“You sure you want to go with me?” I held my breath, praying she’d say no.
She took her time replying. “Odell, what’s going on? Is there some reason you don’t want me to go?” These questions seemed out of character for Joyce. She had never cross-examined me like this before.
“Oh no, baby doll. It ain’t nothing like that,” I said real quick. “You know I would never try to keep something from you. I love you from the bottom of my heart, so I would never do or say nothing that you wouldn’t like. It’s just that . . . well, I know you don’t like to go to Daddy’s house on account of Ellamae. And even if she wasn’t there, Daddy ain’t no fun to spend time with.” I stopped talking long enough to squeeze in a chuckle. “I know you only want to go to please me, but you don’t need to do that.”
“I know I don’t. But I don’t mind doing it when I do. And to be honest with you, I should offer to go with you more often. But if Ellamae is real nasty today, there’s no telling when I’ll feel like going out there again. This could even be the last time.” Joyce laughed.
“Okay, sweetie. I’ll see you in about twenty minutes.” I had to think fast, so I said the first thing that came to my mind next. “Um . . . looka here, before we head out, I’d like to drop in on Milton and Yvonne and check on them. They was both down in the dumps when they stopped by here a little while ago.”
“Oh Lord. I hope none of their guests got drunk over there last night and did something crazy!”
“Don’t worry, sugar. It wasn’t nothing like that.”
“Then why were they down in the dumps? And how do you know?”
“They was on the way home from the funeral of one of their coworkers. They must have been real close to him, because they took his passing real hard. They both had red, swollen eyes from crying so much. I was busy and in a lousy mood myself so I wasn’t as gracious as I should have been. I think I was probably a little too abrupt with them. So now I’d like to go over there and make up for it. I’ll take them a few snacks because I know they’ll have plenty company tonight.”
“That coworker must not have been too close of a friend if they still want to party and drink with a house full of folks after attending his funeral today.”
“Don’t be like that, sugar. That’s how some people deal with grief. They need sympathy more than they need you criticizing them.”
“Yeah, you’re right, I guess. I don’t know what’s wrong with me for saying something like that. Well, I wouldn’t mind spending a little time with them before we go out to your daddy’s house. I’ll be ready when you get here, so just park out front and toot the horn.”
“All right. I’ll be there after I collect this week’s profits from the registers and take them to your daddy.” Joyce mumbled something under her breath I couldn’t make out. “What did you say?”
“I said I get nervous every time I know you driving around with a paper bag full of money. That’s the only thing I hate about Fridays.”
“Baby, I agree with you. But this is the way your folks want to do it. I don’t think they’ll ever trust banks again.”
“Well, you just be careful. There are some desperate crooks out there willing to do whatever they have to do to get some easy money.”
“Tell me about it,” I sniffed. I was one of them “desperate crooks” and I would probably be one for the rest of my life. Or, for as long as I had to take care of my boys and Betty Jean. One thing I planned to do soon was make arrangements to have a telephone installed for her. Since I couldn’t call to let her know I had to postpone my visit, when I got off the phone with Joyce, I called Betty Jean’s sister at her work and told her to relay the message.
“Why ain’t you coming?” Alline wanted to know.
“Something serious came up,” I explained.
“I bet,” she said, which I didn’t appreciate.
“It’s something I can’t get out of,” I went on.
“Uh-huh. It’s a shame it’s more ‘serious’ than your children, Odell. They was really looking forward to spending time with you this evening and tomorrow. They’ll be sure enough disappointed. . . .” This heifer was getting on my nerves with her suspicious-sounding comments, but she was too important for me to piss off. I didn’t know what I’d do if she was to quit helping Betty Jean with the boys. Alline was usually nice to me, but lately she’d been acting standoffish and I didn’t know why. I had always treated her with respect, but there’d been times when I wanted to cuss her out. I would never do that because at the end of the day, I needed to stay on her good side in case something happened to Betty Jean. Life was so unpredictable and unfair, I had to think about things like that. If Betty Jean up and died or decided to run off with another man, or by herself, I didn’t want Alline to take my babies and relocate to Ohio where they had other relatives. She had told me more than once that the only reason she hadn’t already moved north was on account of she wanted to stay close to her baby sister and her nephews.
“Nothing is more serious to
