“We could try…”
The answer that formed on her lips never had a chance to materialize. Kenzie whizzed past them, going faster than Aggie had thought possible while pushing a walker, and hit a rough patch on the ice. The walker toppled. Kenzie screamed, and Aggie joined her as the little girl flew over the walker and landed a few feet away.
“Are you ok?” Aggie tried to help the child to her feet, but Kenzie jerked her arm away, holding it close to her body, tears streaming down her face.
“No!”
Luke lifted Kenzie and skated to the other side of the ice. The child screamed with every bump and jostle. “It’s swelling, Aggie. I don’t know if it’s just bruised, sprained, or if it’s broken.”
“Get her skates off. I’ll take her to the clinic. They have one here, right?”
“Down the street to that corner and turn left. Two blocks up on the right.”
Aggie’s fingers felt like sticks as she tried to untie her skates and tie on her boots. She grabbed her purse and waited impatiently for Luke to get his shoes on to carry the weeping Kenzie to the van. The two and a half block trip felt like a trek across the country. Kenzie screamed and wailed at every slight bump or turn.
Once at the clinic, the child refused to try to walk, holding her arm and kicking if Aggie got near her. A nurse came to see who was in the unloading area and tried unsuccessfully to urge the child out of her seat. “We can’t help you if you don’t come, sweetie.”
“I can’t! It hurts!”
Patience exhausted, Aggie stepped up into the van and hung herself over the back of the seat in front of Kenzie. “You will get out of that seat, Kenzie. Do you want to do it with my help or without? That’s the only choice you get. You can do it yourself or I will help. Five seconds to decide or I decide for you.”
“I don’t want to get out! It’s going to hurt more!”
“Two seconds left.”
“No!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
With a glance at the nurse that clearly said, “Get ready for this,” Aggie situated herself behind Kenzie and hooked her arms under the girl’s. The child kicked and fought, obviously making her own pain worse, until Aggie froze and said, “Stop kicking. Now.”
That magic word, “Stop,” seemed to snap some sense into the child. Her screams subsided into pain-filled tears and she allowed herself to be led from the van. Another nurse appeared with a wheelchair, obviously trying to appease the little drama queen, but Aggie shook her head. “Her legs are fine. I think she needs the exercise.”
Aggie had no idea if it was the right thing to do or not, but she felt like if she didn’t make sure Kenzie obeyed on something small, the girl might turn the coming visit into a nightmare of monumental proportions. Once inside, a volunteer with clacking teeth and a hearing aid that clearly needed a new battery thrust the usual mountain of paperwork into her hands. They were shuttled into a small cubicle and left while Aggie filled out the forms.
“I’m sorry.”
The voice was so quiet, Aggie almost missed it. “I forgive you. It’s hard not to get upset when you’re scared.”
“I don’t think I like ice skating.”
As she suppressed a giggle, a young doctor stepped into the room. “Kenzie?”
“Yes.”
With great effort, Aggie managed to stifle a snicker. The hero-worship Kenzie had once reserved for William seemed to have instantaneously transferred to the man now asking her to move her arm. “Can you lift it up?”
Pigtails whipped Kenzie’s face as she shook her head. “Hurts.”
“Can you put it down?”
She tried, but pulled it close to her chest again. “Nuh uh.”
“I think we need x-rays.”
“Do they hurt?”
“Not too bad. The x-rays themselves don’t hurt, but you might have to hold your arm out for a second. We’ll see what Jan says. She might be able to get you lying down. We’ll bring in the machine and see.”
He turned to Aggie and pointed to the door. “May I speak to you for a moment?”
“Of course. I’ll be right outside, Kenzie.”
The doctor signaled the nurse who had helped them in and she disappeared down the hall. “We just have a few questions that aren’t on the form. Um, what happened again?”
“We were at the ice rink and she was skating with a walker.”
“A walker?”
