Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (181 page)

Several
of
the
younger
girls
helped
Vannie
remove
the
excess
things
and
return
them
to
their
owners.
“That
was
brilliant,
Vannie.
What
gave
you
that
idea?”

“Mommy
said
that
the
stupidest—and
you
know
how
Mommy
hated
that
word—thing
she
ever
did
was
to
try
to
follow
all
the
advice
she
got
at
once.
She
was
talking
about
with
me
when
I
was
a
baby,
but
I
thought
it
might
fit
here.
Mommy
said
she
felt
like
she
was
wearing
everyone’s
mantles
and
they
were
stifling
her.”

Aggie
hugged
her
niece,
whispering,
“Thank
you.
That
was
definitely
the
best
advice
of
the
day.”

“And
here’s
the
basket
of
other
pieces
of
advice.
I’m
sure
you’ll
appreciate
‘borrowing’
the
ideas
one
or
two
at
a
time.”

The
next
game
was
a
modern
take
on
an
“old”
TV
show.
“We’re
going
to
play
the
“
Newly
wed
Game!”
Tina
called.

All
eyes
turned
toward
the
door,
but
it
didn’t
open.
However,
a
TV
was
pulled
out
from
the
cabinet
and
Tina
turned
it
on,
ready
with
Luke’s
pre-recorded
answers.
“Ok,
we
have
ten
questions.
The
one
to
get
the
most
right
wins.
If
there
is
a
tie
breaker
necessary,
Luke
said
I
could
call
and
he’d
let
us
do
it
over
speaker
phone.”

The
first
question
seemed
easy.
What
day
of
the
week
did
Luke
say
he
first
saw
Aggie
?
Without
hesitation,
Aggie
scribbled
Friday
and
put
her
index
card
in
her
lap
as
instructed.
The
second
question
was
called
just
as
she
realized
she
wrote
the
wrong
answer
.
“Wait,
can
I
change
it?”

“Nope.”

“Meanie.”

“Yep.
Next
question.
What
did
Luke
say
would
be
his
nickname
for
Aggie
if
he
couldn’t
call
her
‘Mibs?’”

The
question
seemed
impossible.
He
could
call
her
a
million
things.
Why
not
just
Aggie?
He
didn’t
seem
like
a
dear
or
darling
kind
of
guy.
A
new
idea
occurred
to
her
and
she
wrote
her
answer—Aggie-Sully-Mommie.
It
had
to
be.

Strange
questions
about
why
his
favorite
dessert
was
his
favorite
and
what
number
would
never
be
on
his
speed
dial
flew
out.
The
women
didn’t
hesitate
in
their
answers,
which
made
Aggie
very
suspicious.
Rigging
the
game
in
order
to
make
her
the
winner
seemed
to
be
a
very
inhospitable
thing
for
Tina
to
do.

“Ok,
let’s
hit
play
and
see
what
the
answers
were!
First
question.”
The
video
played
and
the
room
heard
Tina
ask,
“Ok,
Luke.
What
day
of
the
week
did
you
first
see
Aggie?”
She
hit
pause.
“Ladies,
show
me
your
answers.”