Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (18 page)

Laird
shook
his
head.
“We
don’t
need
that
much
time.
Aunt
Aggie
can
even
help
with
most
of
the
decorations.
We’ll
just
add
the
engagement
stuff
after
she
goes
and
take
down
birthday
stuff.”

“Oh
right,”
Vannie
agreed.
“Wait,
isn’t
this
your
golden
birthday?
We
can
convince
her
that
we
need
a
gold
theme!
It’ll
be
more
elegant
than
a
regular
kid’s
party.”

The
kids
grew
excited,
but
Cari
and
Lorna
padded
downstairs
after
their
early
nap,
rubbing
their
eyes.
“Oh,
great.
I
forgot
about
them,”
Laird
muttered.
“There’s
no
way
we
can
possibly
keep
it
from
them.”

“Well,”
Ellie
suggested,
“we
can
try.
But
if
they
become
suspicious
or
anything,
you
can
tell
Aunt
Aggie
that
they
overheard
us
,
and
you
told
them
it’s
a
party
for
her
and
Luke
,
so
they
wouldn’t
spoil
things
for
Tavish
and
I.”

“Me.”

“Spoil
what
for
you,
Vannie?”

“The
sentence—it’s
Tavish
and
me.”

Laird’s
expression
was
priceless.
“Seriously,
Vannie?
We’re
plotting
the
best
engagement
party
ever,
and
you
decide
to
turn
grammarist—”

“Grammarian.”

“What?”

Vannie
winked
at
Ellie
,
who
could
hardly
keep
from
howling,
“The
word
is
grammarian,
not
grammarist.”

Lorna
watched
as
they
continued
to
whisper
amongst
themselves
for
the
better
part
of
a
minute
before
she
wandered
over
to
observe
the
game.
“No
one
is
playing.
What
are
you
talking
about?”

“
Luke
and
Aunt
Aggie,”
Tavish
muttered.

“Will
he
be
Uncle
Luke?”
The
intricacies
of
familial
relationships
seemed
to
confound
the
child
.

“Yes.”
Vannie
swallowed
hard
and
added,
“Ian
will
probably
call
him
‘Daddy.’”

The
others
looked
at
her
stunned,
until
they
realized
that
Ian’s
trademarked
‘Gaggie’
was
already
being
replaced
by
Aggie
at
times.
It was only natural that in time he’d call her mama.
His
wail
from
upstairs
gave
Vannie
a
chance
to
escape
without
raising
questions.
“I’ll
get
him,
Aunt
Aggie.
Where’s
the
diaper
bag?”

“On
Grandma’s
bed.
You
sure?”
Aggie’s
eyes
traveled
to
the
group
in
the
corner.
“What
are
you
guys
playing?
”

“They’re
not,”
Lorna
complained.
“They’re
just
talking
about
how
Luke
is
going
to
be
our
Uncle
now.
I
wanted
to
see
Vannie
win
again.
She
always
wins.”

“
Here,
I’ll
take
her
place.
That
way
someone
else
will
win
this
time.
I
never
do.”

A
more
jittery
group
of
card
players
Aggie
had
never
seen.
The
usual
protests,
banter,
and
shouts
of
victory
with
each
great
move
were
noticeably
absent.
If
she
initiated
it,
they
all
jumped
in
to
respond
,
but
immediately
settled
back
into
their
silent
but
speedy
rounds.
At
last,
Ellie
triumphed.
“I
won?”
She
stared
at
her
empty
hand
in
shock.
“I
don’t
think
I’ve
ever
said
Uno
before!”