Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (63 page)

The
aisles
of
toys
that
had
always
delighted
her
when
shopping
for
her
nieces
and
nephews
daunted
her
now.
She
stared
at
things
she’d
never
heard
of
and
read
the
backs
carefully.
Luke
was
in
charge
of
a
few
family
games—things
that
they
could
play
together
and
for
as
many
ages
as
possible.

By
the
time
he
returned
with
an
overloaded
cart
full,
Aggie
had
managed
to
put
two
funky
looking
dolls
in
her
cart—clearly
meant
for
the
twins.
“Luke…”

“No,
not
all
of
them.
These
were
the
ones
that
looked
interesting.
I
got
to
thinking
and
I
think
you
need
three
age
groups:
younger,
older,
and
everyone.”
He
pulled
out
a
few
simple
games
and
said,
“Which
one?
I
think
this
one
has
the
broadest
appeal,
but
it
might
be
a
bit
much
for
Lorna
and
Cari.
Then
again,
they’re
almost
four,
aren’t
they?”

“Yeah…
and
we
could
set
them
aside
for
a
while.
Take
that
one
and
maybe
that—memory
and
detail
games
are
good
for
them.”

While
she
debated
whether
Ellie
would
enjoy
a
pottery
wheel
or
not,
Luke
hurried
back
to
the
game
shelves
with
an
armload
of
rejects
from
the
youngest
recommended
age
levels.
The
process
repeated
itself
until
half
a
dozen
games
took
up
a
large
amount
of
space
in
the
bottom
of
the
cart.

Luke
shook
his
head
as
she
started
to
add
the
pottery
wheel
to
the
load.
“I
think
you
should
talk
to
Mom
about
that.
Olivia
hasn’t
stopped
ranting
about
what
a
piece
of
junk
those
are
and
Mom
always
says
that
toy
tools
are
a
waste
of
good
money.”

“Great.
It
was
the
one
artsy
thing
I
saw
that
didn’t
look
cheap.”

“We’ll
find
something
for
her.
Maybe
an
art
store?”

“Don’t
have
time
to
shop
at
individual
specialty
stores
for
every
kid!”

“You
don’t
need
to
for
all
of
them,
but
Ellie
would
appreciate
good
tools—even
if
from
a
hobby
store.”

Aggie
spied
a
child’s
toy
oven
and
grabbed
it.
“Think
this
might
be
fun
for
her?”

“Why?
She
uses
the
regular
oven
all
the
time.”

“Because
I’m
desperate?”

With
his
arm
around
her
shoulder,
he
nudged
her
toward
the
fairyland
for
boys—that
world
of
boxes
and
tiny
pieces
that
are
designed
to
delight
burgeoning
builders
and
terrify
their
mothers—or
mothering
aunts
as
the
case
may
be—with
choking
hazards
and
sore
toes.
“Legos,
K’nex,
Erector,
and
even
Duplo
for
Ian.
You
could
buy
nothing
but
this
stuff
and
they’d
love
you
forever,
but
look!
There’s
more!
Act
now
and
you
can
buy
chemistry
sets,
forensic
sets,
biology
sets,
microscopes,
telescopes,
and
much,
much,
more!”