And now the honeymoon comes to an end. And so does their little caper. Once a spy always a spy?
Annie opened the door to their room and stopped so quickly that Auggie almost ran into her.
"What's wrong?" Auggie asked with slight alarm.
"I don't know for sure, but there's something off with the room. Someone's been in here. And I don't mean housekeeping either," Annie explained in a hushed whisper.
Without hesitation Auggie pushed past his wife and made his way as quickly as he could to the closet where his suitcase rested on the folding rack. The concerned look he had faded into relief as his long, sensitive fingers located that for which he searched.
Coming up behind her husband, Annie asked, "Is everything all right?"
Withdrawing his hand from his leather bag, Auggie nodded, "Yeah. At least I think it is. My phone's where I left it tucked in a dirty sock."
"August? Joan ordered us to leave our work stuff behind." Annie's tone wavered between accusation and understanding.
"She ordered you to leave your work stuff behind. I've checked in with her every day."
"When? When have you done that?"
"Middle of the night when you've been asleep, or when you've been in the shower. Now, have you figured out what is off in this room?"
"Yeah. The door to the terrace is partially open and I don't remember leaving it open when we left this morning, but everything else appears to be where it's supposed to be."
"Check your jewelry," Auggie commanded.
"The only jewelry that I have that's worth anything has been with me all day on my finger," Annie stated.
"But you brought other pieces. Check them," Auggie commanded again, a bit more forcefully.
"Okay," Annie replied with frustration as she moved the few feet to where her suitcase lay on the other suitcase rack in the vestibule to the bathroom. Moving the cotton bag holding her dirty laundry, Annie picked up the red leather zippered case and unzipped it. "It's all here," she commented to her husband.
"Good," Auggie replied with obvious relief. "Can't be too careful," he said as he began to tuck his phone back in his leather satchel.
"I'm going to take a shower," Annie said as she took Auggie's encrypted phone from his hand and began to move toward the luxurious bathroom. Auggie did not protest, but followed Annie into the bath and then to the shower enclosure. He turned on the water as Annie turned on the music player on the countertop; relaxing music soon poured from the speakers in the ceiling. Auggie sat on the toilet and Annie on the edge of the soaking tub. She dialed Joan Campbell's encrypted cell phone number.
"What's up, Auggie? It's not time for you to check in," Joan said as she answered her phone.
"It's not Auggie, Joan; it's Annie," Annie responded in somewhat hushed tones.
"What's happened to Auggie?" Joan responded in an even tone.
"He's right here and perfectly fine, if not a bit confused. I think someone's been in our room so I'm taking precautions, but I overheard something at dinner that I think someone needs to know about," Annie then launched into the details – naming names, dates and times, and the names of the ships – of the contraband that would be smuggled into the ports of New York, Boston and Miami and then connected up near Washington, DC. After she'd reluctantly admitted that she wasn't able to discern what was being smuggled in, Annie hung up and hoped that the information would find its way into the hands of the right alphabet agency. After turning off the water, Annie crossed the room and brushed the phone against the back of her husband's left hand. He grasped it with his right, rose from where he'd been sitting and then exited the bath to replace his phone in his suitcase.
Before she followed her husband out of the bathroom, Annie turned down the volume on the music but did not turn it off and got herself ready for bed. As she approached the bed, Auggie asked, a bit more loudly than necessary, "Are you done in there now?"
"Yes, dear," Annie replied, also a bit louder than she might have otherwise. She would do a bug sweep in the morning but she didn't want to call attention to the fact that she now suspected the possibility. Auggie rose and padded barefooted back into the bathroom. When he emerged a few minutes later he crossed to the bed and crawled in beside his very drowsy wife. They snuggled a bit and then Annie fell asleep with Auggie's strong arms cradling her.
# # # # #
Annie drowsily became aware that she was alone in the bed. In the dim light coming in from the still partially open doors to the terrace, she observed Auggie running his hands along the wall opposite the bed wall. When his hands found the picture hanging over the dresser he examined the back and edges of it carefully.
