I had to get some gas before I got back on the road. Because I hadn’t ate no lunch, I stopped at a chicken shack and got a sandwich and a root beer pop. While I sat in the cab of the truck and ate, I thought a lot about how well I had handled my latest meeting with Odell. I had no idea it would be so easy to collect fifty dollars from him today—especially the way Milton had been putting the bite on him since July. I decided to wait until next month to ask him for the other fifty I couldn’t get today. I’d use it to buy some Christmas gifts, including something for Joyce and Odell. As much as we’d come to depend on the money we got from Odell, it was the least we could do.

When I got back to the grill, Milton immediately motioned for me to join him in the kitchen. We went to a corner in the back of the room. “Did Odell give you them twenty dollars I told you to ask for?”

“I got thirty.” I pulled out one of the twenties and the ten and waved them in his face. “And he didn’t even fuss at me too much.”

Milton gazed at the money like it was something good to eat. “Holy moly. Now I wish I had told you to ask for fifty. Well . . . what else did y’all discuss? I guess he told you I paid him a visit today, too, huh?”

“He told me. But he was so anxious to get me out of his hair, he didn’t want to talk about nothing else.” I noticed how nervous Milton was acting and I knew why. He was wondering if Odell had told me the exact amount he’d asked for. “He told me he agreed to give you a big payout by the end of this month. He didn’t tell me how much, though. I guess he didn’t want to tell me that because he might have thought I’d ask for more.”

“Um . . . just three hundred like I asked him for.”

“That’s perfect.” I handed Milton the twenty-dollar bill. “You take this and go pay our light and water bill tomorrow.”

He snatched it so fast, I was surprised it didn’t tear in half. “We don’t owe this much, and since I didn’t get no money from Odell today, I’ll keep the change.”

“That’s fine. I’ll keep the other ten for myself.”

CHAPTER 8 - ODELL

CHAPTER 8

ODELL

MY DAY HAD STARTED OUT SO GOOD. I HAD GOT UP AND PUT ON one of my favorite suits, rubbed some pomade on my hair, and splashed some aftershave on my neck. Joyce had cooked a scrumptious breakfast and I’d ate like a hog at a trough. Just recalling it made me feel a little bit better.