For 'Savitha'. And because I had the idea for it floating around even before whe asked for it. It's sort of long, but I hope you'll like it just the same. I've borrowed a name from another work of fiction from a published work of an author I respect. And used that work as research and inspiration for some of the skiing information.
Mandy58 has looked it over and declared it fit to post.
I do not own Auggie or Annie, just this version of a future them. Hope you enjoy the journey I've taken them on.
One a side note: I am also now the proud owner of Christopher Gorham's final shooting script from 'Communication Breakdown'. It's signed by him, Piper Perabo, Kari Matchett, Anne Dudeck, and Sendhil Ramamurthy. It's still in it's mailing envelope here on my desk until I figure out how best to keep it safe but still available to see to prove that it's real and it's mine.
Annie hung up the landline after talking to Auggie's oldest sister-in-law, Olivia. She was smiling over the fact that she'd been able to get the Anderson clan to change the destination of their winter family trip to Colorado from Aspen to Winter Park. Winter Park was the home of the National Sports Center for the Disabled and had the premiere ski program for the blind in the United States. She'd made reservations for her and Auggie beginning a full day before the rest of the family was going to arrive. And she'd scheduled Auggie for a ski guide for the weekend. Now all she had to do was get Auggie there. He was being stubborn about the vacation that was still three months away.
"Who were you talking to?" Auggie asked as he entered the bedroom where Annie sat on the edge of their bed.
"Livie," Annie answered.
"I didn't hear the phone ring."
"I called her," Annie replied.
"Why?"
"Girl stuff. Your Mom's birthday is coming up and I wanted an idea of what to send her." That wasn't a total fabrication; she and Olivia had talked about that before Annie wanted to suggest a change in venue for the January winter get-together and why she wanted it to change.
"You get an idea or two?" Auggie asked as he sat beside her on the bed.
"Yeah, I did. We're going in with the rest of the family and getting her a day at her favorite spa. Every woman likes a day of special pampering."
"How much is this going to cost me?"
"Just a hundred bucks, but I've got this one covered. I'm sending Livie a check in the morning."
"And I'll just let you," Auggie said as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her backward on the bed.
They lay like that for a few minutes, and then Annie asked, "Why are you so adamant about not joining the rest of the family on their winter get-together? That subject was touched on when I was talking with Livie. I didn't know what to say about why we're not going to join them in January."
Auggie huffed in a mixture of exasperation and disgust. "We've discussed this. You know why. Just tell them the truth. I'm blind and winter sports no longer have my interest."
"Auggie, it doesn't have to be that way," Annie began, a touch of pleading in her voice.
Auggie sat up quickly. "Drop it, Annie. Just drop it." He rose and strode out of the bedroom.
A few minutes later Annie heard Auggie shuffling through CD cases in their home office. When she passed the open door a few minutes later she saw her husband with his headphones on, tilted back in the office chair. A Braille volume of a book or magazine was open on his lap, his hands rested on it, but he was not reading. He had retreated into himself as he was wont to do when upset. As much as she wanted to go into the room and wrap her arms around him, she did not. She knew that it would do no good.
Annie continued on into the living room. If there was one area of his life that Auggie was not open about it was winter sports. In all other aspects of life, Auggie met what the world had to offer with good grace if not excitement and eagerness, but this one he kept walled off. His late night admission of being afraid to ski no longer seemed sufficient enough a reason. In her heart Annie knew there was something more to it than just that. She could only hope that one day he'd let her in on it. But if he never did, she'd understand. There were things about herself that she'd just as soon not get into and have to explain, too.
Over the next few months Annie gently planted seeds of interest in Auggie about joining the rest of the family in Colorado the second weekend in January. A few gentle prods from his brothers, especially Austin, finally got Auggie to agree to go to Colorado. No one mentioned the name of the resort to Auggie for fear that he'd connect the dots and know what Annie had planned. A plan that they fully endorsed.