Fascinated, Annie sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, stretched her arms over her head and yawned. The slight sound cause Auggie to stiffen slightly and turn toward the sound with right index finger laid across his lips. Annie mumble a disguised 'uh-huh'. Auggie smiled slightly under his finger and returned his attention to the wall. With the upper part of the wall scanned, Auggie turned his attention the furnishings. For the next few minutes Annie watched Auggie run his hands and fingers over every surface of the comfortable chair near the entrance to the bathroom, then she quietly slipped out of bed and began to do the same with the desk and then scanned the objects upon it – including taking the ear and mouth pieces from the handset of the phone and checking to see if the screws on the bottom of the cradle had been undone and the bug placed inside. Once that was done, she checked out the switches and outlets as Auggie finished scanning the dresser. Just as Auggie was heading toward the desk and chair, Annie touched him on the left forearm. Automatically he turn toward the touch, Annie embraced him, and whispered in his ear, "I've scanned the other half of the room and found nothing remotely suspicious. What have you found?"
"The same," Auggie whispered back.
"How do we proceed?" Annie queried.
"Let's go outside," Auggie replied but gave his wife a lingering kiss before he broke the embrace.
With Auggie following closely behind, right hand resting lightly on the small of his wife's back, Annie crossed to the sliding glass door that resembled traditional French doors. Yanking on the door's handle Annie was surprised when the door did not budge but a fraction of an inch. "What the he…" she exclaimed stopping so quickly that Auggie couldn't stop fast enough and sandwiched her momentarily between him and the door before he took a step back.
"Annie?"
"The door's partway open so I knew it wasn't locked, and when I went to open it the rest of the way quickly it didn't open," Annie replied with disbelief. She looked closely at the track in the floor and chuckled a bit under her breath. Stooping down she removed the stick from the track and then pulled the door open.
Once the door was opened Auggie again followed Annie out onto the terrace. Annie crossed to the low stone wall surrounding the terrace and sat on it. Auggie settled in beside her. "What was that all about?" he asked as he sat down.
"I think I know what happened," Annie began sheepishly. "The housekeepers opened the door a bit so the air could circulate in the room and put a stick in the track so that the door couldn't open all the way to let anyone in from the terrace. We may have been on a wild goose chase from the beginning. I'm sorry, Auggie. How long have you been up doing a bug sweep?"
Auggie shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. A while."
"My imagination got the best of me last night," Annie explained, hoping that it might make her husband less angry with her. His comment both surprised and pleased her.
"I would rather look for a bug that was never there, than miss one that is. Even on vacation your instincts are to be vigilant. I'm glad. It goes hand-in-hand with what we do. We can never be too careful." A muffled sound from inside their room had Auggie moving quickly back into the room. He bounced off the foot end of the bed as he honed in on the sound coming from his suitcase. The warbling sound did not stop until he flicked his fingers across the screen. He then held his phone to his ear. "Yes, Joan? … Really? … You want us to do what? … NO! Absolutely not! … Oh. Okay. … I'll tell her. … See you on Monday then." Auggie took the phone from his ear and tapped the screen twice before he returned it to its location in his bag.
"What was that all about?" Annie asked with unabashed curiosity.
"Joan wanted to congratulate us on a job well done. The information you provided last night has been transferred into the hands of the necessary agencies and was one of the final pieces needed to stop the bad guys. She couldn't, or wouldn't, say what you helped stop from coming into the country."
"What were you absolutely not-ing about?"
"Oh, Joan was trying to convince me that you needed to fly off to Moscow today. She was teasing, but she sure made it sound real. What time is it?"
"A bit past 7. Why?"
"I want to go back to bed. And sleep." After crossing the room to the location of the bed, Auggie crawled back in. Annie followed and joined him, but they did not sleep.
# # # # #
It was nearly noon when the newlyweds called for room service brunch. Coffee had been ordered and brought earlier, but food had been the furthest thing from their minds. When the room service cart came Annie answered the knock on the door clad only in the white terrycloth robe the hotel provided; her hair still wrapped in a towel. The server who delivered the cart was the same guy who had delivered coffee, and sometimes food, earlier in the week and usually much earlier in the morning. He almost seemed surprised that Annie was not dressed in street clothes and that Auggie seemed to be in the shower; but he finally smiled an understanding smile and commented, "Late night?"
