By request for more Alexis stories, here is her take on meeting her newly blinded Uncle Auggie for the first time after he's been blinded. It might help new-to-me readers to read 'In the Beginning' before reading this story, but it's not 100% necessary.
Eleven-year-old Alexis Michelle Anderson sat cross-legged on the grass in the shade of the pergola in her grandparent's back yard. It was Memorial Day and her extended family was gathered for the annual get-together. She didn't mind the gatherings; it gave her an opportunity to see her father's brothers that she didn't get to see on a regular basis. Her Uncle Alan, a Marine just back from a war zone, was sitting drinking a beer on the deck and talking with his younger brother Uncle Austin. Her father's youngest brother, Uncle Auggie, was on the garden swing with Alexis' mother, Olivia. He, too, was just back from a war zone, but he'd been hurt in the war and had just completed a few months of rehab. Her father, Adam, had told her that her Uncle Auggie had been injured when a bomb had gone off near him. He'd lost his sight because of it.
Of her two uncles that she hadn't seen in a while, Alexis was most interested in her Uncle Auggie. She'd warmly welcomed her Uncle Alan as soon as her family had arrived. She'd run right up to him with open arms and he'd picked her up and swung her around in greeting. He'd done that with her younger sister, Megan, too. He'd just shaken hands with her older brother, Cody. Her father had warned her that her Uncle Alan might be a bit jumpy, but, to her, he didn't seem any different than he had the last time she'd seen him. But she hadn't yet greeted her Uncle Auggie. And she'd been at her grandparent's for almost an hour now.
Even though her family had gone to a nearby rehabilitation hospital for injured soldiers, Alexis wasn't quite sure how to approach her newly blind uncle. She was sad for the uncle she loved almost as much as she loved her father. She loved all of her aunts, uncles and cousins, but there was just something about her father's youngest brother that was special. Ever since she'd learned that her favorite uncle was now blind she'd tried to figure out what that might be like for him. She'd tried to walk around her house with her eyes closed; that had been harder than she'd ever imagined. She thought that not seeing must be very scary for her uncle. Her family had been advised to tell him who they were when they approached him; but Alexis wasn't sure if she should say, 'This is your niece Alexis' or just 'Hi. It's Alexis.' What if he didn't remember her? It had been almost two years since he'd last been home. Her brother, Cody, had just said 'Hi' to her Uncle Auggie and he'd known who her brother was but that didn't mean he'd know her, too.
After glancing at her Uncle Auggie and her mother again – they seemed deep in conversation – Alexis decided to wait a bit to greet her uncle. She turned her attention back to her handheld video game. The next time Alexis looked up from her game her mother and her Uncle Auggie were moving toward the deck; her uncle grasped her mother's arm as the ambled onto the patio. Alexis watched as her mother placed her uncle's hand on the back of one of the chairs at the round patio table and then her uncle's examination of the seat before he sat down. Then her mother moved off toward the table where all of the food was set out. Since others were heading toward the table also, Alexis got up and tucked her Nintendo DS in the pocket of her jean shorts and got in line. By chance she was a few people behind her mother and brother Cody. It seemed that her mother was fixing the plate for her Uncle Auggie since there were things on the plate that Alexis knew her mother didn't usually eat. As they moved down the buffet line, she heard their mother asked Cody to help her get Uncle Auggie set up with tableware, napkins and a bottle of beer from the ice filled cooler by the doors onto the patio. Alexis was surprised that her brother willingly did as their mother had asked. After quickly putting his own plate on the 'kid's' table, Cody grabbed a few napkins and a fork and spoon from the table and then headed toward the cooler and then off to where his uncle sat. He conversed for a few moments with his Uncle Auggie and then headed for the table where he'd set his plate a few minutes ago.
