Tina says: Ohhhhhhhhhhh?
Aggie says: It’s not as weird as it sounds, I simply mentioned how I wished I could get it cut… it was looking so raggedy… and he said that the place was open, so I should try it.
Tina says: uh huh. I see.
Aggie says: You know, today was a really good day when I look back on it. I got to see a deeper side of Luke, got an invitation to dinner, got to drink coffee in a café and have a hair wash, cut and style, got close to Vannie, and Luke doesn’t seem to think I am a complete idiot, even after missing something so obvious!
Tina says: So, you have two men in your life. Which one do you like best?
Aggie says: Oh, they are both very good friends. I don’t think either one has any real interest in me. Both are nice men though.
Tina says: Tell me about William.
Aggie says: Well, he’s very tall.
Aggie says: He’s pretty good looking. Kind of a modern version of Clark Gable meets a younger Harrison Ford.
Tina says: hee hee
Aggie says: Cari has him wrapped around her little pinky. He loves that child. Kenzie too.
Aggie says: He’s a good officer, and I think, a Christian. That makes it nice. He sure can make me mad, though.
Aggie says: Have you ever seen me yell at anyone like I described?
Tina says: Nope, but there always has to be a first time.
Tina says: Tell me about Luke.
Aggie says: He’s like the brother I always wanted. The children adore him. He knows so much about kids too.
Aggie says: He’s done a great job on this house; he’s working on the kitchen now.
Tina says: Did you figure out what he looks like?
Aggie says: Hmmmmmm well…
Aggie says: I don’t know! I think he’s about, well I think he’s shorter than William. Maybe dad’s height?
Aggie says: That’s probably it… He’s pretty average I suppose.
Tina says: Eyes?
Aggie says: He can almost speak with his eyes. He has this habit though.
Tina says: oohhh???
Aggie says: Yeah, it takes him forever to spit out what he’s trying to get at.
Aggie says: Honestly at first I was so insulting because I would say “and…” hoping to encourage him when he wasn’t ready to talk. I just thought he was waiting for some kind of cue.
Tina says: eeeeekkkk…. That’d be frustrating!
Aggie says: Oh, it is!!!
Aggie says: All in all, they are both nice men.
Aggie says: Oh my, look it’s after midnight! Ian will be up in like five hours! I have to get some sleep!
Tina says: Go to sleep, mama woman! And sleep well.
Aggie says: Thanks, you too.
Tina says: Nighters.
Aggie says: Night!
Chapter 17
Fireworks
Saturday, June 29th
“Ok, guys, this is how it works. Laird, you scrape, Tavish you brush. For every board that you get done on each side of the house, I’ll give you each two dollars. It’s a lot of work, and it’s worth more, but I don’t expect you to do it perfectly. I just want the flakey parts scrubbed off so we can paint it again.”
Aggie watched as Tavish started counting boards in his head. “What about the ones we can’t reach?”
Aggie laughed at his exuberance. “Let’s work on the ones you can reach right now, and then we’ll see about the rest.”
The boys, communicating silently with their eyes, grabbed the tools and attacked the house with gusto. While the other children played on the porch or in the yard, and Vannie read a book on the living room couch, Aggie washed the outside windows of the basement and first floor. Slowly, the “Shambles,” as she affectionately named their house, was feeling like a home. Moving to Brant’s Corners had created stability and added serenity to their lives. The children were happy and contented, and Aggie felt more confident in her role every day.
She’d often pictured her life as a single, maiden aunt, much as her mother’s sisters had been, living alone in a little cottage, teaching history, and spoiling her nieces and nephews. She hadn’t quite rejected the idea of marriage. She’d always hoped she’d find the right man, but she hadn’t expected it either. Aggie had simply planned her life with what she thought she could predict. Inheriting Allie’s children was most definitely not a part of her prescribed program, but she’d learned to enjoy it.
Splat! Aggie spun in place, looking for the culprit, just in time to see Laird dash around the side of the house. Grabbing the hose, Aggie took off in hot pursuit. She thought she heard a rustle as she reached the corner. Without looking, Aggie stuck her arm around the corner of the house and squeezed the pressure nozzle. The indignant roar that followed did not sound like Laird.
