Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (92 page)

“Here,
let
me
fasten
you
and
then
you
can
find
her.
People
are
getting
ugly
out
there.
If
I
go
out
now,
I’ll
be
called
to
referee.
I’m
not
good
at
that.”

Once
hooked
into
place,
the
bodice
fit
as
if
made
for
her.
The
skirt
was
too
long,
but
it
wouldn’t
be
a
reconstruction
to
shorten
it.
The
simple
a-line
skirt
would
simply
need
to
be
cut
off
and
re-hemmed.
She
stepped
from
the
room
and
saw
her
mother
glance
up
at
her,
weariness
evident.
From
the
corner
of
her
eye,
she
saw
Tina
stop
mid-stride
and
then
turn
and
hand
a
stack
of
gowns
to
an
assistant.

“That’s
the
one,
Aggie,”
Martha
and
Tina
said
in
unison.

“It’s
only
two
hundred
dollars.
That’s
a
thousand
dollars
off!”

“The
bottom
is
dirty,”
Tina
said
critically,
“but
then
you’re
short
and
it’d
have
to
be
cut
off
anyway.”

“It’s
mine.”

“Then
let’s
get
you
out
of
it
and
get
it
paid
for,”
Martha
said.
“I
want
coffee.”

“Mom!”

“Decaf,
of
course!
Goodness
!”

~*~*~*~

Over
the
first
quiet
meal
she
had
enjoyed
in
an
indeterminate
amount
of
time,
Aggie
and
Tina
tried
to
catch
up
on
life
in
Brant’s
Corners.
“School
is
really
going
well,
actually.
We’re
getting
close
to
caught
up,
but
the
kids
are
pretty
sick
of
it.”

“You
have
a
good
plan.
I
wouldn’t
worry
about
it.”

“Yeah,
well,
I’ve
been
a
bit
obsessive
about
catching
up
.
They’re
making
good
progress.
Oh,
you
should
have
read
Laird’s
paper
on
that
Lemony
Snickett
book.”

“You
said
it
was
epic.”

“Well,”
Aggie
admitted,
“I
was
pretty
ticked
off
about
it.
That
first
one
was
only
one
sentence.
Luke
said
he
put
the
kid
straight,
though.”
A
new
thought
occurred
to
her.
“I
wonder
if
Luke
being
hard
on
him
about
not
showing
disrespect
to
me
is
what
set
him
off.
He’s
been
angsty.
Rebellious
but
sly
about
it.”

“What
did
Luke
have
to
do
with
it?”

Aggie
cut
another
piece
of
meat
before
she
answered,
savoring
the
flavors
that
she
couldn’t
afford
to
try
to
learn
to
cook.
Ten
rib
eye
steaks
would
feed
them
for
a
week—or
at
least
a
few
days.
“I
read
the
second
one
and
it
felt
like
he
was
mocking
me.
I
didn’t
want
to
ignore
that,
but
I
also
didn’t
want
him
to
feel
attacked
if
he
just
meant
to
be
clever
instead
of
disrespectful,
you
know?”
She
didn’t
wait
for
Tina’s
response.
“I
told
him
to
show
Luke
and
whatever
grade
Luke
gave
it
stood.”