Aggie noticed a change in William’s posture and glanced at him. Slowly, he tensed as he sat up straighter, leaning further forward as each second passed. Aggie smiled to herself. The fight scene began, and William became completely engrossed in the scene. Before long, he dodged blows and leaned even closer, jabbing his fists in a perfect imitation of the priest on screen.
She tried not to laugh when he jumped to his feet and yelled, “Deck that water guy!”
Embarrassed by his outburst, William sheepishly settled back into the beanbag and watched as the movie ended. “I liked the movie, Aggie. It proves that John Wayne can act-- given the right part.”
In her freezer, were several pieces of cheesecake she’d squirreled away for an escape after a bad day. Aggie dug through the cavernous recesses of the appliance, retrieved the contraband, and cut slices for each of them. William had the electronics replaced and working before Aggie could get them forks out of the totes. Taking his plate, William led her back to the front porch. Somehow, even though it still bothered her to see further evidence of his discomfort in her home, the evening seemed to solidify their friendship, and that feeling remained long after the tail lights of his Corvette faded into the moonless night.
Tuesday, July 16th
Tavish, working hard all weekend, despite the summer heat, cleared the storage area underneath the stairs, painted it, and cleaned up his mess from the previous Friday. Tuesday, he began moving in. After watching him for quite a while, Aggie pulled him aside for a little chat. “Tavish, why did you go to all this work? What is wrong with your room upstairs?”
The boy ducked his head and was quiet. He didn’t answer until Aggie, obviously concerned, urged him again. “Aunt Aggie, I just like to be alone. The noise bothers me, and I can’t think. I like to read and think, and try to figure things out, and it’s just a lot easier when I don’t have anyone around. Our room isn’t just my room, it’s Ian’s too. I can’t tell him to be quiet or go away when it’s not all mine, and he has to take naps in there and stuff.” With that, he turned back to making his little corner of the house “home.”
Determined to get back on track with the kitchen renovation, Aggie decided to ask Luke if another coat of paint was necessary, or if she should carry in the flooring now. “Ok, Luke…”
Aggie looked around for him, and eventually she saw him through the picture window in the living room. He was out front, guiding a large truck, as it backed up the driveway. Curious as to who was backing in, Aggie dashed out the door and tripped down the steps, fortunately unseen by teasing children or an over-protective Luke. When she saw Luke and a man she didn’t recognize unloading cabinets from the truck, she gasped. “Luke, where did you find them? They are exactly what I wanted!”
Her squeals of excitement brought children from every corner of the house. Even Tavish the hermit stepped from his own little world to see what made Aggie squeal with such obvious delight. Luke and Laird helped unload each cabinet from the truck and carry them to the back step. Once finished, Luke thanked the driver for bringing them, as he handed the man a check. The burly man jumped into the truck, and as he put it in gear, he stuck his head out the window and said, “Hey, Luke. Anytime you feel like building more cabinets like those, let me know. My wife is green right now. I’d love to see her natural color again.” With that, the truck slowly drove down the driveway and pulled onto the road.
Luke arranged the pieces in the proper position for the new kitchen while Aggie watched. His frown over a ding on the corner of one cabinet amused her. Although she was eager to inspect the cabinets closely, she felt awkward; custom cabinets were completely unexpected. They’d decided, weeks ago, to purchase prefabricated, boxed cabinetry for the new kitchen, as a cost-saving measure.
No wonder he’d been so scarce. With all of his other commitments, he must have been working late into his evenings to build them. If the walls were done, they could install the floor! “Do I need to do another coat of paint in the kitchen or--”
Luke shook his head and called for Laird and Tavish to help him carry in the flooring from the corner of the living room. While they pulled box after box of her new oak flooring into the house, Aggie inspected the cabinets. She’d considered making her kitchen out of old antiques. She thought that, with a little work, a Hoosier, a few desks, and a few sideboards could be combined, raised, and connected to make the room look like it was created out of antiques. The resulting kitchen would have looked like it grew into the house after years of use. Aggie loved the eclectic feel of her idea, although Allie had always found that side of her irritating.
