Great Dad in Action

Hello, hello, I'm Bunny, the middle daughter, (so give me a break because I have an older sister and a younger one) but I'm still very blessed.
So, yesterday was Father's Day, and while I could SAY something very touching and sweet about Fathers, I choose to look back a day and SHOW you a good dad at work.
Bird needs a car. There's no two ways around it, it's a fact. The car she has was condemned three years ago as scrap metal and you just never know when it will decide to turn on.
So, the day before Father's Day, Dad comes into the living room, points at me like the figure of doom might point at a chipmunk in his pantry, and he says, "How'd you like to go car shopping?"
"Me!?!" I squeak, like said chipmunk.
"Yup," he says, "Get ready, 'cause we're leaving in ten minutes."
Now don't get me wrong, I love being with Dad, he's a great dad, but really, Bonny is our lucky car buyin' girl. So I figure we might look around a bit, but come home with a car? Not likely.

Scene 1: Car dealership A
Enter two suspicious strangers. They prowl around a small green car with eyes that notice every ding and scratch.
Salesman gulps nervously and loosens his collar. Nerving himself up he walks towards the strangers with his must sell this car smile.
Two strangers turn out to be Dad and Bunny.
"Hi," says Dad, "we saw this car on the internet and since it's in our price and age range we thought we'd take a look."
Dad is such a good bluffer. This is actually his favorite car, the one he is most interested in, and therefore most likely to buy.
"Oh, sure," says salesman, "I'll go get the keys and you can have a look at it."
While the salesman is back in the building telling his co-workers that he was not scared, Dad shows me how to test the shocks. ("Push down hard on the hood and the trunk and if it only bounces once then they're still good.")
Salesman comes back and we take greenie for a whirl. Status report: makes weird noises, interior crumby and breaks are jerky (oddly enough the last one only happens when I am driving. Hmm).
We head off for dealership 2 with a card in our pockets and relief that that one is over.

Scene 2: Dealership B
Enter Dad and Bunny, they park car and begin prowling through quadruple-parked lot.
From the building emerges a smart, self-confident Salesman. He is paid by commission and will sell a car. If it kills him. Or us. Preferably both.
Oddly enough, we walk away from him. This he has not experienced. Little does he know, Dad likes to have a car to talk about before talking cars.
Salesman chases us until Dad finally has mercy and lets him catch up. "Can I help You?" Salesman calls over the car tops.
Dad tells him we are looking for a car that was advertised on the internet. Salesman looks disconcerted. "It might have been sold," he hedges, (the drama intensifies, will he make a sale today?) "Let me check with my manager." He turns and sprints back to the building.
Dad and I casually meander back through the labyrinth of cars towards our own. I can pick up on his mood: if the car isn't here we'll just go to the next place. Dad has one price and one style in mind. Only the best for Bird.
Salesman comes back at a fast trot. "Sorry," he pants as he pulls up beside us, "It was sold yesterday." But has our valiant Salesman given up hope? Never! Squatting beside us is a beautiful car of a different make, perhaps he can yet make a sale!
"Ohh, black interior, leather seats," comments Dad. I know Dad, he's just being nice. Both of us are thinking "that's gonna be hot in the summer".
"It's too flashy," I say, turning the predator's eyes away from Dad. "I don't like silver cars."
"But it has a sun roof," wheedles Salesman thinking he has an easy target.
"IT'S - TOO - FLASHY," I repeat, I can make a point when I want to.
"That one is flashy," Salesman points to a puke-green mustang.
"No," I reply, "this one is flashy, that one is sick."
"What color do you like?" Salesman will not let us leave without a commission
"Sorry," Dad breaks in, "We've got a couple other cars to look at. We might be back if we don't find anything we like. Are you open on Sunday?"
Salesman frumps. "You have to give us one day off."
Having burst his bubble, Dad and I retreat to our car before he can rope us in again.

Scene 3: Dealership C
Dad and I have a lovely drive across town to the third dealership.
Example: Dad, "I thought you'd like to get a mustang."
Me, "Dad, the only mustang I want has four legs and a tail."
Dad, "Ha ha ha!"
This next place had two cars we were going to look at. A nice salesman who seemed to be the boss of several underlings came up to help us and after Dad explained what we were looking for he handed us over to one of his minions, a nice young man I'll call Jay. We walked out the the cars and began to look them over.
One was a dark blue with a sun roof, the other was a grayish tan that shimmered pink. Something about the second one just screamed "Right for Bird" to me.
Dad had shown me where to look for rust spots and I located a little around the wheel-wells, but nothing major. Dad nodded. "It looks in good condition," he said.
"Do you want to take it for a drive?" asked Jay.
It ran well, but the brakes wobbled a little when going at high speeds. Dad asked me to try it to see what I thought. I was thrilled. The car ran smooth and it felt nice, all but the brakes.
"If it will make or break the deal we can fix them for you before you buy," Jay told us.
We decided that this was the best thing to do. The car went into the shop and we signed the papers. Dad asked the financial man how many people read the papers before signing.
"One out of fifty," was the disgusted reply. "Some people won't even let me explain to them what they're signing."
The car was still in the shop so we headed out to lunch at a Wendy's across the road. Even though a steady rain was beginning to fall, Dad asked me if I would drive the car home. I was so excited I almost hugged him. Instead, he fed me a spicy chicken nugget. When I indicated that my mouth was burning he said, "I guess you'll just have to get a frosty to cool down."
"Do you want one?" I asked.
"No," he said, "I'll just snitch some of yours."
Back at the dealership we snitched two lollipops from an obliging candy bowl and browsed the new car models. There was one with mechanical seat controls that I had fun playing around with while Dad fought off bored employees who where desperate for a customer. "You'd think they would remember that I don't need help," he grumbled as one guy walked away from him for a second time.
When the car was finished the Head Honcho found us. "Jay is pulling the car around for you," he said and I couldn't help thinking how nice he was being, until Jay and the car pulled into view. "PULL IT AROUND!" he bellowed out the door, "DON'T MAKE THEM WALK THROUGH THE RAIN!"
"It's alright," Dad tried to say, but HH wasn't listening. I don't think he even realized that he'd spoiled his own image.
Jay started walking in as HH led us out. Halfway between the door and the car we met. "Do you have both sets of keys?" HH broke of his monologue on how much he appreciated our business to growl at Jay.
"I just have the key I used," Jay said, blinking under the heavy downpour.
"Well get the other one for them!" snapped HH, before turning back to us. "Really, it's a great car, I'm so glad you were able to do business with us."
I wanted to point out that we were getting more wet from listening to his monologue than we would have if we'd stayed inside and dashed out to where Jay had parked, but I held my tongue. Poor Jay, obviously his boss didn't like him very much. Poor HH, he's going to lose customers if he keeps treating his employees like dirt.
At last Jay returned with the other key and we began the long drive home. It was a little tricky with rain and traffic, but Dad tried to keep in sight so I wouldn't get lost.
When we got home Bird was still at work, so we called out TK and Bonny to test drive the car over to Bird's work. She was gone already, so we drove back home. A block away we saw her little clunker in the driveway, so we called the house and told Bird to come out. The door opened and she stepped outside. Suddenly, her eyes popped open and her chin dropped. She began to squeal with delight.

Seeing the look on Dad's face, it made me think: maybe Dad's don't need new grills for Father's day. Maybe they just want people to see how much they're loved.

Signing off, Bunny