One House Over

by Mary Monroe

  I balled my fist and shook it at him. “On top of that, what you doing is a sin, too! I thought you’d found Jesus.”

  Milton laughed so hard he got tears in his eyes. He sat back down looking as smug as a tick on a sow’s ear. “You a fine one to be talking about sin! You ain’t got a leg to stand on!”

  He was almost right, because when I stood up, I almost fell so I had to plop back down in my chair. I wagged my finger in his face again. “You can call it whatever you want, but you have to promise me that you’ll keep your mouth shut about what you seen in Hartville. Now, I know you know your Bible. If you swear to God that you’ll keep your promise, I’ll feel a whole lot better.”

  He licked his finger and used it to cross his heart, which I suspected was even blacker than his hair. “I swear to God I’ll keep my promise.” He cocked his head to one side and gave me a dry look. His pitch-black eyes reminded me of charcoal. “Let me ask you one thing: Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “You married to a gold mine, man. Why would you risk all that for a piece of tail?”

  I exhaled and my shoulders sagged. He’d asked me a question I had asked myself a thousand times, and none of the answers I came up with made much sense. The one I gave Milton was one of the stupidest ever. “It ain’t easy being a man. I didn’t go looking for no woman. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Betty Jean came at me like a gangbuster. If she hadn’t, none of this would have happened. I wouldn’t have never cheated on Joyce on my own.”

  “Yeah, right. I bet Betty Jean didn’t have to put no gun up to your head,” he teased.

  “No, she didn’t. Her weapon was her beauty. I always wanted me a woman that looked like her, but never thought I’d get in this deep with one. All I really wanted was some tail. I don’t know nobody in Hartville, so I thought I could get away with it.”

  “Humph. If a piece of sweet redbone nooky was all you wanted, Aunt Mattie always have two or three working for her at the same time. And, I know where you can find a lot more.”

  I shook my head and gave Milton the most exasperated look I could come up with. “What’s wrong with you? You think I’m stupid enough to fool around with a woman in the same town where people know me and my wife?”

  “Hell’s bells, man. You went somewhere and got you one where you didn’t think nobody would see you, and I seen you. And if it hadn’t been me, sooner or later somebody else you know would have caught you.”

  “Anyway, I thought it would be just a little hanky-panky between me and Betty Jean, but things got out of hand real fast. When she got pregnant the first time, I knew I had to do the right thing. Before I knew it, we had three little boys.”

  Milton gave me a pitiful look. “You stupid jackass. One baby was bad enough, but you had to stick around and make two more! You better get you some thigh-high boots, because the shit you in is going to get a lot deeper. I wouldn’t trade places with you for all the money in the world.”

  “What do you mean?” I stood up again.

  “You ain’t just cooked your goose; you done cremated it, my man!”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so, Odell. But tell me this: How long do you think you can stand all this stress?”

  “How do you know I’m stressed?”

  “Pffft! You can’t hide that from me. I could see it with my eyes closed. When I told you why I came here today, you acted like you seen your own ghost. You lucky it was me that busted you and not a blabbermouth like Yvonne. Or that Buddy or Sadie.” Milton gave me another pitiful look. I knew he wasn’t feeling sorry for me, so I didn’t know what was behind that look. And he was right, I was stressed. But he was the one that was stressing me! The more I gazed at his butt face, the madder I got. It was a good thing for him that I wasn’t stupid enough to jump over my desk and wring his neck! “I’m glad we was able to work this thing out as fast as we did. I’m happy and you should be too, because you can go on with your two women. But I advise you to watch your step on account of you walking on real thin ice. If somebody else was to see what I seen, I hope they’ll be as reasonable as me.” Milton reached out his hand to me. “You want to shake on our deal?” I gave him the meanest look I could come up with and ignored his hand. “Oh well. I got to get back to work. Thanks for the money. Now, you be cool and have a blessed day.” He whistled as he strutted toward the door.

  I dropped back down into my chair, but I couldn’t sit still. I got up and paced back and forth for about fifteen minutes, recalling everything Milton had said. The whole time I was sweating bullets.

