Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (46 page)

“
Geraldine Stuart. The grandmother-in-law. She
’
ll be happier if she can walk in the house and not see beds everywhere.
”
At Luke
’
s face in the doorway, she smiled.
“
I have to try to make peace where I can.
”

“
Why don
’
t we plan what you want to do, so we can order anything we
’
ll need and have it ready? If everything is here and ready to go, we won
’
t have as many delays.
”

Aggie agreed, and pointed down the hallway.
“
I was wondering what you thought of a half bath down there in that linen closet. I think there
’
s room for one of those little pedestal sinks, a toilet, and a shower stall. The kids could get ready for school much more quickly if we had more bathrooms.
”

True to his character, Luke disappeared down the hallway to inspect her idea. It wouldn
’
t be easy, and it would be a little expensive, but with a piece of Laird
’
s closet bumped out, they could put a full bathtub in there. He measured, played around some more, and measured again. It could be done.

“
We
’
d have to get permits for that, but we can do it.
”

Aggie jumped at his voice in the bathroom door.
“
Oh! You scared me. Good. Are we talking dirt cheap, reasonable but a dent in the checking account, or pray we win the lottery expensive?
”

“
I think you
’
re looking at a small dent, but a
discernible
one.
”

Wrapping Ian in a towel, Aggie stood and carried the boy out of the bathroom and started downstairs.
“
Good. Whatever has to be done to make it happen, let
’
s do it.
”

“
Aggie?
”
Luke waited for her to look back at him before he continued.
“
If Laird can handle a smaller closet, you could have a tub in there if you wanted.
”

“
Even better. Do that.
”

He watched as she carried Ian downstairs, babbling to him about baths in rooms with tile floors and no more soggy carpets. Her admission that paying closer attention to the tub filling might make a difference brought a smile to his face. Just as he was about to call down to tease her, Aggie
’
s voice rang out clearly.
“
I still only see six bowls! One of those is mine! How do I have seven forks and nine spoons? Where did all these glasses come from?
”

He smiled and stepped into the bathroom to take measurements and saw the towels soaking up the water on the floor. The last inch of water trickled out of the tub, as if reluctant to leave. He
’
d have to snake that. Luke grabbed the towels and hung them over the shower rod, and then went into the twins
’
room to retrieve his large fan. There was no reason to leave that carpet soaked if he didn
’
t have to.

By the time he left that night, Vannie
’
s door was open, with the baby gate installed to keep little feet off the curing floor. The pungent scent of urethane hung in the air, and Aggie tried not to think about the effects of the fumes on the children
’
s developing brains and prayed they wouldn
’
t get
“
high
”
on them. The vanity stood polished and repaired in the twins
’
room, waiting for Friday as moving day. A new mattress, still wrapped in its plastic, leaned up against the wall. Vannie
’
s boxes stood against the other wall with a
“
bed-in-a-bag
”
sitting on the floor, as though not quite a part of the group yet. The young girl had spent much of the afternoon carrying her things upstairs, leaning into the room, planning her layout, and wishing the days away until Friday.

Friday, June 21
^st

The house was in a state of excited confusion. After a long list of jobs to keep the smaller children occupied, Aggie, Vannie, and Luke climbed the stairs after breakfast to begin moving Vannie into her room. While the young girl carried her clothes and hung them in the closet, Aggie and Luke maneuvered the vanity out of the room next door and onto the wall between the two bay windows. It looked as though it
’
d been made for that spot.

Aggie tied a new cushion she
’
d purchased onto the bench, and shrugged at the unsatisfactory result.
“
Well, that looks terrible.
”

“
If you tell me what kind of fabric you want, I
’
ll have Mom get it and some foam, and we
’
ll recover the bench for you.
”
Luke spoke quietly as he examined the underside.

“
You sew too?
”

Laughing, Luke shook his head and pointed to the screws on the underside.
“
You just staple it down, screw it to the bench, and no one sees the staples.
”

Vannie and Luke exchanged amused glances as Aggie whipped out her ever-present pad of post it notes and scribbled something on one. She passed it to Luke and went downstairs to dismantle her bed. Laughing, Luke passed the note to Vannie before he folded it carefully and tucked it into his wallet.
“
Buy some light green or blue fabric. Think blue like eggs or green like Granny Smith. Now I
’
m hungry. Thanks.
”

“
Aunt Aggie is one of a kind, isn
’
t she, Luke?
”

Nodding, Luke agreed.
“
Definitely. While I help your aunt with her bed, why don
’
t you drag your rug in here and get it rolled out? It
’
ll be easier to assemble the bed again without scratching the floor if that rug is down.
”

Luke arrived in the living room just in time to see the back of Aggie
’
s wrought iron daybed fall and whack her on the head. Before he could ask if she was ok, another hymn burst forth as though propelled by sheer willpower.
“
Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear…
”
xiii

“
All because you do not tarry, and wait for me to help you there.
”
The filler was pathetic, and he knew it, but Aggie smiled regardless.

“
I
’
m pretty sure that
’
s not how it goes.
”

“
You have a hymn for everything, don
’
t you?
”
Luke pulled the back of the daybed away from her and started toward the stairs.

“
Old Sunday school habit,
”
she muttered as she grabbed the end pieces and hefted them clumsily.

Without a glance back, Luke called down the stairs,
“
Leave those for me, and grab the springs or the hardware. If you leave that hardware there, someone is going to help themselves to it, and we
’
ll be in a pickle.
”

It irritated her that he was right. Why, she wasn
’
t sure. Was it because she couldn
’
t trust the children to leave things alone? Was it because he thought her too wimpy to handle the work? Was it because Ian had been up half the night wanting something to chew on, and nothing had satisfied him except for her knuckle?
“
Yeah, probably that,
”
she muttered, and scooped the hardware into an empty box.

Upstairs, they reassembled the bed, finding it harder to accomplish than Aggie
’
s swift, but not quite painless, demolition. Several trips back and forth, looking for stray parts, were needed before they were ready to carry the mattress into the room. While Vannie pulled her new bedspread from the bag, Aggie stretched the sheets over the mattress and plumped her new pillows. Luke filled the upper shelves with Vannie
’
s treasures as the girl pointed out where each thing went.

“
Aghaooo!
”
Aggie looked up startled. Standing in the doorway, holding baby Ian, was William.

“
I take it no one called me?
”
William looked both amused and irritated.

Luke glanced up and grimaced.
“
The phone? It was on the set; I know it because I put it on there myself. He couldn
’
t
reach
it.
”

William said,
“
The call came in about two minutes ago, but I was
nearby
, so I volunteered. The dispatcher just said
‘
Another false alarm over at the old Ma
--
’”
The officer clamped his mouth shut and looked suitably annoyed.

“
Well, we
’
re sorry, William. I have no idea how the baby could have called this time. I put that phone back on the set myself. It
’
s become an obsession with me.
”
Luke tried to be light hearted, but it was obvious that the deputy was no longer amused.

“
Aggie, may I speak to you for a moment?
”
William
’
s
“
request
”
was more like an order. Handing the babbling infant to Luke, William led Aggie downstairs and outside.