Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (58 page)

Date with Disaster

Friday, July 5
^th

It was nearly five o
’
clock before William realized that he hadn
’
t made reservations for dinner. After spending twenty minutes calling every decent restaurant in a
thirty-mile
radius, he finally decided to take Aggie to the local diner and forget trying to pretend that this was even remotely a real date. The evening wasn
’
t his idea anyway, and William Markenson was
not
prepared to consider any kind of romantic entanglement. For that matter, he was clueless as to how one romanced a
“
mother
”
of eight, even if he was interested
--
which, he reminded himself, he was not.

* * *

Aggie spent the afternoon torn between anticipation of finally clearing the air and nervousness over the date aspect of the evening. Neither Aggie nor Allie dated in high school or college. They
’
d spent those years on group outings with friends but had always considered pairing off as shopping before you were prepared to commit to the purchase. It was a waste of time even if you did manage to find someone perfect. Allie met Doug during her last college semester. Both of them were volunteers on a Spring Break mission with their respective churches, and by the end of the week, they were almost inseparable. At the close of the semester, wedding invitations were mailed to their friends and family, and a June wedding followed.

Over thirteen years later, Aggie dressed for what was, essentially, her first date. Vannie lay on her bed watching as she brushed her long hair until it shone.
“
Aunt Aggie, do you think someone like Luke, or Deputy Markenson will ever want to take
me
to dinner?
”

Aggie looked amused, but asked seriously,
“
Why wouldn
’
t they?
”

“
In every book I
’
ve ever read, no one likes red or frizzy hair. Mine is both. I
’
m not beautiful or brilliant, so why would anyone want to go out with me?
”

Aggie paused and considered her reply before answering.
“
Vannie, honey, look at me. First, I
’
ve always loved your red curls. They are just beautiful, and you should be proud of them. Furthermore, I am not exactly what you
’
d call drop-dead gorgeous. To tell the truth, while some women need their beauty sleep
--
me, I need a coma. My hair is plain old brown, and while I certainly wasn
’
t a dunce, I didn
’
t manage the stellar grades that your mother did. This isn
’
t the first time I
’
ve been asked out anywhere, but it is the first time I
’
ve accepted, and I still don
’
t know if I am excited or dreading the whole thing.
”
She prayed for wisdom in what to say before continuing.
“
But this I know; if God brings a man into your life someday, it wouldn
’
t matter if you looked like a gnarled old witch from a children
’
s fairy tale, for him, you
’
d seem perfect.
”
Aggie paused before choking back tears and saying,
“
Well, that
’
s what your mother told me while I laid on her bed not much younger than you are and wondered if anyone would ever want to marry me. She was trying on her veil and debating the wisdom of the hairstyle she
’
d chosen for her wedding the next morning. I think she
’
d want you to know that.
”

Aunt and niece sat and talked about relationships, attraction, and the wisdom in saving your love and affection for the man who will commit to love and cherish you as long as he lives. Another facet to their relationship was forged while Aggie debated between shoes, skirts, and blouses. At last, they heard Zeke and Luke come in. They raced downstairs and jumped into the bedlam that began as Zeke chased Cari and Lorna around the room snapping and growling. Aggie smiled as she realized that Mrs. Dyke had been absolutely correct; Zeke and Luke were the perfect pair to watch her children.

Shortly after Luke and
“
Uncle Zeke
”
arrived, the children all gathered around the large TV, waiting for the beginning of a musical and for Zeke
’
s semi-famous stovetop-popped popcorn. Aggie hadn
’
t even realized that people popped it that way anymore, but she snitched a handful from his bowl as she walked by on her way out to meet William on the steps. Somehow, the idea of his coming in with Luke and Zeke there seemed awkward.

The drive to Maizy
’
s Diner was miserable. Aggie tried every topic of conversation she could imagine but to no avail. Her compliment of his car earned her a grunted,
“
Thanks.
”
The story she tried to share about Cari
’
s surprising horror of sparklers was met with a frown and a rebuke.
“
Those things are dangerous. They aren
’
t for children.
”
Root beer floats were disgusting, Mrs. Dyke was a busybody, and eventually, she quit trying.

William and Aggie sat in an awkward silence at the back corner of the half-empty diner. The friendly waitress tried to banter casually with them in the same way she did with all of her customers, until Aggie shook her head, signaling the middle-aged woman should leave. Taking a deep breath, Aggie spoke.
“
William? Have you had a bad day?
”

William
’
s eyes, if she looked closely, seemed a little cold
--
angry even.
“
I
’
ve had a pretty rough few days, thank you.
”
His entire demeanor spoke volumes. He wasn
’
t happy, he didn
’
t want to talk, and furthermore, Aggie was to blame. Aggie had no doubt of the source of his misery, but she couldn
’
t understand how she was to blame.

“
Well, I am sorry. I guess there won
’
t be a
good
time to apologize personally for my outburst the other day, so I
’
ll say it now. I lost my temper. I know it was wrong, and I hope you
’
ll forgive me.
”
Misery etched itself in Aggie
’
s face as she spoke. Had William not been so full of his own anger, he might have seen how painful the situation was for her. At the least, he would have accepted her apology. Instead, he flicked the carefully folded straw wrapper off the table and frowned as it landed on the floor several feet from them. Irritated, he jerked himself from the booth and retrieved it.

They ate in silence. Every bite of her chicken fried steak stuck in her throat and tasted like cardboard. People came from Rockland to eat Ernie
’
s chicken fried steak, but Aggie hoped never to touch the stuff again. Dessert wasn
’
t an option. Despite their waitress
’
urging to try the cherry pie a
la mode, both of them snapped,
“
No, thank you,
”
almost before she finished asking.

William paid for the meal, and then escorted her to the car
,
much like he would someone he
’
d just arrested, one hand steering her arm and putting the other on her head to prevent it from hitting the frame. She
’
d have laughed if she wasn
’
t so miserable. On top of the nightmarish meal, his lack of acceptance of her apology left her frustrated and hurt
--
uncertain how to try to heal the breach between them.

Half-way home, William spoke.
“
Aggie, I guess I owe you an apology.
”
He still sounded angry, not apologetic.
“
Mrs. Dyke instigated this whole dinner and then told me about it yesterday morning. I didn
’
t appreciate her interference and took it out on you. I
’
m sorry.
”
The tone of finality would have been comical if Aggie hadn
’
t been so mortified.

“
This wasn
’
t your idea? Aggie was almost speechless. Almost. William nodded and started to speak, but Aggie continued.
“
I don
’
t blame you for being irritated at her. She had no business sticking her nose in our problems. I was rude and offensive and had no business yelling like I did, but that doesn
’
t give my neighbor license to interfere. I am
still
sorry. I am, but I am now almost as irritated with you as I was the other day.
”
Aggie pulled a tissue out of her purse and emptied the contents of her overloaded nose into it.

William
’
s face showed utter confusion. Aggie
’
s irritation almost got the better of her, but she managed to keep her voice calm and her emotions in check.
“
William, you have spent this entire evening fuming at me, when I am not the one to blame. I did not invite you to this dinner against your will, and I don
’
t appreciate being the one to take the brunt of your anger and frustration. Take it out on someone else next time.
”

The enormity of William
’
s wrong hit him like a kick to the gut. For a man accustomed to being right or presumed right, in both his career and his personality, it was particularly difficult to accept fault and confess it. He later wondered how he
’
d managed at all, but somehow he choked out an apology and plea for forgiveness. His discomfort, and the obvious lack of apologetic experience, made the sincerity of it even more evident.