"More like early morning," Annie replied with a wink and the knowledge that her words could confirm the server's thought that they had been out partying in one of the nightspots or on one of the yachts anchored in the harbor or just outside of it.
"Bon," the server replied with a grin as he presented the ticket to Annie for her to sign. Once she'd handed the signed ticket back to him he asked, "Where would you like the cart, madam?"
Annie pointed to the ornate wrought iron table on the terrace. The server nodded and headed toward the door to the terrace. As Annie let Auggie know that brunch had arrived, the server set the table on the terrace.
As they leisurely ate their ham, cream cheese, or fruit-filled crepes, Annie and Auggie discussed and debated what to do the rest of the day and into the evening. Finally they decided on renting another jet ski and circling the island and exploring its beaches and coves.
Before they departed for the marina Annie generously applied sunscreen to Auggie's back and he to hers and then they finished the rest of their bodies and donned swimsuits on under their shorts and tank tops. Auggie slipped his civilian phone in a waterproof baggie and tucked that into the pocket of his shorts, but left his watch on the dresser.
For the next several hours Annie and Auggie rode the jet ski in a counter-clockwise direction around the island. They stopped once in a while to frolic in the surf or to explore one of the beaches a bit. Annie didn't stray too far out from the shoreline and kept a running commentary on what she saw for Auggie's benefit. At one point, after they'd stopped to play a bit in the water, Annie encouraged Auggie to get on first and take the controls. She was more than a bit surprised when he firmly declined. "Why not, Auggie? I'll be right behind you, and there's nothing around that you could run into."
"It doesn't matter that there's nothing around, Annie. I'm content being the passenger."
They bobbed on the slight swells, engine idling, and Annie turned as much as she could to look at her husband. "Auggie," she began. "Why? Tell me why you want to be content being just a passenger and I'll drop it. I know you're holding something back."
Auggie sighed slightly.
"Auggie, I've accepted that there are some things that you'll never be able to tell me, some things that you would really rather not burden me with knowing, but this one I want to know; to understand. I think it's important for me to know and understand this. I know it's not about trust. You trust me to pilot this thing at top speed into the world you can't see. And you are relaxed about doing so …"
"Annie, I've closed and locked the doors on some activities," he began with a slight grimace. "I don't want to even crack them open. Jet ski and motorcycle are very similar. I don't want to remember how things used to be." A moment of despondency washed over him and then was gone like a receding tide; replaced with one of his easy grins.
"Okay," Annie said understandingly. "I get it. I won't suggest things like this again, but if you ever get to wanting to crack open one of those doors …"
"I'll let you know," he finished for her.
"Fair enough," Annie said as she reached back and squeezed his left hand. Turning back fully to the front Annie twisted the throttle and took off heading on toward the marina in Gustavia. After they got back to the marina and turned in the jet ski to the rental place, they made the short hike up to their hotel. After quick showers and changes of clothes, they hiked back down the hill and found seats in the local hangout Le Select.
As they sat at the table in the front corner eating their fish and chips and drinking beer, Pierre and his crew from the other day sauntered in and joined their buddies in the back corner. A few minutes later he noticed Annie and Auggie and came over to talk to them. He reminded them they still had a cruise left.
"I know," Auggie replied. "Tomorrow night? Weather going to be favorable for that sunset cruise then? It's our last night here."
"Oui," Pierre replied. "Tomorrow evening will be a perfect weather. And that's a fine way to say good-bye to our lovely island. Now what are the two of you doing here? You should be over at Nikkis having a good time there."
"Some place quiet seemed more our speed right now," Annie said by way of explanation. "We've closed down our share of bars, but the people that would be at Nikkis aren't our kind of people."
Pierre laughed and then said, "All the more reason to go and see how the other half play. Sometimes I've been known to go up there just to watch them make fools of themselves. I don't belong either, but that doesn't stop me. It's a fun evening."
"Are you saying that we're not welcome here? Or that you guys aren't fun?" Auggie asked and grinned broadly.
