For Keeps (Aggie's Inheritance) (58 page)

“
I just wanted to finish my book…
”
The girl at least had the grace to look ashamed of herself.

“
You can finish after school. I want you downstairs in ten minutes. Not a minute more.
”
She held out her hand.
“
I’ll take the book. You can have it after you’re done with your work.
”

Vannie’s face fell, but she crawled from the bed and handed Aggie the book, an expression of betrayal on her face.
“
I thought you said school was going to be fun, and we were going to get to explore things that interest us, not just follow the teacher’s manual.
”

“
And you truly think,
”
Aggie asked trying not to laugh,
“
that reading…
”
She glanced at the book title,
“--
Sherlock Holmes is what I meant by pursuing interests?
”
Without waiting for an answer, Aggie left the room and entered Laird’s. Using the book as a mock paddle, she whacked the boy gently on the rump.

“
Get up.
”

“
But
--”

“
I’ll apply this more forcefully next time unless I see you on your feet in the next five seconds.
”

Grumbling, Laird dragged himself from his bed, stood at the foot, and saluted with a scowl on his face.
“
I might as well have to catch a bus!
”

“
You’ll catch it from me if you don’t arrive downstairs, dressed, and ready to eat in ten minutes. I’m ashamed of you!
”
Her words hardly seemed to make an impact.

Kenzie and Ellie were digging through drawers by the time Aggie arrived in their room, but their movements were sluggish.
“
Come on, girls. This isn’t difficult. Make the bed, put on the clothes, wash your hands and faces, and show up at the table. This isn’t rocket science.
”

It took several calls for Tavish to return from wherever his book had taken him. Aggie pulled it from his hand and frowned.
“
Louis L’Amour? Really? Isn’t he a bit mature for you?
”

“
Daddy gave them to me. He said I’d like them.
”
Tavish frowned as he watched her turn with book in hand.
“
Can I at least have it back to put with the others?
”

“
You can have it back after your schoolwork is done. I’ll decide about reading it later.
”

Downstairs, Aggie pulled a basket of toys out of the closet and set it on the kitchen floor. She’d learned the hard way that it made the most sense to pull
Ian
from room to room with her rather than trying to run back to check on him every few minutes
--
usually too late to prevent whatever damage or mess he caused while unsupervised. She stirred the oats, turned them back on to rewarm them, and frowned at the milk. It’d be warm now, but they could just learn to get ready faster.

Cari and Lorna skipped into the kitchen, each wearing half of two separate and glaringly clashing outfits. Compromise was a good thing; the result was not. A glance at the clock told her to deal with good taste on another morning. She helped the girls get their oats, admonishing them not to overload on sugar and blueberries, and carried their bowls to their places. Cari took one sip of her milk and wrinkled her little nose.
“
That is gwoss.
”

“
If you had been to breakfast on time, it would have been nice and cold. You can just drink it like that.
”

“
I don’t wike warm milk.
”

Prayers whizzed their way to heaven as Aggie begged the Lord not to have a big battle before the day even started.
“
I don’t blame you. I don’t either. It’ll help you remember to get dressed faster tomorrow, won’t it?
”

Something in Aggie’s tone reached Lorna’s conflict radar. She grabbed her glass and chugged the entire thing in one long gulp.
“
I drank mine. Now may I have some cold?
”

Laughing, Aggie nodded.
“
After a few bites of your cereal, you can certainly have more milk.
”

Ellie arrived minutes later followed by Vannie. The others, however, were still MIA by the time everyone finished their meal. For a moment, Aggie was tempted to put away the food, wipe down the counters, fill the dishwasher, and declare the kitchen closed until snack time. Her mother’s admonitions about nutritious food before school mocked her, though. She couldn’t expect the children to learn without a decent breakfast, could she?