Once she'd filled her own plate Alexis sat down at the table off in the corner where her sister and cousins could join her. Cody had set his plate at the far end of the table and Alexis knew that he only did so because it was expected that he make sure the younger kids – his sisters, and male cousins Lucas and Ethan – behaved themselves so their parents could have time to themselves. Katie was the same age as Alexis, but she wasn't expected to sit with the kids and would sit with either her parents or grandparents. When she sat down, Alexis made sure to sit so that she could easily watch her Uncle Auggie. After her mother had gotten her Uncle Auggie set up, she'd gone back for her own plate and now, along with her husband, had joined Uncle Auggie at that table. Even though she was far enough away that she couldn't listen to the conversation between her father and her Uncle Auggie, Alexis could tell that her father was apologizing to his brother.
Alexis had an inkling what that apology might be about. She'd overheard her parents discussing her father's outing to the traditional Memorial Day Weekend baseball game. The outing had gone well until the game was, as close as Alexis could figure, at least halfway over, when her Uncle Auggie had made a scene after her father had said something that her mother had royally reamed her husband for saying and causing Uncle Auggie to strike out on his own and become lost. Alexis had been surprised at her Uncle Auggie's bravery; she'd been to the ballgames a few times with her parents and the stadium overwhelmed even her. Her father had said that he'd followed Uncle Auggie, observed him and finally convinced him to return to the game rather than taking a cab back here. Her mother had been very upset with her father and ordered her husband to apologize to his brother for his part in the incident. Her mother hadn't been at all sure that Uncle Auggie would forgive his brother. But, from her uncle's expression and calm body language, it seemed that Uncle Auggie had forgiven her father. And they had laughed together about some things while they ate.
After she'd ate her fill of what she'd served herself, Alexis decided to be brave and take some dessert to her Uncle Auggie. After depositing her paper plate in the appropriate trash container and her soda can in the recycling bin, Alexis crossed to the dessert table and put some of her cousin Kate's melon medley in one of the Styrofoam bowls and a couple of her chocolate chip cookies on a napkin and took them to her Uncle Auggie.
"Uncle Auggie. It's me, Alexis. I brought you some dessert," Alexis advised as she slipped in between her uncle and her mother. She pushed her uncle's empty plate out of the way and placed the bowl of fruit on the table before him and then placed the napkin with the cookies on it beside it.
"Thank you, Lexi," Auggie said as he turned his head toward his niece. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to come see me. What did you bring me?"
This was the first time that Alexis was close enough to actually see her uncle's eyes. At first Alexis didn't see anything different about them, and then she became aware of the lifelessness of them. They looked vacant. Once again she wanted to cry for her uncle; she choked back her sadness and said, "Some of the melon medley Katie made and a couple of chocolate chip cookies. I wasn't sure what you'd want," Alexis added shyly. "I'm not sure how to tell you what's where," the young girl said with embarrassment. She was sad that she hadn't paid more attention to that part of the meeting with the woman at the veteran's hospital when they'd gone over a month ago.
"That's okay, Lexi. I can figure it out," Auggie said reassuringly as he slowly, with fingers curled slightly under, moved his right hand toward the center of the table. His first encounter was with the cookies. "Two chocolate chip cookies," Auggie announced then moved his hand slightly to the left. "And this is the bowl of melon. Let's see," Auggie leaned slightly forward, "cantaloupe, watermelon, and that melon I can never remember the proper name for. And grapes?"
Alexis smiled with amazement as her Uncle Auggie rattled off what was in the bowl of fruit. "That's exactly right. And yes, grapes, too. I'm not even going to ask how you did that."
"Best not," Auggie said lightly. "I don't want to give all my tricks away. Now, do you have a hug for your Uncle Auggie?"
With only a moment's hesitation Alexis picked up her uncle's arm and guided it around her waist. She allowed him to pull her to him and she leaned in and brushed a light kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry about your eyes, Uncle Auggie," Alexis whispered in her uncle's ear.
"I'll be okay," Auggie whispered back to his niece as he released his embrace. "Thanks again for the cookies and fruit."
