Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Volume 6

by Chautona Havig

  Even as she spoke, Luke shook his head. “I can’t take all your helpers, Mibs.”

  “I can manage with just the younger four. Willow is here.”

  “And me.” Becca smiled. “Aside from some soap making next week, I’m pretty much free after basic feeding and stuff.” She gave Willow a mock glare. “Especially since she won’t let me chop the wood.”

  Aggie and Luke exchanged glances before Luke nodded. “Okay. I’ll take ‘em.”

  “I’m off tomorrow and the next day. I can help too.” Chad’s eyes slid to Willow. “Unless you need me for something?”

  “Nope.”

  “Married only three years and she no longer needs me. Guess the honeymoon ended.” Chad turned to Josh. “Take note now…”

  “Becca would probably consider my absence an advantage considering my ineptitude for work around here.” Josh winked at her. “But she can’t kiss a goat. Just putting that out there…”

  Willow laughed as Becca assured him that many women married men and ended up with goats. She stood. “I think I’ll take Kari upstairs. This is getting to be a little too much information—”

  “Otherwise known as TMI,” Josh joked.

  “TMI?”

  “Too much—”

  “Information,” Willow finished. “What’s with our society? Everything is an acronym.” She inched toward the doorway. “Or should that be EIAA?”

  Chad rose. “I’ll get her.”

  “If you make her trip while carrying that baby,” Aggie warned.

  At the doorway, Chad glanced over his shoulder. “If you think you scare me, you’ve got another thing coming. I’m married to Willow after all.”

  Chapter 196

  “Peace, perfect peace...” Aggie’s voice filled the entire downstairs as she rushed to break up another argument between Cari and Kenzie.

  Upstairs, Willow pulled out her phone. “Chad?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are you away from Luke so you can talk?”

  She heard the muffled sounds of Chad opening and closing a door. “Am now, why? What’s up?”

  “I love Aggie. I really do.”

  “But…”

  Nervous, Willow peeked her head out her door to ensure no one could overhear her and closed it again. Leaning against it, she sighed. “If that woman sings one more hymn when one more thing goes right, wrong, or indifferent, I swear I’m going to throw the hymnal at her.” Chad’s chuckles filled the phone until she added, “Can you bring home a hymnal? Don’t want to ruin Mother’s.” Chuckles morphed into laughter at that.

  “Sure. I’ll bring three… because you know it won’t stop her.”

  “I like hymns—or I did. I really do—did. Whatever. But honestly, how do those kids stand it? When it’s time to pick up, she sings. When a kid ticks her off, she sings. When she gets bad news, she sings. When she gets good news, she sings. When it’s time to eat, she sings. The only time I haven’t heard her sing is when she goes to the bathroom.”

  “Maybe you should suggest ‘Showers of Blessings’ for that one.”

  “Chad!” Kari stirred, prompting Willow to lower her voice. “You’re going to make me wake the baby.”

  “Well, if you don’t like that one, what about ‘Be Ready to Go?’”

  She groaned. “Seriously? I think ‘When peace like a river,’ if pronounced sloppily, would be better.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  “Hey, maybe I should teach Ronnie ‘Tinkle, tinkle, little…’”

  Just talking about it and hearing Chad’s laughter at the crazy ideas soothed her hymnally ragged nerves. “Thanks. I feel better. I think it’d be easier if she was off key or bungled the words somehow.” A sigh escaped. “I suppose that’s a bad thing to admit.”

  “No… maybe to her, but no… I do wonder something, though.”

  “What?”

  Chad paused before he whispered, “Do you think she sings ‘From Every Stormy Wind’ after they eat chili?”

  Liam’s voice called from the boys’ room. “Mmmmaaaaaammmmmmaaaa…”

  “Your son wants to get up. I think we’ll walk into town. Maybe get a new book.”

  “If you have time, stop by Alexa’s and give her those origami ornaments you made. Joe says she’s got trouble with her agent and has been grumpy for a few days.”

  “Have you ever noticed,” Willow mused, “that no one talks about it being Joe’s house too? No one ever speaks of them. It’s either Joe or Alexa, but never ‘the Freidans.’”

