“I left early because I wasn’t feeling well,” I told him in a dry tone.
He gave me a concerned look. “Oh? Is everything all right? You do look a little tired and flushed.”
“Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”
“Yeah, sugar. What about?”
I took a quick glance around first. Other than a few customers in line to pay for their purchases, Buddy was the only other employee I could see. “Where are Sadie and Mama and Daddy?”
“Sadie left to go take a toilet break. Your mama and daddy can’t be too far away. All three just walked by me a few minutes ago.” Odell let out a raspy breath and looked toward the back door. “Do you need to see your mama or your daddy? I’m sure they can’t be too far. Probably out back getting some fresh air. You didn’t see them when—”
I didn’t give Odell time to finish his sentence. His eyes almost popped out when I blurted out the words, “I’m in trouble.”
“Oh?” He scratched his chin, and then he started shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “This trouble have anything to do with me?”
“It’s got everything to do with you. . . .”
He sucked in some air and looked at me from the corner of his eye. “Joyce, what’s going on? You don’t look too happy. And exactly what is it you need to talk to me about?” He swallowed hard, and a worried look suddenly crossed his face. “Did you . . . did you . . . come to tell me you done met another man and don’t want to be bothered with me no more? Is that it?” Tears pooled in Odell’s eyes, and he started blinking.
I leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, “I’m pregnant.”
Chapter 10
Odell
IF JOYCE HAD PULLED A GUN ON ME, I COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE stunned. A baby was going to have a big impact on our relationship. But I didn’t know if it would be a good one, or a bad one. “What did you just say?” I asked dumbly. I had heard her the first time, but I needed to be sure I had heard right.
“I’m going to have a baby.”
“My Lord!” I croaked. In my mind, I could see Mac loading up his shotgun. It wasn’t easy, but I was able to keep the fear out of my tone and body language. I stood up straight and spoke in the most serious tone I could manage. “You been to a doctor yet?”
Joyce shook her head. “I don’t need no doctor to tell me what I already know. I knew something was wrong last week when I started throwing up every morning.”
I raked my fingers through my hair and looked around to make sure nobody was close enough to hear what we was discussing. Especially Mac! Since she was so close to her mama and daddy, I didn’t know what kind of influence their reaction to her condition would have on her. They were old-fashioned, churchgoing people, and they associated with some of the snootiest, most self-righteous people in town. The funny thing about that was, some of the same men in Mac and Millie’s circle of friends spent a lot of time and money in Aunt Mattie’s whorehouse. I’d seen them there with my own eyes before I got fired. But since Joyce was the MacPhersons’ only child and they doted on her, I knew they only wanted her to have the best things in life. Having a baby before she got married was not one of them things.
I had to think fast and not say something that might upset Joyce more than she already was. “Baby, we in this together,” I acknowledged in a firm tone. She looked relieved, at least for now. “Did you tell anybody else yet?”
“The only person that knows so far is Miss Kirksey, the teacher I work with. I didn’t tell her, but she figured it out on her own. She’s had six kids and knows all the pregnancy signs.”
“Good. Let’s keep this to ourselves for now. I don’t think we need to worry about the Kirksey woman blabbing before we figure out what to do about this problem.”
Joyce gasped and looked like she was about to have a panic attack. But she continued speaking in a calm manner. “Problem? You think this is a problem?”
“Well, we didn’t plan it. When people get involved like us, things happen. But everybody makes mistakes.”
A threatening look suddenly crossed her face. She looked mad enough to cut my throat. “Odell, you need to make up your mind. First you said we had a problem. Now you’re telling me we made a mistake. If you think I’m a problem and a mistake, you need to let me know now so I can go on about my business and forget about you.”
This time I gasped. “What’s wrong with you, girl? Don’t you be twisting my words. I ain’t said you was no problem or a mistake.”
“I’m not deaf. I know what I heard.”
“Okay, let me start over. First off, I’m sorry if what I said upset you. I didn’t mean to. I care too much about you. But we have a serious situation on our hands, and I just want to know how you going to handle it.”
Joyce’s eyes got big. “What do you mean? Shouldn’t you be asking me how we are going to handle this ‘situation’? I didn’t get pregnant by myself!” she hissed like a snake. This was the first time I seen her get mad.
I pulled her into my arms. “Joyce, there ain’t but one thing for us to do and that is to get married.” I held my breath, hoping I’d said what she wanted to hear.
She looked so surprised, you would have thought I’d just threatened to kill her. “You want
