It irritated her that he was right. Why, she wasn’t sure. Was it because she couldn’t trust the children to leave things alone? Was it because he thought her too wimpy to handle the work? Was it because Ian had been up half the night wanting something to chew on, and nothing had satisfied him except for her knuckle? “Yeah, probably that,” she muttered, and scooped the hardware into an empty box.
Upstairs, they reassembled the bed, finding it harder to accomplish than Aggie’s swift, but not quite painless, demolition. Several trips back and forth, looking for stray parts, were needed before they were ready to carry the mattress into the room. While Vannie pulled her new bedspread from the bag, Aggie stretched the sheets over the mattress and plumped her new pillows. Luke filled the upper shelves with Vannie’s treasures as the girl pointed out where each thing went.
“Aghaooo!” Aggie looked up startled. Standing in the doorway, holding baby Ian, was William.
“I take it no one called me?” William looked both amused and irritated.
Luke glanced up and grimaced. “The phone? It was on the set; I know it because I put it on there myself. He couldn’t reach it.”
William said, “The call came in about two minutes ago, but I was nearby, so I volunteered. The dispatcher just said ‘Another false alarm over at the old Ma--’” The officer clamped his mouth shut and looked suitably annoyed.
“Well, we’re sorry, William. I have no idea how the baby could have called this time. I put that phone back on the set myself. It’s become an obsession with me.” Luke tried to be light hearted, but it was obvious that the deputy was no longer amused.
“Aggie, may I speak to you for a moment?” William’s “request” was more like an order. Handing the babbling infant to Luke, William led Aggie downstairs and outside.
“Aggie, this has to stop. I may be forced to issue a citation regarding the inappropriate use of resources if you don’t find a way to keep that child away from the telephone.” He tried to keep his voice pleasant, but William knew that if the dispatcher mentioned it to the sheriff, he’d be in trouble.
“William, I don’t know what you want from me. Where was the phone when you got here?” Aggie tried not to get upset. After all, he was just doing his job.
“Well, it appears to be back on the set, but the call was made, and we have to respond to every call.”
“If it was on the set when Luke went upstairs, and it was on the set when you got here, then there is no way that the baby could possibly have called. He can’t reach it!”
William was thoughtful. At last, he suggested that she keep the handset with her at all times. Someone was calling, and that had to stop. “Listen, Aggie, if some of the other guys get called out, they won’t be as patient.” He glanced around him at the mess in the kitchen, the unmade beds, and her mattress lying in the middle of the living room. “You might want to clean up a bit in here too. Not everyone has seen this room clean like I have.”
Aggie’s face fell. She started to reply, but William continued. “Look, I know it’s hard, and you really are doing a good job. The children seem healthy and happy, and at least you haven’t had accidents or anything. I just think you’re in over your head with this and could use some help.”
Weary, Aggie promised to try to do better. As she filled the kitchen sink with hot soapy water and loaded it with dishes, she told him about the work upstairs and invited him to see the progress. However, William refused, as if repulsed by the idea, and drove away. “I wonder what about me is so repugnant,” she mused as she wiped the counter. “It’s not like inheriting children is contagious or anything.”
Aggie Says: TINA, COME HITHER!
Tina says: You rang?
Aggie says: He did it again.
Tina says: Who did what and to whom? My, that’s an impressive sentence.
Aggie says: Ian. He called the sheriff again. William showed up very upset. He told me to clean the house up too.
Tina says: Ick. Tell him to mind his own business. Who does this creep think he is?
Aggie says: Oh, I think he’s actually being kind-- or trying to be. I just don’t know where I am supposed to put things when there is nowhere to PUT IT.
Aggie says: We moved Vannie into her room and Laird’s is almost done.
Tina says: WOOHOO!!! What birthday comes next?? Are you forgetting someone?
Aggie says: Let me look. Vannie said she put them all on the calendar for me. Next is Laird. Ian isn’t until September.
Tina says: So what are you doing for Laird’s birthday.
