Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance)

by Havig, Chautona

  “Well, I wonder if I should see about getting some new outlets put into the rooms before we paint. I think you only have one in your room; I know that Laird only has one. While we get the paint and things, I might want to find an electrician to add some outlets.”

  “I can still have the room, though?”

  Aggie laughed. “Get those catalogs out and find the comforter or bedspread you want. We’re doing the room, and we’re starting first thing tomorrow.”

  Wednesday, June 5th

  By Wednesday, the house was littered with items that had no assigned place to rest. From shoes to purses, books to toys, and everything else in between, just keeping the two huge dormitories picked up when there was no place to store things was difficult. The trip to the store for paint and bedding had been pushed back one day, and then another. Aggie was determined to get to the store that Wednesday morning, regardless of any further obstacles.

  As the children ate their cold cereal, the reality of their food choices pressed on Aggie again. They were back to paper plates and macaroni and cheese. She knew that they were going to miss the “real” food that Mrs. Landry had provided for the last few weeks. When the potpies, canned soups, and frozen burritos were brought back to the table, the children were likely to revolt! Well, they would, unless the children were too weak from rickets or some other terrible deficiency. Even if the children didn’t, her stomach would. Two days back on the convenience food menu, and already, Aggie had had it. A trip to town was an immediate necessity.

  After forty-minutes of searching for shoes, socks, and hair accessories designed to hide the fact that no one had bathed in four days, Aggie loaded her charges into the van and drove to town. They piled out of the van and into a hardware store, but the absence of shopping carts killed that idea. Immediately, she sent them back to the van, getting directions to Brunswick in the process.

  The whole gang waded through the paint department of Brunswick’s Wal-Mart store. Aggie allowed each child to choose three paint chip cards and the children had a grand time picking out which colors they wanted. When Laird chose three cards of all blue paints, she decided that Vannie’s nautical theme suggestion might be a good one. Aggie pulled her favorites from the rack as well, though she knew that she wouldn’t get to use them for a while. The children’s rooms must come first.

  Vannie found the bedspread and throw pillows that she wanted and the color matched her paint swatches perfectly. “Let’s go have them mix that paint. This is going to look beautiful!” Aggie found a rocking white wicker chair from a mismatched set that was on sale in the garden department and got an idea. “Vannie, go back and get that really big pillow that we saw, remember? It’ll make a perfect cushion for this chair!”

  She’d planned to shop the Brant’s Corners’ market, so she’d know what they had available, but the ease of purchasing everything at once and not having to load and unload four children in car seats trumped that idea. They strolled through the produce aisles looking for carrots, apples, celery, strawberries, and any other quick to fix and easy to eat fruit. She bought bread, lunchmeat, frozen lasagnas and eggs. They’d eat a lot more eggs. Aggie wasn’t much of a cook, but she could make a mean omelet and quiche. At the last minute, she added a bottle of multi-vitamins to her cart. Surely, whatever she failed to provide nutritionally could be augmented by a nice chewable vitamin.

  The children chattered excitedly about their rooms, the croquet set she’d purchased, and lunch all the way home. Aggie groaned audibly when she drove into the driveway and parked behind the Stuart’s Mercedes. The children gave her odd looks, but Vannie seemed to understand. “Aunt Aggie, can I show Grandma the playhouse out back?” The look of horror on Aggie’s face was hidden to Vannie as she continued, “We swept it out, scrubbed the floor, got rid of the glass and all the bugs. It looks pretty neat, and maybe she’ll forget what she saw in the kitchen?” Aggie saw the wisdom of the plan and nodded her appreciation.

  Vannie was out of the van and running to the house before Aggie was out of her seat. As usual, Laird unbuckled Ian and handed him to Aggie before reaching back to help Kenzie unbuckle the twins. To say that Aggie was moving slowly would be an understatement; snails have moved swifter than Aggie’s dragging steps. Tavish looked over at his tired and discouraged aunt and said, “Aunt Aggie, are you in trouble?”

