The doorbell rang again, followed quickly by a sharp knock. Aggie looked at the door, then picked up the phone and dialed the office of Mr. Moss. He advised that she not open the door without witnesses, for Aggie’s legal and personal safety. He assured her that he was on the way. “She can’t know you are there, so she’s just getting angry at the children. She is probably trying to figure out why they can’t hear her. Don’t walk in front of any windows, though. I’d prefer to just walk up with a key and open the door without her knowing that you are inside.”
Geraldine was in her car using her car phone when Robert Moss arrived. He quickly let himself in the house, locking the door behind him. “What do you want to do, Aggie? I’m afraid if you let her in, she’ll refuse to leave without police escort. If you don’t let her in, she’ll call them anyway. She seems near the breaking point. I’ve always known her to be very self-controlled, but she lost it for a second today. I saw a face I don’t hope to see again anytime soon.”
Aggie decided that she would go outside, with a copy of Doug’s letter that Mr. Moss had brought with him, and speak to Geraldine at her car. If necessary, she could run around to the back of the house and Robert Moss could let her inside again. It sounded so childish, but the fact was, if it had to happen she would do it.
Thirty minutes later, Geraldine coldly announced to an officer that Aggie was holding her grandchildren hostage in her house. Aggie sat silently on the porch furniture, waiting to be questioned. A young officer stood nearby, trying not to look like the guard that he really was. Aggie couldn’t believe the nerve of the woman. Doug’s letter was in her hands, and she read the words repeatedly to give her strength.
People always saw Aggie as a very strong person, but it would take a will of iron to endure the strain that Aggie bore. She knew she was close to tears, and that would only add to the problem. Mrs. Stuart didn’t handle people who emoted, and she didn’t want to antagonize the woman any further.
“Now young lady, can you tell me why you have the house locked up and won’t let this woman in to see her grandchildren?”
Aggie asked the officer to step inside, speak with her lawyer, and review the documents that showed her as temporary guardian and legal owner of the home. The lawyer explained the process that Allie and Doug had gone through to avoid Geraldine being named guardian of the children. “They were so bothered by the idea that they held practically nothing in their names. Everything was used in trust for someone else.”
Finally, Aggie handed over Doug’s letter. She hated to do it. It seemed so wrong to share personal information about another person to a stranger, but she felt like it was necessary. “Would you like to go downstairs and see the children? I sent them to play in the basement. I found them home alone here when I arrived this afternoon. Geraldine had just left them here. I didn’t know how bad it was going to get and didn’t want them caught in the crossfire.”
The officer accepted the offer, took down pertinent information for his report, and then exited the house leaving them with instructions to keep the doors locked until they knew the woman wouldn’t be any trouble. “I’d keep a sharp eye for a week or two. If nothing seems amiss, then things are probably all right.” He glanced at the young woman, remembered why she was now guardian of so many children, and added, “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
Aggie thanked the officer, and asked him to deliver a note to Geraldine. Quickly she wrote a short, pleasant, note, offering to meet the woman for lunch to discuss when a good time to visit the children would be. With instructions to make arrangements with Mr. Moss, Aggie folded the note and handed it to the waiting officer. “Thank you for being so kind. I appreciate it.”
“Not a problem, ma’am. I just hope that everything works out just fine. I’ll escort her off of the property if necessary.”
Aggie had never been as exhausted as she was that night when she went to bed in her new home. She didn’t know how she was going to cope with being a mother to eight children, but she knew that regardless of whatever else she’d need, she would definitely need sleep. Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was to wonder if she would hear the baby when he awoke for his mid-night bottle. Several months later, she’d laugh when she recalled the thought.
Aggie says: Tina, are you there?
Tina says: I was just logging off… I was doing more research. I couldn’t sleep thinking about Dragon Lady-- er well…
Aggie says: Me either. I kept remembering how pleasant she used to be. I think something is up with her. I think it’s more than missing the children. She’s has some issues that go deeper than not liking me.
Tina says: Well, I have to sleep. What are you doing up so late?