Aggie says: I have no clue.
Tina says: Boy you are a wealth of information today aren’t you?
Aggie says: I am, aren’t I? Did I tell you Kenzie and Ellie get their room next? They wanted pink and purple. Original aren’t they?
Tina says: It’ll make it easy to keep clean. Just let them have their fun.
Aggie says: I know. I just pictured dream bedrooms for everyone and somehow pink and purple doesn’t seem very dreamy to me. It sounds like an explosion in a cotton candy machine.
Tina says: ROFLOL
Aggie says: I just have to figure out pictures and things. Furniture. What do I do for furniture?
Tina says: Is there room to cut bunks apart into two beds?
Aggie says: Ummm I think there would be room for two twin beds with the window between them, a bed table between the beds and the walls, and a small dresser on the wall by the door.
Tina says: They need a shelf, though. For their books, and special things.
Aggie says: What about between the beds?
Tina says: I saw a bookshelf in a catalog the other day. It had a peaked roof like a dollhouse. It was really cute!
Aggie says: OOOH!! I wonder if Luke could make that.
Tina says: I bet he could. He’s done a lot around there so why not a simple shelf with a slanted roof! :)
Aggie says: True! I’ll have to ask! Meanwhile, I’ll do a Google search and see what I can find. Maybe I can order it.
Tina says: So, what about the twins’ room… and Tavish and Ian… what are you doing in their rooms?
Aggie says: Oh, boy I’m so excited about the twins’ rooms! Laird is making these headboards out of fence pickets. Luke showed him how to sand and paint them. I think he’s going to do footboards out of the pickets too. I asked Luke to add shelves to the footboards so that they’d each have their own space within the room.
Tina says: Ok… so what are you doing with the colors?
Aggie says: Luke painted the room a light but bright sunny yellow and Vannie has been pounding a soaked rag with white paint all over it so it looks like sunshine through clouds. Then we’re going to paint flowers growing up from the bottom. Big fat kindergarten retro type flowers are what I have in mind. Then, I bought bright pink, yellow, purple, green, blue, orange… etc plaid bedspreads and curtains. I saw the curtains and stuff first, and it gave us the idea for the room.
Tina says: OOH! I love this! And the boys?
Aggie says: No clue. Tavish doesn’t care and Ian doesn’t talk. I have to decide and I don’t know. I was never a boy and didn’t have brothers. The only reason Laird is getting a nautical look is because of the bed he wants with those big ropes.
Tina says: Baseball? Trains? Books? Travel? Jungle?
Aggie says: JUNGLE!!
Tina says: Just picture curtains and bedspreads with tigers on them, or just tiger skin looking fabric!
Aggie says: I like the tigers in the green leaves look. Oh, I can’t wait to tell Tavish. I’ll buy a safari hat to hang over the door. Oooh! And a big stuffed tiger for Ian!
Tina says: Well, it sounds like you figured that out easy enough!
Aggie says: Thanks to you! That covers everyone, doesn’t it?
Tina says: Except for you. What are you doing for your room?
Aggie says: I have no clue. Maybe you can look when you get here and tell me what you think?
Tina says: You should have done yours fir
st.
Aggie says: What would that teach the children when I tell them “you need put others first?”
Tina says: That’s true. Oh, dear. Chinese is here. I have to go.
Aggie says: Ok, I need to get some sleep anyway.
Tina says: Poofs!
Aggie says: Poofs to you too!
Chapter 15
Dents & Accidents
Tuesday, June 25th
Aggie dropped the plate as the sound of breaking glass added percussion to the hymn she’d been singing. She scrubbed the dishes and sang “Whiter than Snow” at the top of her lungs as she worked, but the crash followed by tinkling came at just the wrong place. It seemed a bit incongruous to sing, “I see Thy blood flow,” at the precise moment a window gave up its life for one child’s pursuit of sling-shot excellence. Oh, Aggie knew what caused it, who was responsible, and her “give me patience, Lord” hymn was on her lips before she stepped into the broken glass at her feet.
