I wished she hadn’t added that last comment, but I was determined to overlook as many of her put-downs as possible. So I just giggled again.

“Listen,” she went on, still whispering. She paused and leaned closer to me. “You ever thought about going to visit a hoodoo? Maybe one of them could give you something that would do the trick. Like Aunt Mattie. She done cured a lot of sick people, changed folks’ luck, and done a bunch of other things, good and bad. Or so folks claim. Helping you get pregnant ought to be a piece of cake for her.”

My mouth dropped open and I stared at Yvonne like she was crazy. “Hoodoo? Do you believe in that stuff?” My heart started beating so hard and fast, I got scared.

She gave me a pensive look before she replied. “To tell you the truth, I’m too scientific to believe everything I hear about that. But . . .”

“But what?”

“Well, for all I know, it could work. I done heard a lot of stories about folks getting what they want by going to a hoodoo.”

“If you think there’s something to it, how come you haven’t tried it? If anybody could use some help getting their lives in order, it’s you and Milton.”

Yvonne narrowed her eyes. “We doing all right without it. You see they didn’t keep us in jail!” she snapped. “I’m just trying to help you out,” she added in a softer tone.

“And I appreciate it,” I said. “Uh . . . I’m scientific, too, so I hadn’t thought about anything as extreme as a hoodoo,” I lied. “Besides, Aunt Mattie has such a long tongue, she’d blab to the wrong person and I don’t want folks to know how desperate I am to have a baby.” Yvonne was the last person I’d tell about the neipee I’d tried. I didn’t think she’d blab my business to somebody else, but information as juicy as me turning to hoodoo would probably be something else for her to rub in my face that would make me feel like a freak. “I’m just going to keep praying and hope God will bless me before I get too old.”

“Well, I’ll keep praying for you, too.” She let out a loud sigh and turned her attention toward Milton. When she motioned for him to join us, he scurried across the floor like a squirrel. I followed them into the kitchen to a spot in front of the broom closet.

“What’s up?” he asked, glancing from me to Yvonne. He looked as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.

“Baby, Joyce brung that hundred dollars we been expecting.”

“God is good! Give it here!” Milton hollered, already holding out his hand.

I pulled the wad of bills out of my purse. “It’s mostly fives and tens. You want to count it?”