Although he'd never been overly enthusiastic on the winter vacation, Auggie packed for the long weekend without complaint. The trip to the airport, and even the first part of the flights were not bad, but as the day wore on, and the schlepping of bags from one gate to another go old, they began to become quiet with each other. As they deplaned in Denver and headed off to get the rental car for the journey to the resort, Auggie asked plaintively, "Tell me again why we're doing this?"
"At least the weather's been cooperating and we haven't had any delayed flights. We're supposed to be spending a relaxing weekend with your brothers."
"Ha. Right now I have no good idea why I let you talk me into this."
"Because you love me?"
"Got to be that, 'cause there's no other reason to do this," Auggie said and grinned tiredly.
Annie stopped at the rental car counter, finished the paperwork to get the rental car keys, and then headed over to baggage claim to get their checked bags. It took a bit longer than Annie thought that it should, but soon she and Auggie were on the road to Winter Park. Almost an hour-and-a-half later they were approaching the check-in desk in the lobby of the Winter Park Resort.
"Welcome to Winter Park Ski Resort," the young woman behind the counter greeted them. "Do you have reservations?"
"Supposed to," Auggie said taking a step forward to the counter. "August Anderson."
"My goodness," the clerk exclaimed, "there's a bunch of Andersons coming in this weekend. Ah, there you are. We have you in room 301. The equipment and bags you shipped in are already in your room."
"My family chose to invade you with their annual winter get-away this year. You will never be the same after we leave."
"I doubt that. We had the whole Paralympic ski team here last year. That was a blast."
Annie watched with concern as Auggie's features changed from simply tired to angry comprehension. He finished the check-in process in relative silence. It wasn't until they were safely in their room that he unleashed his fury.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Auggie grabbed Annie and spun her around so that she faced him. "Anne Catherine Anderson, I see your hand all over the selection of this place for this weekend's get-together. How hard did you have to campaign for here?"
"Not hard at all. They were most receptive to the change in venue."
"I'm sure they were once you told them what was here. Damnit Annie, you lied to me." For the first time in their relationship, Auggie raised his voice to Annie.
"Didn't outright lie. You never asked where we were going," Annie replied. The Auggie before her – face drawn as tight as the muscles bulging beneath his grey sweater and with hands curled into hard fists at his side —was not one that she'd seen before and he almost frightened her.
"A lie by omission is even worse than an outright verbal lie. You got me here under false pretenses. I can deal with the lies and half-truths at work. It's expected. I do not expect nor appreciate them in our marriage. I trust you Annie. I need to be able to trust you on so many levels. What else have you failed to tell me?"
"I've arranged for a ski guide for you for this weekend," Annie said in a meek tone.
"Goddamnit, Annie. You can just un-arranged that in the morning. You know how I feel about skiing."
"You said you were afraid. I thought that with the proper instruction and encouragement you could overcome that."
Annie reached out and touched Auggie's chest. He roughly brushed her arm away.
"No! … If it was just about that I could have, would have done something about that a long time ago." He pushed past her. "Where's the goddamned bed?"
"To your right. It's a king. The bathroom door is here on the right, too."
"Is there a sofa?" Auggie asked as he moved to the far side of the bed, right leg ghosting along the outline of the bed.
"No. Just an easy chair and a desk chair."
Auggie ripped the bedspread off the bed and grabbed one of the pillows. "In that case, you can have the bed. I'll take the floor. In the morning I'll be making arrangements to go back to DC. I'm not letting you get away with this one."
"Auggie," Annie said pleadingly. "I'm sorry. I didn't think that you'd react like this. I was ready for pissed –"
"Don't Auggie me in that tone of voice. Pissed? You expected pissed? I am so far beyond pissed I don't even think there's a word for how I feel right now. But betrayed comes to mind."
"Can we talk about this?"
"Not now. I'm tired, frustrated and … and …pissed. Maybe in the morning." He pushed past her on his way to the bathroom. "Is this one mine?" he asked as he bumped into a suitcase.
"Yes," Annie replied quietly. "There's a bench for it just to your left."
Without another word Auggie lifted his bag onto the rack, opened it, fished out his sleepwear and shaving kit, and went into the bathroom. He emerged a few minutes later wiping the remnants of toothpaste foam from around his mouth with a towel.
