“Oh,” I mumbled. “Children is a real touchy subject with some folks. Especially you women.”
“Tell me about it. And it’s getting touchier by the day with me,” Joyce whined. I didn’t have to read her mind to know what she was going to say next. “I want my own children so bad I don’t know what to do. It’s unfair that women like Yvonne can have three and I can’t have even one. Do you think we’ll ever be parents? I know how important it is to you to be a daddy, and I worry about it all the time.”
“Yes, I do think we’ll have children someday. But it don’t do no good for you to fret over it. One of my old bosses and his wife tried to have a baby for ten years. They got so obsessed, they even fixed up a nursery with all kinds of baby knickknacks. There was everything in that room to indicate a baby occupied it, except the baby. That desperate couple finally broke down and adopted a little girl. Then BAM! Six months later, the wife got pregnant! Why? Because they had stopped worrying about it.”
“I can’t help it. Having a baby is on my mind almost every day, especially when I’m by myself.”
“You don’t have to be by yourself now that Yvonne and Milton live right next door. They always itching to entertain company.”
“If I hadn’t been so worried about why you hadn’t come home yet, I would have gone over there a couple of hours ago and smoothed things over with Yvonne. I’m sure she told Milton what I said and I regret every word now. I don’t like being rude to people—especially ones we live so close to. And I really wish I hadn’t made those comments about that grill they work at.”
“I know just what you mean. I’m going to be nicer to Milton from now on too.” I glanced toward the window then back at Joyce. “Let’s do this, baby. Why don’t we kill two birds with one stone?”
“What do you mean?”
“We can go get a drink and show Yvonne and Milton some love.”
Chapter 42
Odell
MILTON HADN’T PAID BACK THE MONEY HE’D BORROWED LAST Tuesday, and I wasn’t going to remind him about it. But I would if and when he asked for another “loan” before he repaid the last one.
Willie Frank opened the door when we got over there. “Hey, we got two more!” he yelled as he ushered us in. “The folks from next door!”
“The more the merrier,” somebody yelled.
The living room had people from wall to wall. There was just enough room on the couch for one more body, so Joyce sat down and I stood in front of her. “What y’all drinking tonight?” Willie Frank asked, looking from me to Joyce. He didn’t look drunk, but the alcohol on his breath was so strong, it made my eyes water.
“I’ll just have some whiskey,” Joyce said, talking loud so she could be heard over all the chatter and music. Somebody in the back of the room was playing the red piano that Milton had picked up at a garage sale, and somebody else was playing a guitar.
“Pour me the same thing,” I told Willie Frank. “Where is Yvonne and Milton?”
“Yvonne is around here somewhere. I dropped Milton off on Morgan Street a while ago so he could get in on some hot crap games. He ain’t come home yet.”
Just then, Yvonne pushed her way through the crowd and went right up to Joyce. “I’m so pleased to see you ain’t mad at me about that stuff I said today.”
“Pffft! I forgot all about that conversation, girl.” Joyce laughed and waved her hand. And then she tugged on Willie Frank’s shirtsleeve. “We can’t stay long, so can we get our drinks now?”
Before we got our drinks, the door swung open and Milton strutted in. He greeted some of his guests with smiles and hugs. But there was the strangest expression on his face when he spotted me. I smiled, nodded, and waved. He did the same thing, but he didn’t come up to me. Fifteen minutes later, I put my arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a corner. “What you been into, buddy boy?”
“I’m so glad you asked me that. I’m fixing to look into a deal that’ll be sweeter than a ton of sugarcane, if I pull it off.” He stopped talking and narrowed his eyes. “I can’t talk about it right now, though. I’ll tell you all about it real soon.” He let out a mighty belch and walked away. Every time I peered in his direction, he was looking in mine, staring so hard it made me cringe.
After about twenty minutes, I plowed through the crowd until I found Joyce. She was in the kitchen drinking a glass of water. I was glad she was alone. “We better get going soon so I can get some sleep. I need to be at work a little earlier tomorrow so I can finish up a few things before I open up.”
“I thought that was the reason you stopped by the store on your way home this evening,” she wailed, looking exasperated.
“It was. And I did finish my paperwork, but I just remembered a few other things I forgot to do.”
We left five minutes later. When we got home, we went straight to bed and Joyce started rubbing up and down my rump. Sex was the last thing I wanted tonight. Besides, I’d got myself a pretty good dose before I left Betty Jean’s house a few hours ago. I had other things on my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Milton had kept gazing at me and the sugarcane-sweet deal that he was going to talk to me about “real soon.” But Joyce wouldn’t let up. Even though I was laying there like a log, she slid her hand inside my shorts and started stroking anyway. Well, it didn’t