As her uncle turned his focus back to the bowl of fruit in front of him, Alexis glanced at her mother. Olivia nodded and smiled approvingly at her daughter. Reassured by her mother's approval, Alexis moved back toward the dessert table to get herself some of the cookies she'd made. After settling back down in one of the wrought aluminum patio chairs that was in the shade Alexis continued to observe her Uncle Auggie. Even though he had skillfully used a fork for his meal, he used his fingers to eat the melon balls and grapes. He'd just finished the last of the cookies when Aunt Jessica came to sit in the seat that Alexis's mother had left as she cleared the table of dishes and utensils. Alexis could tell by the tension in her uncle's face and body that he was not pleased that Aunt Jessica had come to talk to him. After what initially appeared to be a heated discussion, Uncle Auggie seemed to relax a bit. That surprised Alexis; of all her uncles, Uncle Auggie was the one that had never had much use for Aunt Jessica. Her mother frequently had unkind words for Aunt Jessica; and sometimes for Uncle Tony, too. That was adult stuff; Alexis tried not to pay too much attention to it since it didn't impact her much. Uncle Tony and Aunt Jessica had always treated her okay. And their children were fun to be around. Well as much fun as a sickly girl and little boys could be.
As she continued to watch the interaction between her Uncle Auggie and Aunt Jessica, Alexis noted that her uncle only slightly relaxed his demeanor. Only when Aunt Jessica left did he seem to completely relax. When her mother returned to the table a few minutes after Aunt Jessica left, she brought her youngest brother-in-law another beer. Uncle Auggie eagerly accepted the new bottle and took a long drink. Then he moved to where Uncle Alan sat in one of the patio couches at the far end of the deck. While the two brothers talked, Alexis moved to where her cousin Kate sat curled up in one of the other deck couches.
As the two young girls chatted away about the last school year, the new fashions, and their summer plans, Alexis kept as much of an eye on her Uncle Auggie as she could without being too obvious about it. But Kate noticed and called her on it.
"Lexi, I can't help but notice that you seem awfully curious about our Uncle Auggie today," Kate said in that soft voice of hers. "Is that because he can't see anymore?"
"It's that obvious that I'm watching him?" Alexis asked with alarm.
"Nah. No more than anyone else is. I'm curious, too. My Mom is, too; but Dad is trying hard not to look. I think he doesn't want to accept that his brother is hurt; that if he ignores it it will just go away. He's like that with me being sick."
"He is? I've always thought that he didn't much like Uncle Auggie."
"You should have been around when he found out about Uncle Auggie. He was scary mad. We were in his office at home when he got that call – I was in trouble and Mom and Dad were talking to me about my grades not being quite what they should be. I don't know if it was Nana or Papa that called, but he got all sad looking and Mom asked what the problem was. He said, 'Auggie's been hurt in Iraq. He's blind now,' and hung up on whoever had called. Mom looked at him with her mouth hanging open. Then Dad got a face that I've never seen before and hope never to see again. He pushed everything off his desk – in a fit of rage I guess – and just sat there with his head in his hands. Mom marched me out of the room, told me to go to bed, then went back in Dad's office and closed the door. I don't know what happened after that, but Dad was kinda extra touchy for a few days. Me and my brothers got to stay with our other grandparents a couple of times while Mom and Dad went to someplace named Hines to learn about blind stuff to help Uncle Auggie. They told me, Lucas and Ethan a few things, but Uncle Auggie doesn't seem to need much help.
"They didn't take you with them to Hines? My Mom and Dad took me and Cody there several times. I got some of what they told us, but I've forgotten some stuff too. Like I didn't remember how to tell him where stuff was when I took him some of your melon medley and some of my cookies. He seemed okay with me not knowing that. I saw how Mom helped him to the table when it was time to eat. I don't know if he can move around without someone helping him though. He was on the swing when we got here."
"And you got here before we did," Kate acknowledged.
"Yeah. I'm going to go get a soda. You want one?" Alexis asked her cousin. Poor Kate was beginning to look a bit tired. Whenever they'd been together in the last few months, Alexis had noticed that whatever sickness Cousin Kate had, seemed to be making her tire more and more easily. Alexis had never been told what was going on with Katie, but she had a feeling that it was something bad. But no one seemed to want to talk about it.
"No soda, but I'd like some tea. Thanks."