  “Hmmm… nope. That just sounds weird to me.”

  She nodded, wincing at Lucas’ off-key harmony to the ‘awakening chorus’ in the boys’ room. “That’s what seems so odd. That it sounds weird to speak of them as a couple.”

  “They’re happy. That’s what matters.” A loud crash echoed through the phone before Chad said, “Gotta go. Be home late it sounds like.”

  Before Willow could process that information, Kenzie poked her head in the door. “Can I get the boys?”

  “I’ll do it, but thanks. I can’t let them wander around up here—there’s no fence on that stove. Why don’t you go ask Aggie if she needs anything from town? I’m going to take a walk.”

  Kenzie’s eyes brightened. “Can I come?”

  She wanted to say no but found herself saying, “If it’s okay with Aggie.”

  The sidewalk swarmed with Stuart-Sullivan-Tesdalls. Cari and Lorna chattered, pointing at everything from the flower shop to the latest movie advertised at The Fox, while Kenzie struggled to push Ronnie in the stroller. Each time Aggie offered to take it, the girl balked. “I’ve got it.”

  Once the girl managed to get out of earshot, Aggie murmured, “That girl is worse than a two-year-old when she gets the ‘I can do it myselfs.’”

  “Turn right at the corner,” Willow called out. “Do you want to go to Alexa’s with me or do you want to let the kids shoe-skate on the rink. Chad said they flooded it last week and it has stayed mostly frozen.”

  “Oh… skate. Great idea. I think we’ll stay here. Want me to keep the boys?”

  Though tempted, Willow couldn’t stand the idea of Aggie having to chase down her wandering sons. “I think Alexa would like to see them, but thanks. That would have been nice.”

  Happy for a bit of quiet, Willow strolled down streets, around corners, and twice retucked the boys’ blanket—all without speaking to them. Kari dozed, her eyes opening now and then as if to ensure mama hadn’t gone anywhere, but Willow hardly noticed. She strolled under canopies of bare tree branches, enjoying the cold air that nipped at her nose. Once on Alexa’s street, the branches seemed to hover closer than ever.

  “Look boys, look at those branches. They look like the bones of the trees, all shriveled in the cold air.” She sniffed. “It smells like snow. It’s too early for snow, though.”

  Lucas echoed her while Liam kicked his approval. Willow shook her head. “Not good. It needs to hold off until after Uncle Luke and Daddy fix the house and until after Becca’s wedding.”

  “Mecca!”

  Willow rolled her eyes as she opened the gate and wheeled the stroller to the steps. “You really do need to learn Miss. Poor Becca.”

  Alexa opened the door almost instantly. “Willow! I couldn’t believe it when I saw you coming up the street. Come in!”

  The idea of her boys in Alexa’s house nearly choked her. “I couldn’t, but thanks.”

  “Oh, I see right through you. Come on. They won’t hurt anything. There isn’t anything worth worrying about in here anyway.”

  She wanted to protest—to hand Alexa the box of ornaments and leave, but she couldn’t. The woman’s eagerness became contagious. “Well…”

  “I wanted to hear about your guests. Is the damage significant?” As she spoke, Alexa led them into her house and shut the door. “I can’t imagine the frustration—all those kids.”

  “They’ll be at the farm for a little while longer. They had pipes freeze while the door was
open, so it’s now a matter of repairs rather than just clean up.” She held the boys’ hands and tried to keep them close. “Half of us walked to town while the other half are at the Sullivan house, working.”

  As Willow discussed the nuances of home restoration—nuances she didn’t understand herself half the time—Alexa opened the box and pulled out the first ornaments. “Oh, they’re beautiful!” After half a dozen, she added, “Wait, are all of them different?”

  “I thought the variety would be nice.” She pointed to the variegated eight-pointed star. “Are the colors all right? Chad said you wanted bright. You can’t get much brighter than those oranges.”

  “Exactly right.” Alexa brought out a turquoise dove. “These are exquisite. I’ll put them on an all-white tree with white lights and maybe crystal icicles.” She reached for her wallet. “What do I owe you?”