Aggie says: Jr. Muffin needed a mid-night snack. So, enter Aggie’s Snack Bar.
Tina says: Remind me to adopt children older than nine months. I love sleep. I really love my nice, long, uninterrupted nights…
Aggie says: BYE you … you… you evil tormentor!
Tina says: * poofs*
Chapter 6
Pests & Pains
Monday, March 24th
Aggie’s children were inordinately late for school. As they tried to load into the van, Vannie became frantic, running from room to room, opening odd doors and cupboards, looking under furniture and behind doors, unable to find any of her schoolbooks. Eventually, Aggie put her foot down. “I’ll speak to your teachers; I’ll throw myself on the mercy of the principal, but all of the children can’t be any later than they already are.”
With Vannie in tears over a writing assignment due that day, Aggie spoke individually to each teacher, trying to get the girl a twenty-four hour extension on any of the assignments that were due. Finally, Aggie got approval from all of the teachers. She chuckled to herself as she loaded up the little children in the van and drove away. “Small children are a huge asset when you want your way and don’t want it to take a long time.”
Aggie spent the next hour searching for the books, keeping Cari out of mischief and Lorna from following in her wake, and answering the ever-ringing phone. Thanks to the crazy escapades that Cari consistently contrived, Aggie had dubbed the twins “Lucy and Ethel” when no one was listening.
Finally, Aggie sat down to feed the baby. After he finished, Aggie tried to burp him and ended up with baby formula all over her. “Little guy,” she choked as the stench of partially digested bottle reached her nostrils, “That is what I call ‘fountains of formula.’”
Frustration mounted as Aggie dug through her suitcase, the closet, and glanced around the room in search of clean clothes. She dashed downstairs wearing her stinky shirt, opened the dryer, and prayed that there’d be a clean shirt in there for her, yet knowing that there couldn’t be. She hadn’t washed in days. Just that morning, Kenzie had been forced to wear a “church” dress to school.
Aggie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Well, at least I know where her books are! Drat it all!”
Aggie found a clean shirt folded on top of the dryer and changed quickly. Upstairs, she went into the changing area, grabbed a fistful of wipes, and scrubbed herself with the new shirt still on, trying to remove some of the stench of regurgitated baby breakfast. She pulled sleeping Ian from his crib and buckled him into his little carrier. There’s nothing like walking the halls of an American middle school, twice in one day, to give you an appreciation for toddlers who prefer to use macaroni and cheese for finger paints instead of food.
“How do mothers do it all?” She muttered to herself as she drove back to the house.
As Aggie rewashed the now soured clothes that were almost crusty in the washer, she made one of her trademarked “mental notes.” “Never start a load that you can’t finish.”
While the clothes were freshening in a new wash, Aggie went upstairs to call Mr. Moss. She felt obligated to give the Stuarts first dibs on the family home. Based on what she assumed the house was worth, Aggie instructed the lawyer to offer it to the Stuarts at a minor reduction
from market value. “I’ll sign any paperwork when we meet over the appeal slash finalization papers. Meanwhile, do you have any information on the place in Brant’s Corners? Oh, wonderful! I am so excited. Tell me when I have to sign for that too. I can’t believe they accepted my offer so easily. Did we offer too much?”
Aggie’s lawyer explained that no one had bid against her, and since she found the property at the end of the closing date, she didn’t have to counter any bids that were made. Aggie became concerned at the condition of the house. “Why didn’t anyone else want it?”
“Well, Aggie, I went and checked it out myself with a property inspector. Nothing against your friend Zeke, but sometimes, big problems aren’t obvious to the untrained eye. The inspector says it’ll be expensive to fix, but that all it needs is cosmetic work. Remodeling, not restoration. You can afford the repairs because of the proceeds from the Stuart House sale, but the average family can’t buy the house and afford to renovate like you can.”
Aggie hung up with a goofy smile on her face. A house. First, she had purchased a twenty thousand dollar vehicle, and now she had purchased a house! My, she was living large these days.