“Um, Lord? Just want to put quick thanks in for prompting me to get the dishes done before I relaxed. I’d be needing some stitches right about now…” A new thought crossed her mind. “Then again, I might still be collapsed on the couch and would only have one glass mess to clean up. Couldn’t you have let me be lazy this morning?”
The immense pile of washed dishes was only overshadowed by the even more enormous pile of unwashed ones. Aggie shrugged and grabbed the broom. “Ok, point taken.”
“Talking to yourself again, Aunt Aggie?” Laird looked suitably penitent but tried to lighten the mood with a joke. It fell flat.
“Well, actually, I was asking the Lord how to deal with a kid who broke about thirteen rules in the space of about as many seconds.”
With an expression that would one day melt the hearts of women, Laird shrugged. “Mom would have made me pay for the window. Does that help?”
“Well, somewhat. There’s just one problem.”
“What?” He no longer looked charming and irresistible. Now Laird looked positively nervous.
“You don’t have any money. I haven’t even started to consider allowances and things.”
“Oh! Is that all? We have lots of money-- in our bank accounts anyway. You could do an online transfer. That’s what Mom always did.”
Aggie passed Laird the broom and pointed to the plate fragments. “Clean that up. I need to sit.”
“But, Aunt Aggie, I didn’t break the plate--”
“By proxy, you did. Clean it up. I’ll be back.”
One day, Aggie would look back at her next move and shake her head. Today, however, it was all too much. She climbed the stairs and entered Laird’s room, noting the irony of improving the room of the boy who had just destroyed part of another one. “Laird broke a window.”
“Well, we were replacing the downstairs windows anyway.” Luke wiped a drip from his roller onto his jeans and turned to Aggie. “I can do that when I’m done in here, if it’s a standard size. Which one is it?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked lost, confused, and even a little helpless. It wasn’t like her. “Well, I’ll look at it soon and then see what has to be done. It’ll be ok.” He didn’t know what else to say.
“What do I do about Laird?”
“What do you mean?”
Aggie tried again. “He knew he wasn’t supposed to use that sling-shot near the house. I told him it had to be out in that field across the highway. He did it again. I can’t let him get away with that, can I?” She almost sounded like she hoped Luke would say yes, and she knew it.
“I see. You’re right. He can’t get away with it.”
“He says Allie would have made him pay for it.”
A smirk appeared on Luke’s face before he could turn to the wall and roll the paint on it. Aggie demanded to know what was so funny. “Well, not that I know anything about being a boy or anything, but it’s been my experience that when a kid offers a consequence voluntarily, it’s usually the one thing he doesn’t care about.” He loaded the roller again and then turned back to Aggie. “I’m not saying it’s not true. I have no doubt that your sister was wise enough to require her children to make restitution when they ruined things. I’m just guessing there’s more to it than that. I take it he has enough money to pay for a window? They can be expensive.”
“I didn’t know they had any, but apparently they have accounts in some bank. I have no idea which bank. I hope they know.”
“I’m guessing it’s the bank that you got about twelve statements from the other day. All were forwarded from your old address. You should change that with the bank, by the way.” Luke rolled the last bit of the wall and stood away to examine his work.
“Oh. Yeah.” She bit her lip. It wasn’t the time to admit she had boxes of unopened mail, dating back to February. “So, if Laird was your son, what would you do?”
“How many times has this been a problem?”
She sank to the middle of the floor, pulled her knees to her chest, tucked her skirt around her ankles for modesty, laid her head on her knees, and sighed. “Since he found it in Doug’s things.”
Luke had decided what to suggest the moment he heard, “found it,” but Doug’s name changed things. “Hmm. Do you want me to talk to him? I could tell him that he does have to pay for the window, as per your words, but maybe he needs a guy to talk to. Until you said Doug, I was going to suggest taking away the slingshot. Now I’m not so sure. I think maybe he needs that right now. I will tell him it goes if there’s another problem, and I could require him to help me fix the window.”