Luke, trying to evoke that same feeling Aggie had described, had created false fronts on the cabinets. Perfectly crafted to resemble furniture, each piece had all the best components of an eclectic mixture of furniture and the convenience of real cabinets. Aggie didn’t know how to cook, but she was going to have her dream kitchen! She wondered, as she absently ran one finger over a carefully turned leg where the sink would go, if perhaps she and Vannie should take a cooking class together.
Luke startled Aggie from her reverie by covering her eyes with his hands in the age-old “guess who” manner. “Do you like them? Do you think they’ll look right when you are done?”
Aggie turned, grinning. “They’re perfect! I can’t believe you-- all that time-- and where did you learn to do this? You are more than just a handyman; you are an artist!” Her admiration for his skills was a little effusive but understandably so. His craftsmanship was impeccable, the quality far beyond anything she could have imagined, and she felt inadequate in fully expressing her appreciation.
Luke blushed. After a few stammers and false starts, he said simply, “Thank you. Do you think you can help? We’re going to need a third pair of hands.”
After a hasty lunch, four bumped heads, a couple of dirty diapers, and several unfortunate bruises, the floor was laid, and the base cabinets were screwed to studs in the wall. Aggie was exhausted, Laird was near tears, but Luke seemed as fresh as he’d been when he started that morning. She watched, fascinated, as Luke installed her favorite cabinet.
Along one wall, Luke had carefully measured a spot to put in a mock Hoosier. Looking as if it’d been rescued from an old farmhouse and refinished, the piece of furniture was the last piece Luke had created. The corners were dinged, and there were random gouges that Aggie learned were made with a hammer and screwdriver. Punched tinwork gleamed on the upper cupboard doors, and the stain was darker in one corner as if it had been repaired many years ago.
“Aunt Aggie, is it time for dinner? I’m hungwy.” Lorna munched on a cracker, crumbs dropping on the new floor. Aggie surveyed the unfinished kitchen, the hungry child, and the mess strewn across the living room, and decided that she was too tired to consider cooking.
“Ok, guys, pack it up! Faces, hands, shoes, socks, and hair done now! March. March. Left, left, left, right, left. Move ‘em out! We’re having pizza!” Squeals of delight followed. The stairs sounded like thunder in Arizona’s monsoon season.
Luke grinned at Aggie and said, “If only all drill sergeants were that popular, huh?”
Aggie smiled, realizing fully, and for the first time, she liked this mothering thing. She enjoyed the trust the children placed in her and the way that they all interacted with each other. In college, she’d specifically planned her studies to focus on high school rather than elementary. She could now see that her decision would have been a huge mistake. She loved the wonder of it all. Their discovery of the simplest things delighted and stimulated the smaller children, while the older children felt full of wisdom with their “years of experience.” Aggie knew that most people would think she was crazy, but she now hoped that she’d get to experience pregnancy, birth, and those first days of infancy as well.
Shaking herself out of her musings, Aggie invited Luke to join them. She wasn’t surprised when he declined without looking up from his work, but she was disappointed. The children would love eating out with Luke.
“Well, we’ll bring you some, ok? Want anything else? Soda, dessert… Ben Gay?” Luke chuckled, as he helped her load the children into the van. He didn’t know he’d regret not going that night.
The drive into town was accompanied by impromptu parodies of We’re Marching to Zion by Laird. He sang lustily down the road and all while Aggie struggled to parallel park a fifteen-passenger van, “We’re going for pizza, wonderful, cheesy pizza…”
“Ok, ok, move ‘em out! Pizza and soda pitchers, coming up!” Aggie continued her drill sergeant fun as the group moved into the pizza place. The usual stares of those already seated made Aggie want to scream. She led the children to the last two tables in the restaurant, inconveniently placed in the middle of the room, and seated everyone. With the younger children coloring on the line-drawn tablecloths, and older ones supervising, Aggie went to order.
“Welcome to the ‘ria. I’m Cissy; may I take your order?” The petite blonde had a voice that only a cheerleader would use.
