I cried along with everybody else. But I was still so hurt by Odell’s betrayal, his funeral was the last place I wanted to be.

When the service ended three hours later, the mourners gathered in the dining area. Aunt Mattie strolled up to me and gave me a bear hug and a quick peck on each cheek. “Joyce . . . I’m . . . I’m going to pray for yooooou,” she sobbed, mopping tears off her face with a large handkerchief.

“I appreciate that. Odell thought so highly of you,” I mumbled.

Aunt Mattie honked into her handkerchief, narrowed her eyes, and scrunched up her lips. “Joyce, did Odell ever tell you what I told him on the day y’all got married?”

I gave her a puzzled look. “I can’t answer that until you tell me what you told him,” I replied.

“Right after the preacher told him to kiss you, I got a cold chill. The same kind I got a month before my mama died, and a few months before my used-to-be boyfriend got bit by a snake and died. That chill was a sign. I told Odell there was going to be trouble down the road for you and him. I even offered to work a little hoodoo to help y’all avoid it.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Well, my psychic abilities relayed to me that it was going to be something really bad, but I didn’t get no details. If he had took me up on my offer, I could have diverted whatever it was, and he’d still be alive.”

“He didn’t tell me anything about that conversation.” I sucked in some air and gave her a guarded look. “I guess that was why you used to make all those comments about him leaving me, huh?”

“Nobody thought you was Odell’s type. I reckon he did, because he married you.” Aunt Mattie sighed and gave me a pitiful look. “Poor fool. He was confused, but he was still a good man. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and it costed him his life. When you was with him, there was always a big smile on your face. I’m glad he made you happy.”

“Yeah . . . he sure did,” I muttered. And it was true. The Odell I’d fallen in love with had made me happy. The real one had turned me into a scornful shrew. I couldn’t continue this conversation with a straight face. “Excuse me, please.” I made a beeline for the restroom.