Yvonne was carrying a big bowl filled with the carcass they’d cut up. The creature’s head was on top, face up. “Hi, Joyce,” she greeted as she dumped the meat into a big pot of boiling water on the stove. “This was one tough critter. Worse than that alligator we sliced up last month. We broke two knives!” she complained with a frown.

“Are you going to cook the head, too?” I asked, wincing because the possum’s eyes were staring straight at me.

“Heck yeah!” Milton yelled. “Don’t you?”

I winced again. “Uh-uh. Never.”

Milton laughed. “You ought to try it. The eyes taste like grapes. If you want us to, we’ll save the head for you and—”

I held up my hand and cut him off. “That’s all right. Odell is very particular about what he puts in his mouth.”

“I bet he is,” Milton said with a snicker. He was so ignorant and uncouth. Whenever he made comments like the one he’d just made, I could never tell if he was trying to be sarcastic or funny.

Willie Frank gave me a sideways glance before he said anything. “Speaking of Odell, did he come with you tonight?”

“He’s in the living room, itching for somebody to bring him a drink,” I replied. I didn’t know if it was my imagination or what, but tonight it seemed like Milton and Yvonne were uncomfortable around me. And I had no idea why. Milton was shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Yvonne was blinking nervously and clearing her throat. They had never behaved this way in front of me before. The only thing I could think of was that we hadn’t given Yvonne and Milton the money we promised, and they were getting antsy. There was only one way to fix that. “Milton, Yvonne, can I talk to y’all in private for a minute?”

Before they could respond, Willie Frank grabbed Sweet Sue by the hand. “We can take a hint,” he said with a grin that seemed forced. He led her out of the room, and I waited a few moments before I said anything else. Yvonne and Milton were standing side by side, gazing at me with curious expressions on their faces.

“What is it, Joyce?” Milton asked.

“I know how close y’all and Willie Frank are. But I didn’t think it would be smart for me to say too much in front of him. Or Sweet Sue.”

Yvonne and Milton looked at each other, then back to me. “Joyce, spit it out,” she ordered. “I need to get this possum stew cooked.”

“And I need to get back out there and tend to our other guests,” Milton tossed in.