Aggie considered for a moment. It was awfully late for soda. Throwing caution to the wind, Aggie ordered two pitchers of root beer and three large pizzas. The girl eyed her cautiously before asking, “Are those kids a group from The Church or something?”
Aggie grinned. “Nope. All mine.”
“All yours! Really? You don’t look a day over twenty-nine!”
Aggie hesitated and then spoke. “I’m twenty two.” She considered letting the girl live in abject confusion then sighed and added, “Their mother was my sister. She died. I inherited. Can we get some breadsticks for right now?”
Flustered, the girl turned to the warmer behind her and pulled out two baskets. Dumping two more orders into them, she turned back to Aggie and handed her the breadsticks. “Here you go! Enjoy!”
Aggie enjoyed all right-- she enjoyed the girl’s discomfiture. In the past six months, Aggie had heard every remark imaginable. From “Are they all yours?” to “Are you having any more?” Aggie was thoroughly sick of the constant assumption that the number of children in her family was open to discussion with strangers. Then there was the extra attention over the twins. Lorna and Cari received even more comments and exclamations regarding their adorability. Sometimes she and the children made up goofy responses to the questions as they rode in the van or sitting around the dinner table. Aggie’s personal favorite was to the often heard, “Oh, my, you have eight children!” Laird’s brilliant masterpiece of a response was, “Uh oh, who are we missing?” One evening, as she was feeling especially ornery, Aggie had come up with “Well, for now, but you never know when God’ll surprise me with three or four more!”
Once at the table with the baskets of breadsticks, Aggie sent Vannie and Laird for the drinks. Cups full of root beer were distributed, but before everyone got theirs, Cari knocked over Lorna’s in her eagerness to reach hers. Sighing, Aggie went to the counter and asked for a roll of paper towels. Bouncy Cissy gave her a small handful of napkins, but Aggie shook her head. “No, I need a full roll of paper towels, please. I’m sure you have one somewhere; please get me a roll. We’re going to need them; I can guarantee it.”
By the time that the pizza arrived, five out of the eight children had spilled their sodas, three breadsticks landed on the floor for much longer than a five-second rule could cover, and Ian was chewing on one of the ones retrieved from under the table. Aggie hadn’t figured that part out yet, much to Laird’s relief. The pizza was piping hot, and three children burned their tongues before she could caution anyone. Ian whined for his bites as she frantically tried to cool it. She was mortified and felt as though everyone in the restaurant would consider her incompetent. Aggie knew she was but didn’t want the rest of the world to know it. Taking a deep breath, she glanced out the window to mentally regroup and saw William exiting his vehicle.
She wanted to crawl under the table. Great. With all that was happening, the last thing she needed was more proof for William that she couldn’t handle her children. Resigned to her fate, she cheerily waved across the restaurant. William, nodding at a few of the guests, joined the lively crew. Cari squealed and jumped up, knocking over her chair. Kenzie sat and stared adoringly at him, while Laird tried to catch the deputy’s eye.
In an attempt to divert attention from the bedlam, Aggie dragged two pieces of pizza onto a plate for William. As if things couldn’t get worse, William backed into her as she stepped toward him, and the result was a beautiful grease glob on the back of the officer’s shirt. The restaurant erupted in laughter, proving, to her mortification, that she was the entertainment du jour.
William’s ears turned red as he looked behind him. “You sure know how to welcome a guy, don’t you, Aggie?”
Either angry or mortified, William glanced over his shoulder and sighed. Armed with paper towels, Aggie tried to undo some of the damage to his shirt. “I think you’re going to need some stain remover. Sorry.”
Aggie gathered all the trash that they’d accumulated and tossed everything in the over-sized garbage can near the door. She filled another plate with food for William and set it at the one empty chair. Indicating her peace offering, Aggie sat back down and tried to get the children to eat quietly again.
As if by example, William ate in relative silence. Laird chattered about the events of the day, the “awesome” cabinets that Luke had made, and their amazing kitchen floor. This all piqued William’s interest. A kitchen would mean that the worst of the house renovation was nearing completion, and this would get Ellene off of Aggie’s back and make life easier for Aggie. Watching her wash dishes in the bathtub, had been hard to stomach, and the laundry sink wasn’t much better. He’d seen her walk gingerly for a while afterward, and he knew if it bothered someone as young and active as Aggie, it couldn’t be easy.
