Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (30 page)

Aggie says:
OOOhhh, like in my psychology class. The teacher talke
d
about those teachers and coaches that always try to drive kids to do better by telling them how they
’
ll never amount to anything. They think the kid will want to prove them wrong, but most kids won
’
t. They
’
ll do exactly what is expected of them. It was like 80% or more!

Tina says:
Exactly!

Aggie says:
Anyway, things were better tonight. I told Cari and Lorna to go brush their teeth and then come show me, and they were so happy. Before, I almost begged them to do it, and usually it took me having to get the toothbrushes and almost hold them still.

Tina says:
You know they
’
ll test you. You don
’
t expect things to be smooth forever do you?

Aggie says:
No, I think I can see the reality. I
’
m just excited because I can feel the whole shift in tone around here.

Tina says:
So off topic, how
’
s your foot?

Aggie says:
Well… I can hobble on one crutch with no pain and if I have to let the crutch go I can walk if I go really slow and put almost no weight on it, but everyone says that if I re-injure i
t
I
’
ll be laid up twice as long the next time.

Tina says:
And Iris is keeping things going?

Aggie says:
Yep. I
’
m thinking about hiring her and her husband to do the packing and moving. I can
’
t move us now, and it
’
s just a couple of weeks away! Mrs. Stuart will want us out the day that we close escrow.

Tina says:
That is smarter anyway. Your sister left you the money to be used for the children
’
s upkeep
--
that includes helping you so that you can do your job. You
’
ll be a better mother to those children if you will use the resources that you have coming in to cover it.

Aggie says:
I guess.

Tina says:
Don
’
t you get benefits from Social Security?

Aggie says:
Yeah, I am supposed to start getting around 3k.

Tina says:
With no mortgage, no car payment
--
that
’
s plenty to liv
e
on, so let yourself spend some of the interest money to do things like hire a housekeeper from time to time. Buy organizer things if it helps.
Go to the movies with the children if Hollywood ever decides to make something worth seeing. Have the van serviced and washed. Pay for movers and for someone to help you fix up that house.

Aggie says:
I don
’
t want to waste money, though.

Tina says:
Aggie, if there is one thing I
’
ve learned from my father it is that money is for spending.

Aggie says:
What! Your father never spends any money!

Tina says:
He has definite financial goals. He wants mom to spend whatever will keep her out of his hair, and to have plenty to cover retirement and leave something to his grandchildren.

Aggie says
: What about savings?

Tina says:
Dad says,
“
Money is for spending, Tina. You can spend it now, or save it and spend it later. But, if you are just hoarding it, you are wasting it. Money is for spending. That
’
s its purpose.
”

Aggie says:
I have to think about that one.

Tina says:
Remember. Dad doesn
’
t say that you should blow your money. He just says that cash in hand does you no good if are unwilling to use it if you need it. The point is to spend it now if you need it, save some for later when you need it but never just
‘
hoard
’
it.

Aggie says:
Well, that
’
s really more like what I am doing. I am saving it for them to spend later. I don
’
t want them coming back and saying,
“
Why did you spend all of that money on things to make your life easier? Why didn
’
t you save it for when we
’
d need it?
”

Tina says:
I
’
d shoot them with my iciest squirt gun! How ungrateful can you get?

Aggie says:
It
’
s fear isn
’
t it? I
’
m afraid of running out of money. I
’
m afraid of what people will think if I spend it on me.

Tina says:
You are afraid of what GERALDINE STUART will say.

Aggie says:
I am, aren
’
t I? Tina! I have a mother-in-law and I
’
m not even MARRIED!

Tina says:
Yep. And why you care about the opinion of someone like her, I will never understand!

Aggie says:
You
’
re right. I need to pray about this. I
’
m sorry, but I think I need to go now. Ian is teething again and not sleeping well.

Tina says:
Hug the little tyke for me. I
’
m praying for you too. This is a big responsibility, but I think Allie picked the best person for the job.

Aggie says:
Thanks. Nighters.

Tina says:
Poof!

Gradgigation

Friday, May 17
^th

Aggie hobbled clumsily from the closet to the bathroom and back to the closet again, as she tried to dress for the day. She
’
d volunteered to accompany Tavish and Ellie
’
s class to the Children
’
s Museum before her accident and hadn
’
t remembered to withdraw her offer when she was injured. Though she
’
d managed to walk without much difficulty for the past few days, this morning she chose to get dressed and ready for the day without using her ankle any more than necessary, in hopes she could save it for the long morning ahead of her. Her eyes glanced at the crutches a few times before she finally sighed in defeat. She needed them today.

After dropping all the younger children off at the babysitter
’
s house and their respective schools, she drove to the museum, parked the
“
Stuartmobile
”
and gingerly climbed down from the driver
’
s seat. So far, so good. The class should arrive in just over an hour
--
plenty of time to have breakfast at the diner next door.

Over a perfectly cooked omelet, a cup of simply delicious coffee, and the most moist blueberry muffin in the greater Rockland area, Aggie relaxed and made notes for the upcoming move. She wrote, ate, and sipped three cups of coffee before she realized she
’
d hogged a prime booth for the better part of the busiest time of morning. Apologetically, Aggie left an extra-large tip and walked back to the museum just as she saw the big yellow buses arrive.

Two hours later, Aggie followed Tavish from one thing to the next. It fascinated her to watch the way he immersed himself into whatever he did. The boy seemed nearly obsessed with working with the tools and building things and then rapidly switched to papermaking. With a uniform, foam nightstick, and whistle, he directed traffic as a policeman, and then quickly dropped it all to plant seeds. Aggie watched him walk through a large, clear maze until she saw Ellie across the room and wove her way through a different kind of maze
--
one of short bodies, racing to get to where they wanted to go.

Ellie sat on a tall stool in an art center, surrounded by art medium of all kinds. Some children worked with clay, sculpting oddly shaped animals or people, while others assembled sculptures from junk or made mock stained glass. Ellie painted. While most of the children at easels painted the predictable pictures of eight-year-olds the world over, Ellie had carefully drawn an extremely realistic tree with a single cluster of daisies beneath it. The effect was beautifully serene.

Aggie stood astounded at the sight of it. She didn
’
t know much about children
’
s drawings, but she did know that after two college art classes, she still couldn
’
t begin to produce the kind of proper perspective and accuracy of a real tree that Ellie had managed. Then again, Aggie had also learned in those classes that she didn
’
t have the patience to try.

“
Is she your daughter?
”
Aggie dragged her eyes away from Ellie
’
s work to a man leaning against a nearby pole. His badge identified him as an employee of the museum
’
s art department.

“
She
’
s my niece. I had no idea she could draw so accurately and yet not sterilize it.
”
Ellie had taken tempera paints and watered them down like watercolors. The effect was bold color, yet soft and gentle. Aggie watched as Ellie carefully tore her newsprint picture off the easel pad and hung it on the line to dry.

“
She has definite talent. Most people can be trained to draw accurately, but you said it well when you called it sterilization. Few people put their soul and real talent into their drawings. She does both.
”
The man sounded a little bohemian, but Aggie knew what he meant.