“Then how come neither of them seem to know you? They both belong to my bridge club, and I asked about you.” Big Momma tilted her head as she released the smoke from her lungs.

“Well, there’s a lot of lawyers in Richmond, especially in night court. You know the night court judges are pretty busy men.” Derrick was visibly nervous as he glanced back and forth from Big Momma to me. “They probably don’t pay attention to a young lawyer like me.”

“That’s not what Judge Jones said. He told me that night court was actually a very small world and he made it his business to know every lawyer that came into his courtroom.” Big Momma took a long drag on her cigarette, then blew the smoke in Derrick’s face. “How old are you, young man?”

“Twenty-four,” he answered meekly.

“And how old were you when you finished college?” I could see Derrick doing the math in his head.

“Twenty-two.” It sounded almost like a question rather than a statement.

“Lord have mercy. Either you’re the smartest man in the world or the dumbest! ’Cause in addition to college, law school takes three years to complete, and your math don’t add up.” Big Momma shook her head and stared Derrick in the face. “Now, young man, what do you really do for a living?”

Derrick was so embarrassed that he walked straight out the door without saying another word. I got up from my chair to chase him, but Big Momma grabbed my arm.

“Child, if I told you and your sister once, I told you a thousand times. A good man is hard to find, and that is not a good man.” I sat down reluctantly and listened to her lecture.

Derrick didn’t return home for three days, and I was sick to my stomach with worry. It didn’t matter what Big Momma said; it didn’t matter what anyone said. Derrick was a good man. He was probably just a night watchman or factory worker who got caught up in a lie he couldn’t get himself out of. I promised myself right then and there that if God sent him home to me, I would forgive all his lies and be supportive in whatever he really did for a living. But I must admit I never expected what he would finally tell me.