“Good. We got the house to ourselves so we can get as loud and frisky as we want to.” I wrapped my arms around her again. She pushed me back so hard with her elbow, I fell against the kitchen table. “What’s wrong with you? How do you expect us to make that baby girl we want so bad?”

“You ain’t putting your hands on me until you wash your nasty self!”

I didn’t say nothing else. I wanted to get back to her as quick as I could, so I spun around and zoomed into the bathroom. I gargled with some baking soda and hot water and scrubbed myself until I was squeaky clean.

CHAPTER 22 - JOYCE

CHAPTER 22

JOYCE

ODELL HAD BEEN GONE ABOUT AN HOUR BEFORE I DECIDED TO go next door. When I walked into the living room, Milton was in a corner chatting with Sweet Sue. His hand was on her arm and he was looking at her like she was a beauty queen. How Yvonne could stand to let that happen in her own house was a mystery to me. I had to keep reminding myself that they didn’t have the high morals Odell and I had.

While I stood there scanning the room and taking off my coat, Willie Frank strutted over to me. The next thing I knew, he snatched my coat out of my hand and draped it across the back of the couch. Then he grabbed my arm and guided me to a corner. Other than drinking and having a good time, he and I had nothing in common. But I liked him because he was so amusing and fun to talk to. “Joyce, let’s me and you chitchat for a spell. I need a little downtime before I go bust up that glee going on between Milton and Sweet Sue,” he said with a mighty belch.

Before I realized what I was saying, words I hadn’t given much thought slid out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Well, she is a busy lady when it comes to men. Everybody knows that’s how she makes her money.”

Willie Frank laughed. “And everybody knows she’s my old gal. But she still has to beat men off with a stick—even when I’m around!”

“I guess she can’t help it because she gets a lot of attention for a . . . uh . . . ordinary-looking woman.” I couldn’t believe that an “ordinary-looking woman” like me could let such a statement slip out! But because Odell told me how beautiful I was so often, sometimes I forgot how I really look.