Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (83 page)

The paint she
’
d chosen concerned her. Despite her original intention of going bold in the library, she couldn
’
t bring herself to do it. All the rich wood accents around the fireplace, the doorframes, and the beautiful pocket doors with their frosted glass demanded the foreground. She
’
d hesitated over a camel color but finally decided it was too bland. Her next choice, the color of pale pumpkin pulp, seemed a bit daring. With just the wrong lighting, it would scream,
“
this is an orange room,
”
and that was not the feeling Aggie wished to evoke. At last, she
’
d found a very pale sage named
“
Heathered Laurel,
”
but now that she was home, she doubted herself.

“
Luke? Do you have a minute?
”
Aggie pried the lid off the paint as she called for input.

“
Hmm?
”
He paused near the doorway, unwilling to bring dust near the paint can.

“
What do you think of this color?
”

“
Looks good from here. Is the wall next to that window dry?
”

Careful not to mark up the primer if it wasn
’
t, Aggie brushed the back of her hand along the wall.
“
Nothing comes off on my hand, it
’
s not tacky at all, but it
’
s still cool to the touch.
”

He hesitated and then disappeared around the corner.
“
I
’
ll be back. Let me dust myself off.
”

In the meantime, Aggie threw on every light in the room and felt the walls to find the least conspicuous and driest place to test the paint. By the time Luke returned, she
’
d wiped a wide swatch of paint down a short space of wall behind the door.
“
It was drier over here.
”

They both stood back and surveyed the effect. The color wasn
’
t too dark, and it blended perfectly with the wood.
“
Well,
”
Luke admitted,
“
I wasn
’
t sure about it when you held it up. I mean, it looked fine and everything, but I didn
’
t think it was anything special. Now I
’
m thinking it might be the perfect color. Why don
’
t you go get Tina and get her opinion while I put the lid back on the can? You can
’
t paint tonight anyway.
”

“
You don
’
t think so?
”

“
The wall is still too cool. It
’
s better to let it cure until morning.
”

“
Well then,
”
Aggie muttered on her way out the door.
“
I
’
m glad I bought the one-coat stuff. Maybe it
’
ll really only take one coat.
”

Tina pronounced the color perfect, Ellene nodded her own approval, and William managed not to wince when Aggie mentioned she
’
d almost purchased pumpkin, a fact that only Ellene seemed to notice. With an arm draped over one of Aggie
’
s shoulders, William pointed out a few places where the wood needed to be sanded on the walnut molding.
“
That one spot is pretty deep, though. I
’
m not sure you can fix it, and putty would ruin it.
”

“
I
’
m not sanding any of it. I
’
ll refinish spots that absolutely need new sealant, but since none of it is broken or missing, I
’
m leaving it as it is, for the most part.
”

“
But with a brand new room
--
”
William
’
s protest seemed excessive to Luke, but he kept his opinions to himself and listened.

“
This isn
’
t a young house. We
’
re fixing what needs to be fixed, but I don
’
t want to redo every inch of it like an older woman filling her face with collagen and overdosing on cosmetic surgery. It has lines and wrinkles. Where appropriate, I want them to show.
”

Once the children were in bed, Tina, Ellene, and William tried to get Luke and Aggie to play a game or watch a movie, but neither of them was willing to stop working. Luke had the bathroom gutted. The fixtures, floor, drywall
--
everything was removed, and new plumbing was in the works for the shower. Aggie, unable to work in the library until the paint dried, sanded, stripped, patched, and prepared every inch of the living room for paint.

A heated game of hearts ensued on the front porch, while the work inside continued. William and Ellene stayed until past ten o
’
clock, before they gave up on Aggie and Luke and went home. As much as she wanted to stay up and help, Tina was exhausted. Instead, she dragged her air mattress into the mud room and closed the door. A fan, as loud as a turbine engine, dulled the sounds of Luke
’
s occasional thumps and thuds, but he and Aggie kept working.

The need for another length of drainpipe halted Luke
’
s progress midstream. His watch mocked him with a time of one fourteen, which told him it was time to go home. To his surprise, Aggie was in the living room, half the furniture gone, and marking off different places with blue painter
’
s tape.
“
Um, Aggie?
”

She jumped.
“
Oh! I forgot you were here.
”

He walked around the squares and rectangles on her floor, trying to get a feel for what she was doing.
“
It
’
s after one. I need pipe, and church is in eight hours.
”
She groaned, but before she could respond, he pointed to the rectangle closest to him.
“
Coffee table?
”

“
Yep.
”

“
I think there
’
s one in the attic just about that size.
”

Her face lit up, erasing all signs of exhaustion.
“
Really? I was sure I
’
d have to buy one.
”

“
Chairs?
”
Luke pointed to two squares, one on each side of the fireplace.

“
Mmm hmm. I
’
m not sure about those. I can
’
t put a table between them
--
not with that fireplace there
--
and I don
’
t think there
’
s room for a table on each side of the chairs.
”
She pointed to the walk space it
’
d clutter.
“
I just think the kids would be bumping them all the time.
”

“
Why do you need tables?
”

“
Something to hold reading lamps and a coffee cup or glass.
”

“
Well,
”
Luke yawned.
“
Let me sleep on it. I might come up with something. That
’
s the couch?
”
He pointed to a long, deep, L shaped rectangle.

“
Two of them. I want to keep it versatile. I was thinking maybe I
’
d get a table for the corner, so I just marked it all off as one piece.
”

“
There
’
s one of those old drum tables up in the attic. The pedestal is broken, but I
’
ll bet we can find another pedestal easy enough. The tops are the hard parts to find.
”

Aggie yawned and picked at the edge of the tape, ready to peel off another strip, but Luke took it from her.
“
Go to bed, Aggie. Tomorrow will be here before you
’
re ready for it.
”
He turned her shoulders and gently pushed her toward the stairs.
“
I
’
ll be back after church. I think I can get that shower in place before dinner, if I don
’
t run into any more problems. After that, only the floor will take any real time. You can paint the walls as soon as the shower is in place. The primer is about dry now, but I
’
d rather wait until morning.
”

“
I didn
’
t buy paint for it. I don
’
t know what color
--
”

“
Did you get enough of that green for the library?
”

“
You think it
’
d work in the bathroom?
”
Aggie looked hopeful. Tired, but hopeful.

“
The cabinet I bought is almost the same shade of wood. It
’
s a little darker, but it
’
ll look good, I think.
”

“
That
’
s good enough for me.
”
She placed one foot on the bottom stair and then turned her head.
“
Thanks for earlier. It
’
s horribly vain of me, but I needed to hear that.
”