Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (5 page)

“T-o.”

The
girl’s
forehead
furrowed
as
she
wrote.
“How
are
you
supposed
to
know
which
one
to
use?”

“Well,”
Aggie’s
brain
raced
through
her
grammar
lessons
for
the
clearest
explanation.
“Ok,
t-o-o
has
an
extra
o,
right?
Well,
you
use
t-o-o
to
mean
too
much
or
excessive.
You
also
use
it
for
also.
So,
too meaning
too
much
or
‘in
addition’
get
more
o’s.
Does
that
make
sense?”

“Too
gets
more
o’s…”
her
mind
seemed
to
mull
it
while
she
scribbled.
“So
too
much,
too
many,
too
long
all
have
two
o’s
,
but
to
go,
to
stay,
to
eat,
don’t?”

“Exactly.
T-w-o
has
the
w.
It’s
the
odd
ball.
And,
since
two
is
also
a
number,
it’s
also
an
odd
ball—so
to
speak.”
She
frowned.
“Except
that
it’s
an
even
number.
I
guess
that
doesn’t
work
well.”

“Ok
,”
Ellie
said
excitedly.
“So,
t
-w-o
two
girls
want
to
t-o
to
go
t-o
to
the
store
t-o-o
too.”

“Excellent.”
Her
phone
played
its
ominous
tones
again.

“Aunt
Aggie,
go
talk
to
Luke.
I’ll
keep
the
kids
going.
I
am
just
editing
my
paper
anyway.
So
far
I’ve
found
too
many
sentence
fragments
to
turn
it
in.”

Aggie
glanced
at
the
clock.
Nine-thirty.
They’d
hardly
been
in
the
classroom
for
half
an
hour.
Then
again,
Luke
tried
not
to
call
during
school
times…

“Ok,
be
right
back.”

Icicles
hung
from
the
porch
roof
,
looking
beautiful
but
dangerous.
She
grabbed
Tavish’s
baseball
bat
from
the
empty
pot
where
it
rested
for
these
occasions,
and
swung
it
while
the
phone
dialed
Luke.
His
“Hello,”
was
drowned
out
by
the
crack
of
the
bat
against
ice.

“Icicles
again?”

“Yeah.”
She
whacked
another
one.
There
was
something
very
satisfying
about
beating
up
ice.
The puppies out back howled with each crack.
“The pups don’t like me to break them off.
I think it hurts their ears.
”

“I
bought
the
cable
for
the
gutters,
but
I
don’t
think
I’ll
make
it
today.
If
we
didn’t
have
these
unexpected
cold
fronts
followed
by
warmer
days,
it
wouldn’t
happen.”

Something
he
said
felt “off,”
but
s
he
wasn’t
sure
what.
“I
don’t
get
weather,
ice,
and
stuff.
Never
have,
don’t
want
to.
I
can
apply
to
you
for
your
superior
wisdom
and
save
myself
a
lot
of
headaches.”
She
frowned.
“Wait,
did
you
say
you
weren’t
coming
today?”

The
line
seemed
dead
for
a
very
long
half
minute
before
he
grunted,
“Sorry,
what?
I
found
another
puddle.”

“Puddle?
What
are
you
doing?
”

“House
on
Cygnet.
The
pi
pes
froze
and
burst.
I
missed
a
whole
wall
of
insulation
when
I
foamed
the
laundry
room
.
Outside
wall
of
course
—the one with the pipes
.”