"Oh, no. Not at all," Pierre responded quickly with a bit of embarrassment. "Just letting you know that there's other forms of entertainment here for non-locals; something a bit more exciting that hanging about with a bunch like us."
"When was the last time you were in this Nikkis?" Annie asked with true curiosity.
"A couple of months ago. During 'the season," he air quoted 'the season', "when things really get hoppin'. It's pretty tame this time of year. They never go away, but between the middle of December and the middle of January us locals can hardly move from the outsiders being here. Don't get me wrong, we love that they come, but that time of year is quite busy."
"Ah, the middle of winter in the Northern Hemisphere," Auggie remarked understandingly. "Maybe we'll head up that way later this evening. Right now I'd like to finish my dinner and beer."
Pierre clapped Auggie lightly on the shoulder and headed back across the room to his friends and coworkers.
With fingers slightly curled under Auggie inched his right hand across the space between the edge of the table and the side of his plate. He lifted his hand slightly and scanned the 12 o'clock position of the plate. "Do I have any fries left?" he whispered to Annie.
"No, and only one piece of fish at 8. I'm not going to finish all of mine. I'll share," Annie whispered back.
"More fries would be nice," Auggie said as he pushed his plate toward the center of the table.
Annie put half of her remaining fries on her husband's plate and her last filet, before placing it back in front of her husband. "More fries at 12 and one more piece of fish at 6."
Auggie smiled at his wife as he located a fry and dragged it through what was left of the puddle of ketchup in the center of the plate.
"Were you serious about going to that other pub when we're done here?" Annie asked thoughtfully as she munched on one of her remaining fries.
Auggie shrugged his shoulders a bit as he swallowed the bite of French fry. "Yeah. Sort of. Might be different. Fun. Why not?"
"No reason. Just that you were the one that suggested something local and low key for this evening."
"Can't a guy change his mind?"
"Yeah, I guess a guy can. And they say that women change their mind at the drop of a hat," Annie chided. Auggie simply grinned more broadly as he chewed a bite of fish.
After they'd finished their meal and settled the bill, Annie and Auggie walked the few blocks to the pub that Pierre had mentioned. There were a good number of people on the patio wedged between the building and the water's edge. A few people were dancing on the beach to the European pop music blasting from the DJ's speakers hung from the poles holding the strings of lights that illuminated the sandy beach.
As they entered Annie quickly scanned the main room. At a large table near the back of the room she recognized the Russian tycoon from the night before. There were a few open tables scattered about the room. Annie led Auggie to the open table near the large opening onto the patio. Annie settled Auggie into the seat facing the Russian so that she could sit with her back to him. She could hear what he was saying just fine, but it wouldn't appear to anyone that she might be listening.
Auggie pulled his cane from the front pocket of his cargo shorts and placed it on the table between him and Annie. A puzzled look came over him and he leaned in to Annie, "Is that guy from last night here? Or do my ears deceive me?"
"Your ears do not deceive you. He's here at the table behind me. His back is to me, it's a happy coincidence. Maybe I can gather a bit more intel if he gets drunk enough again and starts spouting off about how smart he is to get things past US Customs."
"Annie," Auggie said with an upward inflection, "we are on our honeymoon. This isn't an op. We're leaving." He began to rise from the seat he'd just taken until Annie placed a hand firmly on his arm.
"But we just got here," Annie semi-whined. "We were here for the fashion show the other day. It's a nice place. There's no models walking around in here tonight. Just the well-heeled partiers."
Auggie closed his eyes and exhaled softly. "Okay. If you want to stay, I don't have a whole lot of choice. It's not like a can just get up and walk out of here."
"Auggie, I'm sorry for putting it that way. If you feel strongly enough that we should go, we'll go," Annie said in a very apologetic tone and placed her hand on her husband's arm again – this time gently.
"It's okay, Annie." Auggie began with a slight grin lifting the corners of his mouth. "I just needed to remind you of a certain fact. I'm willing to stick around for a bit, but when I'm ready to leave, we leave. Okay?"
"Yeah. Okay," Annie replied somewhat distractedly. Behind her the Russian seemed to be arguing with someone on the phone.
Auggie lowered his head and then brought it back upright. "Annie. What's going on? Talk to me."
