"Oh, Lawd, Mister Jodie! That's him! That's Mister Ward! He follow me!"
"Yeah! Can't see his face from here, but it's him. He's the only red-headed man anywhere around."
I grabbed hold of Papa's pants so I could hide behind his legs.
"Is he gonna shoot me now, Papa?"
"Mister Jodie, don't tell him nothin'! Don't tell that man what I say!"
"Bandershanks, hon, you come back here to the back of the store real quick. I want you to do something—play a game for Papa. Come on!"
Papa thought I wasn't walking fast enough, so he scooped me up in his arms and ran with me to the back corner.
"What we gonna do, Papa?"
"We're gonna have a cat and mouse game. It's fun. You scrooch down right here behind this sack of oats and make like you're a little mouse!"
"A sure 'nuff mouse?"