  Aggie’s laughter could be heard out in the playhouse. Saying that Geraldine Stuart frowned would be the epitome of understatement. “Why do you ask a question like that, Tavish?” Aggie was afraid of the answer. “‘Cause you look like Cari does when she’s about to get a spanking,” was the observant child’s innocent response.

  Aggie decided she needed to look more confident than she felt, so she went directly to the bathroom, splashed water on her face, pulled her hair up into a loose bun, and tucked her shirt in. Stepping out of the door, she found Geraldine Stuart standing there. “What have you done to these children?” The woman was beyond livid; she was irrationally furious. “You uproot them from the home that some of them were born in, move them to this unsafe, filthy pile of rubble, dump them into dormitories, and expect that I won’t have a problem with this?” Aggie was certain she could see steam coming from the woman’s nose. “I demand that you send the children home with me, or my lawyer will serve you with papers before morning.”

  Aggie sighed and then said the one thing she’d hoped never to have to say. “Mrs. Stuart, I have been more than patient. You know that you can’t legally take these children from me. My lawyer will express a handwritten letter that Doug wrote to you tomorrow. When I read it, I hoped to never have to give it to you.” Taking a deep breath, Aggie continued, interrupting Geraldine before she could get her next sentence formed. “I now have to ask that you leave my property.”

  Shock registered on the bitter grandmother’s face and then anger overtook every fiber of her being. “I will not leave this house without my grandchildren!” As Geraldine began an ugly tirade, Aggie shooed the children out into the back yard with strict instructions to stay there. She walked to the telephone and shakily pressed the proper speed dial button for the sheriff’s office. Reporting an unwanted trespasser and a domestic dispute, Aggie turned to the overwrought woman to request again that she leave-- preferably before the sheriff or one of his deputies arrived. Before Aggie could speak, Geraldine slapped her. The force was so strong that it spun her into the door jam. Who would have thought such an elderly lady could produce such force!

  Between the huge red welt of a handprint and the tears streaming down her face, Aggie was a sight when the deputies arrived. Deputy William Markenson pulled up to the house and exited his vehicle with a female deputy close behind. They found Aggie sitting on the couch, head in her hands and eyes on the back door. Occasionally, a head would peek through the window, and Aggie would give a small shake of her head. The officer introduced himself and his co-worker, Meg Reese. Aggie stood to shake their hands and explain the situation, but Mrs. Stuart interrupted with obvious disdain. “I arrived today to visit my grandchildren, who are temporarily in this woman’s care. This is what I found. This living room has a couch and three beds, and the dining room has a table and six beds! I defy you to tell me that these are proper living conditions. I insist that these children be released into my care.”

  The deputies looked around, back at each other and then Deputy Reese led Aggie out the back door. The two women could still hear the ranting of Mrs. Stuart. “Ms…?”

  “Milliken. Agathena Milliken, but just call me Aggie.” The defeated tone in Aggie’s voice was evident even to the nearby children. Kenzie whimpered and moved closer. “Do we have to go live with Grandmother, Aunt Aggie?”

  “Shhhhh, honey, of course you don’t. The judge has said that you will live with me, just like Momma and Daddy wanted.” The frightened little girl began the silent weeping Aggie knew so well. Kenzie’s little “I want my mommy,” almost broke her heart.

  Deputy Reese took Aggie’s statement and then
suggested that she wait outside. After a few whispered words with Deputy Markenson, the two officers escorted Geraldine Stuart to her car. The woman appeared subdued, but the look that she shot Aggie told the younger woman that this was only the warm up to round one.

  Both officers went back to speak again with Aggie. She’d just stated that she didn’t want to press assault charges against Mrs. Stuart, when a call came in for the officers. Deputy Reese took the call, gave Aggie her cell number in case she wanted to talk, and left.

  Deputy Markenson seemed almost at a loss for words. Kenzie, her face contorted in concern, came inside and edged close to him. “Are you going to ‘rest my Auntie Aggie?”

