“And one so pretty and ripe,” his brother added, ogling me like he wanted to rip off my bloomers right then and there. There was a smirk on his face when he turned to look at Milton. “Milton, no matter how hard I try, I ain’t been able to get me a woman as good-looking as this pretty little Red Bone you got. Why do you think that is? I know how to make a woman happy.”

“Maybe you ain’t got enough equipment to make one as happy as I can,” Milton shot back. Everybody gasped and laughed. The banter went on like that for so long, I got tired of laughing and started getting bored. I couldn’t wait to leave. From the blasé expression on Milton’s face now, I knew he was anxious to haul ass, too. But we was gracious enough to spend a little more time socializing.

All the folks from out of town got angry when we told them about our arrest. One hefty, mean-looking cousin from Huntsville even offered to help us chastise the culprit that had made the bogus call to the sheriff, if and when we found out who he was. “We can take care of our own business. What he done to us will seem like a blessing compared to what we going to do to him,” Milton growled.

Discussing this subject with folks we had just met today was making me uncomfortable. When I looked at Milton and nodded toward the door, he knew what that meant. He didn’t waste no time rushing into one of the bedrooms, where they had put all the coats and jackets, to get ours. Dr. Patterson and his wife was so busy tending to their guests, they didn’t even notice when we slunk out the front door a few minutes later.

“Let’s make tracks before somebody else come up and start yakking away again,” Milton said as we stumbled out to the sidewalk, burping and rubbing our stomachs. We sprinted toward home until he abruptly stopped in front of our fence gate. It wasn’t that dark yet, but I was glad we had left the light on in our living room. The only light on in Joyce and Odell’s house was the one in their bedroom. Odell’s car was parked out front, so we knew they was at home. “We better get a move on before they go to bed.”

“Baby, you go talk to Odell. I want to get in the house and start preparing for our guests. We already getting a late start,” I said, dismissing him with a wave.

Milton shook his head. “Uh-uh. We got business to tend to. I know damn well you ain’t forgot what we planned. I need you there to distract Joyce so I can talk to Odell.”

“Okay then. Let’s go and get it over with.”