Annie sadly watched Auggie cautiously make his way to the space between the bed and the outside wall where he settled onto the floor with the pillow and bedspread that he's taken from the bed earlier. Within a few minutes his breathing indicated that he was asleep.
Quietly Annie got herself ready for bed and crawled into bed. Unlike her husband, it took her a good bit of time to fall asleep. Her mind kept going over the events from the time they'd checked in until Auggie fell asleep. She could make no sense of the anger that she'd seen in him. A vaguely empty feeling accompanied her into sleep.
In the morning the sound of the shower running woke Annie. Rolling over she looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was a little after six AM local time – a bit after eight AM DC time. Mother Nature was calling to Annie and she rose from the bed and crossed to the bathroom door. She softly knocked on the closed door.
"Are you going to be much longer?" Annie asked through the door.
She heard movement in the bathroom and then the door opened slightly. Warm moisture rolled out of the opening. After quickly relieving herself, Annie spoke to Auggie.
"Can we talk now?" There was not pleading in her voice, just a simple question.
"No," Auggie responded without stopping scraping the razor over his neck.
"Oh." Annie sighed sadly. "Are you still planning on leaving today?"
Auggie finished the last two strokes on his neck before answering. "I'm not sure. Depends on you."
"On me? Why?"
"We'll talk in a bit. Over breakfast. Just get ready quickly. We missed dinner last night and I'm really hungry."
Half-an-hour later they were in the resort's dining room nursing hot cups of coffee. Given the hour that they were there, Annie was surprised at the number of people in the dining room. It was still dark out, but the room was a half full of people in various stages of eating.
After they'd ordered hearty meals, Annie softly touched Auggie's hand. "Can we talk now? Make me understand why you're so adamant about not wanting to ski again. I understand the nervousness, but there's something more than that. You said as much."
"First I want to let you know that I'm still very upset with you. You pull another stunt like this one and you could very well find yourself living in the condo alone. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes," Annie said. She was shocked both by what Auggie said and the firm, no nonsense way that he said it. She believed him.
"I don't want to ski anymore because it will not be the same as when I could see. And for reasons beyond the obvious. The reason that I skied in the first place is gone. I skied to be free, alone with my thoughts and the challenge of the terrain and the conditions of the snow. It will never be that again. Oh, maybe, if I'm lucky, for a few brief minutes, but never again the same as it was. Even this long after, I don't want to be reminded of all that I lost. Mechanically, even though it's been a while, I know that I can still ski. I just don't want to."
"Oh," Annie said quietly. "I think I understand. You said earlier that your staying for the rest of the weekend depended on me. How?"
"I'll stay if you just don't make me ski."
"I can't make you do anything that you don't want to do. I was just hoping that once I got you here you'd want to ski with us. We're supposed to meet the ski guide at 9:00. Would you make one run? Just one run? Then I'll drop it."
"Did you not hear what I just said?" Auggie said with frustration.
"Yeah, I heard you. It's not going to be the same. I understand that. That doesn't mean it can't still be fun, challenging, even a little exciting. Is that really too much to ask? That's all I really ever wanted for you. One run. On the beginner slope if it has to be."
"You're not going to be happy until I've got a pair of skis on are you?"
"I don't think you'll be happy until you know for sure. You need to do this for you. You've been hiding from this, avoiding this for too long. That is so not like you. You meet your fears and challenges with grace and courage. I think at some point you might regret not trying."
"You've given your argument some thought haven't you?" The anger in his face had dissolved into pensiveness.
"Yeah. A little. Just stating what seems obvious to me."
"Let me think about it," Auggie finally said.
Annie did a little happy dance in her seat. He was softening. As Annie was wiggling in her seat, the server came with their meals and fresh coffee. They mostly ate in silence, but half-way through the meal Auggie spoke, "One run, on the beginner slope. Then you'll leave me alone about it?"
"Yes. I won't ask you again. I might ask if you want to go snowmobiling, or on the toboggan run. Maybe even ice skating, but I won't ask you to ski."
