Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (66 page)

A lump that felt the size of Alaska filled her throat. Aggie wanted to qualify her response. Of course, she wouldn
’
t hurt anyone
--
deliberately. Unable to share her heart, she shook her head and tried to make her eyes relay the truth she wanted to speak. Satisfied, William pushed the screen door and let himself outside again, closing it quietly behind him this time. She watched as he picked up a fresh paintbrush, opened the can of paint he
’
d been using, and went back to work painting the eaves. The raw pain that seemed to hold him captive slowly melted away as he worked, but Aggie still had one question. What prompted his outburst?

Unease tried to invade her heart, but hungry children tramped into the kitchen asking for sandwiches, popsicles, and chips. Crumbs in the bottoms of four separate bags of chips removed chips from the menu, but she created an assembly line with mayonnaise, mustard, turkey slices, cheese slices, and a strip of lettuce, then slapped another piece of bread on top and cut them in half. The children began chanting in unison from the moment she opened the bread bag and stopped as she finished. At one hundred eighty-four, the tenth sandwich landed, cut diagonally, on the last paper plate.

“
You did it in one sixty-two the other day. You
’
re slowing down,
”
Laird teased.

“
William is here. That
’
s another sandwich.
”

“
Luke was here that day. Same number. You
’
re schluffing off, as Dad used to say.
”
A quiver hovered in Laird
’
s voice.

The next thing she knew, Laird and Vannie clung awkwardly to one another weeping. Elspeth pulled Kenzie to her, and Tavish sniffled. The twins stared at everyone in confusion, until Lorna started crying as if by osmosis. Cari, not to be outdone by everyone around her, sent up a wail that would have brought the house down and ran outside seeking comfort from William. It was several minutes before Aggie could pull out the cantaloupe, chop it into cubes, and push the bowl across the makeshift counter for the children.

Half an hour later, tears dried, paper plates piled into the huge dumpster, food gone, and another gallon of milk drained, she shook her head in wonder. At the rate her children drank it, Aggie was concerned that she
’
d need to invest in a herd of cows. She wiped her own tears from her eyes once the room emptied and grabbed the counter for support.
“
Lord, Luke wasn
’
t joking, was he?
”

“
It Is Well with My Soul,
”
flooded her heart and soul, and immediately, she began humming. It was instinctive, the hymn. She wasn
’
t aware that her mind had switched to hymn comfort mode, until she found herself singing,
“
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come…
”

As she stepped outside to go back to the sawhorses and her shutters, childish giggles and squeals caught her attention. On the side of the yard, a sprinkler shot water high into the air, creating rainbows in the sunbeams. Amid the delighted sounds that pierced the afternoon air, her children
--
Aggie
’
s thoughts froze for a moment.
Her
children
--
they really were
her
children
--
danced under the falling drops.

* * *

That evening William drove down her driveway so deep in thought he almost didn
’
t notice a light in the house next door to Aggie
’
s. The sight concerned him. No one had lived in that house since the Nesbit family moved last fall. He wondered if local kids were messing around in there, or perhaps a vagrant had taken up residence. The electricity shouldn
’
t be on, though. That seemed odd. Pulling into the driveway, William noted the for sale sign still in the front yard and out of state plates on the car parked in the open garage.

Unaware, although he wouldn
’
t have been surprised, that Mrs. Dyke was watching every move he made from behind her binoculars, he knocked on the door and waited for an answer. The woman who opened the door surprised him.
“
Ellene?
”

“
William! How
’
d you know I was here?
”

Hugging her, William jerked his thumb toward Aggie
’
s house.
“
I was helping a friend next door and saw your lights as I left
--
”

“
You still answer a question as if you were on the witness stand.
”

“
That doesn
’
t answer the obvious but unstated question. What are you doing in Brant
’
s Corners?
”
William followed her inside the house and noted the perfectly neat stacks of boxes along walls of every room visible from his vantage point. The difference between this house and Aggie
’
s was extreme.

“
I took a job with the Rockland County Social Services. They were going to put me in the city, but I convinced them to start me out here first.
”

Ellene Tuttle, a fellow Marine from Camp Pendleton, started to offer him coffee and then shrugged.
“
I don
’
t have any food in the house at all. My furniture arrives tomorrow; I was just bringing more boxes over and organizing them tonight.
”

“
Let
’
s go to Maizy
’
s. I want to hear what
’
s been happening in your life since you left here.
”

They talked into the wee hours. William learned that Ellene remembered him talking about how close-knit Brant
’
s Corners and the surrounding towns were and decided to apply for a job in the county. Her first assignment was Brant
’
s Corners/Brunswick. Though he tried to disguise it, William was a little dismayed to think of any social worker, especially Ellene Tuttle, living next door to Aggie and her eight children. Would she understand about baby Ian calling 9-1-1 and the screams and squeals that seemed to characterize Aggie
’
s home? Would she and Aggie be friends? Would she remember late night confessions of William
’
s childhood and keep them confidential? William
’
s questions bothered him long after he dropped his friend off at her new house and went home to his own bed.

Saturday, July 13
^th

Laird unintentionally arranged a hasty meeting with the new neighbor late the next morning. While Aggie and Luke stripped wallpaper from the walls and tried to keep Ian from eating the scraps off of the floor, Aggie heard the faint tinkling of glass. Moments later, a dejected Laird and excited Kenzie burst through the back door.
“
Aunt Aggie, Laird hit a
great
home run. We think that we broke the window next door and guess what?
”
Not waiting for an answer, the child continued.
“
A lady came out of the house when it happened!
”

Aggie sighed and looked at Laird. The boy was miserable. Despair settled around him like a cloak, especially in his expressive eyes. For the first time, Aggie realized that she could read his thoughts much in the same manner that others often read hers.
“
Laird, let
’
s go talk to whomever is over there and get this straightened out.
”

As she turned to leave, Vannie handed Aggie a plate of cookies she
’
d pulled out of the oven just minutes before and covered them with a clean kitchen towel.
“
Sometimes people aren
’
t as upset if you bring a peace offering.
”

She smiled and thanked the girl. Sometimes Aggie thought that all the children had really needed was Vannie. The young girl
’
s practical knowledge far exceeded Aggie
’
s, and while Aggie had a degree in education, she often felt that Vannie was the teacher and she the student.

The doorbell rang almost simultaneously with the opening of the massive front door. A well-dressed woman, with perfectly styled hair, holding a note pad, wore a pasted-on smile.
“
I see you
’
ve heard about the incident. I
’
m pleased to see you taking responsibility for it.
”

Aggie was somewhat taken aback. She wasn
’
t quite sure if the woman was speaking to her or to Laird, but she gave a weak smile and offered the plate of cookies.
“
Our eldest, Vannie, just baked these cookies. Please have some as our apology. Oh,
”
she added quickly,
“
I am prepared to pay for the window, of course.
”

Aggie had intended to require that Laird do the talking. This woman, however, was not the understanding, sympathetic woman that she
’
d prayed she
’
d be. Not knowing exactly how to handle herself, Aggie plowed ahead.
“
I have a handyman who is working on my home. Would you like me to ask him to come give you an estimate of the damages?
”
Aggie added another note to her p-mail, asking the Lord to ensure that Luke would be willing.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the woman spoke.
“
That isn
’
t necessary. My insurance will cover it. I
’
m just relieved to see that you are not going to let your children run wild and destroy property. Too many parents just simply don
’
t care.
”
The woman gave another of her artificial and rehearsed-looking smiles and shut the door in their faces.

Aggie, still holding the plate of warm cookies, was dumfounded. Laird looked at her with questions racing across his eyes, but she shrugged helplessly. Nodding, Laird and took the plate from her, resignation replacing the misery in his eyes. While he mentally calculated what a window that size might cost, Aggie realized that she and Laird were enough alike to almost communicate by facial expression. How fascinating!