For Keeps (Aggie's Inheritance)

by Havig, Chautona

  By the time they’d cleaned up their sewing mess, Luke returned with a wrapped box. It looked like it’d been professionally wrapped, and had the women asked, he would have confessed that it was wrapped by the woman at the local hardware store. As Aggie unwrapped her new “mending basket,” as he called it, the room reverberated with laughter. Slowly, and with great fanfare, she pulled duct tape, super glue, stapler and staples, and a tube of liquid nails from the box. Aggie, between fresh fits of giggles, managed to gasp, “So, now we know Luke’s mending secrets!”

  Martha says: Aggie, honey? Are you there?

  Aggie says: Hey, Mom!

  Martha says: I was wondering how you are feeling these days? Is the ankle bothering you much?

  Aggie says: Not really. I mean, it isn’t perfect, but the way everyone keeps forcing me to rest, it can’t help but heal.

  Martha says: I am glad to hear it. So, it’s not as bad as last time?

  Aggie says: No. The doctor said that he wouldn’t be concerned about it at all if it hadn’t had a good wrench at the old house. He said he thought I would have been walking normally by the next morning.

  Martha says: That’s good.

  Martha says: I was wondering if you thought this month would be a good time to come visit. I miss the children.

  Aggie says: Of course! I keep meaning to bring everyone up, but I don’t know how to prepare for something like that, and Luke still needs a lot of input on what to do around here. My room is almost done though, so then it won’t be so bad.

  Martha says: I think you have enough on your plate without trying to make a trip like that yet.

  Aggie says: Allie did.

  Martha says: Yes, and Allie learned to do it one child at a time. It’s a little like juggling. You don’t usually throw all the balls you can in the air and expect everything to run smoothly.

  Aggie says: I guess. Anyway, regardless, of course I want you to come. Come anytime.

  Martha says: Is it ok if we don’t give much notice? We’ll bring food and such. You don’t have to worry about that.

  Aggie says: Mom, if I know you’re coming days or weeks in advance, I’m going to stress out trying to keep everything great for you, and we both know that’s unrealistic. Just call when you know, or when you’re on the road. Either one works.

  Martha says: I’ll see when your father can get away. He’s been helping the youth clean up lots on the east side. He’ll probably want to wait until that is all finished.

  Aggie says: Makes sense to me. It’d be nice if you could come before the kids start school though.

  Martha says: We’ll try.

  Aggie says: Oh, drat. There is that maintenance warning. I wanted to tell you a few things. Anyway, I’ll talk to you soon. Give Dad a hug for me. I love you.

  Martha says: We love you too. We’re so proud of all you’re doing.

  Aggie says: Mom, I can’t imagine doing anything else now. It’s still all so new, but it’s the new norm.

  Martha says: I knew Allie made a good decision. We’re praying for you still. See you soon.

  Mibs & Co.

  Chapter 5

  Saturday, August 9th

  Aggie tossed her book, scaring the kitten and making it yowl as if attacked. She tried to feel sufficiently guilty, but instead she just felt further irritated. Her foot was fine. In her opinion, she didn’t even need the crutches anymore, but Tina, Luke, and Libby had all demanded that she keep it up for the morning. After sitting and sewing all day, her ankle had ached, and as a result, she’d spent a restless night. So she’d been resting on the couch all morning, and was bored to tears-- literal ones.

  With Tina gone, Vannie and Libby sewed in the library while Luke and the boys added the trim to her new closet and painted it. Ellie, Laird, and Tavish took turns reporting on the activities of Kenzie, Cari, and Lorna while Ian slept. On a trip to rinse brushes, Luke noticed how fidgety Aggie was, and said, “Do you feel like taking a drive? I saw some bookcases on sale in Brunswick and thought you might want to see if they’ll work for that west wall.”

  “Oh! That’s a great idea. I’ll be right out. I need to change.”

  “Aggie, you’re--” he rolled his eyes, “…aaand she’s gone.”

  Minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom wearing a fresh and fun skirt, matching top, and with her hair down from its customary ponytail. Even Luke had to admit the transformation was a pleasant one. He needed to get the work on the house completed enough that Aggie no longer felt the need to help. Though he hadn’t previously noticed, her entire demeanor changed with a fresh set of clothing. She’d overworked herself in the past months. It was time to do what he could to put a stop to that. She had enough work in being a mother without adding a fulltime job as house renovator. Even as he thought it, Luke realized he was mentally doing the thing that drove Aggie crazy most-- making decisions for her.

  Libby nodded approvingly at Aggie’s change of clothes. “Get my Luke to keep you out until after lunch. We’ll be fine here. You should try that Italian place in Brunswick, look at the bookcases, and you should try to find new cushions for that wicker. It’s still just as hideous as ever, and I’m afraid your house will revolt if you don’t do something fast.”

  As he helped her into his truck, Luke asked where she wanted to go first. “Let’s look for cushions first. If my ankle gets sore, I can always just have you decide on the bookcases for me. I’m going to be picky about the cushions.”

  The first three stores were a bust, but at a home goods store, stuffed in a clearance bin in the back corner of the outdoor living department, were the exact cushions she’d dreamed of owning. Bold crimson and white cabana stripes had black pinstripes to combat the candy cane thoughts that tend to accompany stripes of red and white. “I can’t believe we found them! Hey, can you reach those red throw pillows? I’d like um…” She thought carefully for a few seconds and then shrugged. “Two is probably fine.”

  “Mom always suggests two for each couch or loveseat and one for each chair. You need six, don’t you?”

  “They’re five dollars apiece. Can I really justify thirty dollars for something so unessential? I won’t even be using them in the house! It’s just for outdoors.”

  Unwilling to push for something that wasn’t essential or any of his business, Luke pulled two from the shelves above them. He started to bop her with it, and then pulled back in mock horror. “I forgot; no more pillow fights for you!”

  “I fully intend,” she insisted as she pulled the sizes she needed from the shelves, trying desperately not to lose control of her crutches, “to be a successful pillow fighter again-- just as soon as my ankle is fully healed that is.”

  Even as she spoke, Aggie rubbed her ankle against her calf. It protested against so much use. “Come on, Mibs. Let me get what you need. If you go home exhausted and in pain, Mom will thrash me, Tina will drive back from Yorktown, and I’m afraid to think of what she’ll do!”

  “Oooh, he’s skeered of Tiinnaaa…”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Smart man.” Aggie sighed, and pointed to the pieces she needed to replace the hideous ones that now ensured her porch was a nightmare of wicker proportions.

  “Ok, so now that we’ve settled these, what do you think about lunch?” Luke wheeled the cart to his truck, settling Aggie in her seat before he leaned his own side forward and stuffed the pillows behind the seats.

  “Sounds delicious.”

  “So you know where you want to go?”

  “It’s food. I’m starving, ergo, it’s delicious.”

  “You’re easy to please,” Luke teased as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto one of Brunswick’s main streets. “Mom suggested Italian…”

  “Oh, pasta. Lovely properly cooked pasta that doesn’t stick together in a clump or require a knife! I think it’s a brilliant idea.”

  The heat was oppressive. Twice, Aggie reached up to pull her hair into a bun, but had nothing to hold it in place. Not for the
first time, she seriously considered having it cut off in a chin-length bob. “How do you think my hair would look if it was short--say maybe around my chin?”

  Luke, in one of his customary silences, turned onto another street and then pulled into one of the parking spaces in front of a small restaurant. With the truck still running, he hung his left arm over the steering wheel, and pushed himself into the corner of the truck to get a better look at her. “Well, it’d probably look very nice.”

  “You don’t sound like you think it would look very nice.”

  “You asked how I thought it’d look,” he protested, turning off the vehicle and opening his door. “I gave you my honest opinion. I think it’d probably look very nice.” He shut the door and took his time walking around the truck bed to help Aggie. She was already struggling to stand up without putting weight on her ankle.

  “You may mean that, but something about the idea is distasteful to you. I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice.”

