Red Light Wives Read Online Free PDF Page B

band would have him. He had performed with some of the most famous people in the business. I had seen pictures of Bo. Not only was he plain, but he was cross-eyed, too. It was no surprise to me that the man had never been married.
    I certainly had no interest in Odessa’s brother. He was a sorry specimen of a man compared to Larry. Then she said something that did peak my interest, and that same cross-eyed brother suddenly sounded like the man I’d been looking for all of my life.
    â€œBo’s goin’ to be movin’ back to San Francisco in a few weeks to find work with another band. If I was still into men and Bo wasn’t my brother, I’d go after him myself,” Odessa said smugly, giving me a sideways glance.
    I perked up right away. It was like a lightbulb lit up inside my head.
    â€œYour brother is movin’ back to California?” I asked.
    â€œUh-huh. Next month. Me and Verna goin’ to give him a little goin’ away party, and you better come.”
    â€œI will,” I said, so tired and confused I said the first thing I could think of.
    â€œIf y’all do hit it off, maybe he’ll ask you to go back with him. I hear San Francisco is one happy town.”
    I looked at the wall behind Odessa, all kinds of thoughts going through my head. “And I just might go with him,” I said.

Chapter 4
ROCKELLE HARPER
    â€œW here you goin’ this time, Miss Rocky?”
    â€œUh, just to visit a sick friend.”
    â€œThe same one you went to visit last night?”
    â€œUh-huh.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong with your sick friend?”
    â€œLook, Helen, I’m in a hurry, and I don’t have time to stand here talking a lot of nonsense. Where are the kids?”
    â€œOh, you don’t have to worry about them little dudes. I tucked ’em all in the bed, and they are sleeping like logs. Can I go watch music videos on BET now?”
    â€œYeah, yeah, go on,” I ordered, snapping my fingers. “There’s soda and chips in the kitchen. And you stay away from my beer! Your mama would have a cow if she knew about you drinking over here.”
    â€œYes, ma’am.”
    I closed my bathroom door as soon as Helen stumbled out, pouting like she usually did when I hollered at her. Helen Daniels was a good friend to have. She came in real handy. A lot of it had to do with the fact that she was mildly retarded. At nineteen, she was more like ten or twelve. But she was mature enough to run errands for me and babysit when I didn’t have to be away from my house for too long.
    It was convenient having Helen living right next door. Her elderly parents eagerly allowed Helen to help me with the kids. Even before Joe took off with that bitch of his, Helen spent a lot of time at our house. In addition to keeping an eye on my three little monsters, she loved doing the things around the house that I didn’t want to do.
    One of the few good things I could say about Joe was, he liked to live well. We had rented a nice big house in a safe, quiet neighborhood. He’d let me spend as much money as I wanted to decorate the house. I’d spent a fortune on black leather couches, smoked-glass coffee tables, an entertainment center, and carpets so thick and shaggy, it felt like walking on cotton. My house on Joost Street was a long way from the cheap, gummy walls and linoleum floors in the run-down Bayview neighborhood I’d escaped from. I was willing to do whatever I had to do to keep some distance between myself and that jungle.
    Now that I was “escorting” lonely men who Clyde Brooks had set me up with, I needed Helen more than ever.
    Just a few dates. Just until I get my bills caught up . I’d told myself that at least a dozen times since my meeting with Clyde at that Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant a week ago. But what I said and what I did were two different things.
    It would take more than a few dates to get me out of the hole