Daddy's Bluff

Originally published in A Community of Voices Anthology 2000,
"When We Were Young - Childhood"

A little after five we stopped at a pawnshop for Daddy to sell some watches he'd won the night before, but the store closed right as we got there. Some fella arrived about the same time and they both banged on the door, but nobody opened up. I sat on the running board as Daddy flapped his gums with the man, and I decided his pinstriped vest wasn't buttoned because it'd be too tight. It turned out Mr. Keyworth was gonna sell stuff from the weekly poker game he ran in the back of a drugstore.

Daddy squatted down by the car. "You stay put Tadpole. We’re gonna go play a couple hands. Shouldn't take more'n an hour."

"What am I supposed to do?"

He pulled a rubber ball from his pocket. I looked at it as if it were a rotten egg, so he said, "Why don't you play ball with God?"

"How you do that?"

"Simple." He grinned. "You throw the ball up in the air, and God throws it back.”

After awhile I got out of our flivver and bounced the ball on the wall. Brick buildings lined the street, and I counted only four scrubby trees as I walked until I spotted a drugstore. I reckoned everybody else must've been home eating supper. Down an alley I slipped in a door propped open with a broken stool. The slap of cards caught my ear before I saw them. The loot they were gonna hock lay in a pile on a desk, and them two each had a stack of chips. If Daddy wasn't playing for cash, I reckoned something must be up.

I always loved to watch people extra close and measure the way they acted. Mr. Keyworth studied his hand, scratched under his ear and rearranged his cards. Daddy rolled his shoulders. "How many?'
"Three." Mr. Keyworth waved at a fly.

Daddy took three too and rolled his shoulders again. He might try to bluff his way out of this one. Mr. Keyworth scratched his jaw. He didn't need a shave, but he seemed to itch like he did. "Okay, I'm in."
Daddy put in two chips. "I'll see you and I'll raise . . .“ I sneezed and they looked over. "I told you to wait in the car."

"I got bored."

"It's okay Wood. Let her watch."

I sat on a stepladder as Daddy said, "Well, I'm about to beat you anyway."

Mr. Keyworth dropped his last two chips in. “You're bluffing, Wood."

Daddy laid down his cards¾two nines. Mr. Keyworth showed a pair of tens, collected his winnings, shuffled and dealt. As he looked at his cards the fly rested on his cheek but he didn't seem to notice, so I knew he must have a good hand. Daddy moved his shoulders, but bet two chips and took only one card. I figured he didn't have much and couldn't stand not knowing, so I went over to see.

"I'm hungry." I leaned against him and peeked at his cards¾two twos, an ace, a three and a six.

"Don't worry, Tadpole. We'll be finished real quick-like."

"Your bet, Wood."

Daddy looked at his hand. "I'm prepared to bet everything. But it don't look like you got enough to see me . . . unless you want to throw in some jack."

Mr. Keyworth hooked his thumbs in his vest. "Now I told you I don’t play for money, just trade. But I got something good to offer." He pulled a box from a shelf and set it down so Daddy could see it was packed with comic books.

"Those ain't worth nothing."

"Listen Wood, you keep these around a few years and they'll be worth plenty."

Daddy shrugged. "Why not."

Mr. Keyworth said, "I know you're full of hooey this time."

In my best little kid voice I said, "Daddy, you sure you can beat him? These four cards alone only add up to, " I poked at each one, "two . . . four . . . six . . . eight."

"You got four twos?" Mr. Keyworth threw down his cards. "Damn, if you didn't clean me out."

I ran after Daddy. "Wasn't that great how I tricked him?"

"I didn't give a damn about winning this junk." He dropped the box and tossed his hat on it. "If I’d lost, I reckoned he’d make us some sandwiches.”

My face got hot. "I didn't know."

“Don’t worry.” He rumpled my hair. "I'll use my emergency stash for our vittles and we can campout in the car. But when I tell you to set tight, you do it."

At least next time I'd have some comic books to read.