Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites :o)
I know I said I was hoping to have something for those of you that are following "The Volunteer" this weekend, but the muse took another left turn. One of my wonderful readers gave me a wonderful story idea and it took off with the muse. Sorry, she's being terrible.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing... :o(
-Chapter 7-
"I think that went pretty well," Annie said as she changed into her PJ's late Thanksgiving evening. Auggie's parents were settled into one guestroom and Mark, Jaclyn and Nick were staying in the other. The rest of the Anderson's had headed back to their hotel about an hour earlier. Annie had picked up on some tension, but in general she felt like things had gone better than Auggie had feared.
"Yeah, I guess it did," Auggie said flatly. He was sitting in his wheelchair, leaning forward, and resting his forearms on his thighs.
"What's wrong? Did something happen that I didn't pick up?"
"It's no big deal Annie. I'm just tired. I'm still not feeling 100% and it has been a long couple of days."
"I get that Aug, I'm tired too. But I think there's more to it than that," Annie said as she sat down on the bed across from Auggie and grasped his hand. Auggie sighed. Annie was scarily perceptive and always seemed to pick up on things, even when he tried to hide him from her. In the short time they'd known each other she'd broken through several of the walls he'd put up over the years since his accident.
"My niece seems to avoid me like I've got the plague, we were close before. Jen is into computers and I've spent plenty of time with her on my lap or next to me teaching her stuff. I also noticed that Josh stiffens up every time he sees me, I can see the flicker of guilt and pity crossing his face. Some of the others are a bit awkward too, but not more than I expected."
"I noticed that Jennifer seemed a bit stiff, but I had no idea the two of you were so close before. Hopefully you can spend some one-on-one time with her over the next couple of days. Maybe that will make things better. I think the same goes for Josh. Maybe you should try to talk with him in private? Clear the air like you did with Matt?"
"I think you might be on to something. I guess need to work through it in my own a little bit. Right now I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything and I sort of regret taking on all of them at once. It probably would've been easier breaking them up in groups."
"Well, get to bed and try to get some sleep. Things always look better in the morning, you said so yourself, remember?"
Auggie nodded and headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Fifteen minutes later they were both settled into bed, Annie was curled up against Auggie and within a few minutes they were both fast asleep.
The next day Auggie woke to the sounds of Annie rummaging trough her side of the closet, looking for something to wear. He glanced at the alarm clock before he propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her with a confused expression on his face.
"It's 5:45 AM. Why on earth are you up already?"
"It's Black Friday Auggie! I'm going to the mall with your Mom, Amy, Jaclyn, Meredith and the kids. It opens at 6:30, so I'm running late already."
"Crazy woman!" Auggie said as he flopped back town on the pillows. He had no intentions of getting up anytime soon. "Have fun. When will you be back? Does lunch at noon sound okay?"
"Yeah, we'll be more than ready for food by then I think. See you later. Love you!" Annie said as she leaned down and kissed Auggie before rushing out of the room. He pulled the covers closer around him and drifted off to sleep again within seconds.
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Auggie woke up again a couple of hours later and after a quick shower and shave he pulled on a pair of soft, worn jeans and a fitted navy Henley shirt. When he entered the kitchen his father and Mark was already there, as well as Mark's son Nick.
"Good morning," he greeted them with a smile.
"Morning Auggie. There's coffee ready, but we haven't started breakfast yet, we figured we'd wait for you in case you have plans."
"I hadn't made any firm plans. I've got eggs, bacon, English muffins, bagels, cereal…the works really."
"You've got English muffins?" Mark asked with a devilish grin. Auggie caught on immediately.
"Egg McMuffins a la the Andersons?" he asked as he pulled a carton of eggs, together with a pack of bacon from the fridge and placed them in his lap.
"You read my mind bro! Do you have egg rings?"
"Of course!" Auggie set the eggs and bacon on the counter by the hob and pulled two frying pans from the drawer next to it. "They're in the top drawer under the coffee maker. I think they're on the right side."
Mark easily found them and joined Auggie by the stove. Just as Auggie was cracking the eggs into the egg rings in the frying pan Nick came up to him.
"Uncle Auggie?" he said tentatively.
"Yeah?" Auggie didn't turn away from the stove as he worked.
"Do you have any video games?"
"I do, both a Playstation and a Wii."
"Awesome! Can I play?"
"If your dad says it's okay," Auggie answered, turning to Mark who was frying bacon.
"Sure, but only 'till breakfast is ready, okay Nick?"
"Awesome," Nick said as he jumped up and down with excitement.
"Do you mind taking over here for a few minutes?" Auggie asked Mark.
"Not at all."
"Okay Nick, get up here," Auggie said, grasping him and lifting him to sit on his lap. They left the kitchen and headed for the den. When they got there Nick scooted off his lap and watched as Auggie dug out the games he had that were kid-friendly and Nick landed on the most recent Super Mario game. Auggie loaded it into the Wii and handed Nate the remote for the TV and the controller for the Wii.
