Chapter 41: Fate Intervenes

When Vanessa realized that she no longer had her scripted speech notes with her her mouth went all dry as a huge wave of panic swept over her. She stopped hearing anything that was going on around her as her mind raced back frantically over all the events of the last hour or so. She wasn’t even really hearing anything Tracey was saying to her or anything she was saying to him.

Once Vanessa’s mind was back at the house and she knew where her speech notes were she knew she had but one option and that was to go and get them. She knew she could make it there and back again if she got going straight away and went by herself so there could be no distractions. She also knew that there was just absolutely no way that she was getting up in front of this huge crowd to make her speech without those notes. Being impromptu with a class of sixth graders was not the same as being impromptu before 10,000 people - no matter how sympathetic that crowd was towards you.

With all this stuff buzzing around in Vanessa’s head she raced off from Tracey and was soon heading back home to get those notes. As she rounded the corner to her street she noticed the same car she had noticed yesterday only this time it was right outside her house. She also noticed that the car was empty. She could not see the driver anywhere.

Vanessa very cautiously pulled her car into the driveway of her home and got out. Her nose was immediately assaulted by the strong smell of petrol fumes but had no idea why this was so. She then got her keys and went in through the back door of the house and made her way over to the refrigerator. Vanessa let out a huge sigh of relief when she saw those white folds of paper right where she had left them. She reached up with her hand to retrieve them just as she heard a floor board creaking behind her.

Vanessa slowly pulled that speech note paper down towards her breasts then just as slowly turned around. One hand went up to her mouth in shock and fear as she recognized in that instant who it was that had made that board creak. Vanessa knew at once that it was her own father. He had forced his way into the house through one of the windows and had been there for some time waiting for her or her mother to show up.

Vanessa also knew in that instant that it HAD been her father she had seen earlier. If only she had listened to her own intuition then she might have been able to alert the authorities or something. But all that was just fruitless speculation now. He was here right now, in the flesh, and she was all by herself.

“Well, looky here” snarled Blake Benson. “My own daughter all growed up and prancing around all nekkid like some unholy love child. T’ain’t right you know - what yar doing. And I ain’t gonna let you keep doing it. God above might get mad at me if I don’t put things to rights now.”

Blake Benson had a huge meat cleaver in his hands and motioned with it over to a dining room chair. Vanessa took the hint and inched her way over to that chair and sat down then said, “But daddy, what ... what ... what are you doing here and what are you going to do to me?”

Vanessa’s eyes were filling up with tears as the emotion of the moment took hold of her thinking. She didn’t know whether she should run or fight or talk or scream or anything so all she did was to just sit there and wait. That was when her father gave her a glass of beer he had been holding in the other hand.

He put down the meat cleaver and picked up the beer can he had poured that glass from then said, “Why don’t you just have a drink with me for old time’s sake. That can’t hurt none. Then maybe I’ll just be on my way. A man should be able to have a drink with his own kid now and then don’t you think?”