Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (71 page)

Determined to get back on track with the kitchen renovation, Aggie decided to ask Luke if another coat of paint was necessary, or if she should carry in the flooring now.
“
Ok, Luke…
”

Aggie looked around for him, and eventually she saw him through the picture window in the living room. He was out front, guiding a large truck, as it backed up the driveway. Curious as to who was backing in, Aggie dashed out the door and tripped down the steps, fortunately unseen by teasing children or an over-protective Luke. When she saw Luke and a man she didn
’
t recognize unloading cabinets from the truck, she gasped.
“
Luke, where did you find them? They are exactly what I wanted!
”

Her squeals of excitement brought children from every corner of the house. Even Tavish the hermit stepped from his own little world to see what made Aggie squeal with such obvious delight. Luke and Laird helped unload each cabinet from the truck and carry them to the back step. Once finished, Luke thanked the driver for bringing them, as he handed the man a check. The burly man jumped into the truck, and as he put it in gear, he stuck his head out the window and said,
“
Hey, Luke. Anytime you feel like building more cabinets like those, let me know. My wife is green right now. I
’
d love to see her natural color again.
”
With that, the truck slowly drove down the driveway and pulled onto the road.

Luke arranged the pieces in the proper position for the new kitchen while Aggie watched. His frown over a ding on the corner of one cabinet amused her. Although she was eager to inspect the cabinets closely, she felt awkward; custom cabinets were completely unexpected. They
’
d decided, weeks ago, to purchase prefabricated, boxed cabinetry for the new kitchen, as a cost-saving measure.

No wonder he
’
d been so scarce. With all of his other commitments, he must have been working late into his evenings to build them. If the walls were done, they could install the floor!
“
Do I need to do another coat of paint in the kitchen or
--
”

Luke shook his head and called for Laird and Tavish to help him carry in the flooring from the corner of the living room. While they pulled box after box of her new oak flooring into the house, Aggie inspected the cabinets. She
’
d considered making her kitchen out of old antiques. She thought that, with a little work, a Hoosier, a few desks, and a few sideboards could be combined, raised, and connected to make the room look like it was created out of antiques. The resulting kitchen would have looked like it grew into the house after years of use. Aggie loved the eclectic feel of her idea, although Allie had always found that side of her irritating.

Luke, trying to evoke that same feeling Aggie had described, had created false fronts on the cabinets. Perfectly crafted to resemble furniture, each piece had all the best components of an eclectic mixture of furniture and the convenience of real cabinets. Aggie didn
’
t know how to cook, but she was going to have her dream kitchen! She wondered, as she absently ran one finger over a carefully turned leg where the sink would go, if perhaps she and Vannie should take a cooking class together.

Luke startled Aggie from her reverie by covering her eyes with his hands in the age-old
“
guess who
”
manner.
“
Do you like them? Do you think they
’
ll look right when you are done?
”

Aggie turned, grinning.
“
They
’
re perfect! I can
’
t believe you
--
all that time
--
and where did you learn to do this? You are more than just a handyman; you are an artist!
”
Her admiration for his skills was a little effusive but understandably so. His craftsmanship was impeccable, the quality far beyond anything she could have imagined, and she felt inadequate in fully expressing her appreciation.

Luke blushed. After a few stammers and false starts, he said simply,
“
Thank you. Do you think you can help? We
’
re going to need a third pair of hands.
”

After a hasty lunch, four bumped heads, a couple of dirty diapers, and several unfortunate bruises, the floor was laid, and the base cabinets were screwed to studs in the wall. Aggie was exhausted, Laird was near tears, but Luke seemed as fresh as he
’
d been when he started that morning. She watched, fascinated, as Luke installed her favorite cabinet.

Along one wall, Luke had carefully measured a spot to put in a mock Hoosier. Looking as if it
’
d been rescued from an old farmhouse and refinished, the piece of furniture was the last piece Luke had created. The corners were dinged, and there were random gouges that Aggie learned were made with a hammer and screwdriver. Punched tinwork gleamed on the upper cupboard doors, and the stain was darker in one corner as if it had been repaired many years ago.