"Just trying to figure out what kind of beer to order; of if I even want a beer. They have mostly European beers," Annie replied lightly. "And French wines of course."
"Do they have Desperados beer?"
Annie paused a minute and actually scanned the beer and wine list. "Yes, they do. Is that what you'd like?"
"Yeah. I remember that one from the last time I was in Paris."
"It looks like a server has finally noticed us," Annie said. After the male server took their bar order – Desperados bottles for both of them – Annie began to tell Auggie more about what was happening around them – including what the Russian behind her was saying to his table mates.
For the next two hours the newlyweds spent their time much as they would have had they been back in DC and relaxing at Allen's Tavern – they sipped on their beer, Annie people watched and relayed that information on to Auggie and Annie even coaxed Auggie out onto the beach where they danced a bit. Both were completely enjoying themselves until they came in from the beach area just a bit after midnight and the Russian tycoon was standing at his table shouting at his phone. One of the ladies in his party pointed at Annie and Auggie as they approached their table. The tycoon turned, glared at them, and then began shouting again in Russian. Annie kept walking with Auggie on her arm.
As Annie placed Auggie's hand on the back of his chair, he asked her, "Dear what's going on? The mood of this room has turned hostile and someone is shouting. Making a scene are they?"
"Yes," Annie began, "someone is making a scene. And he's glaring at me like I've done something wrong. I wish I understood whatever language he's speaking."
"Do we need to settle our tab and get out of here?" Auggie asked as he pulled his chair out.
"I don't know," Annie replied. "I'm thinking we'll wait a few minutes to see if he calms down before we make that decision." She nonchalantly pulled out her seat and sat.
Once Auggie heard the position of his wife's voice change, he sat down and snaked his right hand, fingers gently curled under, out toward the center of the table. When he'd located his cane he pulled it back toward his body a bit, and then slowly swept his hand across the table top until he once again located his bottle of beer. He picked it up and finished off the little bit of the amber liquid remaining in it.
Annie wrapped her hands around her bottle but did not take a drink, because she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see the imposing figure of the Russian tycoon towering over her.
"You are American are you not?" he asked with a thick accent that Annie seemed to struggle to understand.
"American? Yes, my husband and I are from the United States," Annie replied.
"Who are you? Why are you here on this place?" the Russian asked with a surly attitude.
The Russia's attitude had Auggie standing and moving to his wife's side with cane in hand. "My wife and I are here on our honeymoon," Auggie replied calmly. "But what business is that of yours?"
"You weren't sent here to spy on me?"
"How could we be?" Auggie asked raising the hand holding his cane to draw his opponent's attention to the bundled up white carbon fiber sections "And what business is it of yours why we're here?" Auggie drew himself up to his full height and spoke forcefully.
The Russian did not back down but also stood taller. "You have shown up everywhere I've been …"
"It's a small island without that many places to be," Auggie interjected quickly.
"You were at the restaurant last night where I was discussing business and today that business transaction fails …"
Annie said, from her position between the two irate men. "We don't know who you are and don't understand whatever language it is you speak so how could we spy on you?"
"And who or what organization would hire a blind man as a spy?" Auggie added while once again wagging his cane in the other man's face.
The Russian's anger seemed to diffuse a bit, but then he launched into a string of obscenities in Russian aimed directly at Annie. She didn't flinch or in any way acknowledge that she understood what he said but instead looked up at him curiously.
"From the tone of your voice I think you've just said something unkind about me or my husband but what I don't know," Annie said when he'd finished his tirade.
"You really don't understand Russian?" he said to Annie and then looked at Auggie, "And you really can't see?"
"Nope," Annie began, "I speak English and I can get by in French" Annie finished.
"And I don't carry this around for my health. Well, kinda for my health – it keeps me from running into things," Auggie said taking a slight step back.
"I'm sorry," the Russian said. "My deal just fell apart in a way that made me think someone knew intimate details of my business. You were there last night when I was discussing some of those details at dinner. I came to the conclusion that you overheard me and reported to my enemies. May I buy you each a drink by way of apology?"
