“Really?”
“Yep.” After a quick consultation with the menu, Aggie passed it to Vannie. “Crepes and fruit for me. What do you want?”
“I’ll take the same.” Vannie didn’t even glance at the choices. “Aunt Aggie?”
“Hmm?” Fumbling for the remote to watch one of those “fashion disaster” shows, Aggie wasn’t paying much attention to her niece and missed the timidity behind the forthcoming question.
“Do you think Ellie, Kenzie, and the twins will get a chance to do things like this?”
“Like what?”
Vannie’s arm swept the room. “Coming to the city and having dinner and a sleepover-- stuff like this. If you marry Luke, will you still be able to do stuff like this?”
“Oh, Vannie. Of course, I can. This is what being a mom is, sweetie. It’s spending time with your kids because you just love being with them. Luke or whoever I married would probably do similar things with the boys--take them fishing, hunting, and camping--things like that.”
Relief washed over the girl’s features. “I thought maybe a husband wouldn’t like it if you went away.”
“Not every day, no, but Luke understands my responsibilities and priorities. He would want me to take time to make special memories with each one of you.”
“Are you going to marry him? I thought you weren’t sure.”
“I’m not sure, no, but it’s hard to imagine my life without him, so…” Aggie shrugged. “Ok, let’s get this breakfast ordered. We have spa appointments, shopping to do, and obscene amounts of money to spend.”
“You never spend money unless you have to!” Vannie looked stunned.
“Well, we are today. Go get your shower, and I’ll order breakfast.”
Vannie grabbed her clothes and scuttled to the bathroom. Just before she shut the door, the girl peeked her head back out the door. “Um, Aunt Aggie?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I have Belgian waffles instead? I really don’t like crepes very much.”
~*~*~*~
“Tina’s here! What is she doing here?” Aggie pulled into the drive behind her friend’s car. She glanced at her niece. “So, are you ready to show everyone your new hairstyle and clothes?”
Vannie popped the sun visor down and peeked at the mirror one last time. “I feel like I look so different. Do I?”
“Well, the hairstyle really shapes your face. You look young, but a little more mature. I don’t think we could have picked a better style, and your nails are awesome! I’m so glad you were able to grow them a little longer than usual. It really gave them something to work with.”
Squealing children burst from the house and swarmed the car. Aggie watched as the children surrounded Vannie, all exclaiming over her “makeover.” Luke came out onto the step and set Ian on the gravel. The tiny unsteady steps of her little “son” as he stumbled across the uneven ground of the drive tugged at her heart. She hurried around the front of the car, her purse abandoned on the hood, and rushed across the short distance to scoop up the giggling baby. “Gaggie!”
She snuggled the baby whispering, “I love you, little man.”
Luke stepped closer, ready to welcome her home but his uncertainty was visible. Unaware of the audience watching through the dining room window, Aggie met Luke at the base of the steps and gave him a quick hug. “We talked about you.”
“Oh, you did?” Though he tried to feign nonchalance, Luke looked pleased.
“You’ll have to get any details you want out of Vannie. I’m not going there.”
As she reached the top of the steps, Luke’s quiet voice stopped her. “You were missed, Mibs. Not just by me-- by everyone.”
Aggie’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s supposed to mean that I thought you’d want to know you are loved and missed when you aren’t around.” The hint of hurt in his eyes told her he’d meant to encourage rather than reprove.
“Sorry, I think I’ve gotten too used to hearing criticism for my decisions and actions.”
Luke jerked his head toward the house. “There’s a room full of people in there just waiting to tell you how much they approve of you and your decisions. Listen to them for a while, and tune out the naysayers.”
Embarrassed both by Luke’s words and by her ungracious response, Aggie gave him a weak smile and carried Ian into the house. Libby worked in the kitchen preparing dinner, Tina was stuffing floor puzzle pieces in the appropriate box, and Ron Milliken dozed in a chair. “Where’s Mom?” Her whisper was loud enough to be heard outside, but Ron didn’t stir.