  I finally told Buddy, Sadie, and the latest stock boy that I didn’t feel well and needed to go home before I got worse.

  Chapter 44

  Joyce

  WHEN I GOT HOME FROM WORK, ODELL WAS ALREADY IN BED. I rushed over to him with a wild-eyed look on my face. “Baby, what’s the matter? I called the store a little while ago and Sadie told me you got sick a couple of hours ago and had to leave. How come you didn’t answer the phone when I called here?” I sat down on the side of the bed and felt his forehead.

  “I . . . I must have been using the toilet,” he said in a feeble tone. “My bowels have been in a uproar all day. I didn’t get much sleep last night, so I could barely keep my eyes open today. That’s why I got in this bed as soon as I got home.”

  “It’s my fault. I should not have kept you up half the night trying to make a baby. You stay in bed and I’ll make you some tea. You hungry?”

  “Uh-uh.”

  “You say that now, but I’m going to fix some chicken soup. Don’t you get out of that bed unless you need to use the toilet again.”

  Seeing Odell so sick scared me. He was the healthiest man I knew. The whole time we’d been together, he had never been sick enough to leave work and take to his bed. He didn’t like doctors, but I was going to do everything I could to get him back up on his feet. I hoped that the only thing wrong with him was a bad case of the runs. I’d been there myself more times than I cared to think about, so I knew how annoying and inconvenient it could be. But it was a condition that wasn’t too serious. If he didn’t get better by morning, I’d make him stay home and I’d call in sick so I could stay in the house and take care of him. In the meantime, I wanted him to stay in bed.

  Odell probably would have done that if Yvonne and Milton hadn’t come to the house about twenty minutes after I had given him a bowl of the chicken soup I’d made. Right after they started talking, he stumbled into the living room with the bedspread draped around his shoulders. “I thought I heard company,” he said in a weak tone. He stood in the doorway with an expression on his face that scared me. It was the same frightened look I’d seen the day I told him I was pregnant.

  “Man, you look terrible,” Milton howled. “We heard you wasn’t feeling too good.” He and Yvonne had already made themselves comfortable on the couch.

  “Who told y’all that?” Odell wanted to know, looking at me. I shook my head.

  “Sadie told us,” Yvonne answered.

  “Oh?”

  “Uh-huh. We stopped by the store on our way home from work to see if we could get a ride home with you and she told us you’d left already. Sick as a dog. I was so sorry to hear that.”

  “Thank you, Yvonne,” Odell rasped.

  “And I wanted to pick out me one of them pinstripe suits today,” Milton added, giving Odell a wink.

  “Oh,” Odell said again, wrapping the bedspread tighter around his body. I could see that he was even weaker than he’d been when I got home, so I hoped Yvonne and Milton wouldn’t hang around too long.

  “Um, Odell, maybe you should get back in the bed,” I advised. I walked up to him and massaged his shoulders. “Did the chicken soup do any good at all?”

  “Look like he need something stronger than chicken soup,” Milton suggested. He looked Odell up and down and frowned. “You want something a little more medicinal? I can run back home and grab you a bottle of something real sweet. But I
have to warn you, them hillbillies aged this batch too long, so it’ll kick you like a mule.”

  “That’s all right, Milton, but thanks for asking anyway. I’m already feeling much better.” I was glad to see a smile on Odell’s face, even though it was a tight one and didn’t stay there long. He moaned and flopped down on the arm of the couch.

  “What’s wrong with you, Odell? It ain’t nothing catchy, I hope. Sadie didn’t say, but Buddy said something about he’d heard you throwing up in the bathroom.”

  “I was. And from both ends,” Odell rattled. “It must have been something I ate for lunch.”

  “I think you’ve been doing too many things and got your system out of whack,” I scolded. “My hard-headed daddy had the same problem for years. Like you, he used to run himself ragged. At least once every two or three weeks, he’d have to leave work and go home and stay close to the toilet. But he hasn’t had that problem at all since he retired.”