“Yes. Luke—he’s my fiancée—bought walkers for the twins and Kenzie at a thrift store so they’d have a bit of stability until they got used to the ice.”
“Twins? You have other children?”
Frustrated, Aggie pointed to the paperwork. “If someone would take that, it’d explain a lot. I have eight kids, Dr.—” she stared at his nametag. “—Singh. All of them nieces and nephews.”
“Will her parents—”
“Who are dead, no. They won’t be coming. I’m their guardian. Again, this is in the paperwork that no one has come to get yet. Perhaps you’d like to call the clinic in Brant’s Corners. Dr. Schuler is familiar with my kids. Someone seems to try to give me premature gray hairs at least once a month. It’s an improvement,” she added as she saw him begin to protest that she must be exaggerating. “It used to be weekly.” Another sigh escaped before she was aware it had formed. “I can’t seem to catch a break.”
“Looks like she did.”
She managed a weak smile and nodded. “I think I could do without breaks.”
“And they are out of school because…”
“P.E. for today—ice skating. We homeschool.”
The man nodded but didn’t seem satisfied. He scribbled notes on his clipboard and then tucked his pen in his pocket. “If you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?”
“Twenty-three, and yes I am too young for all this responsibility, but no I won’t resent them for it later.”
“I wasn’t going to—”
Aggie sighed, pinching her nose to help clear her mind. “I’m sorry. If you only knew how often someone says something about my situation...” A woman wheeling a large cart neared. “Is that the machine?”
Dr. Singh nodded. “Yes. I’ll get that paperwork from you and see if I can forestall a few more questions.”
The other nurse, Rose, appeared again. “I think her family is in the waiting room. There’s um—a lot of them. We don’t have room…”
“I’ll send them home. Tina or Luke can come back to get us,” she said as she waved at Kenzie. “Be right back.”
Aggie says: Mom?
Milliken says: Hello! Isn’t today the ice skating day? How’d it go?
Aggie says: Great. Wonderful. Perfect. Kenzie even got a new wardrobe accessory.
Milliken says: I sense a touch of sarcasm.
Aggie says: A cast.
Milliken says: No! Really?
Aggie says: Yep. They called it a “greenstick.” It’s kind of like the bone is bent but not fully broken off.
Milliken says: How long?
Aggie says: As long as everything heals normally, she’ll get it off the week of the wedding.
Milliken says: Like you’ll have time for that. Oh, ugh. I’m sorry. At least it’s winter!
Aggie says: What does that have to do with anything?
Milliken says: No bugs to crawl in it. That’s the worst part about casts.
Aggie says: I think I’m going to be sick.
Milliken says: Well, it’s true. How did she do? Did she get pink? Does she like it?
Aggie says: No, she got green because it is Dr. Singh’s favorite color. She did horribly at first—threw a terrible tantrum—but she came around when push came to shove or some other equally hackneyed cliché that I can’t think of at the moment.
Aggie says: Oh, but never fear. Ian has taken up the tantrum baton. Out of the blue, our little almost sixteen-month-old tyke has decided that he will be an over-achiever and become an absolute terror.
Milliken says: That sweet cherub? Not possible.
Milliken says: They hide until you’re convinced that they aren’t ever going to appear and then they jump out one night while you’re
sleeping.
Aggie says: Well, isn’t that just dandy?
Milliken says: Well, he’ll probably be fine tomorrow or the next day. Things have been a little off kilter there for the past few weeks. He’s probably reacting to that.
Aggie says: Speaking of off kilter, remember how Sammie was lethargic and refused to move? She’s bouncing like crazy. That dog is so excited that Ellie is home it’s almost scary.
Milliken says: Aw, poor dog. Isn’t it amazing how they sense these
things?
Aggie says: Well, I’m just glad she’s better. I got tired of letting her sleep in the mudroom. Once she was in, she was fine, but then of course, we had to let in Miner and well… We’re only down five shoes from three pairs.