"How do you feel about accepting a beer from this stranger?" Annie asked as she let Auggie fumble a bit to relocate the chair he'd so recently vacated.
"A beer's a beer," Auggie commented. "If it makes him feel better to buy me a beer I'll drink it."
"Okay," Annie added a moment later. "If my husband will accept a beer from you, so will I."
"Good," the Russian said as he motioned to the server to come to the table. With a thick accent, but in French, the Russian told the server to bring Annie and Auggie fresh beer and put it on his tab.
When the fresh cold bottles of beer arrived, both Annie and Auggie raised theirs in the general direction of their still irritated but somewhat less volatile benefactor. Annie and Auggie spoke of many things as they finished these latest bottles, including if they should leave on Friday or on their scheduled time on Saturday. All they agreed to was to talk to Joan in the morning and see how she wanted them to proceed.
The barkeeper announced the last call and the newlyweds ordered one last round before they headed out to the beach for one more dance. Both were a bit tipsy and danced with abandon - just like the others on the beach. The music had ceased and they were on their way back to their table with Annie in standard sighted guide configuration, when the music began again this time a slower tune. Auggie suggested that they dance one more dance. They had danced but a few bars of the tune when the angry Russian and his pretty young companion cut in. Annie briefly protested and Auggie momentarily panicked, but their words did no good.
As the young Russian woman took Auggie's hands and placed his right on her waist and then took his left in her right she said, in only slightly accented English, "You are either a very good actor or you really are blind." Her tone was soft without a hint of either pity or accusation.
"Who had the doubts?" Auggie asked cautiously.
"Uri, my companion. The one who thinks you and your wife are spying on him."
"Oh. Him again. I guess my bumbling about in the men's room earlier this evening and my reassurance when he confronted us a while ago wasn't enough to convince him, huh?" Auggie said with more than a hint of exasperation.
"Uri lost a lot of money on this failed transaction. He's looking for someone to blame. You and your lovely wife are just very convenient scapegoats. Otherwise he will have to look within his own organization for the traitor." Her words were soft and apologetic.
"I see," Auggie replied. "And what will you tell him we are done dancing. If you call this dancing."
"I will tell him that you don't see. You cannot fake the unfocused eyes you have. I'm sorry." She said the last with a bit of pity.
"What are you sorry about? That I actually am blind? Or that this Uri doubted it?" Auggie asked bitterly.
"A bit of both, but mostly that Uri made me come take you away from your wife for this dance."
The music ended and Auggie took his hand off the woman's waist and stepped out of the dancer's pose, but did not let loose of her hand. "Where's my wife?" he strongly asked.
"Uri has maneuvered her to the other side of the beach. Do you want me to take you to her?"
Auggie thought for a moment. "No. Can you take me back to our table inside?"
"Yes. I think I can do that. You'll have to tell me how to guide you. I've never done that before."
"It's not hard," Auggie stated. "Just walk normally and I'll lightly take your arm and follow you. Leave enough room between you and tables, chairs or people that I don't bump into them."
The young woman gingerly led Auggie back inside the building and to the table. She stopped just a foot or so from the corner of the table. "We're back at your table. Sheesh, I don't even know your name."
"Auggie. People call me Auggie," Auggie said dropping the woman's arm and cautiously taking a step forward while sweeping his right hand in front of him at hip height. Not finding anything he swept his hand out a bit farther. This time he connected with the back of a chair. "Is this where I was sitting?"
"Yes, Auggie. That is where you were sitting. And Uri and your wife are starting back this way. Your wife - she's beautiful by the way - looks ... um ... she looks amused."
"Amused. I guess that's better than angry," Auggie said pulling out the chair and sitting down.
"I'm leaving now," she said touching Auggie's shoulder. "Thank you for the dance. I could tell you are a very good dancer with the right partner."
"Thanks." Auggie inched his right hand out on the tabletop until it connected with the cold bottle of beer. He did not pick that one up, but scanned a bit to the right of it. "Are you still here?" he said a bit louder than a whisper
"Yes. If you're looking for the partial bottle it's to the other side of the full one you just found," the young Russian woman said quietly.
"Thanks. Again."
