William didn’t try to hide his surprise. As much as he disliked them, he took the hot dog and took a large bite. “How’d you know I was here?” He grimaced as the scent of frankfurter and mustard flooded his nostrils.
Meg laughed. “I saw you do a U-turn and follow them. I thought it was odd, so I followed you.”
“And you’ve been watching ever since?” William’s voice was curious, and Meg sagged in relief. She’d been certain that he would be furious and lecture her on privacy.
“I wasn’t sure what to make of it. As far as I know, you don’t sit around watching pretty ladies and their eight children every day.”
“You think she’s pretty? So does Mrs. Dyke.” Wiping his chin with the napkin she passed him, he added, “I don’t see it myself.” William sounded perplexed.
Meg was thoughtful. William rarely offered an opinion on anything unrelated to work. “I don’t think she’ll ever win any beauty contests, but then again, most women wouldn’t. She just has that sweet all-American look about her.”
William nodded. “I can see that. She sure is good with those children. You wouldn’t know she didn’t have them six months ago.”
“I noticed that the other day. Too bad all mothers don’t put as much care and effort into their children as she obviously does.”
William’s emphatic “amen” startled Meg. Before she could question him, William spoke again. “You know, Meg, I don’t want to be rude, but I came out here to be alone.”
William’s voice was uncharacteristically apologetic. Usually he spoke his mind quite bluntly. Meg smiled and opened the door. “I’m going. I just had to make sure you were ok. See you in the morning, and don’t scare our new citizen. They pay our salaries you know!”
William watched Meg walk away and was thankful she seemed fine. Irritated partners made for miserable workdays. A squeal from the park tore his eyes away from Meg. Something about the children, their innocence, the carefree air that surrounded them like a protective bubble, even their laughter as it reached him, soothed his spirit. Watching Aggie was almost like watching one of the children. She laughed and played as hard as the rest of them.
Later, she sat between the twins as they slept, stroking their hair, and it looked like she was singing to them. Something about the way the breeze flicked at her hair and ruffled her dress created a picture of beautiful young womanhood, and at last, William saw the beauty in her that others had mentioned. He was moved in a way he didn’t understand, and it bothered him. What about this woman affected him so strongly? He knew he wasn’t physically or emotionally attracted to her-- or was he?
Aggie says: You’d better be there.
Aggie says: I mean it, woman. Show thyself.
Tina says: I’m here, I’m here. Have a good Sunday?
Aggie says: The best. Seriously, it was just one of those perfect days where nothing could go wrong if it tried.
Tina says: You fell in love.
Aggie says: You’re right, I did. How exciting.
Tina says: Which one is it?
Aggie says: I can’t make up my mind. I think all of them, but tonight, I’d have to say Ian. He was just so stinkin’ cute!
Tina says: *rolls eyes* You’re certifiable, you know that right?
Aggie says: Yeah, but it’s a wonderful life.
Tina says: I’m going to ask something you don’t want me to but as your friend, I have to.
Aggie says: I’m not dating and have no intention of starting now.
Tina says: That’s not my question. I want you to be completely honest with me.
Aggie says: Ok. Why do I feel like I just put a stink bomb in Mr. Haley’s class?
Tina says: Residual guilt. Now listen, and don’t reply until I tell you.
Aggie says: Ok! You’re so bossy!
Tina says: I said no replying.
Tina says: Now, I’m worried about you. You graduated, planned to live in Yorktown, meet a great guy, or at least marry Mark Sakimo…
Aggie says: Oh, puhleeze!
Tina says: I’ll come and sit on you! Shut up and listen. Instead you graduate, bury your sister, become an overnight mother with a GIL to boot, and then started renovating a house. All your dreams are sitting on a shelf getting very dusty. How are you handling that?
Tina says: That was a question. You can answer it.
Aggie says: I don’t know how I’m handling it. I doubt that I am. I’m too busy worrying about diapers, Kenzie’s new loose tooth, if I can afford the kitchen I want to put in, and if it’s a waste, since I don’t know how to cook anyway, if the GIL is going to show up tomorrow and create new havoc, or if I’m just tired and paranoid.