"Okay then, I'll do one run on the beginner slope. That's all that I'll commit to."
"That's all I asked for," Annie said putting down her fork and patting the back of Auggie's hand.
"That's probably all you're gonna get," Auggie said seriously. "Although it does seem a waste of a full days equipment rental for just one run."
"You don't have to rent equipment," Annie said matter-of-factly. "Your skis, boots, and other ski gear are in the room. Your brothers had it shipped in with theirs."
"Damnit, Annie. You planned for everything didn't you?"
"I had high hopes, Auggie. Just high hopes."
# # # # #
At quarter-to-nine Auggie, on Annie's arm, checked in at the desk for the National Sports Center for the Disabled on the main floor of the Winter Park ski center with his equipment and lift pass in hand.
As they approached the desk, the receptionist greeted them warmly. "You must be Mr. Anderson. I'm glad you've gotten your equipment already. Let's you get on the slopes quicker. Your instructor is in the building but isn't here quite yet. We've assigned one of our senior instructors to you – Brendan McCarthy. I think you'll enjoy your day with him."
"Is there anything I have to sign or fill out before we get on the slopes?" Auggie asked.
"No," the woman behind the desk replied. "We know that you've skied before, just not in a while. Brendan will talk to you a bit on the lift to get a better idea of where to begin with your instruction. You can trust Brendan; he won't let anything happen to you. … Here he comes now. He's approaching from your three o'clock."
As the instructor approached closer, Auggie stuck out his hand, "Auggie Anderson. My wife Annie."
The handshake that Auggie received was firm, strong and confident. The tension that Auggie was feeling diminished by ten percent with that handshake. He could tell a lot about a person from a simple handshake. Auggie knew that this man knew what he was doing.
"Nice to meet you, Auggie. I think that we'll have a good day on the slopes. I've been doing this for a while and I haven't lost anyone yet." He broke the handshake with Auggie. "Annie. Your husband is in good hands. Will you be skiing with us?"
"I'd like to; if that's allowed," Annie replied.
"Of course it's allowed," Brendan said. "You just have to remember that I'm in charge of your husband while we're on the lift and slopes."
"I understand," Annie stated.
"Actually, I'm going to take charge of Auggie here right now," Brendan stated touching Auggie on the arm.
Auggie took the cue and grasped Brendan's right elbow with his left hand. "I understand that you've skied before. Is that correct?"
"Yeah. I've skied before. But it's been a few years."
"May I ask how long you've been blind?" Brendan asked softly.
"I've been blind coming up on six years. I'm pretty adjusted to living in the dark if that's what you want to know. I still have my moments when it totally sucks, but it's okay most of the time."
They'd exited the building and were now crunching across the snowpack. "It's time to put on our skis," Brendan said as he stopped and dropped his skis on the snow. He and Annie quickly got their skis on, while Auggie slightly fumbled with his bindings.
"Need some help, honey?" Annie asked from beside him.
"No," Auggie huffed. "Just a minute to work it out. … There," he finally said as he rose to his feet.
"Now I need for you to put this bib on," Brendan said placing the soft vinyl vest in Auggie's hand.
Auggie sighed softly and began to examine the vest. "This thing got a front or back?" he asked. He'd seen the labeling bibs before and knew that it boldly proclaimed 'BLIND SKIER'. He knew that it was part of the price that he had to pay to satisfy Annie's want. He also knew that Brendan wore one that proclaimed him a 'BLIND GUIDE'.
"Nope," Brendan grunted. "It's the same on both sides."
Auggie pulled the bib over his head and Annie tied one side while Brendan tied the other.
"Now that I'm adequately labeled, can we get on with this?" Auggie asked a bit impatiently. All he wanted at the moment was for this whole ordeal to be over. He'd promised Annie one run and he wanted it over with so that he could go back inside and make arrangements to get back to DC. Being with his brothers and their families and hearing all about the wonderful time they were having on the ski trails no longer held event the faintest bit of interest for him.