“What--” Aggie cautiously peeked out from her hiding place, her eyes wide with shock and dismay at the sight of William standing drenched next to a huge, overgrown lilac bush. “I um, well--” Aggie’s apology was cut short almost before it began. With a stream of comments about “that Aggievating Aggie, “William walked back to his car and drove away before she could follow.
Aggie clutched her sides and howled, unable to control her laughter. The picture of William standing in her yard with water dripping off of his hat brim and onto his nose was truly hilarious. From the corner of her eye, Aggie saw Luke laughing at her and realized that he’d witnessed the entire scene. Furthermore, Luke must have foreseen what was going to happen and just waited for it all to transpire! Without thinking twice, Aggie turned the hose on Luke and squeezed the nozzle.
A mammoth water fight ensued. To everyone’s surprise, Ellie was the quickest and the sneakiest. Aggie made a mental note to remember to watch her when snowball season hit! That child would be dangerous with an arsenal of snow packed missiles.
Eventually, Aggie was surrounded. She stood smugly as seven children and an unrepentant Luke lined up in front of her holding water balloons, buckets, and glasses of water, ready to drench her. She raised her hose and squeezed while sweeping her arm in an arc to soak everyone at once. A tiny squirt spit from the nozzle, and then there was nothing.
Shock registered on her face-- dismay. Slowly flattening herself against the house, Aggie began pleading for a drip-free outfit. First, she tried Luke. She wheedled and cajoled before finally trying to sound like a stern employer. Luke grinned as he tossed the entire bucket of water at her. Laird followed immediately with three balloons thrown in quick succession.
Aggie’s tactics switched. Turning to Cari and Lorna, she tried to convince the girls to drown Luke, but failed. Cari triumphantly splattered her balloon on Aggie’s knee, announcing that her shot was for William. Lorna followed suit. A barrage of balloons and buckets attacked her from every side. One balloon bounced off of Aggie’s elbow and landed at her feet. She snatched it, and with a mischievous glint in her eye, stepped forward. The entire group dispersed in various directions, but Aggie had only one target in her sights.
Luke saw her determination and ducked behind the van. His goal was to leave her with the illusion of impending success without actually placing himself on the receiving end of her wrath. Carefully positioning himself, Luke stood with his back to Aggie’s advances but watching every move reflected in the van’s side mirror. As he saw her throw the balloon, he jumped aside and waited for the impending splat. Nothing happened. Puzzled, Luke turned to see where the balloon had fallen and almost immediately felt the sting of latex on his face and then the cool wetness of water soaking his shirt.
“Ha! Gotcha!” Aggie giggled and snorted gleefully.
“Well, this time. I demand a rematch!” Luke laughed so hard he could hardly breathe.
Aggie laughed again and then remembered something. “Did William just call me ‘Aggievating?’”
Luke hesitated and then grinned. “Um, an appropriate term after the other night, wouldn’t you say? With the Aggietude you had…”
“Aggietude!” Aggie prete
nded to be furious, while trying not to laugh.
“Yes, it was quite Agdorable…” Luke winked.
“Ok, ok, I get it. Enough is enough. Behave yourself!” Aggie chuckled again as Luke muttered something about being out of Aggieisms anyway.
Later that evening, Aggie picked up the phone and dialed William’s phone number. Thanks to an eager-to-help Mrs. Dyke, Aggie now had his phone number and was able to call his home and apologize. When she reached his answering machine, Aggie was relieved. She left a short but heartfelt apology and replaced the phone in the charger.
William listened to the message just minutes later. “William, it’s Aggie. I’m very sorry. Sorry for dousing you when I was trying to get Laird, but I’m even sorrier for losing my temper. Please forgive me. If I don’t see you before, I’ll see you Friday.”
William racked his brains to remember why he would definitely see Aggie on Friday. With a shrug, he decided he’d show up Friday around noon and hope something would remind him why he was supposed to be there. For a few minutes, he pondered the damaging power of pride and then finally went to bed. It had been a very long, wet day.
