Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (74 page)

“
I saw what you did with the kitchen in there. I bet she hasn
’
t noticed some of it yet. Ask her if it
’
s ok or if there is anything she wants changed. That
’
ll do the job. Trust me.
”
Zeke hesitated, as if he wanted to say more, but the wise old man kept his counsel and ambled slowly to his ancient truck.

A strange feeling of awkwardness washed over Luke as he considered his uncle
’
s words. The realization of that awkwardness proved his uncle
’
s insight to be true, and he opened the screen door once more.
“
Aggie, I know it
’
s not a convenient time, but can you tell me if everything in the kitchen is ok? The counter guy called while you were gone and said he has an opening tomorrow
--
got a cancellation. So, if everything is all right…
”
He looked around the living room and saw that she wasn
’
t there.

Movement in the kitchen told him where he
’
d find her. As he watched from the kitchen doorway, Aggie opened and closed every cupboard and ran her fingers along the details he
’
d added to each piece. For a moment, Luke was concerned that he
’
d done everything wrong. Perhaps what looked right as an individual piece, didn
’
t work once assembled. Her expression, while unreadable, didn
’
t have the ecstatic overjoyed look he
’
d hoped to see.
“
Aggie? Are they ok? I can change things around or make new ones if these aren
’
t right. You don
’
t have
--
”

She spun in place, a huge grin lighting her face.
“
It
’
s better than I ever imagined! Luke, I love it!
”
Impulsively, she threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. Embarrassed at her outburst, Aggie moved to the other side of the room, trying to hide her pink cheeks.

In order to avoid yet another set of walls from forming, Luke chose to ignore her embarrassment.
“
I take it that means this is ok? I can call Chet and have him bring the counters?
”

Aggie nodded. Biting her lip, she tried hard not to overreact to her overreaction.
“
I think it
’
s perfect. This island is just so amazing! I thought we decided I couldn
’
t afford one.
”

“
Well, buying the cabinets you were going to, you decided you didn
’
t want to spend the extra money. Since you
’
re only paying for the wood, this kitchen is actually costing less than you
’
d budgeted.
”

“
Oh, no! I intend to find out exactly what the going rate for this kind of custom work is, and I intend to pay it. You
’
ve already given me a huge break on your labor; I
’
m not going to take advantage of it now!
”

“
But
--
”

Unwilling to start the argument she knew would ensue, Aggie interrupted with another question.
“
Why is the island so much shorter on that side?
”

“
Well, that was Mom
’
s idea. She gave her input on almost every piece, and when I got to the island, she drew it and told me exactly how big to make everything.
”
Scrunching down on his heels, he demonstrated.
“
Mom said when we were little she always wished that she had a part of the counter area that we could work at comfortably without a stool.
”
He shrugged.
“
I just thought I should listen to Mom, or we
’
d both regret it.
”

Laughing at Luke
’
s wink, Aggie ran another appreciative hand across the shorter side of the island and murmured absently,
“
What a wise mother; I wish I knew her. She could probably teach me so much.
”

“
Would you really like to meet Mom?
”
Luke beamed. The love and respect he felt for his mother were etched in his eyes and his smile.
“
She
’
s been anxious to meet you, but I didn
’
t want to impose…
”

Aggie stood in the middle of her new kitchen in thoughtful contemplation. If all went according to plan, her kitchen would be complete by Friday, at the latest. Could she get the dining room cleaned up by Sunday? Throwing caution to the wind, she issued her first official invitation.
“
Luke, would you and your mother like to come to church with us on Sunday and then here for dinner? I was planning a large roast. There
’
ll be plenty, but…
”
She winked at him.
“
You might not have as many sandwiches next week!
”

Without hesitating, Luke grabbed the phone off his work belt for the second time that night and dialed a family member.
“
Mom
--
no, I
’
m not home. Aggie has invited us to church with her on Sunday and over for lunch.
”
He listened for a minute, and then, covering the phone with his hand, turned to Aggie.
“
Mom has my nephew, Rodney, this weekend. She
’
d have to bring him…
”

“
The kids will love it. Someone to play with. I can
’
t wait to meet them both.
”

Luke relayed the message to his mother, promised to call soon, and disconnected the call.
“
We
’
ll be here. Mom wants to know if she can bring something.
”

Ignoring Luke
’
s question, Aggie asked,
“
How did you know that she
’
d still be awake? It must be after eleven by now!
”

He shrugged with an obvious deliberate air of nonchalance.
“
Well, I may be almost thirty, but mom still worries about me. I call every night before I go to bed, so she can sleep well. I
’
ve offered to move back home, but Mom thinks I need to live near my duplexes so that the tenants will take me seriously.
”

Thanking him again for all the extra work he
’
d put into her cabinetry, Aggie walked Luke to the door, waved goodbye, and then climbed the stairs to her room, toting the laptop with her. She hummed
“
Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary
”
as she scrubbed her teeth, washed her face, and brushed her hair. Her characteristic lilt on the word lifted made its way into her humming, as she donned her favorite pajamas and crawled under the covers. Jesus was most definitely near.

Aggie says:
Whew, what a night!

Tina says:
How so? And howdy to you too!

Aggie says:
hee hee… I took the kids to the local pizza place

Tina says:
ALL OF THEM? Alone? You are a brave woman!

Aggie says:
It was mayhem. Spilled drinks, I dumped pizza on William, and then this older couple gave us ice cream money and told the kids to tell their parents that they
’
d been good.

Tina says:
uh, oh!

Aggie says:
Yep, everyone fell apart right there in public. It would have been hysterical, if I hadn
’
t joined the sob-fest.

Tina says:
Everyone ok now? Are YOU ok now?

Aggie says:
Yep, William brought us home and went for Murphy.

Tina says:
Ugh!

Aggie says:
Well, I have to admit she was very comforting.

Tina says:
Really? What
’
d she say?

Aggie says:
She said what Luke is always saying.
“
Cry it out, honey.
It
’
s not good to hold it in. I
’
ll hold you, and you just cry.
”

Tina says:
Luke offers to hold you, huh?

Aggie says:
Ok, ok, so she was nice! And no, Luke doesn
’
t offer t
o
hold me, thank you very much!

Tina says:
Gotcha! Did she say anything else?

Aggie says:
She thinks maybe we need grief counseling. I told her no.

Tina says:
Uh, oh, how did that go over.

Aggie says:
Well, surprisingly she didn
’
t argue. She said tha
t
counseling doesn
’
t do any good if you don
’
t want to be there.

Tina says:
Sounds like I
’
d like her.

Aggie says:
Well, you like her, and I
’
ll avoid her, and we
’
ll all be on
e
big happy family.