For Keeps (Aggie's Inheritance)

by Havig, Chautona

  “Why matching shorts? Why not just a couple of generic colors?”

  “Well, two reasons. One, if you get behind on laundry, she’ll be without them. Two, if you have shorts out of the same fabric as the skirt, then when the skirt comes up, you still see ‘skirt’ so to speak.”

  “Well, that’s something I’d never have thought of!”

  “You didn’t raise three daughters!”

  Vannie’s eyes twinkled. “Well, she’ll have raised at least five by the time we’re all grown!”

  The stunned look on Aggie’s face sent Vannie and Libby into titters. “Oh, Aggie,” Libby gasped. “Your face!”

  “I just never thought about the fact that I have five daughters. Five! That’s five weddings!”

  “And five graduations, and five sweet sixteen parties, and then five proms--”

  “Oh, will I get to go to prom, Aunt Aggie?” Vannie’s eyes were wide with amazement.

  “I don’t know. What would your mother have said?”

  “Mommy thought that they’d disintegrated into very inappropriate dancing and immodest clothes.”

  “Well, I’d say that was true at mine. We left early.”

  “Who did you go with?” Once again, Vannie latched onto anything that smelled like romance.

  “Tina.”

  “As in Aunt Tina?” The girl’s face couldn’t have been more disappointed.

  “Yep. We got dresses, corsages, had our hair done, went out to dinner, and then went to the prom. We lasted about an hour before we decided it was the dumbest thing we’d ever done.”

  “Why?” Libby and Vannie grinned as they spoke in unison.

  “Well,” Aggie almost felt cheapened knowing that her sister had probably disapproved of her evening. “I guess because the room was full of people dancing in ways we wouldn’t, talking in ways we wouldn’t, and behaving in ways they’d never behave if their parents could see them. It was revolting. Not everyone, mind you,” she hastened to add. “Just so many that it ruined the atmosphere. We had more fun getting ready, taking pictures, and eating ice cream and watching a movie when we got home, than we did there.”

  “So, probably no prom.” It was hard to tell if Vannie was disappointed or relieved.

  “I can probably promise to go check out the prom the year before your turn and see what I think of it. If it looks like the clean fun it should be, you can probably go. After all, you’ll be going to Brunswick High, not Rockland or Yorktown. It’s a smaller town and those places tend to be a little more conservative.”

  “No one will probably ask me anyway.” The dejection was unmistakable.

  “Vannie?”

  The girl glanced up at her aunt. “Hmm?”

  “First, that’s not true. I think it’s unlikely that you won’t get an invitation. Second, you’re too concerned with what will happen years from now. You have at least four years. Don’t worry about it yet.” She grinned, “And last, even if you don’t like the guys that ask you, you’ll probably have friends to go with. It’s more common for girls to go in groups now.”

  “I guess.” The girl held up her finished skirt. “I’m going to go try it on with that shirt Aunt Tina found.”

  Once Vannie was upstairs, Libby turned to Aggie. “I know you feel insecure in your job. It’s hard to know if you’re doing the right thing, saying the right thing…”

  “You’re telling me.”

  “But Aggie, you’re a natural at it when you’re not concentrating so hard on doing everything perfectly. That was a brilliant conversation.”

  “Really? I thought I botched it.”

  Libby made an exaggerated roll of her eyes and threw up her hands as if to say, “What do I do with her, Lord?” She hugged Aggie briefly and said, “You gave her hope but made no promises. You showed her that you’d be reasonable but wouldn’t compromise standards. You also didn’t let her dwell on things that were untrue about herself--a lesson you could learn.”

  Before she could continue, Vannie called for her from her room. “Can you come see this, Mrs. Sullivan?”

  “I think she’s discovered that she used a zipper too long. I mentioned it once, but she thought she knew best.”

  “Ugh. The story of my life.”

  While Vannie and Libby sorted out the issue of the zipper, Aggie went to check on Luke’s progress. It seemed odd that he was working on things without her, but she’d decided to focus on clothes until he went to work on the basement. It seemed as if things were going much slower without her--a fact that was gratifying.