“It became a little hectic after your dad fell asleep, so I sent her to their room with earbuds and my iPod. She requested The Beach Boys, so I found the ones we downloaded for the Surf Party last fall.”
“I’ll go see her.” Tina reached to take Ian, but the little boy clung to Aggie, burying his head in her shoulder. “I’ll take him with me. I missed this guy.”
“Looks like he’s not the only guy you missed.”
An involuntary glance out the screen door verified Tina’s assertions, but Aggie wasn’t aware that she was so transparent. She whispered silly nothings into Ian’s ear, tickling it with her breath and slipped into her guest room, grateful for Luke’s speed in finishing it. “Mom?”
Martha tried to “unscrew” the earbuds from her ears. “I just got these things to stay in too!”
“Sorry. We’re back.” Stating the obvious was a brilliant way to ensure she felt as foolish as possible.
“Did you have a good time?”
“We did. That girl really opens up when there’s no one else around. She’s a walking question!”
A knowing look covered Martha’s face. “I know what you mean. Last summer they went camping for two weeks just outside of town, and Dad and I took a few days with each of the older kids at our house. I don’t think that girl stopped talking the entire time. ‘What was Mommy like when she was my age?’ ‘Did Mommy like to read books or watch movies more?’ ‘Did Mommy have lots of friends?’ ‘Did Mommy always want a large family?’ ‘Did lots of guys like her when she was in school?’”
“Of course-- the guys. I’m terrified that we’re going to have a boy-crazy dynamo on our hands.”
“Well,” the older woman began, watching her youngest grandchild cling to her youngest child in a way that visibly moved her, “I think this home-schooling thing might help with that. She’ll have more time to come to terms with it all before she’s flung into a world where it’s expected-- and so young these days!”
“That’s true. She sure seems obsessed by who likes me and why. Who I like and why. When will I marry someone? Why won’t I marry William? Why don’t I love Luke as much as he loves me? When will she know she found the right guy if I’m having so much trouble?”
“You’re having trouble?”
“Apparently.” Aggie giggled. “You know, Vannie seems to have a very black and white approach to things. If someone loves you, you should love them back unless they’re unlovable. When I asked why, she said because we shouldn’t ‘prefer’ one another like that. So, I guess it’s a first come-first served situation at the smorgasbord of love. Luke is out of luck. William got there first, after all.”
A knock interrupted the mother-daughter conversation a few minutes later. “Aggie, can I talk to you?” Luke’s face looked confused.
“Sure! Mom, do you think--” Aggie shook her head. “Nope. This boy isn’t letting me go anywhere tonight.” Stepping into the hallway, she closed the door behind her. “Is everything ok?”
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know. Mom seems upset. She just asked if I’d take her home, apologized for not bringing the car--she never does that if we’re both coming--and said she’d go wait out there for me.”
“That seems strange. I hope she’s feeling ok. So, what can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you were too tired for me to come back later. I think Tina is staying, so I don’t
want to interfere, but…”
“She’ll probably have to turn in early so she can get up early and be back at school.” She smiled up at him, unaware that her expression made him swallow awkwardly. “I brought back a few westerns to watch. They’re apparently adapted from Louis L’Amour’s books. I thought it’d be fun for Tavish, but I want to preview them first. We could make popcorn…”
“That almost sounds like an invitation.”
Aggie looked at the little boy snuggled in her arms. “You’d think a man would know an invitation when he heard one, wouldn’t you?”
Ian’s face never left hers, but he nodded and said, “Gaggie.”
“There you have it. The little man has spoken.”
Luke’s hand rested on Ian’s head for a moment. She saw reflected in his eyes the desire to touch her in some affectionate way. Just as she saw his hand move past Ian’s head toward her face, he dropped it with a smile. “I’ll be back then-- as long as you’re sure.”
“Luke, I made an invitation. I’m not going to beg.” What was meant as teasing sounded all wrong. “Oh, Luke, I’m sorry. That didn’t come out right.”