“
Aunt Aggie, is it time for dinner? I
’
m hungwy.
”
Lorna munched on a cracker, crumbs dropping on the new floor. Aggie surveyed the unfinished kitchen, the hungry child, and the mess strewn across the living room, and decided that she was too tired to consider cooking.

“
Ok, guys, pack it up! Faces, hands, shoes, socks, and hair done now! March. March. Left, left, left, right, left. Move
‘
em out! We
’
re having pizza!
”
Squeals of delight followed. The stairs sounded like thunder in Arizona
’
s monsoon season.

Luke grinned at Aggie and said,
“
If only all drill sergeants were that popular, huh?
”

Aggie smiled, realizing fully, and for the first time, she liked this mothering thing. She enjoyed the trust the children placed in her and the way that they all interacted with each other. In college, she
’
d specifically planned her studies to focus on high school rather than elementary. She could now see that her decision would have been a huge mistake. She loved the wonder of it all. Their discovery of the simplest things delighted and stimulated the smaller children, while the older children felt full of wisdom with their
“
years of experience.
”
Aggie knew that most people would think she was crazy, but she now hoped that she
’
d get to experience pregnancy, birth, and those first days of infancy as well.

Shaking herself out of her musings, Aggie invited Luke to join them. She wasn
’
t surprised when he declined without looking up from his work, but she was disappointed. The children would love eating out with Luke.
“
Well, we
’
ll bring you some, ok? Want anything else? Soda, dessert… Ben Gay?
”
Luke chuckled, as he helped her load the children into the van. He didn
’
t know he
’
d regret not going that night.

The drive into town was accompanied by impromptu parodies of
We
’
re Marching to Zion
by Laird. He sang lustily down the road and all while Aggie struggled to parallel park a
fifteen-passenger
van,
“
We
’
re going for pizza, wonderful, cheesy pizza…
”

“
Ok, ok, move
‘
em out! Pizza and soda pitchers, coming up!
”
Aggie continued her drill sergeant fun as the group moved into the pizza place. The usual stares of those already seated made Aggie want to scream. She led the children to the last two tables in the restaurant, inconveniently placed in the middle of the room, and seated everyone. With the younger children coloring on the line-drawn tablecloths, and older ones supervising, Aggie went to order.

“
Welcome to the
‘
ria. I
’
m Cissy; may I take your order?
”
The petite blonde had a voice that only a cheerleader would use.

Aggie considered for a moment. It was awfully late for soda. Throwing caution to the wind, Aggie ordered two pitchers of root beer and three large pizzas. The girl eyed her cautiously before asking,
“
Are those kids a group from The Church or something?
”

Aggie grinned.
“
Nope. All mine.
”

“
All yours! Really? You don
’
t look a day over twenty-nine!
”

Aggie hesitated and then spoke.
“
I
’
m twenty two.
”
She considered letting the girl live in abject confusion then sighed and added,
“
Their mother was my sister. She died. I inherited. Can we get some breadsticks for right now?
”

Flustered, the girl turned to the warmer behind her and pulled out two baskets. Dumping two more orders into them, she turned back to Aggie and handed her the breadsticks.
“
Here you go! Enjoy!
”

Aggie enjoyed all right
--
she enjoyed the girl
’
s discomfiture. In the past six months, Aggie had heard every remark imaginable. From
“
Are they all yours?
”
to
“
Are you having any more?
”
Aggie was thoroughly sick of the constant assumption that the number of children in her family was open to discussion with strangers. Then there was the extra attention over the twins. Lorna and Cari received even more comments and exclamations regarding their adorability. Sometimes she and the children made up goofy responses to the questions as they rode in the van or sitting around the dinner table. Aggie
’
s personal favorite was to the often heard,
“
Oh, my, you have eight children!
”
Laird
’
s brilliant masterpiece of a response was,
“
Uh oh, who are we missing?
”
One evening, as she was feeling especially ornery, Aggie had come up with
“
Well, for now, but you never know when God
’
ll surprise me with three or four more!
”