I knew she’d be home because her mother was a nurse and worked nights and Patty had to take care of her little brothers. “I’m not supposed to have company when Mother’s out.” She stood there blocking the doorway, not making a move to let me in. “Since when?” “Since a long time ago.” “Well, that ain’t stopped you before,” I said. She was mad about something. She wanted to start a fight. She wasn’t mad about me coming over when I wasn’t supposed to, but that was what she wanted to fight about. It seemed like whenever we had fights it was never over what she was mad about. “I haven’t seen you in a long time,” she said coldly. “I been busy.” “So I heard.” “Aw, come on,” I said. “Let’s talk about it inside.” She looked at me for a long time, then held the door open.
