“Yes. Yvonne and Milton were a little disappointed because you didn’t stop and say hello to them before you went to your daddy’s house on Friday. I told them we’d come over when you got home this evening. We need to keep reassuring them that we are still in their corner.”

I could feel a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. Somehow, I managed to keep a smile on my face and my tone gentle. “Joyce, I told you they came by the store Friday afternoon. They know I’m in their corner.”

“I know. But you should have a little more sympathy. You know how pitiful they are. We’ve been setting a good example for them. Let’s not stop now.” Joyce got silent and stared straight ahead for a few seconds. When she turned back to me, there was a distant look in her eyes. “I’m going to pray that they don’t get into more trouble. I mean, we can only put up with so much before we have to stop associating with folks that might make us look bad. I hope that doesn’t happen because I had fun with them this weekend, and I’m not ready to give that up yet.”

“That’s nice, sugar. Did they have a big crowd?”

“Uh-huh. But a few of their big-spending regulars were missing. Willie Frank told me some of those folks said that they’re too scared to come back.”

“That’s too bad for Yvonne and Milton. Their bootlegging profits will be shy, and they’ll have more money problems.”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll make up for it.” Joyce slid her finger through my hair. “Um . . . I hope you don’t mind, but I already told them we’d help them with some money. I think a hundred dollars is a good amount.”

My chest tightened. The way my body was feeling, it was a wonder I didn’t keel over. I looked at Joyce like she’d just turned into a toad. “You told them we’d give them a hundred dollars?” I couldn’t believe my ears. I had just gave Yvonne fifty bucks on Friday. I had to come up with four hundred to give Milton, plus his weekly blackmail payment. Now Joyce was telling me she had promised them another hundred!

“Odell, don’t look so surprised. We can afford it. We are blessed to have so much, it’d be a shame not to share more with the poor folks.”

“We do share. What about our cash donations to the church fund that Reverend Jessup started for the poor colored folks when the Depression first hit a few years ago? We still contributing to that.”

“Well, I think we need to chip in a little more.”

“Joyce, be reasonable. I don’t think our church fund was set up to line the pockets of bootleggers.”