  “Odell, I think Joyce is right. You been doing too many things,” Milton threw in gently. “If you change your mind about something to drink, send Joyce over to the house and I’ll fix you up. I don’t like to see you looking so . . . um . . . distressed.”

  “I feel the same way,” Yvonne added.

  I couldn’t deny the worried looks on their faces, especially Milton’s. It was obvious that they were just as concerned about Odell’s well-being as I was. Maybe they were not as crude as I thought they were....

  “Thanks,” Odell mumbled.

  “Y’all hungry? Can I get y’all something? I’m going to fry catfish for supper and y’all welcome to join us,” I said, looking from Milton’s face to Yvonne’s to Odell’s.

  “That’s all right, Joyce. We ate some neck bones at Mosella’s on our way home. But thank you for asking. I love catfish,” Yvonne chirped. I was in a fairly good mood and was glad she and Milton had come to the house. I had promised myself that I’d forget about all the petty resentment I’d felt toward her recently until I heard what she said next. “Joyce, one thing I can say about you is that you sure know your way around the kitchen. But I never met a large woman that didn’t know how to cook up a storm.”

  “Thanks, Yvonne,” I said stupidly with my face burning. By now her references to my size didn’t bother me that much, but I was still mildly annoyed, so I had to say something about her that would bring her down a peg or two. “By the way, I can get you some lotion that’ll work much better than what you use on your ashy legs now. And, I noticed the other night when you had on that low-cut blouse that you have some stretch marks on the top of your breasts.” I stared at her ashy hands and legs and frowned. “Maybe I should get you some of that Corn Huskers brand. It’s so strong, it’ll even work on alligator skin. Odell, do we have some in stock at the store?”

  “I think so,” he mumbled, scratching the side of his neck.

  “I could use some myself. We’ll stop by the store on our way home tomorrow and pick us up a couple of bottles,” Milton piped in. “And we can pick up a few other things. Huh, Odell?”

  We chatted about a few mundane things for another twenty minutes or so, but nothing of interest to me. I was getting bored and was anxious for them to leave so I could give all my attention to Odell. When he jumped up and made a beeline for the bathroom, it was a good excuse for me to throw out a hint for them to go home. “If y’all don’t mind, I’d better check on Odell and make him go back to bed.”

  “Take your time. It’s fun sitting here chit-chatting, so we’ll wait on you to get back,” Yvonne yipped.

  I escorted Odell back to bed and returned to the living room. Another ten minutes dragged by. Yvonne and Milton didn’t budge until they heard somebody drive up and park in front of their house.

  “That sounds like Willie Frank’s truck. He said he was coming back tonight.” Yvonne sprung up off the couch like a jack rabbit. “Come on, baby.” She grabbed Milton by the hand, and they rushed out the door. I went to the window and parted the curtains. Right after Willie Frank piled out of his truck, another one arrived. I stayed at the window until Odell came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.

  “Sweet Jesus. I thought they’d never leave,” he moaned. I was surprised and delighted to hear how much stronger he sounded now.

  “I didn’t either. They always seem to come at an inconvenient time. But you have to admit, they are entertaining.”

  “So is a dancing bear.”

  “Odell, be nice now. They’re not that bad. If we had had something to drink in the house, I wouldn’t have gotten bored.”

  “Well, you can always go over to their house and drink all you want. And with all the activity they got going on, you won’t have to worry about them boring you over there,” Odell teased.

  I gave him a thoughtful look. “That’s true. Too bad we can’t go next door tonight. I feel like kicking up my heels for a little while, and that Willie Frank is even more entertaining than Yvonne and Milton.” I let out a deep sigh and felt Odell’s forehead. “How do you feel now?”

  “Better still. Not good enough to go drinking next door, though. But why don’t you go? After babysitting me, I’m sure a good stiff drink would do you a world of good.”

  “Odell, you stop talking crazy. I’m not leaving you in this house alone,” I insisted.

  Chapter 45

  Joyce

  AFTER SUPPER, ODELL TOOK A HOT BATH AND GOT BACK IN THE bed. But only because I’d badgered him. He assured me that he was well enough to return to work tomorrow, but he was not in the mood to go next door to have a drink. But I was.