Sunday, June 30th
“Now, before we pray for our upcoming meal, and in closing, I’d like to remind everyone that we have more than enough food; so please don’t hesitate to stay for the picnic, even if you weren’t prepared to share. We always take home leftovers; so stay and join the fun.”
Marcus Vaughn smiled as he shook hands with the worshippers who filed out to the church’s side lawn. “Aggie! How are you settling? I’m sorry we haven’t made it out to your house yet to get to know you, but Myra made me promise that I’d get you to sit on our blanket, so we could become acquainted.”
Aggie, shifting Ian from one hip to the other, accepted gratefully. She wasn’t quite at home in the new congregation yet, and making friends would be a good start. She sent Vannie and Ellie to the van for the brownies and the huge salad they’d brought, Laird and Tavish walked over to the grocery store with William to buy sodas and ready-made potato salad, while the younger children hurried to the front lawn for games that the teenagers organized for them.
Myra Vaughn smiled and patted the blanket next to her. “Please, sit by me. I want to know all about you and your family. We’ve been so busy this summer, or we would have been over by now.”
“Well, it’s quite a mess anyway-- Hey, William! Did you find the stuff? Do I owe you any money?”
“I found everything, and Laird has your change.” William carried the bags of food and drinks over to the tables where a few of the women arranged them for him.
Myra watched the exchange and decided to try an experiment. “William, we have plenty of room here, would you like to join us?”
Laird coaxed Ian from the Vaughn’s blanket to play with the other toddlers, and soon, the Vaughns, Aggie, and William were laughing and talking freely, while the children ate on tables nearby. Aggie learned that the Vaughns were fairly new to Brant’s Corners themselves, and Marcus Vaughn still studied with Steven Connors of Christ Church in Rockland. “I’ve completed my basic seminary work, but I’m under Steven Connors for discipleship as a minister.”
Aggie excitedly spoke of the services that she had participated in and the especially meaningful time of communion. “I loved how it wasn’t rushed. It didn’t drag or anything; we just really took our time and reveled in our fellowship with the Lord.”
William listened intently, asked a few questions, and then grew thoughtful. As much as he loved the Lord and took his faith seriously, he’d never had the kind of intimate time with the Lord that Aggie had described. As he often did in circumstances like this, he wondered why he was consistently drawn to people who lived and felt things deeply. Personally, he never allowed himself to become intimately involved with anyone-- including his Savior.
William pondered his spiritual and emotional deficiencies, heedless of the conversation around him, until he heard Myra say something to Aggie about her remodeling project and realized that he hadn’t been paying attention. He watched as Aggie animatedly described her work on the house and the hours that Luke Sullivan was putting into it. Myra’s next question unnerved him.
“Now, Mrs. Dyke said you bought the old Ma--”
William uncharacteristically interrupted the conversation. “Hey, is there any more of that potato salad left, Aggie? I’ll go see. Would you like some?”
Myra and Marcus glanced at one another but said nothing. Aggie, distracted further as Vannie arrived at her side with a sleepy baby Ian, didn’t even notice. By the time Aggie got him settled and sleeping in her lap, the conversation had shifted to the new family Bible study that Myra and Marcus were planning for Thursday nights.
“We’d start this Thursday, but we assume everyone will be at the lake to see the fireworks.” Marcus pretended to be hurt, but the twinkle in his eyes gave him away.
“Are you going to the fireworks, Aggie?” Myra asked.
“I don’t know. If I can manage to get everyone ready, and figure out how to get there before they’re over, then I think so.”
William smiled at sleeping Ian. “I’ll come and drive you; you really should take the children. It’s my year to have the day off, but I’ll be half on duty when I’m there. We help out the Fairbury police force if we go. Carry radios, report problems, and things like that.”
Neither Aggie nor William saw the look of interested curiosity pass between the minister and his wife. Aggie was enjoying the adult conversation, but Ian was heavy, and Cari and Lorna were showing a severe lack of afternoon rest. “I need to get these guys home. The twins need naps, and Ian is awfully heavy-- dead weight, you know.”