  Willow’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing.”

  “But—”

  “Do you always pay your friends for gifts? Should I offer to pay you for Kari’s shower gift? I knew I was backward, but—”

  “Point taken.” Alexa beckoned for Liam to come to her. “I had just planned to purchase them, so—” Liam slammed into her. “Whoa, little fellow. You’re strong!”

  “Liam…”

  “He’s fine.”

  The words bothered her, but Willow couldn’t identify why. “If you’re sure…”

  “Of course. He’s just tired of sitting all the way here. They could run around out front if you didn’t mind being in the cold again.”

  Willow pounced on the idea. “Yes! That would be wonderful.” The boys nearly burst through the front door and down the steps as she opened the door. Alexa grabbed a thick shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders. It seemed inadequate to Willow. “Will that be warm enough for you?”

  “It’s very warm, thank you.” Alexa glanced across the dead lawn where the boys chased each other. “I wish I had toys. I don’t have anything that would be safe for them—except maybe a ball in the garage…” She started toward it, but Willow stopped her.

  “Don’t worry about it. They’re fine. They’re used to playing without ‘stuff.’” Alexa’s long dress fluttered in the breeze, prompting Willow to ask, “Is that wool?”

  “Yes—very warm. Petticoats are warm too. I sometimes crack a window open in winter if I get overwarm. My home is well insulated.”

  “And so are you.”

  Alexa laughed. “Yes! That’s a perfect way to put it. I’ll have to point that out to Joe. He thinks I’m just being ‘authentic.’ I can’t convince him that the Regency ladies did not wear flannel-lined satin thermals.”

  A phone rang from inside Alexa’s pocket. “Oh, that’ll be him. He told me he’d call if he could come for dinner.” She glanced at it and then answered. “Hello, Joe.”

  Willow adjusted Kari and frowned. The baby needed a diaper. While Alexa talked to Joe, Willow typed a quick message to her on her screen. MAY I TAKE KARI INSIDE AND CHANGE HER?

  Alexa nodded. Covering the phone with her hand, she whispered, “I’ll watch the boys. Go ahead.”

  By the time she returned, Alexa had the boys dancing around the front yard singing, “Ring-Around-the-Rosy.” The picture looked ripped from a Kate Greenaway illustration. Alexa’s skirts billowed out to one side; the boys in their little Carhartt rancher jackets didn’t quite look the part, but being more traditional helped. Alexa beamed at her. “They’re charming little guys.”

  “You’re good with children.” It took everything Willow had not to add, You should consider motherhood. You’d be good at it.

  “I’m good with other people’s children. I get all the fun of a grandmother without the hard work of parenting first.”

  “Have you ever considered…”

  A slight edge in Alexa’s voice startled her as she said, “Yes, and I decided against it. That decision is irrevocable unless God drops a child in my lap and makes it clear I have no choice.” Alexa’s phone rang again. “Oh, I’m sorry. This is important. It might take a while…”

  “We weren’t planning to stay long anyway. Merry Christmas—soon.”

  “Thanks again, Willow. They’re truly beautiful.”

  She meandered along the sidewalks taking unnecessary streets to delay her return. The quiet, the solitude—it soothed her overstimulated, ragged nerves. By the time she reached the square, Aggie’s kids all sat around her as she talked to them. To Willow, it appeared to be a “story time” of sorts, and she suspected it to be an impromptu Bible or history class.

  As she and the boys approached, Aggie waved and sent the children off to play again. Willow sank to the bench, inexplicably exhausted. “Whew. I haven’t been this tired since I was pregnant with the boys.”

  “Well, you’ve had your home invaded. It’s bound to take a toll—Kenzie!” Without another word, Aggie jumped from the bench and waddled to the young girl. Willow strained to hear as Aggie scolded the girl for her tone of voice. “That’s just unacceptable. You need to remember that we are to treat one another as we want to be treated. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be snapped at for making a mistake.”

