“Oh, I’m all right. A car almost ran me down a few blocks from here and it shook me up.” I cleared my throat and put on as happy a face as I could. I even chuckled. “I feel like such a crybaby.”

“I know what you mean. I got hit by a man driving a mule-wagon one day. I didn’t get hurt. But it shook me up so bad, I squawked like a parrot. Now, every time I see a mule or a wagon, I panic.”

“Um . . . now how do I get to Betty Jean’s house?”

The waitress pointed at the door. “When you leave here, turn left and walk all the way to the end of the road until you get to a bait shop at the end of the block. Turn right. Walk all the way to the end of that road until you get to a church with a great big statue on the front lawn of Jesus holding a lamb. That’s my church. Odell and Betty Jean and their boys belong to it, too. Odell is a usher and our treasurer, and Betty Jean sing in the choir.”

Treasurer? There was no doubt in my mind that part of the money those people had trusted him with, was going in his pocket, too.

The more I heard about the secret life Odell had been leading, the angrier I got. My heart felt like it had dropped down to my feet, and there were other parts of my body I couldn’t even feel. A lump that felt like it was the size of an apple was lodged in my throat. I was surprised I could still function.

“Since you didn’t order no drink, do you still want some water, too? Or a bottle of Dr. Pepper?”

“No, thank you. Now let me ask you one more thing. Is there a telephone here I can use?” I prayed that Patsy was home when I called and could come pick me up.

“Go to the back of the room. It’s right next to the toilet. Is it a local call?”

“Yes, it is.” I was lying but I didn’t care. I had been basically honest all my life and look what it had got me. It seemed like the folks who told the most and biggest lies always got what they wanted. It was too soon for me to know how I was going to live the rest of my life. One thing I did know was that I’d never be the same fool twice.