  Seconds passed into minutes. He walked her to the door, opened it for her, and waited until they were seated and their drink order taken before Luke said, “I just think you look nice as you are.”

  “I keep thinking about how cool shorter hair would be--”

  “We don’t live in the desert, Aggie. It gets cold too, you know.”

  “I know. I also thought about how convenient it’d be. Wash and go. No snarls, tangles, or braiding it to avoid snarls and tangles.”

  “It sounds like,” he said with an obvious attempt at agreeability, “you’d be very pleased with it.” Then as if making a significant concession, he added, “And, if you don’t like it, you can always let it grow again.”

  “True. I might do it. Well, if I ever find time to make an appointment I think I can actually keep.” She fingered the ends thoughtfully. “How hard do you think it’d be to cut it myself?”

  Before Luke could answer, the waiter brought their drinks and asked if they’d like to order. Once Luke gave their orders, Aggie requested a chair. “I really need to elevate my foot. It’s fine, but I want to keep it that way.”

  As they sat waiting for their food, Luke asked Aggie to plan her basement. On napkins, she drew out the things she thought she’d want or need, including a storage room with shelving. “I thought if I started with things organized, I might be able to keep them organized.”

  “What about the swings and slide and such? Does it matter which section we use for them, or do you really want them that close to the stairs?”

  “I just thought that if their things were the first thing they saw, I’d be able to keep them from roaming the rest of the space and getting into things they shouldn’t.” Aggie’s eyes sought his, looking for answers. “Why do you ask?”

  “Well, I assumed there’d be a slew of toys strewn all over the bottom of the stairs, people getting hit by the swings or children careening down the slide. It seemed a little dangerous.”

  “So what would you do?”

  Luke flipped over the napkin and started sketching again. The improvement in layout was evident almost immediately. With the new plans, the stairs opened into the family room, which flowed naturally into the indoor play area. Her storage area would hold out of season clothing, toys, decorations, and keepsakes. There was even a place to store bicycles out of season. Luke thought of everything.

  The food, much more delicious than either had expected, distracted them from the house plans. They didn’t talk; instead, they enjoyed their meals--lost in their thoughts. Aggie had realized as Luke sketched plans for the basement that once he was done, there’d be no reason for him to come again. Sure, he was a friend now and would spend time with them on occasion, but the easy camaraderie would be gone. That saddened her. She was just about to mention it, when a goofy grin spread across Luke’s face.

  From behind, a chorus of “Happy Birthday,” startled her, nearly causing her to drop her fork in her lap. She peeked over her shoulder and found her parents, Tina, Libby, and all the children crowding around the table singing lustily. Each child held a gift; some were wrapped beautifully, obviously Vannie’s handiwork, while others were a little more unique in their presentation.

  Their waiter, aided by a waitress, scooted tables together, placed chairs, and took drink orders, while another waitress cleared room in front of Aggie for the cake Libby carried. She stood to hug her parents, and held onto her mother a little longer than she ever had. “Thank you for coming, Mom. You don’t know how much it means to me--or do you?”

  “Well, even a delicate little thing like me won’t let anything get in the way of eating cake with my daughter!”

  “I forgot all about it being my birthday.” She slid her eyes sideways and frowned at Luke. “How did you know?”

  “Tina.”

  Remembering, Aggie nudged Tina’s shoulder before returning to her seat. “How did you get here? I thought you had a dinner party with Lance!”

  “I called Dad and asked him to call me home so I could be honest. I want you to know, that little deception is costing me a real dinner with the dude.”

  “Happy Birthday to me. It’s a wonderful gift.” To the table, she made a grand sweeping gesture. “You all can see how loved I am for her to sacrifice herself in order to surprise me. She wouldn’t do that for just anyone.”

  “If you keep this up, I’ll bring him to your house for the dinner and spend the entire evening convincing him why you’d be the perfect little wife.”

  Aggie laughed. “That threat won’t work on me anymore.”

  “Why not?” Tina’s mock affronted attitude did hold a twinge of curiosity.