"You're welcome. I'm really going now." She circled the table and took her place at the other table. Before she'd gotten set down one of the other women began speaking to her in Russian.
A few minutes later Annie sat down. "I'm back," she said as she pulled her chair out. "What's wrong? You look pensive and confused."
"I am. What just happened?"
"Oh. That Russian guy and one of his female companions decided to test us. I guess he still doesn't believe we're not spying on him. He began chattering at me in that language of his like I should understand what he was saying. He's a good enough dancer, but it was not fun to not know what he was saying to me so I could talk to him, too. I just chatted on in English which I thought he might understand. If he answered me I don't know what he said. How was your dance with his lady friend?
"It was okay. At least she talked to me in English," Auggie replied and then finished off the last of the almost warm beer. "She told me that I couldn't fake the way my eyes look, so I guess she believes that I'm really blind. Told me that I dance well. I guess I'd call it a draw. She insulted me, and then complimented me. I guess they even out."
Annie reached out and touched her husband's forearm. "You know that your eyes look okay? You don't need to be all self-conscious about them."
"Yeah. I know that. Guess that's why some people have a hard time believing that I can't see." He took another long gulp from the fresh beer bottle, and then wiped the bit of wetness from his lips with the back of hishand. After pausing for a moment he asked, "Annie? My eyes ... do they really look okay?"
"Auggie," Annie began and patted his arm gently, "we've been over this. You're eyes are fine. What did she say that has you questioning this again? I could kill the bitch ..."
"Annie, don't. She didn't say anything that I haven't heard before - vacant and unfocused," Auggie replied self-consciously.
"Oh, Auggie. Don't do this to yourself. Believe me, from a casual distance your eyes look 'normal'." Annie turned and glanced in the direction of the young Russian woman the next table over. When she caught the other woman's attention she glared at her. This elicited a mouthed 'sorry' from the Russian before she turned to speak to Uri.
Annie and Auggie stuck around long enough to finish those last beers and settle up the bill, which was four bottles shy of the number they'd actually consumed. On the way back to the hotel they strolled slowly, more arm-in-arm than in sighted guide configuration. Annie mentioned to Auggie that the sky was clear and the moon nearly full. And that they seemed to be the only ones out walking.
When he heard that they were alone on the street Auggie's demeanor changed and he began to laugh. Annie looked at him with true curiosity. "Auggie, what has gotten in to you?" she asked as she stopped and turned to face him.
"This evening's gotten in to me," he stated. "I can go back to being me now."
"What do you mean 'go back to being yourself now'?"
"Playing the blind card when Uri confronted us and everything after was an act to hopefully finish selling him on the fact that we couldn't be the ones that ratted him out. How do you think I did? Think he finally believes us?"
"I think you did a superb job. What you said and how you acted after we got back to the table after that last dance had me wondering how much damage control I was going to have to do on your ego."
"I'm sorry about that Annie. I guess that means I did a good job then if I was able to convince you. But remember one thing Annie dear, when the two women I trust above everyone else tell me that my eyes look fine, I believe them. Once in a great while some situations have me almost wishing that they were messed up, but even if they were I wouldn't let it bother me. I'm still me. I'm going to age, probably not gracefully, but there's one thing I'm pretty sure of - that no matter what I look like in the future you will still love me. You love me for me, and not the package that I come in."
"Yeah, you're right. And I'm pretty sure that the same holds true for me - my looks don't matter a whole lot to you either." She grinned broadly for a moment then poked her husband lightly in the belly with the index finger of her right hand, "that our packages are pretty okay certainly doesn't hurt though."
"No, I guess it doesn't," Auggie responded lightly. "And when a woman I trust tells me that the woman I love is beautiful inside and out, and made a beautiful bride, I have to believe her."
"Who told you that?"
"Mom."
"Okay that's one woman you trust. Who's the other one?"
"You, silly. I trust you completely. Just as you know that there are things about my past that I may never be able to tell you about, I understand that there are things in your past and future that I may never be able to know, but I trust that you will always be truthful and honest with me when it counts. That you will not tell me that things are all right when they really aren't."
"Oh, Auggie, that's a given. From you I hope, too."
