Cooked Goose

his back to Savannah , he asked Margie, “Do you think he knew who you are... you know... that you’re my kid?”
    “I don’t know. He didn’t say anything about it either way. But I guess he did. I mean, he knew where I lived. He must have known it was your house, too.” She shrugged. “Or maybe he just picked out anybody... any house.”
    Bloss stood abruptly. “Come on. Get your stuff. We’re going home.”
    “Home?” Margie looked horrified at the very idea. “I’m not going back to that place. No way!”
    “Do what I’m telling you. Get a move on.”
    “No! He knows where to find me. He’ll come after me again!”
    “Don’t be stupid. I’ll be there, too. He’s not going to get to you without coming through me first.”
    What an egotistic jerk, Savannah thought, mentally loping his swelled head off with a dull machete.
    “I’m not going,” Margie said. “I want to stay here tonight with Savannah . I feel safe here.”
    “Are you saying I can’t keep my own kid safe?” Bloss bellowed.
    Margie gave him a withering look. “Well... you didn’t. I was almost killed tonight, and where was my big protective father?”
    “That isn’t fair; I didn’t know. How could I have known he was going to come after you?”
    “You could be home once in a while when I get there. Just once in a while, Daddy. They couldn’t even get hold of you when I needed you in the hospital. I didn’t want you there, because I knew you’d blame me for wrecking the car.” She paused, only a second, to catch her breath, then went at him again. “But even if I had wanted you, they couldn’t find you. They left messages for you everywhere, even an APB, and they couldn’t find you. You’re never, ever, around when I need you.”
    “You’ve got a lousy attitude, you know that. You’re ungrateful, just like your mother.”
    “Excuse me, Captain,” Savannah said in her most controlled, authoritative voice, trying not to convey the fact that she wanted to rip his tongue out and shove it in his left ear. “I hate to interrupt this family discussion, but we’ve all had a tough day, especially Margie. Why don’t you just give it a rest? She’s welcome to sleep here in my guest room, and you two can resume your argument tomorrow morning after she’s had a good night’s sleep. Does that sound like a plan?”
    He thought about it longer than she had hoped. Finally, he turned to his daughter. “Is that what you want, Margie?“
    “Yes.”
    “Fine,” he snapped. “If you don’t want to come home with me, so be it. I’ll send somebody over tomorrow morning to get you.”
    “Gee, thanks,” Margie replied.
    “You,” Bloss said, pointing a finger at Dirk, “come with me. I want you to take me out to the crash site and fill me in on what you’ve got so far.”
    “Good night, Margie, Savannah ,” Dirk said graciously as he rose to follow the retreating Bloss. “You girls did good.“
    “Thanks.” Savannah gave him an appreciative smile. Dirk could be sweet when he had a mind to be.
    “Yeah, thanks,” Margie said, equally grateful for the seldom heard encouraging word.
    Once the men had exited the house, Savannah offered Margie a cup of hot chocolate. Not too surprisingly, she accepted.
    While Savannah was heating the milk, Margie doodled on the legal pad, uncharacteristically quiet.
    “What’s on your mind?” Savannah asked her.
    “I was just thinking what a jerk my dad is. You hate him, too, huh. I can tell.”
    Savannah weighed the wisdom of being honest against diplomacy. She decided to hit somewhere in between. “He’s not my favorite person on the planet. But he did a good thing by having you, so he can’t be all bad.“
    “He doesn’t care about me.”
    Savannah chose a colorful Alice in Wonderland mug from her cupboard. “I’m sure he does,” she said as she stirred hot milk into the cocoa mix. “Some fathers just aren’t that good at showing it.”
    “Does your dad love you?” Margie asked, watching Savannah squirt a swirl of whipped cream from an aerosol can on top of the cocoa.
    “Don’t know. Never really knew him. He was a trucker... on the road about 364 days a year. Once a year he dropped by to get Mama pregnant. Then he’d take off again. We were mostly raised by my grandmother.”
    “I don’t like very many men. Some of the boys my age are all right. But the older ones, like my dad... they’re all creeps.”
    Savannah shaved some chocolate curls onto the top of