Time was going by so fast. The clock in my head was ticking so loud, you would have thought it was a time bomb. Odell didn’t come back to the house on Tuesday to see if we was going fishing with him. I didn’t think he would nohow. There was something “fishy” about his invitation. I had a feeling that after he thought about it a little more, he realized I’d suspected something was up. With everything that had happened, there was no way me and Yvonne was going to go off somewhere alone with him. The fact that he had done something as unspeakable as lying to the white folks about us, was proof that he was dangerous. And so was we.

Odell showed up Wednesday night a few minutes before eight. Right after he got in the house and greeted a few folks, he motioned for me to go into the kitchen with him. When we got there, Sweet Sue and Tiny, the cute midget prostitute who worked for Aunt Mattie, was standing by the stove giggling about something with Willie Frank. I beckoned for Odell to follow me to my bedroom. The way he was dragging his feet, you would have thought he was on his way to his execution. When we got inside, he kicked the door shut. “I just came to give you your eight dollars.” I couldn’t believe the evil eye he gave me when he pulled a five and three ones out of his pocket.

“Thank you very much.” I snatched the money, folded it in two and slid it into my back pocket. “What drink do you want me to get for you?” Despite the mean way he was looking at me and his harsh tone, I was still able to behave like a gentleman.

“Nothing.” His tone was so snippy, it sounded like he had spit out the word. He was already walking back toward the door.

“Hold your horses,” I ordered, grabbing his arm. He looked at me like he wanted to cut my head off. “In case I don’t see you no more this week, I need to know if we still cool for next Friday?”

Odell looked puzzled for a few seconds. “Yeah. If you can’t get to the store before I leave for the day, you’ll have to wait until Sunday night when I get back home.”

“Oh, you ain’t got to worry about me not getting there before you leave,” I assured him. “I want my money. And, if it ain’t asking too much, give me small bills.”

“I will. Is that it?” he said with a smirk.

“Well, since you asked, I’m a little curious.” I cleared my throat and narrowed my eyes. “How come you ain’t making a big fuss about giving me another five hundred dollars? It don’t bother you?”