Tina says: How’s the Bible?
Aggie says: It’s an excellent book. I highly recommend regular and liberal infusions of it in any person’s life. Imperative for Christians.
Tina says: Getting any of that stuff infused in you lately?
Aggie says: Would I still be sane if I wasn’t?
Tina says: Are you still sane?
Aggie says: LOL. I may not be able to carry on a semi-adult conversation anymore, but I think I’m still sane--today.
Tina says: Prayer? How’s your p-mail outbox?
Aggie says: Sigh. Overloaded. I think they’re going to start bouncing back soon.
Tina says: God’s server is big enough to handle it. You keep sending them and He’ll keep answering. How are the hymns?
Aggie says: I think I sing “Angry Words” too much.
Tina says: Why do you say that?
Aggie says: I heard Kenzie singing it the other day. She sang all three verses AND imitated my exact tone when I grind out that “Love one another, THUS saith the SaviOR…” Ahem. It’s not pretty.
Tina says: Can you do this Aggie?
Aggie says: I have to, Tina. Mom and Dad can’t, and there just isn’t anyone else.
Tina says: If there was someone else, would you want to keep going like this?
Aggie says: I know it sounds crazy, but this is kind of my life now. I really can’t imagine doing anything else. I’d feel naked without someone pulling on my skirts.
Tina says: LOL… um, that just came out wrong.
Aggie says: You’re telling me. You know what I mean though. It’s not what I would have chosen, but it’s what I have and thinking about “what ifs” isn’t going to help.
Tina says: You always wanted to get married, have a house down the street from your parents, and run the History department at the High School. How can you possibly--
Aggie says: I can because I have to. Remember when I asked God to give me a 180 and make me know, without a doubt, if my goals took me out of what God’s will for me? Well, I’d say this was a 180 if I’ve ever seen one. I have to trust that God knows what He’s doing.
Tina says: I worry about you. It’s a lot of work and responsibility.
Aggie says: Allie did it.
Tina says: And she had years to prepare.
Aggie says: Which makes me even more qualified to take over. I’m younger and have more energy. I’m not worn out from having eight children.
Tina says: Allie wasn’t worn out and you know it.
Aggie says: Yeah, but I think sometimes she was. She had a lot to prove to people. I find myself doing the same thing. If you’re tired, you don’t want it to show. Someone is sure to make a comment on how hard it must be. Yeah, it’s hard, but it gets old being reminded of it--especially when you’ve made yourself vulnerable and admitted it.
Tina says: Just take care of yourself. You won’t be any good to those kids if you’re worn out and in need of a padded room.
Aggie says: I’ll remember.
Tina says: My pizza is here. I’d better go. See you later and don’t stay up too late.
Aggie says: Nighters.
Tina says: Poofs.
Chapter 14
9-1-1
Monday, June 17th
“Morning.” Aggie jumped at the sound of his voice as Luke ste
pped around her, deposited a jar of grape juice in the fridge, and then climbed the stairs to Vannie’s room without another word.
She shrugged and went back to filling bowls of cold cereal and adding slices of leftover watermelon to their plates. The children carried their meal to the far corners of the downstairs and out onto the porches. She knew she shouldn’t allow it. If she wasn’t careful, the children were going to lose every dish and utensil they owned. However, she was tired, anxious to finish the rooms upstairs, and ready for her morning cup of coffee, so she let it slide.
Half an hour after his arrival, Aggie hollered for the kids to bring back their dishes, grabbed two hot mugs of coffee and a plate of bagels, and climbed the stairs to see the progress in Vannie’s room. Luke took the coffee gratefully, and a strange look crossed his face as he took his first sip.
“Is something wrong with it?”
“I was expecting coffee, not one of those imports from Seattle. Whew!”
