Free Little Black Girl Lost by Keith Lee Johnson Page B

pet names and I like it. I want her to go on thinking I spent a lot, and I want her to continue the sweet talk.
    â€œHow much do you think I paid?” Earl asked, leaning against the counter.
    â€œGosh, Earl, I have no idea. Cain’t you just tell me?”
    â€œWell, I could, but that wouldn’t be any fun now, would it?”
    â€œOkay, fifty thousand dollars.”
    â€œCome on. It isn’t any fun if you don’t guess for real.”
    â€œOkay, thirty thousand.”
    â€œClose. It was twenty-five thousand.”
    The truth was fifteen thousand. The house was worth twenty-five thousand, one of the cheapest in the neighborhood, but he paid fifteen because the house had been repossessed and empty for over a year. The bank wanted to unload it in a hurry. They just wanted the payoff value.
    Astonished, she said, “Twenty-five thousand dollars! You musta made a lot more than I made with those stocks you bought.” Hmmm, if you can make that kind of money in the stock market, I definitely have to learn how it’s done.
    â€œI made enough for a few things. Now, let me show you the upstairs, and then we can get you a hotel.”

Chapter 21
    â€œThe Savoy it is.”
    W hen she heard the car door slam, the woman next door quickly rushed to the window to watch her new neighbor leave. She wondered how soon she’d move in. She decided to bake the woman a sweet potato pie and welcome her to the neighborhood.
    Johnnie looked at the window and saw the woman again. This time she waved to let the woman know she would be a friendly neighbor. The woman smiled and waved back enthusiastically. Both women thought they had made a friend even though they hadn’t spoken to each other.
    As they backed out of the driveway, Johnnie looked at the two-car garage and wondered if Earl would buy her a car. She decided to test the water. “Earl, how am I supposed to get to school livin’ way out here?”
    â€œThe same way the other children get to school. On the bus.”
    Earl thought about what he had just said. Children? He forgot just how young she really was. In all the time he had known her, except for the first few times he slept with her, he never thought about how old she was. She looked like a woman. She acted like a woman. She is a woman. After all, I made her a woman, didn’t I? But still he felt guilty for even being in the situation with her. He just wanted to fuck her a few times and be done with her, but she had grown on him like no other woman had in his life. There was no way he was going to give her up now—not ever.
    Besides, everybody knows girls mature two years faster than boys. Her being sixteen is the same as her being eighteen or nineteen. What the hell difference does it make when you love someone? There used to be a time when girls had to be married by the time they were twelve or they were considered old maids. Shit, I did her a favor. I got her out of the ghetto and into a nice neighborhood. She wears nice clothes, shoes, and jewelry. She’s got it made. How many other women would jump at this opportunity? On top of that, the pussy is out of this world.
    Johnnie hoped her comment about school would make Earl think she was still attending so she could continue to have the freedom to do as she pleased. That way, during the day, she could sneak Lucas Matthews over, or maybe even Martin Winters. She wanted to work during school hours and invest her money. Plus, she could say she was going to the library to study, just in case she wanted to see them at night without suspicion.
    â€œWhat hotel do you want to go to?”
    â€œThe Bel Glades. Isn’t that where you used to work?”
    â€œNow, you know they don’t allow Negroes in there. But if you play your cards right, maybe one day I’ll sneak you in.”
    â€œIf I play my cards right, huh?” she said wryly. “In that case, take me to the Savoy. I shouldn’t have any