Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (93 page)

“Well,
I
see
why
you
did
it,”
Tina
stated
after
thinking
for
a
moment,
“but
do
you
think
perhaps
he
took
it
as
you
being
too
weak
to
handle
an
insolent
boy
and
it
gave
him
a
sense
of
power
over
you?”

“Oh.
Hmm…”

“What
grade
did
Luke
give
him?”

“An
A
for
the
second
paper
,
but
he
said
the
F
I
gave
Laird
for
the
first
had
to
go
on
the
books.”

“Good
for
him!”
As
the
patrons
at
neighboring
tables
glanced
their
way,
Tina
added
more
quietly.
“Laird
should
get
docked
for
that.
He
knew
what
you
meant.”

“That’s
what
Luke
said.”

“I
think
you
should
apologize
to
Laird.”

“What?”
Aggie
hadn’t
expected
that.

“Think
about
it.
You
sprung
another
authority
on
him
out
of
the
blue.
You
passed
the
buck.
You
washed
your
hands—”

“I
got
the
idea
three
clichéd
metaphors
ago.
Don’t
you
think,
since
he
clearly
doesn’t
respect
me
now,
an
apology
is
going
to
make
it
sound
like
I
am
even
weaker
than
ever?”

“It
takes
a
strong
person
to
apologize,
Aggie.
Don’t
apologize
for
why
you
did
it—just
for
the
solution.”

“Maybe.
I’ll
think
about
it.”

“And
pray
about
it,
I
expect.
So,”
she
continued
very
obviously
changing
the
subject
for
Aggie’s
sake,
“let’s
talk
cakes.
I’ve
got
to
get
you
to
a
bakery
and
soon.
What
kind
of
cake
do
you
want?”

“I
want
traditional
white
with
raspberry
filling
and
cream
cheese
frosting.
You
had
to
ask?”

Tina
slid
her
iPad
across
the
table.
“Good.
Then
I’ll
make
an
appointment
here.”

The
reviews
for
the
bakery
were
stellar—particularly
on
the
cake
choice
Aggie
had
made.
“You’re
not
going
to
argue
that
it’s
boring
and
uninspired?”

“If
you
had
said
plain
chocolate,
I
would
have
dropped
dead
of
a
heart
attack
—bad
joke
.
You
have
always
insisted
that
the
only
kind
of
cake
that
should
ever
be
served
at
a
wedding
is
white
with
raspberry
filling
and
cream
cheese
frosting.”

“Did
you
have
a
style
in
mind?”

Her
mind
went
to
their
childhood
discussions
of
cakes.
Towers
of
cakes
and
fountains
all
connected
by
bridges
choked
her
memories
,
and
her
nose
wrinkled
before
she
could
stop
it.
“No.
All
I
can
think
of
is
Allie’s
giant
thing,
remember?”

“Yeah.
We
thought
it
was
perfection
personified.
Ugh.”

Her
fingers
flew
through
the
bakery’s
gallery
images,
showing
a
few,
but
after
half
a
dozen,
Aggie
took
the
tablet
and
began
scrolling
through
pictures.
Each
time
she
found
one
she
liked,
she
started
to
pass
it
to
Tina
and
then
hesitated.
After
several
unsuccessful
minutes,
while
the
last
few
bites
of
her
steak
became
inedible
and
cold,
she
shook
her
head
and
set
it
on
the
table.