“A customer was trying to steal some gum and I caught him in the act. We tussled and he swung at me.” My lie was as flimsy as it could be, but it was the best I could come up with. “And I hit him back.”
“If you was defending yourself, why do you feel bad about it? Did you hurt him?”
I shook my head. “I just busted his lip. But he wasn’t no more than fifteen or sixteen. I ain’t never hit a kid and that’s why I feel bad about it. I know his mama. She is the frantic type, so she’ll probably come to the store and raise hell.”
“So let her! Did anybody see what happened?”
“Yeah, the cashiers and a couple of other customers.”
Betty Jean laughed. “I thought something real serious had happened. You really had me scared for a minute. The next time you come here in such a funk, I hope it’s because of something we really need to worry about. The way you was looking a few minutes ago, I thought maybe somebody in Branson had found out about me.”
“Baby, they don’t know and they never will. I got everything under control.”
“Well, I hope you keep it under control. You the only person me and the boys can always count on. If I was to lose you, my life would never be the same again.”
“I feel the same way, sugar.” I pulled Betty Jean into my arms and gave her the most passionate kiss I ever gave any other woman—including Joyce.
Eight dollars a week was a lot of money to give Milton. But it was a small price to pay to keep everybody happy. I was prepared to do it until I died, unless he died first....
TO BE CONTINUED
READING GROUP GUIDE
ONE HOUSE OVER
Mary Monroe
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The suggested questions that follow are included to enhance your group’s reading of this book.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Joyce was a smart woman, but she was also a desperate woman. She couldn’t wait to get married so her meddlesome parents would stop badgering her to find a husband. By the time she turned thirty she was willing to marry any man—whether she loved him or not—because she wanted children and didn’t want to grow old alone. Do you think it’s a bad idea for anyone to get married for these reasons?
2. Despite her intelligence, Joyce was naïve enough to believe everything Odell told her because she was hopelessly in love with him. She even got pregnant on purpose so she would at least have part of him in case he ended their relationship. Have you ever been this crazy in love?
3. If you answered yes to the question above, are you still a fool when it comes to love? If not you, do you have any close acquaintances who are as lovestruck as Joyce? If so, do you ever try to talk some sense into their heads?
4. Joyce was well-to-do and meek. She was the perfect prey for down-on-his-luck Odell. If you have ever been as easy to exploit as Joyce, did it lead to a bad experience? If so, did you learn from it, or were you gullible enough to make the same mistakes more than one time? With the same mate or new ones?
5. Odell wanted security and a wife. Joyce was not the physical type of woman he’d always wanted to settle down with, but he loved her anyway. The fact that she was going to inherit a small fortune someday sweetened the pot. Were you surprised when he cheated on her the month after their wedding?
6. It was love at first sight the moment Betty Jean saw Odell. She used every trick in the book to get him into her bed as fast as she could—which was only a couple of hours after they’d met. Do you think if he had not been in “the wrong place at the wrong time” (the excuse he blamed for his predicament), he would have never cheated on Joyce?
7. Odell hadn’t planned on having a serious relationship with Betty Jean until he got her pregnant. Do you think that if Joyce hadn’t lost her baby, he might not have gotten so involved with Betty Jean and had two more children with her?
8. Joyce’s parents were meddlesome, but they meant well. Do you think she would have been a stronger and more realistic woman if she had moved away from home when she was much younger?
9. Betty Jean was attracted to Odell because he was tall, dark, well-built, very handsome, and he had a great personality. Joyce was attracted to him for the same reasons. Are a person’s looks important to you? If your answer is no, would you consider an out-of-shape partner with plain features if they had a great personality?
10. Yvonne and Milton had criminal backgrounds and they did whatever they had to do to get what they wanted. They were jealous of Joyce and Odell and started plotting ways to use them. Do you know any people who are “best friends” and “worst enemies” at the same time? Have you ever been in this situation?
11. To support his mistress and their children, Odell embezzled money from the business he managed for his in-laws. Do you blame Joyce’s parents for being so trusting and nonchalant about money?
12. Odell had a good thing going until Milton accidentally discovered his relationship with Betty Jean and decided to blackmail him. Would Odell have been better off if he had not agreed to pay Milton, told Joyce about Betty Jean himself, and put some of the blame on Joyce for his affair because she hadn’t been able to give him children?
13. Odell thought that paying Milton off would be a onetime thing. Milton came back the next day and asked for more money and a job. Blackmail usually ends badly for everyone involved. Do you think Odell
