Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (182 page)

Reluctantly,
Aggie
showed
her
answer,
and
then
scratched
it
out
and
wrote
Sunday
.
“I
forgot
he
saw
me
at
the
house
in
Rockland.”
Her
eyes
scanned
the
room.
“How
did
you
guys
all
get
that
right?”

“We’re
good,”
Mrs.
Gantry
called
out
gleefully.

Without
hesitation,
Luke
said,
“I
think
Aggie
would
say
Friday
,
but
the
truth
is
on
Sunday.”

“Ok,
second
question.”
Tina
punched
play.
“What
nickname
would
you
give
Aggie
if
you
couldn’t
call
her
Mibs?”
the
TV
Tina
asked.
This
time,
Tina
allowed
the
DVD
to
play
without
interruption.

Luke
seemed
to
take
his
usual
time
to
think
and
ponder,
causing
chuckles
from
those
who
knew
him.
“I
think
I’d
probably
be
a
lot
like
my
mom
and
call
her
‘my
Aggie.’
It’s
not
very
original,
but
it
seemed
instinctive.
I
know
what
she’ll
answer
though.”

The
DVD
paused
again
while
Tina
called,
“Show
those
answers!”

Again,
every
woman
in
the
room
had
“My
Aggie”
on
their
cards
except
for
Aggie.
She
waited
for
Tina
to
hit
play
again
and
snickered
as
Luke
said,
“She’ll
probably
say
Aggie-Millie-Mommie—or
better
yet,
Aggie-Sully-Mommie.”

“Impressive!”
someone
called
out.

Libby
seemed
incapable
of
letting
that
one
pass
without
comment.
“My
Luke
knows
his
Aggie.”

“Ok,
onto
the
next!”

Answer
after
answer
followed.
Aggie
got
three
correct—all
three
ones
Luke
predicted
she’d
get
,
which
confused
her.
It
took
until
the
cards
were
collected
and
Tina
played
the
rest
of
the
DVD
to
understand
what
they’d
done.

“Um,
sorry,
Mibs.
We
kind
of
rigged
this
with
questions
we
were
sure
you
wouldn’t
get
and
gave
the
other
ladies
the
answers
beforehand
,
so
there’d
be
a
tie.
The
tiebreaker
is
yours.
You
ask
the
question
and
Tina
will
call
me.
We’ll
do
it
until
someone
gets
it
right,
but
Mom
is
disqualified.
She
knows
both
of
us
too
well.”

Vannie
brought
out
a
large
gift
basket
full
of
everything
a
woman
could
want
to
pamper
herself.
“Good
luck,
ladies.”

Trying
to
think
of
a
question
that
the
women
could
answer
correctly
,
even
though
several
did
not
know
her
at
all
,
was
not
easy.
At
last,
she
grinned
and
said,
“What
will
Luke
say
that
I
said—and
man
that
already
sounds
convoluted—is
my
one
regret
about
our
getting
married.”

Answers
were
scribbled
much
slower
this
time.
Some
women
stared
at
the
floor
or
the
ceiling
as
if
asking
for
guidance
from
those
directions—something
that
amused
Aggie
greatly.
Others
pursed
their
lips
or
bit
the
end
of
their
pens.
A
few
stared
at
her
as
if
the
answer
would
appear
on
her
forehead,
but
Aggie
just
smiled
and
played
with
her
engagement
ring.
A
giggle
from
Vannie
told
her
that
the
girl
had
figured
it
out.
She
put
her
finger
to
her
lips.
“Shh.”