A Bookie's Odds by Ursula Renee Page A

ordered a hit on his landlord when the man threatened to evict him.
    “Billy told me he wants children.” Her father leaned back on the step. “Two boys and two girls.”
    Georgia wished her father would talk to her about any problems he had. Didn’t he understand anything affecting him would also affect her?
    His clenched jaw and the glare in his eyes said he either didn’t understand or he didn’t care. Either way, he was determined to shield her from his problems.
    Deciding she did not want to start an argument she would lose, Georgia conceded to the change in the topic.
    “What about what his wife wants? She’s the one who’s going to have to carry them.”
    “Don’t be silly. Every woman wants to have children. That’s all you and Celeste used to talk about.”
    No, that was all Celeste used to ramble on about. Georgia had yet to determine if she was willing to take the chance and felt it was unfair of any man to simply assume a woman wanted to put her body through those changes.
    “I’ve heard childbirth is rough. Why should a man assume the woman will just deal with it? What if she can’t?”
    “You’re not tellin’ me somethin’ I don’t know, girl.”
    Georgia father’s voice was filled with grief. His shoulders slumped, and he stared at the sidewalk. Though it had been twenty years, he still mourned his wife.
    “I’m sorry, Daddy.” She touched his arm.
    After a second, he sighed. “I know you are.” He patted her hand. “There are better facilities up here for women. Unlike the south, here she would have the help she needs if there were problems…regardless of her skin color.”
    “But still…”
    “You can’t let your mother’s death scare you. Celeste’s mother survived two births, only to be taken out by a sickness.”
    She remembered Nicholas telling her about the heartbreak of watching his mother get sicker and sicker from leukemia when he was six years old.
    “But you’re right,” he added. “A man and woman should discuss what they want before they get too involved. Nothin’ breeds resentment quicker than one half of the relationship demandin’ somethin’ from the other with no regards to her wants or needs. In the end, no one, not the husband, wife, or the children, will be happy.”
    Georgia wished her father had the same philosophy for a parent and child relationship. He never had problems making plans for her life. And, while she did not have a problem with going to college and getting a degree, she did not want to use her education to get a husband.
    A horn beeped. Georgia squinted against the setting sun at the familiar red convertible parking on the corner.
    “Celeste is home,” Nicholas shouted.
    “It’s about time,” Georgia mumbled as she rose.
    “You will not run to that boy.” Her father grabbed her wrist. “A gentleman would walk over to you.”
    “Daddy, that only applies to couples.” She slipped her arm from his hand. “Nicholas and I are friends, so this doesn’t count.” She leaned over and pecked her father on the cheek. “I’m sure you’ll tell William the news.”
    Georgia felt no qualms about leaving William, since they had not made any plans for the day. She had returned from the grocery store to find him organizing the stickball game and had only watched because her father insisted.
    She sprinted up the street. When she was halfway to the car, Nicholas leaned over and pushed open the passenger door. She slipped into the seat and had barely closed the door before he hit the gas.
    “When did she get home?”
    “Pops called me a half hour ago and said she was at the house.”
    “Thanks for stopping to get me.”
    “I knew you’d want to give Celeste a piece of your mind for all the worry she’s caused.”
    “We’ll be there a while. I’ve a lot to get off my chest.”
    Nicholas stopped at a red light and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. Georgia stared at his scruffy cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes.