Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (72 page)

Once at the table with the baskets of breadsticks, Aggie sent Vannie and Laird for the drinks. Cups full of root beer were distributed, but before everyone got theirs, Cari knocked over Lorna
’
s in her eagerness to reach hers. Sighing, Aggie went to the counter and asked for a roll of paper towels. Bouncy Cissy gave her a small handful of napkins, but Aggie shook her head.
“
No, I need a full roll of paper towels, please. I
’
m sure you have one somewhere; please get me a roll. We
’
re going to need them; I can guarantee it.
”

By the time that the pizza arrived, five out of the eight children had spilled their sodas, three breadsticks landed on the floor for much longer than a five-second rule could cover, and Ian was chewing on one of the ones retrieved from under the table. Aggie hadn
’
t figured that part out yet, much to Laird
’
s relief. The pizza was piping hot, and three children burned their tongues before she could caution anyone. Ian whined for his bites as she frantically tried to cool it. She was mortified and felt as though everyone in the restaurant would consider her incompetent. Aggie knew she was but didn
’
t want the rest of the world to know it. Taking a deep breath, she glanced out the window to mentally regroup and saw William exiting his vehicle.

She wanted to crawl under the table. Great. With all that was happening, the last thing she needed was more proof for William that she couldn
’
t handle her children. Resigned to her fate, she cheerily waved across the restaurant. William, nodding at a few of the guests, joined the lively crew. Cari squealed and jumped up, knocking over her chair. Kenzie sat and stared adoringly at him, while Laird tried to catch the deputy
’
s eye.

In an attempt to divert attention from the bedlam, Aggie dragged two pieces of pizza onto a plate for William. As if things couldn
’
t get worse, William backed into her as she stepped toward him, and the result was a beautiful grease glob on the back of the officer
’
s shirt. The restaurant erupted in laughter, proving, to her mortification, that she was the entertainment du jour.

William
’
s ears turned red as he looked behind him.
“
You sure know how to welcome a guy, don
’
t you, Aggie?
”

Either angry or mortified, William glanced over his shoulder and sighed. Armed with paper towels, Aggie tried to undo some of the damage to his shirt.
“
I think you
’
re going to need some stain remover. Sorry.
”

Aggie gathered all the trash that they
’
d accumulated and tossed everything in the over-sized garbage can near the door. She filled another plate with food for William and set it at the one empty chair. Indicating her peace offering, Aggie sat back down and tried to get the children to eat quietly again.

As if by example, William ate in relative silence. Laird chattered about the events of the day, the
“
awesome
”
cabinets that Luke had made, and their amazing kitchen floor. This all piqued William
’
s interest. A kitchen would mean that the worst of the house renovation was nearing completion, and this would get Ellene off of Aggie
’
s back and make life easier for Aggie. Watching her wash dishes in the bathtub, had been hard to stomach, and the laundry sink wasn
’
t much better. He
’
d seen her walk gingerly for a while afterward, and he knew if it bothered someone as young and active as Aggie, it couldn
’
t be easy.

As he finished his pizza, William watched Aggie trying to clean up the baby, toss even more trash, and corral everyone in their seats. An elderly couple stopped by the table on their way out the door, and the man put a twenty-dollar bill into her hand. Several people in the room overheard the man say,
“
They
’
re fine children, very well behaved. You
’
re doing a great job with them. Take this and get them some ice cream, ok?
”
William beamed at Aggie
’
s obvious surprise.

“
Thank you. I
’
m sorry we were so noisy. I
’
ve never taken them all out to a restaurant and didn
’
t know how messy things get
--
”

“
Young woman, you are doing a great job. I
’
m sure their parents have no idea what a treasure they have in you.
”
Turning to the children, the elderly man playfully shook his finger at them.
“
You tell your mama and daddy that you guys were very good tonight, you hear?
”

The children erupted into a chaotic explosion of emotions. Vannie burst into tears, rushed out of the building, and ran down the street. Laird, ready to cry, glanced at Aggie, and rushed after her. Tavish and Elspeth clung to each other and sobbed, while Kenzie threw herself at William, wailing. Cari and Lorna didn
’
t understand the situation but began sobbing and crying along with everyone else. Ian whimpered and fussed, as Aggie stood helpless, in complete despair, and unsure what to do.

William, however, was in his element. He was very good at restoring order to difficult situations. While he escorted the couple out the door, he explained the situation. With a quick glance around him, he saw Vannie and Laird turn into the park, and instantly understood where he
’
d find them. Soothing the toddlers, and taking the baby, William gathered Kenzie onto his lap with Ian and helped calm her.
“
Shhh, baby, it
’
s ok. Why don
’
t you, Tavish, and Ellie go sit in the van and buckle yourself into your car seat? I
’
ll help your aunt.
“
Come on, Aggie; let
’
s go get the others.
”

Aggie nodded dejectedly as she fought her own tears. Since actively talking about Allie and Doug, their loss, and the hole it left in their lives, Aggie had noticed that the children seemed to fall apart at the most unexpected times. It was as though their parents had just died all over again. Everyone was touchy, and though the little children weren
’
t as affected, they did react to the pain of everyone else.

“
Where could they have gone? I can
’
t believe I
’
m sitting here failing again. I can
’
t do this, William! I should let Geraldine Stuart try it,
‘
cause I am just blowing it.
”
Aggie now joined the chorus of weeping, pain-riddled Stuart-Millikens.

While Aggie cried, William drove to the nearby park and went to find Laird and Vannie. Before long, he spotted them sitting on the old merry-go-round, their arms wrapped around each other
’
s shoulders, and swaying with the gentle motion created by Laird
’
s restless feet. William heard Vannie
’
s sobs from three hundred yards, and though Laird, wiping his own eyes intermittently, tried to comfort his distraught sister, he wasn
’
t succeeding. William motioned for Laird to go back to the van and took his place.

“
I haven
’
t sat on this merry-go-round since I was about your age or a little younger. It
’
s odd; I was crying too.
”

Choking out the words, Vannie asked,
“
Why were
--
”
she sniffled,
“
you crying?
”

“
My father left us that morning.
”

“
He just left?
”
Vannie was stunned enough to stop crying.

“
Yep. I thought my world had ended.
”
William
’
s voice still held a trace of pain.

“
Wow. That
’
s even worse than him dying, isn
’
t it?
”
Vannie started crying again but more softly this time.

“
How do you figure that?
”
William had often thought death would be preferable, but people had been quick to assure him that, as long as his father was alive, there was hope that he
’
d come home.

“
Well,
 
Momma and Daddy left, but they didn
’
t want to. They had to go. You know, they had no choice. But, your dad chose to leave. That would be terrible.
”

William nodded.
“
That
’
s what I always thought.
”
He cleared his thick throat and continued.
“
Vannie, your aunt is really worried about you. We need to go back. Are you ok? You ready to go home?
”

Vannie sniffed and nodded. They walked slowly back to the van where Aggie sat sobbing, her head in her hands.
“
Mr. Markenson? Is it ok to be glad that home isn
’
t where Momma and Daddy lived? Is it wrong to be glad we
’
re gone from there?
”

William smiled and gave the girl a quick squeeze.
“
It
’
s just fine, honey. I understand. Really.
”

Vannie glanced up at him curiously.
“
You don
’
t like our house though, do you?
”

William was visibly startled.
“
What makes you say that?
”

“
I don
’
t know, really. I just noticed that you don
’
t seem to like to be inside, is all. You seem nervous. Well, not the first time you came. You sure showed Grandmother who was boss.
”
The girl giggled as she got into the van.
“
I think Grandmother is a little scared of you.
”