  The terror behind her words was heart rending. Aggie just shook her head, as the tears ran down her face, while Deputy Markenson lifted the child on his lap and spoke very carefully to her and the other children, who had drifted nervously into the room. “Your Aunt hasn’t done anything wrong.” He paused, searching for just the right words. “You see, your grandmother just loves you all so much that she wants to have you with her all the time. Do you know how sometimes you want something so badly that you forget to do what is right? Like taking a cookie before asking permission?” Several heads nodded. He mentally counted six children who visibly relaxed at his assurance that he wasn’t there to haul Aggie off to jail. “This is what your grandmother has done. She has forgotten what is right, because she loves you so much.”

  Kenzie stopped crying and ran her fingers over the deputy’s badge. William Markenson lost his heart to the child at that moment. Some at work called him heartless because of the detachment that characterized his demeanor; they certainly wouldn’t recognize him at this moment.

  Markenson, the oldest of three children, learned to resolve disputes long before becoming an officer, and, of course, had no trouble attracting female attention everywhere he went. Physically speaking, he fit the old stereotype of tall, dark and handsome perfectly. “What is your name?” William smiled at the child who promptly spoke up. “Kenzie Stuart.”

  “Kenzie, do you pray with Aunt Aggie? At bedtime or at dinner?” William Markenson was treading on precarious ground with this line of “questioning,” but he hoped he had read the young woman across from him correctly. At the little girl’s smile and the nods around the room, William continued. “I want you all to pray for your aunt, and for your grandmother. Can you all do that? Can you pray that your aunt can be strong for you, and that your grandmother can find a better way to show you that she loves you?”

  The children all made affirmative assurances of their eagerness to help by prayer. Aggie, after sending them to bring in the groceries and purchases from the van, followed William outside. “Thank you, Deputy Markenson, for being so understanding. I know the place is a mess and the sleeping arrangements aren’t exactly normal, but I am working--” William held up his hand. The gesture made Aggie smile. How often must this man have to deal with incoherent emotional females?

  “Ms. Milliken.”

  Aggie shook her head and said, “I’m just Aggie.”

  William tried again. “Aggie, you’ll get things cleaned up. You’ve only been here four days, and you have a lot to deal with, just being a guardian to these children.”

  Aggie interrupted. “How do you know how long I’ve been here? I didn’t tell you that. I am certain Geraldine didn’t tell you--” William smiled. Aggie noticed that the smile reached the corners of his eyes, creating slight wrinkles that, had she still been a carefree college student, would have sent her senses reeling. The man was tall-- at the least, six foot two.

  “Aggie, this is Brant’s Corners. We know when someone comes in, moves out or sneezes after eight p.m. Welcome, and if you’d like, we would be happy to see you at The Church next Sunday.”

  Aggie frowned. “Knowing which church might be helpful…” She had a twinkle in her eyes, as she raised her eyebrows at the officer.

  “The Church. That’s the name. It’s on the corner of Third Street and Main. Services start at ten-thirty; Sunday school is at nine o’clock. It’s a very nice congregation-- more like family than a social club, if you know what I mean.” William’s deep bass voice carried across the street to where an elderly lady made a poor attempt at trimming her shrubs as she tried to figure out why the sheriff’s deputies were at her new neighbor’s house. William had noticed the woman’s ruse and decided to introduce the women.

  “Aggie, do you have a moment to meet your neighbor? Would the children be ok?” It seemed as though that William had no real experience with children but was conscientious about their welfare; how wrong perceptions can be.

  Aggie called to Vannie and Laird. “Keep your eyes on the girls and Ian. Everyone, stay in the yard. I’ll be right back.” Turning to William, “I’m ready to meet my neighbor, Deputy Markenson. Let’s shake up the place! She doesn’t look like someone I’d like to TP, so maybe next May Day, we can leave flowers and run.”

  Stunned, and unable to formulate an appropriate response, William insisted she call him by his first name and led her across the street to where the elderly widow was pruning with a destructive vengeance. “Mrs. Dyke, this is your new neighbor, Aggie Milliken. Aggie, I’d like to introduce one of the dearest ladies in town, and also of The Church. I know you’ll be friends before long.” William also knew that if he didn’t explain his presence, the elderly lady could have heart trouble from wondering about his arrival. “Mrs. Dyke, please keep Aggie in your prayers. She has just taken guardianship of her late sister’s seven--” Aggie held up eight fingers, to correct him. “-- make that eight children, and the paternal grandmother is being a little difficult about it.”