Aggie chuckled and handed over a cream cheese- slathered onion bagel. “I’ll get some regular coffee next time I am in town. Meanwhile, have a bagel.” Aggie surveyed the room and tried to ignore the question in her mind. “Looks like if things go as planned we can put one more coat on this tonight, and it’s ready for moving in the day after tomorrow.”
“Actually, you need to wait until Friday at the earliest. We really want these floors to cure well.”
She ran her hand along the floor, feeling the glossy finish under her fingertips. “I really hoped--” Clamping her mouth shut, she stood abruptly.
“Aggie,” Luke knew something was on her mind, “what’s up? You have something to say, I can tell. Just talk to me.” Luke had a sickening feeling that he was being fired. While the job wasn’t going to pay well, he was eager to keep working on the old house. The money was better than nothing, and the personal satisfaction in seeing the house restored was invaluable to him. He remembered the children. Luke loved being around the children. How often did a job include a houseful of children to enjoy?
“I hate that!” Aggie’s frustration replaced the thoughtful, contemplative expression previously shown on her face.
“What? What did I say?” Luke actually started putting the lids back on the paint and gathering his tools, but Aggie didn’t notice.
“The way everyone always knows what I’m going to say before I say it. It’s so maddening!”
Luke’s laughter was infectious. Gasping between giggles, Aggie asked why they were laughing. Luke couldn’t answer. Just as she regained some of her composure, Luke admitted he’d expected to be fired, sending her into fresh waves of giggles. “Who would have thought the proverbial pink slip could be so funny!”
While Luke applied the final coat of urethane to the floor, Aggie went back downstairs to find the scattered dishes. “All right, guys, I see four bowls, five plates, and two spoons! I want every dish in the house, yard, van, and anywhere else I haven’t thought of, in five minutes. Spread the word and hustle!”
Kenzie and Tavish looked at her with odd expressions and took tentative steps toward the door. “You heard me! Find dishes,” Aggie insisted.
She grabbed Ian from the playpen and carried him upstairs for a bath. The little boy hadn’t been cleaned up after dinner the previous evening, and dirt seemed caked onto his face, hands, and knees. It dawned on her that the careful routines she’d kept in place at the Stuart home had dissolved like Jell-o in water the moment they’d moved to the Shambles.
Thanks to half a dozen interruptions, the water overfilled the tub, soaking the carpeting as she undressed Ian, and, seconds later, her voice wavered in obvious distress as she mopped up the soggy mess. “Shall we gather at the riiiiveerrr…” a tearful giggle escaped, “where the bathtub overflooooowwws…”
“Aggie, have you considered that the bathroom up here might need to be the next thing you do?”
“I have,” she called, flinging tears away from her eyes as she knelt, her knees squishing into the soggy carpet, “but I really think we need to get the kids in their rooms first. If nothing else, it’ll quiet the GIL.”
“GIL?”
“Geraldine Stuart. The grandmother-in-law. She’ll be happier if she can walk in the house and not see beds everywhere.” At Luke’s face in the doorway, she smiled. “I have to try to make peace where I can.”
“Why don’t we plan what you want to do, so we can order anything we’ll need and have it ready? If everything is here and ready to go, we won’t have as many delays.”
Aggie agreed, and pointed down the hallway. “I was wondering what you thought of a half bath down there in that linen closet. I think there’s room for one of those little pedestal sinks, a toilet, and a shower stall. The kids could get ready for school much more quickly if we had more bathrooms.”
True to his character, Luke disappeared down the hallway to inspect her idea. It wouldn’t be easy, and it would be a little expensive, but with a piece of Laird’s closet bumped out, they could put a full bathtub in there. He measured, played around some more, and measured again. It could be done.
“We’d have to get permits for that, but we can do it.”
Aggie jumped at his voice in the bathroom door. “Oh! You scared me. Good. Are we talking dirt cheap, reasonable but a dent in the checking account, or pray we win the lottery expensive?”
“I think you’re looking at a small dent, but a discernible one.”