  “So, how is it going?”

  “Well, the floor is sanded, and I have primer on the walls anyway. It’s taking forever to get everything smooth.”

  “See, and you thought I was no help. Ha!”

  Luke’s eyes smiled before it reached his lips. “Aggie, we got what we got done as fast as we did because you never quit. You’re like the Energizer bunny. You kept going, and going, and going…”

  The happiness his words brought was evident immediately. “I wondered if I didn’t slow you down. It’s not like I know much.”

  For a moment, it looked as if Luke was going to say something, but he turned and opened a new tack cloth. Starting at the far corner, he began wiping, and as he did, he spoke. “Aggie, I overheard some of your conversation with Mom and Vannie.”

  “That’s becoming a habit of yours, isn’t it?” Her hand flew to her mouth. What had been meant as a joke sounded like a rebuke. “Oh, Luke. I’m sorry. I was teasing but--”

  “Well, it’s true, isn’t it? It isn’t intentional, but still…”

  “But, I know you weren’t being nosey. You know that anything that goes on in this house is open to your knowledge, right?”

  He glanced back at her. “That is quite a trust you’ve given me. Thanks.” Several more swipes of the cloth came before he spoke again. “Mom’s right, you know. You’re good with her. You’re good with all of them. I think your sister was a blessed woman to have someone like you to trust her children with.”

  Thursday, August 28th

  Late Thursday afternoon, Tina and Luke admired the row of outfits hanging on the doorjamb to the library. How they’d accomplished so much in so little time, Aggie couldn’t tell. She’d finished two skirts and two t-shirt dresses in three weeks. During that time, Vannie had completed three dresses and four skirts. Libby, on the other hand, had created six outfits for Kenzie, three each for the twins, and a couple of church dresses for Vannie. Somewhere in that mess of things, each girl managed to acquire three nightgowns. Aggie was both discouraged and impressed.

  “How did you get so much done when you weren’t here for a week!”

  Libby looked a little embarrassed at Aggie’s effusive praise. “Well, if you want the truth, I sew faster at home and alone. Most of this I did while helping Corinne.” She glanced over their work. “This’ll only get them to the first cold part of winter. They’ll need warmer things by then. We have more sewing to do.”

  Aggie’s gulp was clearly visible. “Oh, help. I don’t think I can do it again!”

  “You’re learning,” Libby insisted charitably.

  “At the rate of a snail across a porch, maybe.”

  Tina interjected an opinion before Aggie could disparage her work further. “Well, considering that you created something wearable, cute, and that won’t fall apart without repeated applications of glue, I’d say you’ve come a long way, baby.” She elbowed Libby as she continued. “I’ve a mind to take pictures and email them to Ms. Slade.”

  “You do that. Meanwhile, I fully intend to collapse on the couch until one of the kids demands my attention.” She sighed. “Tina, remember my idea for moving into a tiny house so the kids would have to stay in eyeshot or earshot?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I think I should have done that. This getting up every few minutes is for the birds.”

  The other two women exchanged glances, and before Aggie knew what happened, the children were changed
into swimsuits and packed into the van. “We’ll bring them home in time for bed and not a minute before. Take my car, go see a movie, go out to dinner, or go take a long, hot bath.”

  “Oh, you don’t--”

  “We want to, Aggie. Goodbye!” Libby’s cheerful voice rang out on her way to the van. Squeals of excitement faded as they drove down the driveway and off to town.

  Luke glanced at her. “Ok, what’s it going to be?”

  “What’s what going to be?”

  “What do you want to do? Movie, dinner, bath--” He frowned. “That did not come out right.”

  Laughing, Aggie dragged herself back off the couch and pointed to the basement. “Let’s see if we can get that drywall finished.”

  “Oh, no. I am not going to risk a tongue-lashing from mom. No siree.”

  “Coward.” Her eyes challenged him to recant.

