Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (14 page)

“
Your house!
Your
house,
”
she repeated livid.
“
This house has been in the Stuart family for three generations! It
’
s an historical landmark, not that you
’
d know or care with the way that you treat it! I refuse to set foot out of this house without seeing that Cari is all right.
”

Geraldine sat in the nearest chair without bothering with a handkerchief. Aggie almost laughed at the look on the irate woman
’
s face. It was identical to the look given to her by Cari just moments ago. Aggie went into the kitchen and grabbed a black trash bag. Slowly, she stuffed each piece of the discarded wrappings now littering the living room into the bag and tied the top when it was full.

Ron Milliken came to her side, put his arm around her, and spoke low into her ear.
“
Aggie, your mother isn
’
t feeling well. I can see her trying not to let her hands shake, and I know her heart is pounding. I can hear it. This isn
’
t safe for her, and I refuse to leave you alone with Geraldine, but the second the police arrive, I am going to put your mother in the car, make my statement, and get her home. It
’
s been too much for her.
”

Aggie glanced at her mother and then sighed. She should have known better than to try to have a party at the house. They should have gone north to her parents
’
house. They would have missed the Stuarts, and the party would have been calm and pleasant. Aggie sometimes felt that she could do nothing right. She was in a boxing match, and she
’
d never have a chance to win. Geraldine Stuart knew how to, not only ruin a beautiful day, but
also
how to make others accept the guilt for it.

The scene was emotional and ugly when the officers arrived. Aggie had a file folder full of court documents and other legal papers naming her as guardian and legal occupant of the house. While it hurt him to do it, Ron Milliken spoke to the officer, gave his statement and a cell phone number, and then drove away as quickly as possible.

The older officer, with a firm tone and a no-nonsense stance, stood before the irate woman and said,
“
Mrs. Stuart, according to these papers, this young lady has the right to evict you from her property. You will leave immediately, or I will have to arrest you for trespassing.
”

The woman screamed and actually swore at one point. Aggie thought for a moment she would throw herself on the floor and pound it with her fists like an out of control two-year-old. Geraldine argued every step of the way, as Douglas Stuart and the officer escorted her to their vehicle. She demanded to see that Cari was all right, claiming that Aggie had beaten the child for wanting to open a gift. The officer turned to speak to Aggie about the claim and found the young woman standing there, holding the prettiest little girl he
’
d ever seen.

“
That your granddaughter, ma
’
am?
”
The officer had obviously lost all patience with the situation.

“
I don
’
t know!
”
the woman spat.
“
She has an identical twin. They are almost
‘
super-identical,
’
whatever that means. There isn
’
t a single physical identifying mark to tell them apart, and they pretend to be each other all of the time. That
’
s probably Lorna.
”

“
Miss,
”
the officer turned to Aggie with sympathetic eyes,
“
I hate to do this, but to save us all a lot of trouble, and me more paperwork than you can imagine, would you
please
go get the other twin. As much as I don
’
t want to give this woman the satisfaction, I think it
’
d be best.
”

Aggie walked Cari around to the side of the house where a female officer talked to and comforted the other children.
“
I need Lorna-
-
the little one that looks like Cari.
”
Aggie pointed to the child in her arms.
“
The other officer wants to see them both so their grandmother will feel better about going.
”

She was careful with her words so as not to alarm the children. Moments later, Aggie, Cari, Lorna, and the sweating officer watched the Stuart
’
s Mercedes peal out of the driveway. The man swore under his breath and then sheepishly apologized.

“
I oughtta take after
‘
em and give
‘
em a ticket! She
’
s got an angry foot that one.
”

“
And an angry tongue,
”
Aggie muttered to herself as she turned to send the children out back.

“
Miss, I suggest you consider a restraining order. There is something very ugly about that woman. I
’
ve seen a lot in my years on the force, and I gotta tell you: this one is only going to get worse.
”
The officer shook his head, gathered the proper information that he needed for his report, and then circled the house looking for his partner.

He found her entertaining the children with her badge, uniform, nightstick, and all of the other fascinating trappings of police activity. The children were disappointed that neither officer would draw their gun from its holster and let them see it. Aggie, on the other hand, was relieved. The last thing she needed was for the children to start building guns out of household items and creating a war zone.

The officers asked a few subtle questions to gather information on the tone of the home and how the children were handling the situation. It would have to go in their report. They seemed relieved to find nothing negative in the children
’
s situation outside the obvious antagonism of their grandmother.

Hours later, the day
’
s celebration seemed like a nightmare that was mercifully over. The streamers were gone, the wrappings tossed, and the cake devoured. The children were subdued, but appeared to be happy; however, Aggie was brokenhearted. She had tried hard, perhaps too hard, to make this first birthday as the mother of her
“
clan,
”
as she had begun to call her family, something to help brighten their pain-laced days.

Tina says:
Aggie?? You there yet?? How
’
d the party go?

Aggie says:
You don
’
t want to know. Those poor girls.

Tina says:
What happened?

Aggie says:
Well…

Tina says:
No wait

Tina says:
The Dragon Lady showed up?

Aggie says:
Be nice, she IS their grandmother.

Tina says:
I
’
m sorry, you
’
re right. So what
’
d she do this time? Didn
’
t you say she used to be nice?

Aggie says:
She was before I got the kids. Then everything went downhill. She is like another person. Dad says she
’
s always caused trouble in Allie
’
s marriage, but it was little things. I don
’
t think even Doug knew how bad it could get. It seems to be a control thing.

Tina says:
She
’
s obsessed with overcoming her past or something. It
’
s so weird. Like she hasn
’
t had 40 years of redemption time to overcome that need.

Aggie says:
I think it
’
s the fear of being alone. She has no faith to lean on, her husband is detached… as if that
’
s a shocker, and now the one person she was close to is gone, his wife is gone, and she
’
s lost their children. Doug just didn
’
t want them to be so emotionally stripped and guilted into
“
correct behavior.
”

Tina says:
I feel kind of sorry for her, but she makes me so mad!

Aggie says:
The appeal was denied, and the paperwork is signed by the judge. Just waiting for my copy. Everyone told me it would take six months, but between Allie
’
s forethought and Mr. Moss
’
staying on top of everything, it
’
s been great. I think he has a friend in the courthouse though.

Tina says:
GOOD. You need it. Think now that it
’
s final, Dragon Lady will withdraw into her lair and return as the ever prim and proper Grandmother again?

Aggie says:
We can only hope. After today
’
s demonstration I assume she
’
ll be ashamed of herself and resolve to kee
p
communication open. I can
’
t imagine her not wanting to have a relationship with the children. They are all she has left.

Tina says:
Which is why she needs to return to her
“
correct behavior
”
before she loses these children all together.

Aggie says:
One can only hope and pray.

Tina says:
Go sing your helpful hymns. I
’
ll be praying.

Aggie says:
How well you know me. Nighters.

Tina says:
Poof!