Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (38 page)

The
girl
jumped
from
her
bed,
ice
pack
flying
off
in
the
process,
and
raced
for
the
door.
Luke’s
words
stopped
her
cold.
“I
thought
you
wanted
crab
cakes.”

“I
do!”

He
passed
her
the
golden
plastic
plate.
“That’s
a
crab
cake,
right
there.”

“But
there’s
no
frosting.”

“No…
most
people
don’
t
like
frosting
on
crab
cakes,”
Aggie
choked.

The
little
girl
took
a
big
bite
of
her
“cake”
and
spat
it
onto
the
plate.
“That’s
awful!
I
think
Luke
should
ask
for
his
money
back
.
That
is
a
nasty,
nasty
cake.
I
don’t
think
we
should
serve
that
cake
at
your
wedding.
No
way.
I’m
going
downstairs
for
good
cake.”

Luke
and
Aggie
exchanged
amused
glances.
“Well,”
Aggie
said.
“I
guess
we
know
what
not
to
serve
at
her
wedding.”

“Bet
you
she
loves
them
by
then
and
wants
them
on the menu
.
Can
you
imagine
the
toast
we
could
give?”

“I’m
terrified
at
the
thought
of
Cari
married.”

“Well,”
Luke
said,
taking
her
hand
and
leading
her
from
the
room,
“if
your
mother
can
be
trusted,
you
weren’t
very
different
than
Cari
at
that
age—worse
she
says
because
of
her
heart
condition.
She
wasn’t
very
good
at
discipline
she
tells
me.
Something
about
throwing
a
handful
of
Jell-O
at
your
Aunt
Agatha
because
she
didn’t
serve
you
enough…”

“You
are
not
allowed
to
talk
to
my
mother
until
after
the
wedding.”

“Why’s
that?”

“I
don’t
want
her
giving
you
any
ideas
about
revoking
your
proposal.”

“Aw,
Mibs.
Not
possible.”

~*~*~*~

Since
she’d
never
seen
them
kiss,
Vannie
concocted
the
perfect
game
to
ensure
the
whole
party
could
enjoy
it.
Much
to
the
boys’
disgust,
while
the
guests
enjoyed
their
food
,
she
hung
mistletoe
on
about
thirty
hooks
she’d
prepped
all
around
the
living
room.
Aggie
watched,
nervous
,
but
decided
to
wait
before
protesting.
Once
most
of
the
guests
no
longer
held
plates,
Vannie
went
into
action.

“Ok,
can
the
men
help
me
push
the
furniture
back?”

The
improvisation
of
Mother
May
I
under
the
mistletoe
made
no
sense
until
the
group
saw
how
Vannie
ordered
couples
to
navigate
the
floor
until
they
were
beneath
the
mistletoe.
Aggie’s
mouth
went
dry
at
the
thought
of
it,
and
Luke
excused
himself
to
speak
to
Ron.
Seconds
later,
he
hurried
back
to
his
place
in
line
and
challenged
Vannie
with
a
gleam
in
his
eye.

Sure
enough,
Vannie
called
for
him
to
take
four
giant
side
steps
which
put
him
directly
under
mistletoe.
Three
more
people
went,
Mr.
Vaughn
kissing
his
wife
and
they
were
excused
from
the
game.
A
fumble
nearly
sent
William
kissing
Aggie,
but
he
adjusted
his
steps
to
be
one
step
behind
her
and
to
her
right.