  “I do not deny it. If you’d lived with my mom for twenty-eight years, you’d never consider crossing her. It isn’t allowed.”

  “But I want to get it done. I want this house project finished. I’m tired of all the upheaval.”

  “Yeah, it’d probably be nice to have your family back to yourself more often, wouldn’t it?”

  She’d forgotten that with the house finished, Luke wouldn’t be there every day. “I--”

  “It’s ok, Aggie. I understand. Anyone--”

  “No, Luke. I just forget that finishing meant you wouldn’t be around anymore.” She sighed. “We’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll have to bribe the kids to unplug appliances and unscrew door knobs so you’ll call and ask me to come help.”

  “You don’t need an invitation, silly man.” Aggie grabbed an armful of the hanging clothes and started for the stairs. “I have a bad feeling that we’ve taken terrible advantage of you. I hope you’ll come back and just be here because we like having you around, not because we need something from you.”

  Obviously amused by her inability to ignore work, Luke grabbed the rest of the garments and followed her upstairs. “You should be reading a book, taking a bath, or ordering food that you never get to have anymore. You should not be doing laundry.”

  “This isn’t laundry! I’m putting away the fruits of our labors. First stop, Cari and Lorna’s room.”

  Each garment was hung in its proper room, the nightgowns removed from their hangers and folded into proper drawers. She carried the empty hangers back down to the laundry room and turned to find Luke watching her with an unreadable expression in his face. Assuming he was ready to scold again, she feigned defeat. “Ok, ok. How about this? You go get us Chinese food, and I’ll take a shower and find those movies Mom got me for my birthday.”

  “Deal. Do you like it spicy or mild?”

  Aggie shrugged. “I’m good with either. Just make sure there’s crab and cheese fried wontons.”

  “Rangoons?”

  “Yeah. Those.”

  Grinning, Luke stuffed his hand into his pocket, retrieved his phone and keys, and dialed a number before he made it to his truck. Eager to be dressed and downstairs before he returned, Aggie rushed up to the top floor, panting after two flights of stairs, and threw open her dream of a closet. The mostly empty shelves and sparsely filled rods looked a little forlorn, particularly when most of the clothes on them looked so ratty. She started to reach for her most comfortable skirt and then paused. It was stained with paint, ripped in two places, and had a bleach spot the size of a coffee cup on the back. What was the point of having time to herself if she had to look tatty to do it?

  Most of her clothing fit in two categories--dilapidated and dressy. She flipped through piece after piece until she found a skirt that she’d forgotten she owned. It was a perfect compromise. Once the basement was done, she’d wear things like it every day. Her favorite white blouse wasn’t too wrinkled after hanging for a few days. “I need to rediscover the joys of ironing,” she muttered.

  She was downstairs, the movie zipped past the thousand and one previews, plates and utensils waiting on the coffee table, and drinks on coasters before Luke returned carrying a huge brown paper bag of food. “You’re fast,” he teased, pulling a placemat from the drawer in the kitchen and grabbing a couple of serving spoons.

  “We probably won’t finish before the kids get home, but I thought we could try.”

  “What are we watching?” Luke pulled out two containers. “Sesame Chicken or Beef Broccoli?” He smiled as she reached for the container closest to her. “That’s a pretty skirt, Mibs.”

  “Both, of course.” Aggie was not about to let the topic drift to anything personal. She was still just a little jittery after his last discussion.

  “Is it new?”

  “Is what new?” She dug through the bag looking for her wontons.

  “The skirt? I’ve never seen it before.”

  “Well, I can hardly wear it painting, or I’d ruin it, wouldn’t I?”

  He shrugged. “So, it’s not new then.”

  “Who cares?” With a wonton in each hand, she offered one to him. “Want one?”

  “Sure.” His grin told her he was enjoying her discomfiture. “I know how much it’s frustrated you to have to wear the same worn things all the time. I just thought it must be nice to wear something different and wondered if it was new.”

  Aggie felt terrible. “Sorry. I think I’m a bit sensitive about my wardrobe these days. I keep expecting Geraldine to show up any minute and tell the world that my clothes are proof that I can’t afford to take care of these kids.”