  I waited until he was asleep before I scurried out the door. By now even more cars and trucks had arrived. They were parked on both sides of our street, all the way to the end of the block. The music was so loud, I had to pound on the door for about two minutes before somebody opened it. A cute young white man waved me in. There was no room on the couch, and every other seat was occupied. Yvonne was a few feet away, so she grabbed me by the arm and steered me to a corner in the back of the room. “If you want to rest your feet, you’ll have to sit on one of them footstools or lard buckets we keep in the pantry,” she told me.

  “Oh, I don’t mind standing. I sit down enough at work and at home. Y’all sure got a nice crowd tonight,” I told her as I peered around. “Who’s that white boy that opened the door for me? He looks kind of young to be in a place like this.”

  “Oh, that’s Jody, Willie Frank’s nephew. He skinny as a lizard and got a baby face, but he turned twenty-four last month.” Yvonne leaned closer to me and sniffed. “Either you cooked that catfish or you didn’t wash your coochie too good.” She gave me a knowing look and whispered, “I have the same problem if I don’t use enough soap down there. . . .”

  I wondered how many more times she was going to say something unflattering to me. I reminded myself that I had only known Yvonne since last month. I also reminded myself that I was drinking at her house for free, so at least she wasn’t stingy. And, Odell really wanted me to develop a strong relationship with her like he planned to do with Milton. I knew he was still feeling guilty about not giving them a ride home after their coworker’s funeral.

  I didn’t have time to respond to Yvonne’s comment. It was just as well, because I didn’t know how to respond to it anyway. Milton shuffled up to me and gave me a bear hug. “Where is my boy? Is he still feeling like shit?” he asked, giving me an amused look.

  “No, he’s fine now.”

  “He going back to work tomorrow?”

  “As far as I know. Next to his Daddy’s house, and a fishing hole, the store is his home away from home,” I replied with a loud, heavy sigh. “It’s been a long time since we spent a whole weekend together. Or more than four or five days in a row.”

  Milton gave me a pensive look. “Being by yourself so much don’t bother you?”

  “Every now and then it does. If he keeps it up too much longer, I am going to have to put my foot down. As much as I hate to, I’m going to
start going fishing with him again, and to his daddy’s house. Sometimes he feels like a part-time husband,” I laughed.

  “Girl, you better do something about that before he ain’t no husband at all. I would never let my man spend so much time away from me,” Yvonne declared, jabbing Milton’s side with her elbow.

  What she’d just said bothered me more than the crude fish/ coochie comment she’d made. Because of that, I stayed only long enough to have one drink.

  Odell was sitting up in bed staring at the wall when I entered the bedroom, unbuttoning my blouse and kicking off my shoes at the same time. “I was hoping you’d still be asleep when I got back,” I said dryly. I snatched the flannel nightgown I had left on the bedpost and put it on.

  “Why?”

  “I didn’t want you to know I went out tonight.”

  “You didn’t stay long,” he noticed, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. “Did Yvonne say something else you didn’t like? Is that why you back home already?”

  I exhaled and climbed into bed. “Um, no, she didn’t. I didn’t stay long because I felt guilty about leaving you by yourself. Besides that, they had too many people over there tonight. And, I didn’t like the way some of those men were behaving.”

  I slid between the sheets, and Odell put his arm around my shoulder and started patting it. “Baby, did one of them drunk jokers try to take advantage of you?” he asked gently.

  “Something like that. Even after I told them I was a married woman and would never fool around on my husband!”

  “It’s a good thing for them I wasn’t there. I would have straightened them out.”

  “I know you would have, honey.” Only part of what I was telling Odell was true. Two men had asked me to dance, but only after three other women had turned them down. Neither one of them had shown any romantic interest in me. It did a lot for my ego when I made Odell think that other men found me attractive. What I didn’t feel good about was the fact that I had to lie about it. Since we had been married, not a single man had made a pass at me.