“See you after a while, Mibs.”
A sense of disappointment washed over her as he left. As much as she tried to discount it, Aggie knew she’d hoped he’d make that gesture. “Thanks, Luke.”
He turned, halfway down the hallway, and paused. “What for?”
“Everything! You just do… everything for me-- us. It’s unreal how much you do for us. Thank you.”
He retraced his steps, hands settled on his hips as if preparing for a battle instead of an acceptance of gratitude. His forearms flexed as if he forced them to stay in place. “You make it so easy, Mibs. You make it so easy.”
~*~*~*~
“I don’t know, Aggie. We were in here working on something, she went to check the dryer, came back, packed up her stuff, and took it to Luke’s truck. I have no idea what got into her, but she was weird.” Tina kicked off her shoes and shut the window almost all the way. “It’s getting a little cool.”
Aggie sighed. It’d been too much for Libby. For weeks, she’d given so much of herself, her time, and herself to Aggie’s family, and now Aggie felt terrible. “You know that verse that says to leave your friend’s house or he’ll get sick of you and hate you? I think it works with help too. Aggie’s paraphrased version goes something like this, ‘Don’t let dear friends help you too often or you’ll become a burden and they’ll want to stay far away from you.’”
“That doesn’t sound scriptural, Aggie. What about the verses about bearing one another’s burdens and such?”
“Dunno. So, what time do you have to be at school tomorrow?”
“I’m not going back.”
“What!”
Tina shook her head. “Nope, I decided I need a trimester off--well, almost off. My Ed Psych class has an online version that my professor said I could transfer to--he’s fixing that up for me--but I dropped the rest of them and told my advisor that I’d be back next trimester, but I needed a break.”
“Why!”
“You’re not going to like this…” Tina warned.
“Oh no. If you are getting back together with Rick--”
“Not that bad. Nope, I’m staying here and helping you for the trimester.”
As usual, Aggie’s thoughts flooded her face before her words could formulate in her throat. “You can’t do that!”
“I can, and I did. It’s not a purely selfless act of peace and goodwill.”
“I’ve got to hear the rationale on this one. Do tell.”
Tina’s eyes sparkled. “How can I get to know William better if I’m halfway across the state?”
“Wow! That was fast.”
“Nuh, uh! I’ve been waiting to make sure you were decided against him, took a week to pray about it, and then decided. You need help, and I want to know if he’s the man I hope he is.”
“Wow,” Aggie knew her friend had shown interest, but this sounded more serious than she’d ever imagined, “I had no idea you were so… attached?”
“I’m not--yet--but I think I could be.” Tina’s eyes sparkled as she spoke and then clouded as a new thought came to mind. “Are you sure, Aggie? He’s a really great guy. Yeah, I know, he has some issues, but--”
“I’m not interested.” The finality in Aggie’s tone surprised even her. “I-- I’m just not, but I do agree he’s a wonderful man-- when he doesn’t let his job take over his personality.”
The crunch of tires on the driveway followed a sweep of headlights through the living room. “I think I’ll go to my room now.”
“You don’t have to, Tina. We’re not going to run you off.”
“Do you really think I’m going to watch a movie with a name like that?” One eyebrow rose. “With you and your non-boyfriend boyfriend? I don’t think so.”
Luke entered just as Tina headed down the hallway, but Tina kept walking as she called, “G’night, Luke,” over her shoulder.
“Don’t you want to--”
“Nope. You’ll see why when you hear the title.”
His eyes traveled to Aggie’s. “Should I be concerned?”
Aggie passed him the movie. “I thought I should preview it.”
“Heller in Pink Tights?” He stared at her, stunned. “This is a western-- for your son?”
“I thought it was odd, but do you know how hard it is to find Louis L’Amour movies?”
Shaking his head and muttering, “In pink tights…” Luke ambled into the kitchen. “I’ll make popcorn; you get the--” he choked, “movie going.”