"Yeah," Brendan said with enthusiasm. "Take my arm and we'll ski over to the chair lift. Keep your skis parallel to mine or we'll both fall if they cross."
"Ever had that happen?" Annie asked from where she skied to the left of the ski instructor.
"Once or twice," Brendan acknowledged. "Not a good way to begin a lesson."
As they moved in tandem to the ski lift, Auggie couldn't help but notice how easily, how smoothly that the instructor moved with him. As they approached the lift Auggie inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled.
"Nervous?" Brendon asked.
"Yeah. A little," Auggie replied.
"Everyone is the first time. Some more so than others. It's okay. Even expected. It's a new experience and is a bit frightening. Even if you've skied before. … Okay, we're in line at the lift. When we're next I'll side step onto the ramp and you'll follow me. When the chair is coming I'll count it down to you like this 3 … 2 … 1 and you reach back with your right hand and feel for the seat. Then just sit and we'll ride to the top."
A few minutes later Auggie and his instructor were on their way up the mountain.
"Where's Annie?" Auggie asked as soon as he was seated.
"On the chair behind us. Next time I'll let her ride with us, but I wanted to talk with you without her around."
"Why?"
"You're not here willingly are you?"
"It's that obvious?"
"Not really. Just a feeling I got. And I sense a bit of tension between you and your wife."
"Yeah. She got me here by lying to me. She made all of the arrangements without my knowledge. I finally promised her one try on the beginner slope so she'd quit hounding me."
Brendan chuckled a bit under his breath.
"What's so funny?"
"Your situation. Usually it's the blind skier who's all gung-ho and the spouse or significant other who's all reluctant about the whole thing. … Why don't you want to ski again? What kind of skier were you when you skied?
"I was bold. I skied any slope they had. The more challenging the better. I come from a big family. When I was alone on the slopes it was one of the few times I was free to be me. That's gone now. Skiing no longer has my interest."
"I'm sorry to hear that you feel that way. But, I understand how you might feel that way, too. Skiing with a guide just isn't the same as skiing on your own, but that doesn't mean that you have to settle for the easy slopes. I've skied every slope here behind a blind skier. The more challenging runs were fun and exhilarating for both of us. Do you normally have problems with trusting others to keep you safe?"
"Yeah. A little. Never sure of their motive. There are people around me that I've come to trust implicitly, strangers I just have to go on faith with."
"Do you trust me?"
"Have to," Auggie replied. "But that's not the reason for the nervousness."
"As part of our training to be guides for you guys, we've had to ski under blindfold. I'm not going to lie to you. It was one of the scariest things I've ever done. I will say that it does take some courage to do. I think that you've got the courage to ski well again."
"I know that I do. I just don't really want to ski anymore," Auggie said with finality.
"We're almost to the top. Just ski off the lift like always. There's nothing in the way for a ways and I'll be back on your left side quickly to guide you to the top of Bill Wilson's Way. That's the beginner slope. Have you ever skied here before?"
"No. We usually skied Aspen, Vail or Steamboat," Auggie replied. "Why does it matter if I've skied here before?"
"Doesn't really matter," Brendan replied. "Those that have skied here before say that the visual memory helps a bit with orientation."
Auggie felt the ground once again beneath his skis and pushed off from the lift. A few moments later he felt as much as heard his instructor beside him once again. Together they moved off toward the top of the beginner's slope. Auggie was surprised at the wave of fear that passed over him. He felt his grip on Brendan's arm tighten.
"It's okay," Brendan said softly. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. No one's expecting you to blast down the slope like nothing ever happened. Ski at your own pace – where you feel the most comfortable."
Auggie did not respond in any way except to loosen his death grip on his guides arm.
A few minutes later Brendan stopped. "Here we are at the top of Bill Wilson's Way. It's a wide open gentle slope. Good for getting your feet wet again. Conditions are good, not great and far from perfect, but very skiable. I'll be following in your tracks I'll call out to you when you need to turn and telling you which direction you need to turn. Your wife has just joined us. She'll follow me down this time. Whenever you're ready."
