Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (42 page)

With a face full of regret, Luke tried to demur.
“
I
’
m filthy, I don
’
t have a gift, and
--
”

“
Gifts aren
’
t necessary, I can probably find a generic T-shirt big enough for you, and dinner will be filling, if not exciting, and if I can find that box of potatoes. What did I do with those things anyway?
”

Tina says:
Aggie?? You around??

Tina says:
Aggie…….. where areeeeeeeee yo
uuuu?????

Tina says:
Ding ding?? I saw you sign in…

Tina says:
Woooooohooooooooooo

Aggie says:
Back. Sorry. I got on and Ian decided he wanted to change his diaper habits, so I had to change him.

Tina says:
Tee hee…

Aggie says:
Easy for you to say… you don
’
t smell him! Toxic waste dump. I call him Chernobyl on really bad ones. Think I
’
ll warp his psyche?

Tina says:
In that house, if that
’
s the worst that happens to him he
’
ll be fine.

Aggie says:
“
If that ain
’
t the truth,
”
as Granny would say…

Tina says:
So, what chaos are you in the midst of this week?

Aggie says:
Well, actually no chaos to speak of. Just the baby called 9-1-1, the electricity was wired backwards, we
’
re working night and day to get Vannie
’
s room done, and oh yeah, Luke thinks Vannie is starved for male attention. Oh… and I forgot Kenzie
’
s birthday. Not bad for a week
’
s work, huh?

Tina says:
Wooooaaaahhh. One at a time. Ian did WHAT?

Aggie says:
Somehow, he called the sheriff.

Tina says:
9-1-1?

Aggie says:
Dunno, your guess is as good as mine.

Tina says:
So what happened?

Aggie says:
Deputy Markenson showed up. First I chewed him out, because the electricity was messed up, and then he shows up thinking he
’
s saving the day, only to find a baby chewing on the phone.

Tina says:
I
’
m trying not to laugh here…

Aggie says:
Why stop yourself? I
’
ll be laughing later, I am sure.

Tina says:
So what
’
s up with the electricity?

Aggie says:
Well, you see, William talked someone into doing the wiring for a reasonable price. Yep, got it free even. Well, free, after the guy wired my house backwards, so when I turned a light on in one room, it came on in another! Luke says he did a good job putting in the boxes, but he didn
’
t know how to connect it right.

Tina says:
Who
’
s Luke?

Aggie says:
Zeke
’
s nephew. Remember when I was looking for this place, and Zeke said his nephew really wanted it, but he
’
d already extended himself?

Tina says:
So… what
’
s he like?

Aggie says:
Well… he is really helpful. Knows lots about kids. He has Vannie
’
s room almost done.

Tina says:
Details girl!!! Age, appearance… I want the works!

Aggie says:
Hmmm, I am guessing here. I haven
’
t paid that much attention. He
’
s kind of average, umm probably mid to late twenties. His eyes are kind. That I noticed. He
’
s a Christian. What are the chances of that? Two Christians in my life right off the bat. I am so thankful.

Tina says:
That tells me a lot. :P

Aggie says:
Sorry, I
’
m just so busy that I don
’
t have time to notice these things. He
’
ll be around a while, so I
’
ll try to get a better run down for you later.

Tina says:
You better. So what
’
s this about Vannie and men?

Aggie says:
Oh, wait
--
he has amazingly strong looking forearms. There. I noticed something.

Aggie says:
Vannie hugged Luke today.

Tina says:
And that
’
s significant how?

Aggie says:
He told me we have to make sure the girls get enough male attention too. Like I can do that in between keeping Cari out of trouble and getting through to Ellie on her withdrawn days. Oh, and there
’
s that little matter of us all sleeping in the living and dining rooms because our bedrooms need work. I
’
ll tack that on at the end of a rough day maybe.

Tina says:
I don
’
t know. Maybe Luke
’
s uncle would adopt them as a surrogate grandpa?

Aggie says:
That
’
s what Luke said. It was really sweet. He said tha
t
we
’
re all Christians, all family, and he has cousins, uncles, and they
’
d all help. I think I
’
ll see if Dad can come up for a week too.

Tina says:
That
’
s a good idea too. And what about Kenzie
’
s birthday?

Aggie says:
Well, we totally missed Kenzie
’
s birthday. I have never been able to keep the birthdays straight and just assumed that the kids would be talking about them for weeks before hand. Well… sh
e
didn
’
t! Vannie noticed that today was the 14th, or she would have been completely forgotten.

Tina says:
Uh oh… well, did she have fun?

Aggie says:
She was thrilled. We let her make her own cake and decorate it anyway she wanted and we bought her this HUGE bear. She
’
s sleeping with the bear, but I swear it
’
ll knock her onto the floor before the night is over

Tina says:
How funny. I
’
ll have to drop a card into the mail. It
’
ll make her happy. Well… looks like they
’
re going to cut us off. Just got one of those maintenance boxes. SEE you soon!

Tina says:
Bye.

Aggie says:
Thanks, Tina.

Tina says:
What for?

Aggie says:
For being you.

Tina says:
Love you girl, bye.

Aggie says:
*Poof*

One Fine Day

Saturday, June 15
^th

By eight-thirty, Luke was busy working in Vannie
’
s room. While Aggie placed the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and ordered everyone to stay away from it, he taped off the trim, taped down the drop cloth, and started cutting in as he prepared for the roller. He
’
d started to wash the walls, but Aggie pointed to a box of TSP and a scrub bucket in the bathroom and assured him she
’
d scrubbed it down twice before bedtime the previous night. In her opinion, his prep work took an obscene amount of time; she was itching to get her fingers on a paintbrush and do something constructive in the renovation process. She hadn
’
t painted anything since her elementary school art classes, but just how har
d could it be to paint a window
sill?

An hour later, she still waited. Between trips up and down stairs to check on Luke
’
s progress, she made beds, washed dishes, bandaged three scrapes, and kissed a bruise. Furthermore, she
’
d broken up two fights, changed a diaper, and realized that the dishes she
’
d washed were done without soap, necessitating another run through the sink. She
’
d accomplished that and more while waiting for Luke to finish a wall for her to start painting. Her clipboard now had a new page.

Kitchen Needs
--

2 dishwashers

Sometime around ten-thirty, Luke called for her. She
’
d held off the baby
’
s nap in order to be able to put him down the minute she had to go upstairs, so now she handed him his favorite little silky blanket, patted his back, and crept out of the library. The baby
’
s wail slowly rose from a faint cry to a screeching wail and fell abruptly. After she hurried outside to remind the older children to keep an eye on the twins
’
whereabouts, she peeked in on the baby once more before she went upstairs. A soft snore sent her out of the room with a peaceful heart. Ian would sleep through lunch.