The Collateral

Two months later, Elizabeth came home, shopping bags in tow, when she was brought up short. In front of her was Antoine, looking crestfallen, and Charles Broadus, the loan shark.

"Antoine ... is um ... everything okay?" Elizabeth asked.

"Baby ... you were right," Antoine said, sitting down in the chair and burying his head into his hands. "We just pushed our problems down the road. And Mr. Broadus ... has come to collect."

"What do you mean, collect? Do we need to sell my necklace? I told you we shouldn't have --"

"I bargained for a very specific piece of collateral, Mrs. Jefferson," the obese Black man told her, the large gold rings on his fingers sized looking almost comically out of proportion. He smiled, a few gold teeth showing ... "You."