Auggie took in a deep breath and held it for a moment before slowly exhaling. It had been a long time since he'd been this nervous – since his early days in rehab. He pushed off and began to glide down the slope. Whoa, he thought and brought his ski tips together to slow his momentum. "Damnit," he muttered under his breath. "Buck up, Anderson," he whispered to himself. He straightened his skis and continued on. On command he made a left turn, then a quick right. Another bringing together of his ski tips to slow his speed down. A few more turns, and fear gripped him again. He brought the tips of his skis together once again. This time to a complete stop. Behind him two skiers slid to a stop but did not speak for several moments.
"You're doing great," Brendan said encouragingly. "You've made it a third of the way down. It's all downhill from here."
Auggie smiled at the weak joke and pushed back off. He listened to Brendan's instructions and slowly gained confidence as he traversed the slopes. He didn't break any speed records, but Auggie made it to the bottom of the slope without stopping or slowing again. When he stopped at the bottom of the slope he allowed a satisfied grin to lift the corners of his mouth.
"Good job," Brendan complimented as he skied up beside Auggie. "What's next?"
Before he could answer Brendan, Annie stopped beside him. When she spoke he could tell that she was fighting back tears. "Oh, honey, that was a very good first run. Better than I expected. I won't insist, but I hope you'll consider another one."
"It was good?" Auggie asked.
"Yes," Brendan said. "At the end you were getting a good rhythm going. I could tell you'd skied well before. You have potential to ski well again."
"I do?" Auggie asked with a bit of surprise. His run hadn't felt all that wonderful to him.
"Yeah. You do," Brendan stated.
"Okay, then, where's the lift? Let's try this again," Auggie said with an enthusiasm that surprised even him.
The trio made another run at an easy slope – Village Way – and then a run on Crammer, an intermediate slope.
It was on Cramer that 'it' happened.
Brendan guided Auggie to the top of the run. "This is Cramer," Brendan began. "It's a wide-open intermediate slope; but it does have some good pitch to it. I think that you're more than ready for this one, Auggie. Push off whenever you're ready and I'll follow in your tracks."
With a little bit of nervousness, Auggie pushed off. This time, as his momentum increased, the nervousness soon dissolved into excitement as more of the memories of flying down mountainsides came back to him. With Brendan's voice to guide him, Auggie soon developed a rhythm to his skiing. Turn; and turn. Traverse and turn. Traverse and turn; the edges of his skis expertly cutting into the snow.
A few more turns and Auggie heard Brendan say, "The way is clear in front of you Auggie. I'll turn you loose for a bit. It's just you and the mountain now."
Auggie pushed harder, keeping the rhythm he'd begun going as he allowed the slope to fall away beneath his skis. After a few turns Auggie startled himself by letting out a whoop of pure joy. It seemed to echo off the surrounding peaks. Behind him he heard a softer whoop in a voice that was definitely female. No, it was not the same as it had been before, but it was pretty damn close. For not the first time that morning Auggie wondered to himself what he'd been afraid of. Skiing was still fun.
After a few more minutes of freedom, Auggie heard Brendan's voice once again. "Okay, Auggie. The course takes a right curve in a little bit. I'll guide you around it and then, if the way is still clear, I'll let you ski on your own again."
True to his word, Brendan skillfully guided Auggie around the turn in the course and set him free once more.
After a few minutes of skiing freely, Brendan's voice began again, "Okay, Auggie, you're going to be overtaking slower skiers. Transfer both poles into your right hand and hold out your left arm. I'm coming up beside you and you'll need to take my arm just like we did before. I'll call a turn and whichever of us is on the uphill side will initiate it. Just don't let your heels go wide."
Once again Brendan negotiated Auggie through the crowded area without significant loss of speed. The pair seemed to ski as one.
No, it wasn't as good as skiing when he could still see, but it was far from as intrusive to have a guide telling him what to do than he thought it would be. There were long periods when, if he wasn't skiing on his own, that he was able to push Brendan's cues to the back of his mind – just a voice in the back of his head taking the place of his own instincts. Auggie once again almost hated to admit it; but it was enjoyable to ski again.