"Okay," Alexis said as she rose to head into the house. She knew there was a large pitcher of tea in the refrigerator. While she was in the house she took the time to use the bathroom. When she was washing up, Alexis heard someone rooting about in the kitchen. After she opened the door to leave the bathroom, she noticed her Uncle Auggie searching in the refrigerator for something. She paused for a moment wondering what she should do. Finally she decided to speak up and see if he needed some help.
"Uncle Auggie," she'd barely got the words out when he stiffened noticeably.
"What do you want, Lexi?" He sounded embarrassed.
"I just came out of the bathroom and thought I should announce myself," Alexis countered quickly. "Do you need help finding something in the fridge?"
Uncle Auggie huffed indignantly. Then his shoulders slumped and he said softly, "Yeah. I guess I do."
Alexis popped around the corner of the kitchen peninsula and approached her uncle. "What are you look … What do you need, Uncle Auggie?"
"I need another beer," Auggie stated firmly; almost as if he expected to be denied what he wanted.
Looking at the interior of the refrigerator Alexis pronounced, "There's none in here. I think Dad took all there is out to the cooler on the deck."
"Oh," Auggie said simply. Dejectedly.
As her uncle closed the refrigerator door, Alexis thought about what to do next; how to assist her Uncle Auggie without treating him like a child. Finally she had what she thought was a solution. Since he'd probably made it into the house on his own, getting back outside shouldn't be a problem. "When you go out the patio doors the cooler is on the left up against the house. You should be able to find it okay, but if you need some help I'll be back out in a couple of minutes. I'm getting a couple of fresh drinks for Katie and me."
"Thanks, Lexi. I think I can get myself a beer now that I know where they are."
He smiled warmly in Alexis' direction. She wasn't exactly sure what he was smiling about, but she knew the smile was genuine. After fixing Katie a tall glass of iced tea and grabbing a cold Diet Coke from the refrigerator, Alexis headed back outside. When she stepped back onto the deck, Alexis quickly scanned the yard for signs of her Uncle Auggie. He was back on the patio sofa beside his brother and happily sipping on a bottle of beer. Katie was still where she'd left her cousin ten minutes before; Alexis crossed to where her cousin sat watching the rest of the family and handed the cold glass of tea to her. The young girl graciously accepted the glass and took a long drink as Alexis sat back down beside her.
Alexis didn't stay on the sofa with her cousin for long. The women had begun to clear the debris of the meal and Alexis willingly did her part to help clear the tables of the perishable foods and put them in the refrigerator in the house or in other coolers filled with ice. Even her brother Cody, with some help from Cousin Ethan, did his part by taking the recycling and trash to the bins in the garage. After a bit Alexis stopped watching her Uncle Auggie as much and began to observe the goings on of the rest of her extended family. For the next several hours the family gathered in clusters, everyone talking with everyone else at some point in the afternoon. At some point every adult, except Uncle Anthony, sat with Uncle Auggie and talked to him. Alexis couldn't hear what most talked to Uncle Auggie about, but she could tell when the conversation disturbed him. Uncle Alan seemed to keep him supplied with beer; especially after Uncle Auggie looked disturbed. As the afternoon progressed Uncle Auggie worked his way back to the garden swing he'd been on when people had started arriving.
At the moment there was no one talking to him and Alexis thought about going over and talking to him. He finished the bottle of beer in his hand and dropped it to the ground beside the swing, and then rose from the swing and slowly moved off toward the house. Alexis watched as her Uncle Auggie veered off the path slightly and stumbled over the walk's edging. Even though she'd never seen him drink more than one or two beers in an evening in the past – with the number he'd consumed this afternoon – Alexis guessed he was probably trying to get to the beer cooler. At least that was the direction he was headed. Uncle Anthony was sitting nearby talking with one of his sons and rushed to his brother and reached out to steady him, but then commented, "There you go now, bro. Take my arm and I'll get you safely where you're heading. Where are you heading?"
Uncle Auggie shook his brother's hand from his arm and snapped, "I'm fine. I don't need yours or anyone's help to get to the beer cooler."
Uncle Anthony looked closer at his brother. "You're drunk," he observed.