Milliken says: Oh, boy. When do puppies stop chewing?
Aggie says: Luke says sometime before they die.
Milliken says: Ugh. Well, I’ll remember to have Dad add dog chews to your care packages.
Aggie says: Thanks. I always forget them… and they always seem to bury them. I thought that was a myth, the burying thing.
Milliken says: Apparently not.
Aggie says: Anyway, I’ve got to go to bed, but I thought I’d let you know about the latest drama at the Stuart-Milliken abode.
Milliken says: You know we love you. You’re doing great.
Aggie says: Okkkkkkkk. Whatever.
Milliken says: Hey, how go the wedding plans?
Aggie says: I’ll give you particulars tomorrow, but if we don’t get a caterer figured out this week, I think we’re going to make the reception a jeans and t-shirt potluck. Tina did order invites today.
Milliken says: Good. When do they arrive?
Aggie says: Get this. They’ll be done on Friday. It pays to have someone with connections. We’re already addressing envelopes. She brought them home with her.
Milliken says: That was smart!
Milliken says: Ok, that’s enough. Get some sleep.
Aggie says: Love you, Mom. Hug Dad for me.
Millken says: Will do. Goodnight.
Aggie says: Nighters.
Chapter Seventeen
Plans and Problems
Saturday, January 31st
The bowl of soup flew across the kitchen. “No!”
Aggie blinked as soup sprayed her cabinets and the bowl shattered on impact with the granite. “Ian!”
“No!”
Feet raced into the kitchen and Vannie stopped frozen in place, stunned by the carnage—or appearance thereof. “What happened?”
“He is either not hungry or he has figured out that I’m a mediocre cook at best.”
A sippy cup flew from the highchair as if to wash it all down. “Ian!”
“Down!”
Vannie started to unlatch the highchair, but Aggie stopped her. “Wait.”
“Huh?”
“Just watch him. I’ll be right back.”
Just out of sight and earshot, Aggie dialed Libby’s number. “Ian is freaking out. He threw his soup and his sippy cup across the kitchen and now he’s demanding to get down. Am I crazy to think that letting him down now will just let him think—something. I don’t even know what he’d think, but it seems like it’s crazy to let him down now…”
“You’re right. He’s too little to help clean it, so he can sit there until you’re done.”
“Earlier he pulled every school book off the shelves in the basement and shredded two. He also threw a fit when I changed him. I think I have a bruise on my chin where he kicked me.”
“Sounds like he’s asserting his independence a little early. Just keep making it fail.”
“Making what fail?”
“Whatever he does to get his way that you don’t like or is dangerous, don’t let him have his way. It teaches him that ugly behavior gets him what he wants.” Libby’s voice was soothing, but her next words nearly made Aggie cry. “You’re going to have to keep him with you at all times for a while.”
“At all times?”
“Do you remember how you described those first weeks with Cari and Lorna?”
“No. I have chosen to forget those days,” she protested.
“Very funny. They wouldn’t have been as crazy if you had simply kept them near you, so you could stop things before they got started.”
“That house was huge! This house is much smaller and it’s huge! How am I supposed to keep them close? They disappear if I blink.”
“Then don’t blink.” Libby’s voice softened. “Look, it’s not easy at first, but you won’t regret it. The trouble Cari and Lorna still get into probably means they should be with you as well.”
“How do I go to the bathroom? I can’t take them in there with me!”
“It always amazes me that moms latch onto the two minutes a day that they must be alone as a reason not to take charge of the other several hundred minutes.”
“That doesn’t solve the bathroom thing.” Aggie held onto the idea tenaciously.
“Have one of the others keep them corralled or something.”
“That was much too easy. Don’t you think you need to think about it for a few weeks?”
“Aggie, you don’t have to do it. You asked for help. You asked me what I would do. I told you.”
“I know,” she admitted. “I just didn’t think you were going to tell me how to smother myself with the kid.”