William stood and lifted Ian from Aggie’s arms. Automatically, Aggie called for the rest of the children. She waved goodbye to the Vaughns and several other families before sauntering to the van. A few speculative glances were sent their way as William helped Aggie load up the children and followed them home.
Thursday, July 4th
William’s alarm played its regularly scheduled and digitized rendition of Taps early the following Thursday morning. Not something the no-nonsense officer would buy himself, the clock was one of his prized possessions. A gift from a few of his fellow Marines upon the completion of boot camp, it had traveled all over the world with William and then back to Brant’s Corners, where it faithfully bugled him out of bed each morning with its ironic tune of death.
After a restless night, of little sleep, William dragged himself from his bed and into the shower. Anyone watching would have assumed he was on autopilot as he moved mechanically through a morning routine. Bleary-eyed, he shaved and dressed, and though the ritual seemed set in stone, his routine was jumbled. He wasn’t hungry and therefore, didn’t eat, his coffee wasn’t ready yet, so he’d have to pick some up at Espresso Yourself, and seven hours of tossing and turning would have to suffice for exercise. He was too exhausted to consider attempting his regular morning workout. Mrs. Dyke had summoned him to her home, and he was curious enough to drive over there early and find out what the elderly woman had up her sleeve, or at least in her apron pocket.
The crunch of his wheels on the driveway brought Mrs. Dyke to the door, spatula in hand. “I have eggs, biscuits, and gravy all ready. The orange juice is still chilling in the icebox. Why don’t you pour us some?”
William worked in relative silence with Mrs. Dyke, until time for grace. With bowed heads, William recited the oft-prayed meal blessing taught him by Mr. Dyke many years ago. “Heavenly Father, thank You for the food prepared for us. Sanctify it for our body’s nourishment. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Wise and wily, Mrs. Dyke waited until William had a full mouth before she spoke. “William, you have a date tomorrow evening. Seven o’clock sharp. Aggie’ll be waiting; so don’t be late. Gives a bad impression, you know.” She smiled at him until she saw him swallow, then put a fork full of food in her mouth.
With more effort than he ever imagined po
ssible, William managed not to choke on his food. Upon Mrs. Dyke’s announcement, the man was ready to do battle. Had Aggie really asked him to go to dinner via Mrs. Dyke? Furthermore, had the traitorous old woman accepted for him? The idea was inconceivable. Wasn’t it? This must be what Aggie meant by “see you Friday.” The audacity!
William finally calmed himself enough to try to sort out the situation. “Mrs. Dyke, just when did Aggie suggest this?”
“Oh, son, Aggie didn’t suggest it; I did. I asked her for you, and she accepted. By the way, if you stand her up out of anger at me, you’ll really look like a fool. I suggest you just realize that I know what I’m doing and make the best of it.”
He started to speak, but Mrs. Dyke cut him off with an afterthought. “Oh, and William, make sure you apologize. You really were quite imperious the other day. It’s a wonder that she agreed to go. If she didn’t feel so badly about losing her temper, I doubt that she would have accepted.”
Again, William started to speak, but Mrs. Dyke preempted him. “I wonder why that girl hasn’t been snapped up before now. William, if you aren’t careful, that young man Luke will see what you seem too blind to see; and I think you might regret it.”
William rose, rinsed his plate and glass in the sink as he’d been taught as a young boy, kissed Mrs. Dyke’s cheek, and left without saying a word. The awkwardness of being with Aggie at the lake tonight with this deception hanging between them made him uncomfortable. As he contemplated his dilemma, a call came over his scanner, and when William heard the address, he quickly turned his car around and drove back to Aggie’s. On duty or not, he had experience with this one.
It appeared to William as though Geraldine Stuart was determined to upstage the fireworks show. He stood back and allowed the on-duty deputies to try to reason with her but didn’t expect much success. William looked everywhere for the children, but they and the van were nowhere in sight. When he finally spotted Aggie near the side of the house, he went to speak to her.
Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) Page 24
