Read The Shoes Come First: A Jennifer Cloud Novel Page 32

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  I slowly climbed down from the feather bed. The floor creaked as I grabbed my bonnet and went outside to fetch Gertie.

  I found her coming out of the barn with straw stuck in her hair.

  “What have you been doing?” I demanded more than asked.

  “Well, me and Johnny got a little caught up in the barn,” she stammered.

  “Gertie, please tell me you didn’t do the nasty with him. For God’s sake, he is from 1915. Caiyan said we have to be very careful what we do so we don’t mess up anything in the future.”

  “Who are you, the sex police?” Gertie asked crossly. “For your information, Miss Nosy, I did not get to have sex with him. He’s so skittish—I doubt he’s ever been with a woman. Besides, Mr. Hawkins came lookin’ for him, and he had to duck out. All I got was a short kiss. Not even any tongue.”

  “Thank goodness.” I sighed with relief.

  “You’re probably right. Sex with me would be life changing.” She laughed.

  Opal came out of the house in a fit of excitement. “We are going to have a hoedown at our place tonight, and I’m gonna need your help to get everything ready.” Mrs. Opal didn’t seem nervous at all. In fact, she acted like my mom when she was expecting company. My radar was telling me Mrs. Opal was being kept in the dark about the real cargo. She started listing off all the things she needed Gertie and me to do.

  “No problem,” I replied. Maybe a chance for us to escape would present itself.

  “Can you gals cook?” Mrs. Opal asked.

  “I might know a few recipes,” I said.

  “Oh, Jen’s mom is a…” I stopped Gertie in midsentence with a quick elbow to the ribs.

  “Your ma is a what?” Opal asked, looking curious.

  “She is a really good cook, and I might remember some of her recipes.”

  “Well, isn’t that special. The Mexican women are the only ones who can cook for Mr. Villa, but we still need fixin’s for everyone else. We’re gonna have a good ole time tonight with Johnny bein’ home an’ all. In case you girls were wonderin’, he’s single,” Mrs. Opal said with a gleam in her eye. “He ain’t had nobody special since that Lowry girl, but she wasn’t no good for him.”

  “I doubt she was the one that wasn’t good,” Gertie said with a giggle.

  Mrs. Opal continued chatting as we walked back to the house. “Johnny’s considered a good catch, if you know what I mean. Especially now that he’s makin’ good money.” Her chins jiggled as she spoke, and her voice heightened with excitement. “He makes twenty dollars for each mule he sells.”

  Gertie and I looked at each other. I could tell she was doing the math in her head. I just smiled politely and followed Mrs. Opal into the kitchen to see what I could invent without a microwave.