  “But—”

  Aggie pulled Kenzie and Cari away from the rest and out of Willow’s earshot. The words sounded so similar to something Mother would have said. Willow, don’t let yourself treat anyone, even that dog, in a way you wouldn’t want to be treated. It’s a bad habit to get into. Willow could almost hear Mother’s tone and see the little crease between her eyebrows. The thought brought a familiar ache—one that crept into her heart at the oddest times and in the strangest places.

  From some place in her heart, one that she’d trained herself to ignore as a young girl, a question germinated and broke through the surface. You didn’t treat strangers as you wished to be treated, Mother. The “reply” came swiftly and Willow laughed, startling baby Kari.

  I did exactly that. I wanted people to leave me alone—to avoid me. So I did the same. I pushed them away just as I wished to be.

  “She is too hard on them.”

  The voice startled Willow. She turned and smiled at a woman she recognized but couldn’t name. It took a moment to realize that the woman didn’t speak of her mother but of Aggie. “What do you mean?”

  “It seems that every time I see her, she’s jumping on one of those kids for something. Doesn’t she ever just take time to enjoy them?”

  Willow dove for Liam as he rushed past and sent him the other direction. “After a few days in my house, I can say that she definitely enjoys them. They have a lot of fun together.” A thought made her have to stuff back a snicker as she added, “You should hear the constant singing.”

  “Well,” the woman sniffed, “that’s a blessing anyway. Maybe she’s too conscious of their behavior in public. I mean, the little girl just told the other one to stop bugging her. That’s not a crime!”

  “No, but Aggie isn’t concerned about that. She’s concerned about Kenzie’s tone. Once you start snapping at people, it becomes a habit.”

  “And the last time,” the woman continued, “it was the older girl. She just said she was tired of things going wrong, and Aggie launched into a tirade about how she should remember all the things that go right.”

  This time Willow stood and faced the critic. “Knowing Aggie as I do, I find it difficult to imagine her going into a public tirade of any kind.” The woman had the decency to blush, prompting Willow to continue. “So what I think you’re saying is that rather than teach them how to ‘take every thought captive,’ and to think on ‘pure’ and ‘lovely’ and ‘good-reportable’ things, we should just let children be miserable and nasty and never teach them how to change that thought process?”

  “Well never is extreme, but they’re just children.”

  Willow saw Aggie returning and decided to put the conversation at an end before the harried aunt-mother heard more than she needed to hear. “Children learn to do right by being helped to do right. They don’t deve
lop good habits by being allowed to get away with bad ones. I like the fruit of her training. Those children are happy, secure, loved children who do not have people ‘calling good evil.’ I think for my own children, I’ll stick with Aggie’s method.”

  Aggie neared and smiled. “Good morning, Mrs.… Peterson?”

  “Paulson. Good morning.” In a huff, the woman stalked off, clearly unwilling to discuss her gossip with the source.

  “What’s with her?”

  “She thinks the way to train children into good habits is to allow them bad ones and then let them know at some nebulous point that they’re no longer allowed to throw that tantrum or scowl when they don’t get their way.”

  “Ugh. I never understand that. People are always telling me how great the kids are—how well adjusted and happy. To listen to them, you’d think they walk on water or something.” Aggie called for Ian to help Lucas stand again. “But those same people then tell me two minutes later that I’m too hard on Cari because I won’t let her push Lorna around or I’m too hard on Vannie because I won’t let her hang out with teens at the pizzeria.”

  “You have a problem with pizza?”

  “No… but have you ever been there?”

  Willow shook her head. “No.”

  “They just go and sit there and drink soda, eat pizza, and run down other groups of kids who are sitting there doing the same thing. Girls hanging all over boyfriends. Guys leering at the girls, and you do not want to know what I’ve heard them say.”

  “And why would people want Vannie subjected to that garbage?”

  “‘Because it’s just what being a teenager is. We all did it and we turned out fine. They shouldn’t be so isolated.’”

  “Are they?” Willow couldn’t imagine Aggie’s kids as “isolated” but opted for clarity.

  “Depends on your definition. They go to church, they do outreach stuff with the youth sometimes, they have their jobs with different people, and of course, they have friends.”

  “So how is that isolated?”