Annie was driving down a familiar country road in Bernard Parish, Mississippi. She was listening to her favorite country music station and thinking about what she was about to do. She was coming back to her hometown for vacation, and wanted to see her old home again before she left.
'I know they say you cant go home again. I just had to come back one last time.After all of the craziness in my life I need to get back to my roots. I wonder if anyone has bought my old house? If they have I hope they won't mind me coming by.'
As she drove down Main Street she considered stopping for lunch but figured that she wouldn't overstay her welcome if she started to get hungry. She turned on to McManerbury Way, and took the third left onto Willow Run Drive. Annie knew she could drive this route in her sleep. After about 5 more minutes she finally pulled into her old driveway behind a silver sedan. She stared at the 2-story house that she grew up in, debating whether or not to go knock on the door.
'It's now or never Walker,' she berated herself before finally unbuckling and exiting her little red VW Beetle. She walked up the front steps and sighed before she rang the doorbell. The longer she waited the more nervous she got, soon an elderly woman answered the door. She had brown hair that had the beginnings of a grey streak and chocolate colored eyes.
"Yes?"
"Hello, my name is Annie Walker and I used to live here years ago. I don't mean to intrude, I'm moving back here from Virginia and I couldn't stop myself from seeing my old home."
"My name is Bethany Anne Anderson, but you can call me Beth-Anne everyone does. I understand you wanting to come back here. How can I help you?"
"Ma'am I know you don't know me from Adam, but these handprints on the front steps are mine.
And up those stairs, in that little back bedroom is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar. And I bet you didn't know under that live oak my favorite dog is buried in the yard."
Beth-Anne didn't interrupt she just nodded her head for Annie to continue.
"I thought if I could touch this place or feel it this brokenness inside me might start healing. Out here its like I'm someone else, I thought that maybe I could find myself. If I could just come in I swear I'll leave. Won't take nothing but a memory from the house that built me."
"Of course you can come in! Me and my son were just sitting down for lunch, would you like to join us? I'd love to hear your life here and I'm sure my son would too."
They walked into the kitchen and Annie was surprised to see her handler, Auggie sitting at the table. She knew he would already know it was her so she waited for him to clue her in on how she should act.
"Hey mom, who is with you? I'm guessing it's a girl cause no man would smell that nice."
Annie giggled and stepped forward to brush her hand to the back of his so he could find her for a handshake, "Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Annie Walker."
"Nice to meet you as well, I'm Auggie, tell me, are you as beautiful as you sound? I would see for myself but I can find the on-switch for these," said Auggie gesturing to his eyes.
"August!" Exclaimed his mother as Annie began to laugh so hard she held her stomach and a tear formed in her eye and Auggie joined in. When she wiped her eyes and started to calm down she said, "Don't worry Beth-Anne I have a friend with the same dry sense of humor. He is also blind."
"I wondered how you knew to cue him about your hand."
"It's one of the first things I learned about it, I always thought it was just good manners."
Beth-Anne nodded and turned to her son, "Honey, I've invited Annie to stay for lunch. Is that ok?"
"Sure."
As they sat eating turkey and cheese sandwiches Beth-Anne asked Annie to share her story with her and her son.
"Mama cut out pictures of houses for years from 'Better Homes and Garden' magazines. Plans were drawn, concrete poured,and nail by nail and board by board Daddy gave life to mama's dream," Annie began, and soon she found herself spilling her internal woes to her best friend and his unknowing mother.
"I thought if I could touch this place or feel it this brokenness inside me might start healing. Out here its like I'm someone else, I thought that maybe I could find myself. And as I pulled in the driveway earlier I thought to myself, 'If I could just come in I swear I'll leave. Won't take nothing but a memory from the house that built me.'"
Beth-Anne grabbed Annie's hand and said that she understood and that, "You leave home, you move on and you do the best you can."
"I got lost in this whole world and forgot who I am."
As they continued on Auggie sat and thought about how he hadn't noticed something was wrong with Annie before this. He tried to chalk it up to the fact that he didn't know her before the CIA so he didn't know that she was acting strangely, but his conscience brow-beat him with the fact that he was her BEST FRIEND. She always knew when something was up with him, even when Joan couldn't figure it out.
During his internal debate he missed that they had finished eating and that his mother was asking him to walk with Annie through the house while she did dishes, overriding Annie's offer to help. He agreed and rose from the table taking Annie's elbow with the warning, "You would do better not to argue, there's no winning with her."
Annie laughed and finally agreed. As they left they kitchen and were out of earshot Auggie stopped and hugged her.
"I can't believe you used to live here!" He exclaimed, fully intending on questioning her on what was wrong later, preferably over a bottle of Patron.
"I know! I thought your family all lived in Glencoe?"
"Dad passed a couple years ago and mom wanted a change of scenery, to many memories. She moved her last fall."
"Wow."
"Now, show me around," he laughed, "I want to know where everything was when you were here."
Turns out the room that Auggie stays in when he comes over is Annie's old room. "Maybe if your lucky I'll show you my secret hiding place," she teased.
"What makes you think I haven't already found it?"
A.N. What do you think? this has been in my head for a while and unlike some of my other fics/chapters this took 4 days to write, severe writers block. Review and let me know how I did.