"Maybe I am. So what? I'm sure as hell not driving so what does it matter? Now get out of my way." Uncle Auggie tried to push past his brother, but Uncle Anthony stood firm. Uncle Auggie stumbled a bit when Uncle Anthony didn't move out of his way. Uncle Anthony reacted to the stumble and once again reached out to steady his brother. This time Uncle Auggie didn't just shake his brother's hand off, but spun him around, pinned his arm painfully behind him and applied a choke hold with his other arm. Alexis jumped up thinking she should do something but stopped where she was when she saw Nana Abigail rush in their direction. In a very calm but firm voice, she said, "August let Tony go. He meant you no harm."
As everyone silently watched, a very reluctant Uncle Auggie loosened his grip around his brother's throat, and finally let the grip on Uncle Anthony's wrist relax. Once Uncle Anthony had moved out of the way, Uncle Auggie just stood there, fists clenched at his side. Nana Abigail spoke to him too quietly for Alexis to hear what was said. But after a few moments, as Nana Abigail talked, a little of the tension visibly left Uncle Auggie and his fists unclenched. He appeared to refuse his mother's offer of assistance and, with a determined look on his face, walked toward the house almost like he dared anything to get in his way. Even three-year-old Summer knew enough to get out of his way as he crossed the patio.
Alexis could see her uncle's body tense again with every step. That was a bit unnerving when he'd reacted badly to just a steadying hand from his brother – even though she knew that the pair of brothers had a history of ill-will between them – and Alexis wondered who her Uncle Auggie might explode at next. How did anybody know how to act if he wasn't going to react rationally? He'd been hurt so badly and it seemed so unfair to her.
She saw that her Uncle Auggie must have misjudged where the stairs were as he approached them and stumbled on the bottom step. A loud, "Damn it!" echoed off the back of the house. Uncle Auggie turned and sat, with his head in his hands, on the second step from the bottom; his body was visibly shaking. Once again Nana Abigail approached her son. Alexis couldn't hear what her grandmother was telling her youngest son, but she did hear what her uncle said. "No, Mom. I'm not okay. It's not going to be okay. It's never going to be okay. I'm blind – now and forever! I can deal with the blindness but I can't deal with pity or the loss of my independence. If I want help, I'll ask for it. Coming here and expecting to be accepted was a huge mistake." Rising from where he sat, Uncle Auggie climbed the rest of the steps, leaving his mother open mouthed at the base of the stairs. After he'd ploughed into a patio chair that wasn't tucked up under the patio table as he crossed the deck and he'd roughly shoved it out of the way, he yelled, "There. Everyone satisfied now? You've seen me stumble and fail."
No one said a word, and Nana Abigail started after her son. The glass rattled in the patio door both as he yanked it open and then again when he slammed it shut. Uncle Alan held up a hand to his mother, shook his head 'no' to her, and grabbed a couple of beers as he passed by the cooler. Uncle Alan entered the house and more angry shouts could be heard. Alexis couldn't make out what the two brothers were yelling at each other, but soon the yelling worked its way down to loud talking. Slowly, as the two men in the house talked loudly at each other, the rest of the family returned to normal conversation. Only it wasn't quite normal conversation – Uncle Auggie was the only topic of conversation.
Alexis wanted to do something to make her Uncle Auggie go back to being the Uncle Auggie she knew from before – the fun-loving uncle he'd been the last time she'd seen him two years ago – but she also understood that was not going to happen. If she did anything compassionate was she was going to irritate him even more? She didn't even know how to have a normal conversation with him now because their worlds were so far apart. It was like she missed him even when they were in the same house because she'd come to see this man – this injured uncle of hers – was a stranger. She didn't get war and violence. She didn't understand why her soft-spoken Uncle Auggie had to get hurt and come home like this. At that moment, she wondered what she could do to make the world a safer place, or at least her Uncle Auggie's world a safer place. Unknown to her, that thought would have a huge impact on her later in life.
Well? Would you like to see more in this vein? If so, let me know by making a comment. I've got Alan, Anthony and Adam chapters in my mind. Will attempt other family members if you'd like. Mom and Dad are probabilities, too.