As he finished his pizza, William watched Aggie trying to clean up the baby, toss even more trash, and corral everyone in their seats. An elderly couple stopped by the table on their way out the door, and the man put a twenty-dollar bill into her hand. Several people in the room overheard the man say, “They’re fine children, very well behaved. You’re doing a great job with them. Take this and get them some ice cream, ok?” William beamed at Aggie’s obvious surprise.
“Thank you. I’m sorry we were so noisy. I’ve never taken them all out to a restaurant and didn’t know how messy things get--”
“Young woman, you are doing a great job. I’m sure their parents have no idea what a treasure they have in you.” Turning to the children, the elderly man playfully shook his finger at them. “You tell your mama and daddy that you guys were very good tonight, you hear?”
The children erupted into a chaotic explosion of emotions. Vannie burst into tears, rushed out of the building, and ran down the street. Laird, ready to cry, glanced at Aggie, and rushed after her. Tavish and Elspeth clung to each other and sobbed, while Kenzie threw herself at William, wailing. Cari and Lorna didn’t understand the situation but began sobbing and crying along with everyone else. Ian whimpered and fussed, as Aggie stood helpless, in complete despair, and unsure what to do.
William, however, was in his element. He was very good at restoring order to difficult situations. While he escorted the couple out the door, he explained the situation. With a quick glance around him, he saw Vannie and Laird turn into the park, and instantly understood where he’d find them. Soothing the toddlers, and taking the baby, William gathered Kenzie onto his lap with Ian and helped calm her. “Shhh, baby, it’s ok. Why don’t you, Tavish, and Ellie go sit in the van and buckle yourself into your car seat? I’ll help your aunt. “Come on, Aggie; let’s go get the others.”
Aggie nodded dejectedly as she fought her own tears. Since actively talking about Allie and Doug, their loss, and the hole it left in their lives, Aggie had noticed that the children seemed to fall apart at the most unexpected times. It was as though their parents had just died all over again. Everyone was touchy, and though the little children weren’t as affected, they did react to the pain of everyone
else.
“Where could they have gone? I can’t believe I’m sitting here failing again. I can’t do this, William! I should let Geraldine Stuart try it, ‘cause I am just blowing it.” Aggie now joined the chorus of weeping, pain-riddled Stuart-Millikens.
While Aggie cried, William drove to the nearby park and went to find Laird and Vannie. Before long, he spotted them sitting on the old merry-go-round, their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders, and swaying with the gentle motion created by Laird’s restless feet. William heard Vannie’s sobs from three hundred yards, and though Laird, wiping his own eyes intermittently, tried to comfort his distraught sister, he wasn’t succeeding. William motioned for Laird to go back to the van and took his place.
“I haven’t sat on this merry-go-round since I was about your age or a little younger. It’s odd; I was crying too.”
Choking out the words, Vannie asked, “Why were--” she sniffled, “you crying?”
“My father left us that morning.”
“He just left?” Vannie was stunned enough to stop crying.
“Yep. I thought my world had ended.” William’s voice still held a trace of pain.
“Wow. That’s even worse than him dying, isn’t it?” Vannie started crying again but more softly this time.
“How do you figure that?” William had often thought death would be preferable, but people had been quick to assure him that, as long as his father was alive, there was hope that he’d come home.
“Well, Momma and Daddy left, but they didn’t want to. They had to go. You know, they had no choice. But, your dad chose to leave. That would be terrible.”
William nodded. “That’s what I always thought.” He cleared his thick throat and continued. “Vannie, your aunt is really worried about you. We need to go back. Are you ok? You ready to go home?”
Vannie sniffed and nodded. They walked slowly back to the van where Aggie sat sobbing, her head in her hands. “Mr. Markenson? Is it ok to be glad that home isn’t where Momma and Daddy lived? Is it wrong to be glad we’re gone from there?”
Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) Page 31
