Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (173 page)

“I
want
mine
now!”
Cari
protested.

“Well,
you
can
have
it
when
it’s
cool
and
not
before.
Or,
if
you
prefer,
I
can
pour
it
out.”

Tears
flowed
then.
“That’s
not
faiw!”
the
child
wailed
as
she
demanded
her
drink.

Great,
Aggie
thought,
she’s
back
to
the
baby
talk.
What
next?
Even
as
the
thought
occurred,
Aggie
realized
it
was
like
inviting
disaster,
and
she
was
right.
Lorna
bawled
in
commiseration
with
her
sister’s
cocoa-less
plight.
Kenzie
stared
out
the
window,
a
look
of
determination—for
what
Aggie
couldn’t
imagine—on
the
girl’s
face.

“Should
I
try
to
cool
it?”
Vannie
asked.

“No.
She
can
wait.”
Aggie
grabbed
her
cup
from
the
holder
and
took
a
quick
swig.
Her
mouth
burned.
“Aaaak!
Oh
man!
Aargh!”

Her
cries
of
pain
terrified
Ian
who
began
screeching
at
the
top
of
his
unreasonably
strong
lungs.
Ellie
tried
to
calm
Lorna
and
Cari
,
but
failed.
Though
quite
out
of
character,
she
took
the
rejection
personally
and
began
crying
herself.
Tavish’s
attempts
to
soothe
her
also
culminated
in
his
own
tears.
By
the
time
Aggie
made
it
onto
the
loop,
she
was
the
only
one
not
weeping
in
earnest.

Her
own
tears
hovered
—
a
storm
ready
to
break.
She
just
wanted
to
make
it
home
first,
but
by
halfway
to
Fairbury,
Aggie
knew
there
wasn’t
much
time
before
she
couldn’t
see
the
road
for
her
crying.
The
van
slid
slightly
as
she
turned
i
nto
the
rest
stop
and
pulled
into
two
parking
spaces
with
a
jerk.

Her
hands
hung
over
the
steering
wheel
while
her
head
rested
on
them.
Shoulders
shaking,
she
sobbed
out
the
pain
of
loss
and
weariness.
Her
heart
constricted
when
she
thought
of
Luke
and
Tina.
Throat
aching
from
her
pain
and
despair,
she
mentally
railed
at
God
for
having
such
thoughtless
and
selfish
friends
and
then
at
herself
for
thinking
something
so
utterly
ridiculous.

They
stayed
in
that
parking
lot,
cars
coming
and
going
in
the
usual
manner
of
desperate
stops
for
a
drink
or
a
bathroom
on
a
long
trip,
until
their
grief
slowly
dissipated
as
they
grappled
with
their
loss.
At
last,
Aggie
dug
a
pack
of
tissues
from
her
purse,
kept
one,
and
passed
the
package
back
to
the
others.
“I
should
have
come
prepared.”

“Can
we
go
home
now
?
”
Kenzie
asked.
“I
don’t
like
being
sad.
Home
is
happy—most
of
the
time.”

“We
sure
can.
We’ll
watch
a
movie
or
something.
Maybe
we’ll
put
on
pajamas
and
eat
junk
food
all
day.
Sounds
like
a
great
way
to
spend
a
horrible
Valentine’s
Day
to
me.”