Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (47 page)

The
mental
picture
of
her
father
weeping
over
memories
of
Christmases
past
was
too
much
for
her.
“Oh,
I’ll
just
call
Luke
and
see
what
he’s
finding
in
the
boxes.
That’ll
help.
I
should
go.”

“You’re
doing
great,
Aggie.
That
you
even
try
is
important
to
those
kids.”

It
didn’t
feel
as
though
she
was
doing
adequately
much
less
“great.”
However,
there
was
no
time
for
pity
parties.
Bedtime
was
soon
enough
to
allow
herself
to
dissolve
into
a
fit
or
two
of
tears.
Perhaps
a
nice
shower
before
bed.
It
was
a
safe
place
to
cry
with
the
noise
drowning
out
her
sobs
and
the
water
hiding
all
traces
of
them.

“Luke,
have
you
seen
the
ornaments
yet?”

“The
ones
you’re
getting?”

“Of
course
not.
Come
on,
this
isn’t
funny.
I’ve
got
kids
who
expect
a
lousy
Christmas
as
it
is.
Get
me
some
help
here.”

“What
kind
of
help?”

“What
do
the
ornaments
look
like?”

His
confusion
seemed
to
have
culminated
in
an
echo.
“Look
like?”

“Yes!
Are
they
plastic?
Metal?
Glass?
What
about
themes?
Elegant?
Cute?
Country?
Traditional?
Can
you
zip
me
some
pictures?
Get
someone
to
tell
you
about
theirs.”

A
few
pictures
arrived
while
Luke
talked
to
Ellie
and
Vannie
about
theirs
and
what
made
them
special.
She
heard
the
door
shut
and
the
wind
outside
and
realized
this
had
to
be
serious.
“Um,
Mibs?”

“Just
tell
me.”

“They’re
special
to
the
year.
There’s
the
baby’s
first
Christmas
ones.
Those
are
pretty
self-explanatory.
There
are
ones
that
look
like
a
favorite
book
that
year
or
a
hobby.
From
the
way
they
describe
it,
Allie
found
things
that
fit
an
interest
of each
year
and
then
scoured
places
for
the
right
one
until
she
found
it.”

The
moment
he
spoke,
she
remembered
one
shopping
trip
where
Allie
had
found
a
miniature
Mother
Goose
book
of
nursery
rhymes
and
decided
to
make
it
into
Kenzie’s
Christmas
ornament
that
year.
“Oh
yeah.
I
remember.
This
is
not
going
to
be
easy.”

“Come
back.
They
understand.
Really.”

“They
do,
but
I
don’t.
I’ve
got
to
try.”

~*~*~*~

Aggie
dragged
herself
up
the
steps,
dreading
the
onslaught
of
excited
children.
She’d
disappoint
them.
Again.
When
the
door
didn’t
burst
open,
she
frowned.
Did
they
know
she
wouldn’t
find
the
right
ones?
Surely
not.

It’s
not
like
I
didn’t
try,
she
defended
inwardly.
I
did.
I
went
to
every
store
in
Brunswick—practically.
It
was
no
use.
Despite
her
best
efforts
she’d
failed.
Maybe
she
could
make
it
to
Rockland
the
next
day
and
try
the
Christmas
store
in
the
mall.