“It works the other way around, Aggie. You smother the kid with you until you rub off on him.”
Once the call disconnected, Aggie stood in the hall, trying to pray and failing miserably. A wail from Ian jerked her from her trance and she pushed away from the wall, striding toward the kitchen with renewed purpose and a quick p-mail begging God to pray for her since she failed at prayerful concentration. “Coming, Vannie!”
“I tried, but he got madder and madder when I wouldn’t let him out.”
“Go get your science done. I know you’re avoiding it.”
“I don’t want to do the experiment.”
“Skip that until tomorrow. The kitchen won’t be clean before then anyway.”
That sent the girl away with a bounce in her step, leaving Aggie feeling more overwhelmed than ever. “Well, bud. You are going to sit there until I get this mess cleaned up.”
“Down!”
“Nope. Sit there.”
The child strained, trying to force the tray off the chair, but Aggie refused to notice or react. It seemed wrong somehow to ignore a tantrum, but taking him out to deal with it got him his way. She was doomed no matter what she did.
All through the kitchen cleanup, Ian screamed, kicked, and protested in every way his vast knowledge of sixteen months could devise, but Aggie pretended she couldn’t hear him. Pieces of bowl seemed to appear out of nowhere as she dumped one after another into the paper bag. The soup, on the other hand, was the worst. It dripped from the strangest places and always where she’d just cleaned.
As she mopped the floor for the second time, something niggled at Aggie. Something wasn’t right. Her eyes scanned the room looking for the problem and rested on Ian snoozing with his head on the tray. Success—for now.
~*~*~*~
Luke burst through the door. The empty main level sent him flying down the basement steps, but Laird shook his head. “She’s upstairs.”
He hardly paused. Five very confused looking children watched as he spun in place and took the stairs two at a time on his way upstairs. He found the twins napping and the other bedrooms empty. He pulled Cari’s blanket over her shoulder before dashing back into the hall and up the stairs to Aggie’s room. “Aggie?”
“Shh!”
He stuck his head in the door and grinned at the sight of her. Crooking his finger, he beckoned her. Wi
th a glance back to ensure that Ian was still sleeping on her bed, Aggie stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her. “What?” she whispered.
Arms around her waist, he swung her in a half arc, laughing at the stunned expression on her face. “I sold the Victorian.”
“You just bought it!”
“I know. Amber called me today. A man contacted her about finding a house just like it. When she told him we were in escrow on one and I’d probably have it done by May at the latest, he asked for particulars. He wants me to finish the basement with a few specific things, but he’s putting an offer in contingent on the agreed changes.”
“Wow!”
“I know! I’m amazed, but this is perfect. She had the interior pictures to show him; he knows what it looked like, and I emailed pictures of my plans. He loves it.”
“How does it affect your profit?”
“Best offer I’ve ever gotten. Obviously something could go wrong, but with the dates and the things in the contract, he’ll lose his deposit if he backs out before the agreed completion date.” He pointed to her room. “What’s Ian doing in there?”
“He crawled out of the crib again.”
“What? How!”
“I am calling him Hou-Ian-i. The kid is an escape artist. I watched him grab the rail and hoist his hips over like he was a professional vaulter or something.” Aggie sighed. “Your mom is right. I can’t let him out of my sight until I can trust him out of my sight. I’m guessing we’ll be joined at the hip until I’m eighty.”
“Or until he’s eight,” Luke muttered. “I think that’s how old I was before Mom truly trusted me to obey in her absence as much or more as in her presence.” He cracked the door open to check on the tyke. “He looks so innocent asleep.”
“It’s one of those things God did to ensure survival of the species—make ‘em cute while they sleep so auntie-mommies don’t murder them like some animals that eat their young.”
Luke pointed to the table she’d set up by the fireplace. “What are you doing?”
“Choosing decorations, flowers, and food. Well, narrowing. I was getting it down to final two options for you to decide.”
Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) Page 25