"You all set?" Auggie asked as he turned to go back to the kitchen and help Mark and his dad with breakfast.
"Yeah, thanks uncle Auggie."
"No problem kiddo. One of us will come get you when breakfast is ready."
Nick didn't answer; he was too preoccupied with setting up his game.
Downtown at the Hilton Garden Inn Matt and Josh were sitting at a table in the breakfast room. They had finished eating and were drinking coffee and catching up.
"Auggie seems to be doing well," Josh commented. "But I don't understand how he managed to hook up with Annie."
"What do you mean? Auggie has always managed to get ladies. I told you how they met, didn't I?"
"It's just….I don't understand why a hottie like her would want to be with a guy like him. She cold probably get whoever she wants, why pick a guy in a wheelchair?"
"Seriously Josh, are we really having this conversation?" Matt said, shaking his head, his annoyance was evident. "Auggie is still Auggie, he might be in a wheelchair now, but that doesn't change the fact that he's good looking, smart and funny. I'm happy he has found someone that sees that and I think Annie is a big part of why he is finally getting back in touch with us. I really like her. I spent some time with her the last time I was here remember? She's really great."
Josh sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "I guess you have a point. It's just… this is hard Matt; it's harder than I thought it would be. I'm glad Auggie is getting back in touch with us, but seeing him again brought up the old guilt. I know he says he doesn't blame anyone, but every time I see him in a wheelchair all I can think about is how we shouldn't have pushed him to go skiing with us."
"I know bro, I think that from time to time too, but Auggie seems to have moved on and if he's able to get past those feelings we should be too." Just as Matt finished speaking his cell phone chirped with a text message. "Speak of the devil, Augs says lunch will be ready for all of us at noon. I guess the women should be done shopping by then."
"Or at least be ready for a break," Josh said with a laugh. He was glad he'd talked things out with Matt, but he realized he should try to get some time alone with Auggie before they returned to Illinois.
After lunch the whole family gathered in the living room. Auggie noticed that Jennifer was sitting in one of the armchairs away from the rest of the family with her MacBook Pro on her lap. He excused himself from the conversation he was in with Matt and headed over to her.
"Hey Jen, what are you working on?" he asked as he positioned himself next to her and secured the brakes on his wheelchair.
"Just an app," she answered without looking up from her computer.
"Wanna show me?"
"Sure," she said as she retrieved her iPad from the side table next to the chair, unlocked the screen and handed it to Auggie. He grabbed it from her with a smile. "It's that one, " she said pointing to an icon on the bottom of the screen.
"You made this?" he asked after exploring it for a few minutes.
"Yeah, it's just something I've been messing around with."
"It's pretty impressive, you've learned a lot since the last time I saw you," Auggie said as he handed the iPad back to her.
"I guess," she said with a shrug. "It's not done yet though. Still needs some work."
"Well, ask me if you need any help. I might be able to give you some pointers."
"You make apps too?"
"Not really, but for the latest software I've helped develop for Murphy they've made an app to go with it. I've had to learn a thing or two about it to integrate the app with the main software."
That seemed to get Jennifer's attention. She put the Mac on the side table with the iPad and turned to Auggie. "Can you show me Uncle Auggie?"
"Sure, let's go into my office. I've got the latest beta of the software on my computer there and the app on my iPad."
Half an hour later Auggie had demonstrated Murphy's latest software and the app to Jennifer and she finally seemed to relax around him. As Auggie was shutting down his computer he turned to Jennifer who was sitting next to him.
"Listen Jen, I've noticed you've been sort of avoiding me since you arrived yesterday. If there's something you want to ask me I'm happy to answer."
Jennifer looked at him with a shy look on her face.
"Oh, um…it's just so strange to see you in a wheelchair. I just didn't know what to say or do…I realize now that I've been acting silly. You're still Uncle Auggie, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I'd like to think I haven't changed that much, it's just my legs that don't work," Auggie said with a smile.
"I'm sorry Uncle Auggie." Jennifer said as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "I'm glad you invited us. I've missed talking with you about computer stuff."
"You've got nothing to apologize for Jen. Now, we've still got a couple of days to go before you go back to Glencoe, and there's always email and Skype. I promise to keep in touch and if you need help with something let me know, okay?"
"Sounds good to me," Jennifer said as James appeared in the doorway.
"There you two are. Are you up for a game of Monopoly? Mom spotted it on the shelf in the den and got all excited. Dad, Annie and I are game and we have room for two more players. Josh, Matt, Nick and Jim seems to be stuck in the den playing Super Mario."
"What do you say Jen?" Auggie asked.
"Sounds like fun! But do you think you can help me with my app later? I've got a few things I was hoping you could help me with."
"Sure! I'd be happy to," Auggie said as he followed James out of the room. He was glad he had broken the ice with Jennifer. Next on the list was Josh, but for now he figured he'd enjoy a round of Monopoly with his family.
The Anderson's are adjusting to Auggie in a wheelchair and he's adjusting to them.
The next chapter will deal with the rest of the visit, including the one-on-one conversation between Auggie and Josh.
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