“See, the truth is, I didn’t go see Aunt Mattie today like I told you. I dropped Willie Frank off there so he could pester her prostitutes, and I used his truck to go see Odell. I figured if I didn’t ask for no money today, he wouldn’t get so upset. When I told him what we needed by the end of the month, he didn’t like it. But he said he’d give us the whole amount we owe Lamar.”

“Three hundred dollars? How long will he give us to pay it back?”

“We ain’t going to pay it back. Shoot. With all the dirt we got on his prissy black ass, he ain’t fool enough to try and make us.”

Yvonne’s eyes lit up like fireflies. The next thing I knew, she hauled off and kissed me so hard, she almost bruised my lips. When she pulled back, she was grinning like a clown. “We don’t have to pay him back? Milton, that’s good news. Now we don’t have to ask Aunt Mattie, Mr. Cunningham, and Dr. Patterson.”

I done a double take. “Why not? We still need some money to make up for the time we was in jail and couldn’t work at the grill or entertain no guests. And what about the ‘extra’ we talked about getting so we’d have money to have some fun? After I get the three hundred, I’ll go back to Odell a few days later and ask for more. Fifty or sixty would do. We deserve it for all them times him and his Queen of Sheba made us feel lowly, with their hoity-toity behavior. Humph. I’m still pissed off about them serving us elderberry wine when we go over there, instead of that expensive whiskey they admitted they give only to their ‘special friends.’ We just as special as anybody else.”

“Milton, you know I agree with you. But let’s not get too far off the subject. Now, back to what we was talking about.” Yvonne let out a loud sigh before she went on. “Keep in mind, that whatever we get from Aunt Mattie, Mr. Cunningham, and Dr. Patterson, we’d have to pay back. We’d be out of Lamar’s debt, but we’d still be in a hole. If we don’t have to pay Odell back, we’ll have a little breathing room. I hope you will be able to get another fifty or sixty from him. Goodness gracious. I was only going to ask him for a few dollars today. You got him to agree to give us the whole three hundred.”