“I know you love them little devils. It’s just a damn shame they don’t get to see you more often.”
“Well, I’m working on that. But for now, I’m doing the best I can do so cut me some slack.”
“Odell, I’m kind of busy, so I have to go. I’ll tell Betty Jean you called and I’ll tell her everything you just told me.”
I had never discussed my marital status with Alline, but she was no fool. She had to know that I was married. But one good thing about her relationship with Betty Jean was that they stayed out of each other’s business. And, to stay on Alline’s good side, every time I delivered a bunch of goodies from the store to Betty Jean, I always included a few items for Alline. It was because of my generosity that she had a huge supply of hair grease, makeup, and all kinds of other she-products that women had to have. And, at least two or three times a month, she borrowed money from me.
“Let her know that I’ll see her either sometime tomorrow or Sunday afternoon. And tell the boys I’m real sorry, and I’ll make it up to them.”
I was sweating when I hung up. Daddy didn’t know I was coming, so he’d be surprised when me and Joyce showed up. That was one thing. The other thing I was worried about was him letting the cat out of the bag that I hadn’t been visiting him as regularly as Joyce thought I had. Shit! This was the first time I was glad Daddy was having memory lapses. No matter what he said in front of Joyce, or how he acted when we got there today, I’d blame it on his mental condition. Ellamae never had much to say to Joyce and she usually left the house a few minutes after we got there, so I wasn’t worried about her blowing the whistle on me.
In addition to having to pay Daddy an unplanned visit today, now I had to visit Yvonne and Milton, too! Well, I had to do what I had to do to keep everybody happy.
Chapter 34
Joyce
WHEN ODELL GOT TO MY JOB, HE APPEARED TO BE DISTRESSED. His eyes were watery, his lips were dry, and his hands were shaking. I thought he was coming down with something. “Baby, are you all right?” I asked as soon as I slid into the car. I glanced over my shoulder and was pleased to see that the snacks for Yvonne and Milton on the back seat included their favorites: crackers, hog head cheese, baloney, and two huge jars of pickled pigs’ feet. “You don’t look too good. Maybe you’re coming down with something.”
“Now that you mentioned it, I do feel a little under the weather. I think I’m coming down with a cold.” He eased the car out onto the street and drove slowly toward our neighborhood, keeping his eyes on the road.
I put my hand on his shoulder and massaged it. Next I touched his chest. His body felt so tense, he was probably sicker than he thought. “A summer cold is nothing to play with. Our principal’s niece caught one last July and died. Do you think it’s a good idea for you to go around your daddy with him already being so sickly?”
“I hadn’t thought about it. Since you brung it up, maybe I shouldn’t go out there today. If he gets any sicker, he’ll have another reason to badger me to come see him even more often.” Odell’s voice was so high-pitched, he almost sounded like a woman.
“Then you should stay home and take care of yourself first,” I insisted. “You don’t need to go next door with your germs and infect Yvonne and Milton and their guests. I’ll go over there for a few minutes and drop off the snacks and tell them how sorry we are about their friend’s passing. But before I do that, I’ll fix you some soup and make a pot of ginger tea. I’m sure your daddy, and Yvonne and Milton, will understand if they don’t see you today.”
When Odell spoke again, he sounded normal, and that made me feel better. “That’s fine, Joyce. You are so good to me.”
“And you are so good for me.”
We didn’t talk during the ride home, but all kinds of thoughts were bouncing around in my head. Odell didn’t put his arm around my shoulder or even look at me the way he usually did when we were in the car. You would have thought he was alone. I was concerned about his odd behavior. When we got home, I looked him in the eye and said, “Odell, is there something going on you don’t want me to know about?”
He suddenly seemed so frightened, I thought he was going to jump out of his skin. “What do you mean?” he asked in a voice I almost didn’t recognize. “Somebody been putting bugs in your ear?”
“No. I know you like a book, so there is nothing anybody can tell me about you that I don’t already know.”
“It’s just that today was real busy and I had a run-in with some teenagers that was trying to steal a few items. Them same punks I had to chastise last week.”
I blew out a sigh of relief and gave Odell an incredulous look. “Is that all? Shoot!”
“Baby, it could be a problem if I don’t nip it in the bud in time. The last thing I want your folks to think is that I can’t keep things under control.”
“Some unruly young crooks snatching a few cheap items ain’t worth you getting so bent out of shape over. Come on.” I grabbed Odell’s hand and led him to the couch. With a groan, he dropped down on it like a lead balloon. “Now, you stay here and I’ll make you some