As she unwrapped the box and put the movie in the tray, Aggie heard him muttering in the kitchen and smiled. This was going to be good. “Hey, don’t forget the Parmesan!”
When Luke returned, he handed her a bowl and hesitated. “Oh, I forgot napkins. Do you want something to drink?”
“I think I saw root beer in there. That’d be great.” As she waited, Aggie thought. When he returned, she gestured at the opposite corner of the couch. “Make yourself comfortable. This could be a long movie.”
The man’s face visibly relaxed. He settled into the couch, gave Aggie one more look that said, “I think you’re nuts,” and then uncapped the bottle. “Let ‘er rip.”
“I think that’s illegal.”
Luke frowned, confused. “Illegal?”
“Ripping DVDs. Isn’t that illegal? Piracy and all that stuff?”
He reached across the couch and took the remote from her hand. Punching it, he tossed it back to her and waited for the credits to roll. Seconds later, he glanced her way again. “Ok, Grecian looking gals on a western movie board?”
“I don’t know!”
The leading lady’s high-jinks were bad enough, but when she unknowingly separated a sketch of an unclothed woman as she opened a sliding window, Aggie and Luke both gasped. “I thought you said L’Amour was clean!”
“I’ve never read anything that described something like that! My guess is Hollywood license. What year was this made?”
Aggie grabbed the case from the table and searched for a year on it. When that failed, she reached under the couch for her laptop and pulled it out. Thanks to Google, she had answers in seconds. “Well, it’s ‘adapted’ from the book Heller with a Gun. That’s probably a big part of it. The year is nineteen sixty. I don’t quite get that. Mom always said nineteen sixty-three was kind of the cut-off. Before sixty-three, Mom says most movies are pretty safe.”
“Well this one sure isn’t.” Luke frowned looking uncomfortable.
Aggie started to offer to turn it off when the theater owner spoke a line that brought cheers from both of them. No sir! You can’t get away with makin’ fun out of marriage in Cheyenne! “Ok, maybe it got the cheap thrills out of it at the beginning,” Aggie conceded.
“We can hope.”
Her suggestion proved correct. Aside from a few carefully worded propositions, the rest of the movie was
not only free from undressed pictures but actually developed a plot. However, as soon as it ended, Aggie ejected it, returned the disk to its case, and tossed it in the kitchen garbage can. “Tavish isn’t watching that, and I’ve seen enough for a lifetime.”
~*~*~*~
From Luke’s perspective, Tina’s words as she disappeared behind her bedroom door made him nervous, but the sight of the movie box was worse. Pink tights? Luke forced himself not to give an honest opinion of any “western” that included pink or tights in the title. It sounded like a revisionist, politically correct, “alternative lifestyle” version of Robin Hood and his “merry band of men”-- something he’d rather avoid wherever possible. To help keep his remarks internal, he volunteered to tackle popcorn duty.
As he plugged in the air popper, measured out a generous number of kernels, and popped a stick of butter in the microwave for melting, Luke’s mind whirled. He needed to try to treat her as someone special to him-- not quite as a fiancée, but more than a buddy. Deciding how to do that was harder than he’d anticipated. It was easier to make gestures like leaving a note-- His mind froze. Notes. He could do that. Luke forced himself back to the topic up for debate in his exhausted gray matter.
Did he sit next to her? What would the point be? Any physical contact would be awkward at best. If he sat in his usual spot, it might look like he was distancing himself-- not the impression he hoped to make When she gestured for him to sit near, but not right next to her, a tidal wave of relief washed over him. You’re making this too complicated, Lucas!
The cheesy credit boards, combined with Grecian ladies in a western movie nearly sent him over the edge. Sophia Loren had always been a favorite of his Aunt Martha’s, but Luke didn’t care for her. An hour and a half of Sophia Loren was almost torture, but Aggie was worth it. He smiled to himself as the thought danced across his mind. Yes, Aggie was definitely worth it-- particularly considering that he wasn’t going to be able to concentrate on the movie anyway.
For Keeps (Aggie's Inheritance) Page 32