"Of course." Auggie reached out and ghosted his left hand up his wife's right arm, shoulder, neck, cupped his hand on her cheek and then leaned in for a kiss.
A few moments later they were once again strolling arm-in-arm toward the Carl Gustav hotel. Once there they fell into bed, and well, didn't sleep for a while. They woke mid-morning, called Joan and explained what had happened the night before. Joan advised them to follow their schedule and leave the next morning, but not to make any plans that might again put them in the same place as the Russian tycoon.
Once again they took brunch in their room, did a bit of packing, and strolled around Gustavia in the afternoon. They dined that evening in their hotel's dining room, then grabbed a bottle of champagne and a couple of flutes from the bar and strolled to the marina where Pierre and his boat waited to take them on the sunset into moonlight cruise the most senior Mrs. Anderson had planned for them. The sea was nearly dead calm with barely a ripple on the surface. As the boat sat anchored a few miles offshore, they drank the champagne while Annie, snuggled pleasantly in her husband's side, described the sunset to Auggie. As he had the first night, Auggie closed his eyes as he listened to Annie's description of the sunset he could only see in his mind's eye, but, as he had that first night, Auggie struggled to make sense of what Annie was telling him. Smiling and 'aha-ing' he was content to hold his wife as she enjoyed the cacophony of colors that brilliant sunsets were. Content that was until Annie sat bolt upright and said sternly, "August Anderson, you are lying to me. Last night you promised to never lie to me about personal stuff!"
"Anne Anderson, how can I be lying to you? I haven't said a word in at least half-an-hour."
"You don't have to have said a word to be lying to me. You are sitting there making appropriate comments and smiling contentedly while I'm prattling on about the beauty of a sunset that means absolutely nothing to you."
"What makes you think that a beautiful woman describing an equally lovely sunset doesn't mean anything to me?"
"I just remembered something that you said to me a long time ago that when you're blind you forget things like color and faces ... You are cuddling here with me acting as if you're putting it all together and remembering what a sunset looks like. And you aren't. Can't."
"Oh," Auggie said softly; understanding what Annie meant. "Since you put it like that ... No, I'm not putting your words into any meaningful image in my mind. Yes, I no longer remember what yellow or red, look like. But I do remember what it felt like to see a beautiful sunset or sunrise. I can enjoy - and was enjoying - the appreciation that others have for those events. I was enjoying having you in my arms while you were trying to share something that was giving you great pleasure with me. Even if I might not specifically appreciate what you are describing to me, I don't ever want you to stop doing that. When we have kids I want them to share those things with me too. It makes me feel closer to you, included in the moment. So no, Annie I don't think I was lying to you at all. I was reliving a memory, maybe not the same as you would a memory, but it was good. It was enjoyable."
"Really?" Annie asked as she snuggled back into the crook of her husband's arm.
"Really," Auggie stated emphatically. "Now, continue describing what you see."
"The sun's set. And the moon hasn't yet risen, so it's dark. I think you know dark."
"Yeah, I know dark," Auggie said pulling his wife in a little bit closer.
Pierre came out from the cabin and asked what they wanted to do. Annie asked him to slowly head back toward the marina. As they moved at trawling speed back toward shore and the marina, Annie continued to describe the sky, mentioning the constellations that she knew; how she felt she could reach up and pluck the stars from the sky, and how tiny and insignificant she also felt. And how safe and secure she felt right then with her husband's strong arms wrapped around her.
The next morning, while Annie was in the shower, Auggie took his phone, and a cup of coffee, out onto the terrace and made a phone call. Not to his boss, Joan, this time, but to Annie's sister, Danielle. When Danielle answered Auggie instructed her that he wanted Plan B to be put into effect and gave her the number of the flight they'd be returning to DC upon. Danielle said that she understood and everything would be just as he instructed. She did comment that the rose petals might be a bit hard to clean up though. Auggie replied that he didn't care if he had to be the one to get down on his hands and knees to pick them up, that's what he wanted. Danielle laughed and said it would be done.
When he was done talking to Danielle Auggie settled back in the settee on the terrace and enjoyed his coffee in smug satisfaction.