As he skied to a stop after the last run of the day, Auggie heard faint applause and an unmistakable
"Woot, Woot." Then there was the sound of running feet approaching; and then firm arms wrapping themselves around him.
"Man that was awesome!" Austin said with unmistakable emotion. "I was wonderful seeing you coming down that slope just like I remembered you doing. How's it going, Bro?"
"It's going good," Auggie said slapping his brother on the back. "I should have listened to you years ago. It's not like it was, but it's good. I'm enjoying myself. … Are you the only one that's here now?"
"I'll see you tomorrow?" Brendan asked cutting in on the brotherly reunion.
"Oh, hells yeah," Auggie responded. "Thanks man. Wait. I've got you again tomorrow?"
"You've got me all weekend. Unless you want someone else that is."
"Oh, no," Auggie said hurriedly. "I'm used to you now. Someone else in my head would just confuse me. And I'm confused enough already." Auggie smiled at his own joke.
"Tomorrow it is," Brendan said as he moved off.
When Brendan was gone Austin said, "No. We're all here. We all came in on the same flight. The flight crew didn't quite know what to make of the invasion of Andersons."
"All of you? On one flight? Wouldn't it have been just a cheap to charter a flight?" Annie asked.
"We thought about a charter, but we couldn't find one big enough for all of us," Austin said.
"Where's everyone then?" Auggie asked bending down to undo his bindings.
"Oh. After we checked in we split up looking for you. I had a hunch that you'd be around this area. I'm glad that my hunch panned out. The smile on your face coming in was wonderful to see."
"Here," Auggie said thrusting his skis in his brother's direction, "make yourself useful and carry my skis for me." He felt the skis being taken from his hand.
"Do we have to go looking for the rest of the family now?" Auggie asked.
"No. Whoever found you first was to call in to Adam and he'd let everyone else know to come in. We're to meet at 6:30 in the lodge's dining room."
Once they'd entered into the building Auggie went to unzip his parka and his hand encountered the vinyl bib that he'd put on that morning. He released his grip on Annie's arm and stopped walking. He quickly pulled off his mittens and shoved them between his thighs freeing both hands to untie the knots holding the two sections of the bib together. As he undid the ties on one side, Annie undid the ones on the other.
Once he'd pulled it off Auggie said, "I may have to wear this outside, but I'll be damned if I wear it in here."
Annie took the offending badge from him. "There's no one at the desk now, but since we'll need this again tomorrow, I'll take charge of it for now."'
"Adam," Austin said into his phone. "I've found them. … Yeah, Augs was skiing just like he'd never stopped. And grinning like that Cheshire Cat, too. … Yeah, we'll meet you in the dining room at 6:30."
# # # # #
After going to their room and changing out of their ski apparel, Annie and Auggie joined the others in the dining room. Annie was not surprised to see that the Anderson clan had taken over a corner of the dining room by shoving several tables together. What she was surprised over was seeing Abigail and Alfred Anderson at the head of one of the lines of shoved together tables. After settling into the two empty seats to Abigail's left Annie inquired, "What brings the two of you here this weekend. I thought that it was just going to be the boys and their families."
"We may not ski any longer, but we do still enjoy the time with our sons and their families," Abigail said as she looked down the table at her children. Her eyes finally came to rest on her youngest son. Even though she was aware that he could not see it, she smiled warmly at Auggie. "And I had to know first hand if my youngest was once again flying down the slopes with great abandon."
"Not quite flying as I once did, and definitely not with great abandon, but I am skiing again, Mom. And it is good."
"You look happy," Alfred remarked.
"I am Dad. I am."
It took a while to research and write, but I hope you liked this glimpse into the married life of my Auggie and Annie. I'm working on two other glimpses into the life of Annie and Auggie Anderson. Milestones in the life of any married couple. One is complete and in the hands of my beta for review and the other is nearly done.
I'd love to know what you thought of this brief glimpse into Auggie overcoming one of his deamons. Please take the time to make a comment.