  “Well, Geraldine can’t show up without going to jail, so I think I wouldn’t care what she thought.”

  “True.” She took a bite of broccoli and sighed. “Oh, this is so good.”

  “I overheard someone last week say that Wong’s was the best beef broccoli they’d ever had, so I tried it.”

  She gave him a sidelong glance. Was he really going to let her avoid the question? “Luke?”

  “Hmm?”

  “It’s not new. Well, that is I haven’t purchased it recently. I bought it just before Allie--” she swallowed hard. “Well, I just haven’t had much chance to wear it. I think I had it on when I went van shopping. Maybe that’s why Jeff the Jerk was so insufferable.”

  “Jeff the Jerk?”

  With her legs curled beneath her, Aggie sank into the couch cushions and allowed herself to relax. “Well, I had to have a new van. All I had was the little Beetle convertible I’d driven since high school-- doesn’t really hold everyone.”

  “I imagine not.”

  “Well, I got out at this one place and this guy, Jeff, came up to me. He kept trying to sell me whatever they must have been pushing that week. First a Miata, then an SUV. When I told him I wanted a van for my eight kids, I think he asked if I knew what caused ‘that.’”

  “You have to be kidding me.”

  “Nope. Then, when he found out they weren’t my biological kids, he asked why my sister was so selfish as not to leave their van to me for the kids. It was just horrible.”

  “Oh, Mibs, I’m so sorry.” He sounded angry rather than sorry.

  “It’s so common now, the kids and I make fun of it, but that was the first time I had to hear how excessively prolific I seemed to people.”

  “You sure his name wasn’t Chuck?”

  “Sure. Why?”

  Luke grinned. “There’s a guy named Chuck. I think he works for a car dealer too. Let’s just say that that sounds exactly like something he’d say.” Luke pointed to the remote. “So, what are we watching?”

  “For Me and My Gal.”

  “What’s it about?”

  “Gene Kelly is a vaudeville--”

  Luke pretended to groan. “Gene Kelly and vaudeville. Let me guess. It’s a musical.”

  “It won’t work, mister. You voluntarily stuck Fred Astaire in while I was gone one night.”

  With a fresh pile of fried rice on his plate, Luke leaned back in ‘his’ chair, put his feet up, and nodded. “
A guy has to try. I’d be kicked out of the man-cave club if I didn’t at least pretend to hate musicals once in a while.”

  “Well, that’ll last you for a week or three.”

  “I bet William truly does despise them, doesn’t he?” There was an indefinably odd sound to Luke’s voice.

  “I don’t know, but if I had to bet, I’d say he couldn’t stand them. I really have a hard time imagining tough-guy William watching Gene Kelly dressed as a clown and dancing.”

  The opening music began, and Aggie sighed. “I have a feeling he’s the one missing out on things.”

  When war broke out in Europe, Luke reached for the remote, brushing her hand away, and paused it. “Thanks.”

  “What for?”

  “For picking one that has a little action beyond guy meets girl and singing and dancing his way into her heart.”

  “There’s a side of you that abandons the prose, isn’t there?”

  Luke laughed. “Look who is talking. ‘Abandons the prose.’ Are you sure you were a history major?”

  “Definitely. Grammar is not my forte.”

  Without any contradiction, Luke punched the pause button again and set his plate on the table. The movie continued for the next half hour in absolute silence. Gene Kelly had just stopped the convoy when the lights of the van pulled into the driveway.

  “Drat.” Aggie’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, that was bad.”

  “There’s nothing evil about wanting to finish a movie, Mibs. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

  “It just seems rude-- irresponsible even.”

  Luke’s response was drowned out by the shrieks and greetings of weary but hyped-up children. The movie paused while children clamored for hugs, kisses, and goodnight prayers. Luke and Libby, rookies to Lorna, Cari, and Kenzie’s unorthodox prayer style, found themselves covering their mouths, trying not to laugh.