  Aggie looked startled that the officer would divulge private information so freely but wisely held her tongue and offered her hand. “Hello, Mrs. Dyke, I hope we’ll be good neighbors. I’ll try to keep the children away from your beautiful plants and pray we don’t break any windows with stray baseballs! Bill has been most helpful already.”

  Both Mrs. Dyke and Deputy Markenson suddenly looked uncomfortable. After an awkward silence, Mrs. Dyke smiled and leaned conspiratorially near Aggie. “Miss-- um, Aggie, our William doesn’t go by nicknames. They just don’t seem to fit him. I’m sure you understand.” William looked visibly relieved, while Aggie stammered an apology. They talked for a few minutes, until Aggie heard Laird calling her. She quickly excused herself and jogged across the road.

  Mrs. Dyke looked at William and gave a small smile. “She’s a pretty little thing isn’t she? Not flashy like most girls these days, and isn’t that a relief? Quite the responsibility she has taken on. Eight children… My, I remember when Herbert and I had four, and we were worn out with them!” William nodded absently. The wise older woman grinned to herself and went back to her pruning. “I imagine we’ll see a lot of you around here until all is settled up with that grandmother. You come see me when you are around. I still keep a jar of snickerdoodles for visitors.”

  William slowly walked back to his cruiser. He wasn’t sure he agreed with Mrs. Dyke. Aggie wasn’t homely by any means, but William had always been attracted to women with a little more shape and sparkle. Whatever Aggie didn’t have in physical attractiveness; however, she sure made up for in personality. He didn’t know how to take her comments, but then people often said odd things to him.

  Tina says: Well?? What is going on these days?

  Aggie says: Well…

  Tina says: Come on girl, is the house painted? Ready to move into?

  Aggie says: We are technically moved in, but a lot of work needs to be done.

  Tina says: You still starting in Vannie’s room?

  Aggie says: Yep.

  Tina says: All right… something isn’t “right.” Spill it

  Aggie says: Hee hee… just had another run in with the GIL

  Tina says: The gil?

  Aggie says: I’m calling her the GIL. Grandma-in-law, or for short, Geraldine is livid.

  Tina says: That bad huh
?

  Aggie says: I’ll say.

  Tina says: Well, what now? Spit it out.

  Aggie says: Well, between her yelling, slapping me, getting escorted off the property by the sheriff’s department, I think our family has made a definite impact on this community already.

  Tina says: OH, nooooooooooooo, she didn’t!

  Aggie says: I’ve still got the imprint on my face. The kids were scared that the officer was going to take me away.

  Tina says: I wish I could come.

  Aggie says: Me too. Think you’ll get down this way before the new term?

  Tina says: I was thinking that I could come for two weeks before I have to register, and then I can just drive straight to school.

  Aggie says: Sounds good to me! I miss you.

  Tina says: Sounds like you are busy enough without me.

  Aggie says: Why do you think I want to see you? I WANT THE HELP!

  Tina says: Well, mid to late August, I’ll be there.

  Aggie says: I have to get outside. I hear havoc building. Bye!!!

  Tina says: Well, I’m glad I convinced you to have internet set up before you got there! Poof!

  Chapter 12

  Enter: Luke

  Thursday, June 13th

  Chaos was an understatement. The children squealed with delighted hysterics, while Aggie tried not to cry as she dashed from room to room trying to identify which room’s lights were coming on from which switch. As she jotted down notes, she decided that she would kill Deputy William Markenson. There was no doubt about it. As an aside, she wondered if they made jail cells with mother’s quarters.

  He’d asked her about her house renovations after church on Sunday, and when he heard that she was looking for an electrician to add outlets, William had given her the name and phone number of an electrician that he recommended. Too busy to do the work himself, the electrician sent his brother-in-law to install the new outlets, and the result was scary! The concept was simple. He would add new outlets to every wall of every room that didn’t have one, add an extra breaker or two to the box to handle the new load, and arrange for each room to have its own circuit on the breaker in order to shut off power to each room of the house.