  “Because. Now that I’m the mother of eight, no one is going to take your matchmaking schemes seriously, and we both know it. I’m safe now.”

  “Safe?” Luke frowned. “Safe from what?”

  “Tina regularly threatens to sic the men her father finds her on me as a means of blackmail. Well, I was just saying that it won’t work anymore.” Sticking her tongue out at Tina, Aggie continued. “See, I’ve always thought that with Tina in the offing, no one would take a second glance at me, but she likes to swear that I have the ‘girl next door’ appeal, and that men always choose that over petite, gorgeous, and obscenely wealthy.” Aggie snickered.

  “And your point?” There was a hint of an edge to Luke’s tone that she brushed off as dry mouth when he immediately grabbed his drink.

  “Well, even if every up and coming junior executive in Mr. Warden’s company was on the prowl for a simple girl with eclectic tastes, they’d go running now, wouldn’t they?”

  Under his breath, Luke growled, “Mibs, stop it!”

  “Wha--”

  “I think it’s time for presents,” Martha Milliken announced. “How about we go alphabetically this time? Let’s see, I think that puts Cari first.”

  The children each gave her gifts that they’d made, some with Tina’s help. Both Cari and Lorna gave her a refrigerator magnet made from clay. Ellie’s gift was the picture of Ian that she’d drawn at the children’s museum. Tina had taken it to be professionally framed, and Aggie knew exactly where she’d put it. Her little bookworm, Tavish, gave her a handmade bookmark, and Laird had found a small shelf in the attic that he’d sanded and spray painted for her bathroom. To her astonishment, the skirt Vannie had cut out, presumably for herself, was wrapped in Vannie’s distinctive style. Another bookmark from Kenzie completed the children’s pile.

  “Well, I am overwhelmed. Everything is so special, particularly since you each made it for me. Thank you so much.”

  “Don’t forget mine,” Tina pushed a small gift bag across the table.

  “Let me guess, perfume?”

  “Would it be anything else?”

  “It better not be,” Aggie teased. “I am almost to the point that it isn’t a waste to try to wear it.”

  Curious, Luke took the bottle from the table and sniffed the lid. A hint of fragrance, one he obviously recognized made him smil
e. “That’s Aggie all right. I’d recognize that scent anywhere.”

  “Here’s ours…” Martha passed a boxy-looking package to her. “I hope I got them right.”

  Vannie squealed when she saw the collection of Gene Kelly movies, and Aggie nodded happily at the sight of her favorite author’s name on the cover of two books. “Perfect. If I just find time to read them--”

  “We’ll make sure of that,” Libby assured her. “Here, my turn.”

  As Aggie pulled tissue paper away from the contents of the box, she expected to find another garment, but instead, cheerful geranium valances peeked out at her. “Oh! You made me the curtains! How did I never see you measure for them or anything?”

  “I didn’t have to. Luke had all the measurements in his notebook.”

  “That would explain it.” She opened gifts from Mrs. Dyke, Murphy, and William, and added them to the enormous pile on the table. “I want to thank--”

  “Wait, Aggie. You’re missing one.” Libby fumbled with the wrapping paper piles, searching for something. “Luke, where is your gift? You worked so hard on it!”

  “I couldn’t very well bring it in when we came in, could I? Laird, would you go get the thing wrapped in newspaper behind my seat in the truck?” He tossed the keys at Laird and grinned.

  When they returned with the gift, Aggie wasn’t surprised to see it wrapped in newspaper; after all, Luke had said it was. However, the blue painter’s tape strategically placed as ribbon and the blue tape folded bow was an interesting touch. “How did you do that?”

  “You can do anything with a little tape and a staple or two. I thought you would have realized that after your gift last night.”

  Carefully, so as not to ruin it, Aggie peeled the perfect little bow from the package and set it aside. Ian reached for it, but Aggie moved out of his reach. Amused, Tina snagged a strip of tape from the wrappings that Aggie discarded, and used it to tape the bow to Aggie’s purse. “There, now it’s protected, and you won’t forget it.”