Wrapping Ian in a towel, Aggie stood and carried the boy out of the bathroom and started downstairs. “Good. Whatever has to be done to make it happen, let’s do it.”
“Aggie?” Luke waited for her to look back at him before he continued. “If Laird can handle a smaller closet, you could have a tub in there if you wanted.”
“Even better. Do that.”
He watched as she carried Ian downstairs, babbling to him about baths in rooms with tile floors and no more soggy carpets. Her admission that paying closer attention to the tub filling might make a difference brought a smile to his face. Just as he was about to call down to tease her, Aggie’s voice rang out clearly. “I still only see six bowls! One of those is mine! How do I have seven forks and nine spoons? Where did all these glasses come from?”
He smiled and stepped into the bathroom to take measurements and saw the towels soaking up the water on the floor. The last inch of water trickled out of the tub, as if reluctant to leave. He’d have to snake that. Luke grabbed the towels and hung them over the shower rod, and then went into the twins’ room to retrieve his large fan. There was no reason to leave that carpet soaked if he didn’t have to.
By the time he left that night, Vannie’s door was open, with the baby gate installed to keep little feet off the curing floor. The pungent scent of urethane hung in the air, and Aggie tried not to think about the effects of the fumes on the children’s developing brains and prayed they wouldn’t get “high” on them. The vanity stood polished and repaired in the twins’ room, waiting for Friday as moving day. A new mattress, still wrapped in its plastic, leaned up against the wall. Vannie’s boxes stood against the other wall with a “bed-in-a-bag” sitting on the floor, as though not quite a part of the group yet. The young girl had spent much of the afternoon carrying her things upstairs, leaning into the room, planning her layout, and wishing the days away until Friday.
Friday, June 21st
The house was in a state of excited confusion. After a long list of jobs to keep the smaller children occupied, Aggie, Vannie, and Luke climbed the stairs after breakfast to begin moving Vannie into her room. While the young girl carried her clothes and hung them in the closet, Aggie and Luke maneuvered the vanity out of the room next door and onto the wall between the two bay windows. It looked as though it’d been made for that spot.
Aggie tied a new cushion she’d purchased onto the bench, and shrugged at the unsatisfactory result. “Well, that looks terrible.”
“If you tell me what kind of fabric you want, I’ll have Mom get it and some foam, a
nd we’ll recover the bench for you.” Luke spoke quietly as he examined the underside.
“You sew too?”
Laughing, Luke shook his head and pointed to the screws on the underside. “You just staple it down, screw it to the bench, and no one sees the staples.”
Vannie and Luke exchanged amused glances as Aggie whipped out her ever-present pad of post it notes and scribbled something on one. She passed it to Luke and went downstairs to dismantle her bed. Laughing, Luke passed the note to Vannie before he folded it carefully and tucked it into his wallet. “Buy some light green or blue fabric. Think blue like eggs or green like Granny Smith. Now I’m hungry. Thanks.”
“Aunt Aggie is one of a kind, isn’t she, Luke?”
Nodding, Luke agreed. “Definitely. While I help your aunt with her bed, why don’t you drag your rug in here and get it rolled out? It’ll be easier to assemble the bed again without scratching the floor if that rug is down.”
Luke arrived in the living room just in time to see the back of Aggie’s wrought iron daybed fall and whack her on the head. Before he could ask if she was ok, another hymn burst forth as though propelled by sheer willpower. “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear…”xiii
“All because you do not tarry, and wait for me to help you there.” The filler was pathetic, and he knew it, but Aggie smiled regardless.
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it goes.”
“You have a hymn for everything, don’t you?” Luke pulled the back of the daybed away from her and started toward the stairs.
“Old Sunday school habit,” she muttered as she grabbed the end pieces and hefted them clumsily.
Without a glance back, Luke called down the stairs, “Leave those for me, and grab the springs or the hardware. If you leave that hardware there, someone is going to help themselves to it, and we’ll be in a pickle.”
Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) Page 20