When the children came home, they all started the routines Allie instituted and that Aggie had continued. Vannie went downstairs to do a laundry “switch,” while Laird took out the trash in every room and Tavish swept the porches. Ellie wiped down all counters, and Aggie ran around trying to keep everyone on track and the mess from growing worse with the work.
“Aunt Aggie, I can’t get the dryer to work! Something’s wrong with it! Do I just hang the clothes on hangers?” Vannie’s voice came up the stairs in a panicked wail.
“Go ahead and do that, Vannie. I’ll send Kenzie down with more hangers and call the appliance guy.” Aggie picked up the phone and dialed the first appliance repair place listed in the phone book. The man on the other end was trying to help her troubleshoot when Aggie groaned.
“Is something wrong, ma’am?” The deep voice sounded even more concerned now.
“No. You don’t need to come out. I just remembered. I unplugged it the other day when I put my niece’s schoolbooks in there. It just has to be plugged in again.” Aggie thanked the very confused man and hung up.
“All right, Vannie, try plugging in the dryer, I bet it’ll work better that way!” Aggie decided that if anything else went wrong, she’d send everyone to bed and call it a day.
Monday, April 15th
For the first time in a long time, that she could remember anyway, Aggie woke up feeling positive. She finally had the house completely clean; the baby had slept through the night and was still sleeping peacefully. The estate taxes had been filed days ago, thanks to the fast footwork of Mr. Moss’ financial consultant at Franklin Financial Services, and it looked like a hefty return was headed their way. Aggie was excited about that. Thus far, she’d always had to pay at tax time.
That thought registered and then assaulted her mind causing her to wail, “Oh, noooooooooooo! My taxes! I forgot my taxes!” Aggie screamed to no one in particular.
After the children left for school, and after half an hour of frantic searching, she found the large box of mail that she’d neglected to look through since her dorm mate had shipped it all to her. Flipping feverishly through the stacks of paper in the box, she found the booklets, forms, and her W-2 forms. The children were instructed to eat standing at the counter while Aggie spread her forms across the table.
As Aggie was tallying up her totals, she heard Ian’s cry. “Hey, bub, your timing is lousy,” the overwrought “mother” said to the little boy as she picked him up from the crib. Ian felt a little warm, but with a heavy blanket sleeper and a warm baby quilt, Aggie assumed that he was just over dressed.
She bounced downstairs and into the kitchen, jostling the baby as she went, trying to keep him happy as she mixed and shook a bottle like a pro. The young woman was now so accustomed to her routine; her movements were automatic--almost rote. Taking a napkin she wiped a mouth full of drool from little Ian’s face. “Oh, dear, you drool like your grandpa Milliken. Why that man when he snores--Ohhh, nooo! Girls stop!”
Aggie watched as both little girls froze in the middle of scribbling all over her almost completed tax forms. She had no spares. She hadn’t remembered that she needed to file, much less get extra forms! She fed the baby, found the twins’ shoes, and packed everyone in the van.
Three post offices later, she was growing frantic. All of the EZ forms appeared to be gone. Either almost no one needed them this year or everyone did. Out of desperation, Aggie drove over to Brant’s Corners to see if maybe a smaller town’s post office would still have some.
Aggie backed into a sheriff’s deputy as she pushed the post office door open with her rear and tried to get the rambunctious children inside. “Excuse me, officer.” Aggie hardly made eye contact. If she took her eyes off the children for more than a second, Cari was sure to make a best friend with someone in the room and drive off with them. The child knew no strangers.
The deputy saw a woman coming at him backwards and thought of holding the door for her but realized that she’d probably end up sitting down rather hard. Instead, he stood still and took the jolt to protect the woman and her baby from sprawling across the entryway. Beautiful identical twin girls smiled at him and one spoke. “You are a nice powice man. I like you. I am C--”
“Come along, Cari. We need to hurry and get those forms, and this officer has criminals to catch.” Aggie led the girls to the boxes of tax forms and tried to do a mini-jig as she found a box full of them.
