, like steal­ing.

Grand­pa empha­sized that a savvy is not a super­nat­ur­al pow­er but rather a nat­ur­al, innate gift that becomes a part of the fam­i­ly dynam­ic. Accord­ing to the narrator’s rec­ol­lec­tion, their moth­er, Mom­ma, firm­ly believed that every­one pos­sessed their own unique savvy, even though many peo­ple failed to rec­og­nize it. She often point­ed out how peo­ple might not real­ize that their tal­ents, such as mak­ing excel­lent home­made jam or being able to avoid mos­qui­to bites, were part of their innate savvy. Over time, the Beau­monts began to see these abil­i­ties for what they tru­ly were: a dis­tinct type of knowl­edge or abil­i­ty that added depth to their expe­ri­ences, mak­ing them dif­fer­ent from oth­ers but also pro­vid­ing a way to nav­i­gate the world. Momma’s belief in the poten­tial for every­one to have their own gift helped the chil­dren embrace their own abil­i­ties, as it allowed them to see their tal­ents not as bur­dens but as spe­cial advan­tages.

As the nar­ra­tor con­tin­ues to grap­ple with the weight of being part of a fam­i­ly so unique­ly gift­ed, they share a moment with Will Junior, explain­ing how the Beau­monts’ savvies make their lives dif­fer­ent but not nec­es­sar­i­ly bet­ter than oth­er fam­i­lies. While the children’s expe­ri­ences may be shaped by their abil­i­ties, they are still just like every­one else, nav­i­gat­ing sim­i­lar chal­lenges. How­ev­er, when the nar­ra­tor is pressed to share their own savvy, they hes­i­tate, remind­ing them­selves of the family’s rules about dis­cre­tion. These unspo­ken rules dic­tate that abil­i­ties should only be shared with those who have earned the trust of the fam­i­ly, main­tain­ing a sense of pri­va­cy and safe­ty around their extra­or­di­nary gifts. This rule cre­ates an inter­nal con­flict for the nar­ra­tor, as they both want to be open about their pow­ers but also under­stand the impor­tance of safe­guard­ing the family’s secrets. The chap­ter shifts as the nar­ra­tor recalls the sto­ry of how Mom­ma and Pop­pa first met dur­ing a car­ni­val. Mom­ma, with her nat­ur­al tal­ent for toss­ing rings onto hooks, caught Poppa’s atten­tion, lead­ing to a humor­ous exchange that high­light­ed the Beau­mont fam­i­ly’s quirky and charm­ing use of their savvies. This play­ful moment between Mom­ma and Pop­pa fur­ther illus­trates the fun and ease with which the Beau­monts inte­grate their abil­i­ties into their every­day lives, mak­ing the family’s unique gifts feel like a nat­ur­al part of their exis­tence.

The sto­ry of how Mom­ma and Pop­pa met at the car­ni­val adds depth to the idea that these tal­ents, while extra­or­di­nary, are part of the family’s nor­mal inter­ac­tions. It was a moment where their unique skills led to a mean­ing­ful con­nec­tion, and it was a reminder that these abil­i­ties were nev­er meant to iso­late or cause trou­ble, but to enhance their lives. As the nar­ra­tor reflects on this, they begin to appre­ci­ate the bal­ance between their family’s gifts and the need to nav­i­gate the world like every­one else. The chap­ter then tran­si­tions to the present as the bus ride con­tin­ues, with ten­sions begin­ning to rise among the boys. The nar­ra­tor observes the boys’ grow­ing frus­tra­tion, hint­ing that the jour­ney ahead may not be as smooth as expect­ed. Despite the fun and light­heart­ed moments that define the Beau­mont family’s inter­ac­tions, there are still under­ly­ing strug­gles that need to be addressed. This sense of uncer­tain­ty about what lies ahead is ampli­fied as the bus moves for­ward, and the nar­ra­tor begins to feel the weight of their fam­i­ly lega­cy and the com­plex­i­ties that come with it. The chap­ter ends with a sense of antic­i­pa­tion, as the Beau­mont fam­i­ly con­tin­ues their jour­ney, grap­pling with the dynam­ics of their extra­or­di­nary gifts and the chal­lenges that lie ahead.