The tears still wet on her cheeks, Aggie’s head slowly rose, and her eyes met Luke’s. “Would you? Is that cheating?”
Silence was her only answer. Luke dropped the roller in the paint tray, pounded the lid back on the can of paint, and pocketed the funky hook-like thing he used to open the cans. Aggie’s head dropped back to her knees. When a sniffle escaped before she could stop it, she cringed. How pathetic could she get?
Seconds later, she felt a hand on her head. “It’s not cheating, Mibs. I’ll go talk to him.”
She sat there for several more minutes, until his words fully registered. “Mibs? What on earth are they, and what do they have to do with anything?” As she descended to the bottom of the stairs, she heard Luke talking to Laird on the porch. She leaned against the wall beside the door and listened, curious about what he would say.
“…needs your cooperation. She has enough to do, trying to keep the younger children in clothes, food, and out of trouble, to have to worry about something so easy to avoid. It’s a two minute walk across an empty highway.”
“I’m sorry, Luke. I didn’t mean to shoot it. I was just check--”
“Laird. The rock didn’t jump in the sling by itself. You may not have planned to release, but you made a foolish decision to risk that possibility. You’re responsible for your actions.”
Laird’s defensiveness melted audibly. “You’re right. I knew better. How much is that window going to cost me?”
“Which window is it?”
Misery crept into the boy’s tone. “The dining room.”
“Big or little?”
“Big.” Misery melted into despair. “Expensive, huh?”
“Ca-ching.”
Wednesday, June 26th
Aggie glanced around the downstairs, overwhelmed. Though the children’s bedrooms were almost all completed, the furniture couldn’t be carried upstairs until Sunday, at the earliest-- assuming it didn’t rain and keep the floor from curing properly. Aggie’s room was also painted, and though she wanted to create a quiet hideaway, she decided that during the fall school days she’d have more time to work on it. For now, her new bed and an old highboy were all the furniture pieces that Aggie had to put in there anyway.
They planned to start the downstairs on Monday, as long as the weather stayed reasonably dry. It amazed her how much trouble rain outside could cause her inside. She stood in the doorway of the countr
y kitchen and realized what Luke meant when he said it would have to be gutted. All food and dishes would have to be stored in another room, as well as prepared there. She was finally feeding the children real meals at regular times, and now it looked like they would be going back to frozen fare. The thought was depressing.
Luke had made himself quite indispensable. Aggie didn’t know how she’d ever imagined that she could do all the work that had been accomplished by herself. Proverbs states that “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child,” but Aggie wasn’t sure that it didn’t carry over to “no-longer-a-child-people” as well. Luke worked steadily on everything, and while Aggie was certain that he was being underpaid, her insecurity in spending money kept her from raising his bid prices.
“Luke?” Aggie stood in the living room after trying to find him. There was no way she could figure out where the man was. Aggie added another mental note to her endless list. “Hook up the intercom.”
Luke sauntered into the room. “You need something?”
“Yep. I need you to tell me which room we’re going to do first. I can’t decide if we should save the kitchen for last, or do it first?”
Luke was frustratingly silent. What took the average person three seconds to say, took Luke thirty seconds to over a minute. It drove her crazy. Finally, he answered. “If you want to protect your furniture during the kitchen remodel, then I recommend that we get that out of the way first. It’s a real bugaboo, but I think you’ll be happiest with it finished.”
Aggie waited. She had learned by now that if Luke’s jaw clenched at the end of a sentence, he had more to say. Eventually, he continued. Just in time, too. Aggie was about to throttle the words out of him.
“I think that we need to set up a kitchen in the dining room. I can cut a hole in the wall and route the gas across to there, temporarily. That’ll give you a stove. Then, we can put that big old desk you have out there, and cover it with some shower board to protect it and make it easy to clean. That’ll give you a counter. You can use that nifty, built-in china cabinet for a pantry, and with the microwave there, all you have to worry about is washing dishes.”
Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) Page 21