The deputy sat in his cruiser, watching, as the woman came out with a handful of forms. The man shook his head at his partner. “Why is it that people wait until the last second to do their taxes? That baby is sick. I know it. I felt his little head as she bumped into me. He has a fever.” The deputies talked about how parents seemed to just drag their children everywhere, unless it cramped their style. Only then, a babysitter was called in-- the children always the ones to suffer.
Aggie stood in line at the post office hours later and minutes before they closed. Eight children stood in line behind her like little ducks in a row. Aggie was determined to watch them postmark her check for $132.58 made payable to good old Uncle Sam. From now on, she would schedule this to be done by February fifteenth. It wouldn’t hurt to have a budget either. Tacking “make budget” onto the ever-growing mental list, Aggie wondered if she’d ever be able to cross any of her planned “Aggie-dos” off that list.
Tuesday, April 16th
“Aunt Aggie! Help! My ant farm is broken, and they’re all gone! They’ve vanished…. Oh, wait! There’s one… two…” Tavish’s voice trailed off as he tried to rescue his little pets.
Aggie stumbled into his room and shivered as she felt the critters crawling under her feet. “It’s my science project. I’m supposed to see if I can force them to go in a particular path by where I put their food, and now…” he looked around him. “It’s ruined. I’ll fail!” The boy was completely distraught.
Moments later, Aggie saw a bedraggled kitten dash from behind the dresser and out the door. Forcing her voice to remain pleasant, she spoke in deliberately measured tones, “Um, where did that filthy fur ball come from?”
Sanity vanished as it disappeared down the hall, Aggie dashed after the kitten. The other children noticed and took up the chase as well. Aggie tried to calm the frenzied race, but it was all for naught. Chairs were toppled, a glass broken, and one pair of curtains were shredded before Aggie nabbed the kitten. The poor kitty’s heart raced, and she mewed pitifully.
Aggie picked up the phone and called animal control before demanding to know who had brought the kitten into the house. “I want to know how this kitten got in here, and I want to know now!”
Laird spoke up. “I did, Aunt Aggie. I found her on the way home from the bus stop yesterday, but I couldn’t tell you about her with going to the post office and everything, and then I just for
got about her until last night, but you were on the phone, and I’m really sorry.” Aggie was glad that she wasn’t that boy’s grammar teacher. She’d never seen nor heard a worse run-on sentence in her life!
Tavish mourned his science experiment all the way to school. There were only three weeks until he had to turn in his project, and the best Aggie could come up with was the standard electric potatoes or volcanoes. Tavish was insulted at the thought. He was hoping for a spot in the science fair, and he couldn’t make it with “snow job” experiments.
Just before he jumped from the van, the boy had an idea. “Hey! Aunt Aggie? Can I get two mice? I could record which breed learns to find his food the fastest and through the most complex mazes. Please, Aunt Aggie… I’d give them to the science lab after I was done…” The singsong pleas of the boy were extremely out of character.
Aggie promised to think about it, and once the children were on the school grounds, drove towards home. Thinking about the boy’s forlorn face, Aggie made a U-turn and zipped across town to the mall. School was school. It was time to step up as “mom” and do the difficult things that mothers have to do.
Going with the twins and Ian, however, was not the wisest move Aggie had made to date. Cari and Lorna made a beeline for the bunnies and guinea pigs with Aggie stumbling behind, trying to keep Ian’s pudgy hands from grabbing things off the shelves and toppling birdcages. The sales assistant, panic rising in her voice as each second dragged by, grabbed the cardboard carriers, and tried to engage the twins in picking out the perfect rats for Tavish, but the girls would have nothing to do with it. They raced to the fish tanks, drumming their fingers on the glass trying gain the attention of swimming fish, crabs, or turtles.
“See the fwoggie!” Cari’s delighted voice caused Aggie’s head to whip around in alarm. Before she could protest, the child dipped her hand into an aquarium and pulled out a frog to show her enraptured little sister. The result was pandemonium.
Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) Page 9