“
Ok, everyone in the library. Vannie, can you take Ian with you, and Ellie, can you grab his toys and basket and carry them in for me? I need to go light a fire under those guys.
”

Upstairs, the other children were dawdling. Laird had his clothes on, but just stood staring out the window instead of making his bed. Tavish’s bed was made and his pants were on, but he stared into his drawer as if waiting for a shirt to jump out and slide over his arms.
“
Come on, boys. Get ‘er done! I’m about to close the kitchen
,
and you can just wait for lunch.
”

That helped speed both boys through their paces and down the stairs. Kenzie, however, just stood in front of her closet, staring at her clothes, confused.
“
What’s wrong, Kenzie?
”

“
I don’t know what to wear.
”

“
Well, pick a dress and put it on.
”

“
But do I wear school clothes or play clothes? I’m not
going
to school, but I’m going to
do
school. I’m going to play too so I don’t know what I’m supposed to wear.
”

“
Anything is ok. Just don’t wear your church clothes. If you decide to play in the mud, make sure you are wearing your play clothes.
”

The child reached into the closet and then jerked her hand back.
“
I don’t
know
!
”
she wailed.

“
Ok, you’re making this overcomplicated.
”
Aggie pulled out one of the simple little t-shirt dresses.
“
Wear this. Downstairs immediately. You can make your bed during your break.
”

Once she had everyone seated in the library, Aggie was sure things would go much smoother. She handed Kenzie, Cari, and Lorna pictures to color, and told the others to read Proverbs twenty-nine. Confident that everyone was occupied, Aggie went over Vannie’s assignments with her. In the middle of the
“
meeting,
”
Aggie’s cell phone buzzed in her pocket, but she ignored it.

“
Aunt Aggie, why don’t you answer the phone?
”

“
We’re discussing your lessons. I can’t stop every time the phone rings.
”

“
But what if it’s Gramma Millie or Aunt Tina?
”

“
They’ll leave a message.
”
Aggie knew better than to let herself become sidetracked.
“
Ok, so take my laptop upstairs and if you have questions, come get me.
”

With Vannie dispatched, Aggie moved to help Laird, but found Kenzie done coloring the picture and Cari and Lorna building log houses out of the crayons.
“
Ok, Cari and Lorna. Why don’t you go find your dolls or your Duplos or something?
”

The girls dashed upstairs, making a racket sure to elicit a cry of protest from Vannie, but all was silent. For a moment, Aggie considered checking in on them, certain something must be wrong if Vannie wasn’t demanding the girls hush, but Kenzie started doodling on her paper, obviously lost in her own world. Aggie pulled the math workbook she’d purchased from the shelf and a pencil from the holder on the desk.
“
Ok, so you have three pages of math to do. It should be easy enough, since it’s review of the work you brought home last year. I checked to make sure.
”

A sense of satisfaction washed over her as she saw Laird, Ellie, and Tavish reading their Bibles and Kenzie bent over the workbook, a look of intense concentration on the child’s face. Laird looked up first, closing his Bible as he did.
“
Is Bible part of our school work?
”

“
Well, for now, you’ll be reading a chapter a day. I wanted to start small. Let’s go over your math.
”
As she explained the day’s and week’s lessons, Aggie had a surreal sense of realizing that this is what she would have been doing all along had she continued with her career in education. Everything seemed to flow together so beautifully that it seemed almost too good to be true.

Ellie and Tavish accepted their math books without much concern and opened them to the appropriate pages. She gave them assignments, and asked if they had any questions before realizing that Lorna and Cari hadn’t returned.
“
Someone keep an eye on Ian. I’ll be right back.
”

Aggie dashed upstairs, but didn’t find the girls in their room. She popped her head in Vannie’s room to ask if the girl had seen them and saw Vannie flush with embarrassment and move her hands over the touch pad on the laptop.
“
Vannie? Is something wrong?
”

“
No, I
--”

It was obvious that she was trying to close something out, but being flustered, she had difficulty controlling the unfamiliar touch pad. Aggie took one glance at the screen, and her face fell.
“
I’m disappointed in you.
”

“
I’m sorry, Aunt Aggie. It was open when I opened the laptop and I read the little bit that showed before I realized it.
”
The girl hung her head.
“
I scrolled up to read the beginning and then realized what I was doing. I was going to close it out, honest, but then I saw wife and thought maybe you explained why you didn’t want to marry Mr. Markenson.
”

“
I didn’t realize that I hadn’t told you that, but regardless, it’s wrong to read other people’s messages. It’s no different than opening someone’s mail without permission.
”