that sadness was gone, at least for the time being.
On the other hand, I knew I would never rebound from my time spent here. Not in a million years. I didn’t even want to try.
“Remember what you said the other day about teaching me how you beat me at poker?” she asked.
“I do.”
“How about tonight?”
“You’re on.”
Midnight found me back in the good graces of Margot and Katie. I sat, a scotch at my elbow, one of Margot’s fine cigars between my lips.
Like a stranger brought in out of the cold and propped in front of a fire, I stretched out my legs and luxuriated in the moment.
I totally understood, right now, why my father had loved the tables so much. Why he’d sat again and again with the last of his money, with his kid waiting outside in the car—because it was warm.
Friendly, when the world was upside down.
“Katie,” I said, getting on with my lesson. “I hate to break it to you, but you’ve got a tell.”
Katie gasped as if I’d offended her honor. “I do not!”
“You do.” I caught Margot’s smile out of the corner of my eye. “When you’ve got a good hand you sit really, really still.” Katie’s eyes went wide as understanding dawned. “The rest of the time you’re like a jumping bean.”
“Oh, my gosh!” she breathed, then looked to Margot for confirmation.
“The man is right,” Margot said. “The more still and quiet you get, the better your hand.”
“So,” she asked wide-eyed, “what do I do?”
“Sit still!” Margot cried. “All the time. It’s what your mother and I have been telling you for years.”
The door behind me slid open, letting in a draft and the distinctive fragrance of lemon and vanilla. Katie’s eyes went wide, the cards fluttered out of her hands onto the table.
Margot swore.
Busted. Very, very busted.
“So,” Savannah said. “Here’s where you all are.”
“Hello, Savannah,” I turned to see her, arms crossed over the robe that was quickly becoming my favorite piece of clothing on the planet.
“What’s happening here?” she asked. It was fairly obvious—Margot practically looked like a Vegas dealer with the deck of cards in her hand.
But when my companions stayed silent, I took the bull by the horns.
“Just a friendly game of poker,” I said.
“Matt!” Katie snapped. “What are you doing?”
“I’m pretty sure we’re all busted.”
“Let me guess,” Savannah said, addressing her daughter. “Matt’s teaching you poker? Like he taught you those card tricks?”
“No,” Katie admitted, pushing the cards away.
“Don’t be angry, Savannah,” Margot said.
“Angry?” I winced at the tone of her voice, scooting my chair to the side in case fire shot out of her eyes. “Why would I be angry? I’ve only asked that this sort of behavior stop and that Katie, my eight-year-old, not learn how to gamble!”
“We’re not gambling,” Margot replied. “There are no stakes. She wanted to learn, Savannah. She’s been doing those card tricks for years and she’s so bright. She’s really very good.” Savannah’s eyes flared and Margot shut up, looking as contrite as a woman could, drinking a glass of scotch and smoking a cigar.
“It’s only bad if you let it be,” I said.
“What do you know about it?” Savannah snapped.
“I know that my dad used to leave me in the car so he could play blackjack. I know that after my mom died we had to move four times in the middle of the night because he’d lost the rent money. I know that when the cards went his way I got to eat steak and shrimp and drink Cherry Coke out of fancy glasses, and when they didn’t, I ate macaroni and cheese.”
Savannah licked her lips, leaving them damp and pink and I tried hard not to be distracted.
“But he always fed me. There was always a warm place to sleep. He helped me with my homework and was there for me. And I know he tried, Savannah. He really tried. And it took a long time, but I forgave him for those nights out in the car and the macaroni and cheese.”
“What’s wrong with macaroni and cheese?” Katie asked and I smiled at her. Really, she was such a cool kid.
“Nothing, but when you eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for, like, three weeks in a row it gets pretty gross.”
Katie nodded in sage agreement and I looked back at Savannah.
“I spent a long time trying to rise above my roots,” I said, remembering what Margot and Katie had said about Savannah the first time we’d played cards.