Annie and Auggie had just ordered when Annie spoke up. "Auggie, why did you go through so much trouble to bring me here?" Annie nervously added, "I mean, we could have just gotten some takeout or something."
"It wasn't that much trouble, Annie. Especially considering how much trouble you get into at work." Auggie replied, worried that he might scare her off. But instead she just reached for his hand on the table and held it.
"Thanks." was all she said.
"What was that for?" Auggie asked.
"Everything." Annie answered. "Just for saving my ass all those times and having my back, no matter what everybody else said." Auggie din't answer. He just held her hand tighter and didn't let go.
"I mean it, Auggie. If you weren't there all those times..." Annie trailed off. Auggie put his other hand over hers and smiled slightly.
"Alright, who had the ham and cheese wrap? And who had the burger and fries?"
"Burger and fries." Annie said, separating her hands from Auggie's to make room for the plates.
"Guess that makes me the ham and cheese wrap." Auggie said jokingly.
"Let me know if I can get you anything else," The waitress said before she walked away.
"Must be her first week." Auggie said to Annie.
"Guess so, the job hasn't sucked the life out of her." Annie joked.
"No, she sounded too nervous when she took our orders." Auggie replied.
"Oh, I just thought she was happy for the job." Annie said stuffing a fry in her mouth.
"Excuse me, sir." A little girl was tugging on Auggie's shirt sleeve. He looked in her general direction.
"Yes?" Auggie asked. To Auggie, the little girl didn't sound scared, so she probably wasn't lost.
"Thanks for serving our country." She said. Annie saw the little girl raise her hand to her forehead.
"At ease soldier." A man said coming up behind the little girl.
"Hi Daddy." The little girl said, looking up at her dad.
"She knows a soldier when she sees one." The man said.
"And I can tell when he's a war hero." The kid interrupted. Her dad picked her up and put her on his back.
"So, I'm guessing you served?" Annie asked.
"Yeah, did two tours in Iraq. Then I met her mother and fell in love and came home to raise a family." The man said. "Anyway it was nice to see a fellow serviceman. Have a nice day. Hoo-rah." The man said.
"Hoo-rah." Auggie replied. And then the man was gone.
"Wow. Smart girl," was all Annie could think of to say.
"They usually are." Auggie agreed. "Especially when they're being raised by their dads."
"What do you mean?" Annie asked, confused.
"His wife died. Probably about a year ago... I could hear it in his voice when he talked about her." Auggie explained.
"You got all that from a two-minute conversation?" Annie asked. Auggie's ability to pick up on the way people said things still amazed her.
"What can I say?" Auggie played. "It's a gift."
Annie could feel the mood of the conversation shifting back to light banter. She knew that Auggie probably knew what he was doing, but she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she said, "A gift, huh?"
"Jealous?" Auggie quipped.
"Not even a little because I have a good teacher." Annie replied. "It doesn't take natural talent when you have a teacher like mine."
"And who would this teacher be? I'd like to meet him." Auggie said, reaching for her hand. It was becoming one of their usual banter moments.
"Well, he's tall, dark and handsome. Kinda cute if you ask me." She leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "He's a pretty decent hacker too."
"A hacker?" Auggie asked lowly. "Walker, what have you gotten yourself into?"
"Nothing that I can't handle." She said before she kissed his cheek and sat back.
"Are you done with that?" The waitress interrupted them. Annie looked down at their empty plates and smiled.
"Yeah, I guess we are." Annie said.
"Can I get you anything else?" The waitress asked.
"Just the check." Auggie said.
"Okay, just give me a moment." She said as she walked toward the kitchen with their plates. She returned a minute later holding the check in her hands. Auggie inserted his card into the folder and she disappeared again.
"Thanks for lunch." Annie said, "I really needed to get out."
"My pleasure, Walker." Auggie said as the waitress returned and handed him his card.
"Here you go." The waitress said in a chipper voice. "Have a nice day."
Annie and Auggie got up from the table and Annie led him to the door. Auggie unfolded his cane before they exited the restaurant onto the streets. Annie led them over to a park bench near the restaurant.
"I'm going to call Jim. He's got somewhere else to take us." Auggie said as they sat down.
"Where are we going now?" Annie asked.
"Protocol." Auggie repeated his words from earlier.
"Remember what I said about my teacher?" Annie asked. Auggie just smirked. "Well, as it turns out he has a soft spot for me. He would tell me."
"If he's half as good as you say he is, then he would never break protocol." Auggie replied.
"But he would. And you know it." Annie joked.
"Maybe your teacher would, but I wouldn't." Auggie said.
"You are my teacher." Annie said.
"Oh," Auggie feigned surprise. "By the way that you talked about him, I thought he was a god."
"Not a god, just an ordinary guy." Annie said. Anyone who would've heard their conversation could tell that their was a hidden meaning in their words.
"Oh, so now I'm ordinary." Auggie asked. "I beg to differ."
"Begging will get you nowhere." Annie played.