Into the light and back part 5

Auggie had taken over his usual job as a head of the Tech Ops department. His colleagues had also quickly adapted to the fact, that he could see now and some things had even gotten easier for them. They could leave him notes in normal handwriting on his desk, they could show him pictures and making eye contact with him when they talked, was some sort of special bonus.

Auggie loved his job, but he was also keen on more. One Tuesday morning, he knocked on Joan´s office door. He entered the room, and when she invited him to sit, he immediately broached a subject, that had been bugging him for some time already.

„I want to go on missions again" Auggie said and looked at Joan, who was still typing on her keyboard. She stopped writing and met his gaze.

„Auggie, you know that all this is not so easy. You have not really been out a lot lately, and I don´t want you to get into trouble."

„But Joan, I am still good at my job. I know I am. Isn´t it proof enough that I caught Red Rover while I was blind? I found out about Lena almost all on my own also blind and Annie and I tracked down Henry Wilcox in Hong Kong.

„You said it Auggie, YOU AND ANNIE, I seriously doubt, that after all these years behind a desk, you will be able to go on a mission alone. At least not now, not yet!"

„But Joan..." Auggie protested

„There is no BUT, Auggie, and this is my last word. You will need some more time to get acquainted again with your job"

Auggie was frustrated. He rose from his seat and walked to the door. He would have to follow the orders of his superior, but he did not like the idea, that despite the fact that he could see again, his job would still remain the same. He needed challenges, and from time to time he needed the thrill, that only a dangerous mission could give him. He was still a spy and one of the best, he knew he was.

Not only Auggie was frustrated. Even Joan was unsatisfied. She hated, that she had to turn down Auggie´s request for more responsibilities in the field. But she could not exactly tell him how worried she was. She did not want to lose him as a colleague and as a friend. She could not tell him how devastated she was, when she heard that he went blind after Iraq. She did not want to go through all of that again. Sending him on a dangerous mission, meant to jeopardize his life again. Joan was not prepared to take that risk, at least not yet, not now. There was still some sort of guilt, that made her act that way. She felt guilty that she had not refused, when Auggie had asked her to go to Iraq.

Something that had not changed, even after Auggie had gotten his eyesight back, was his desire for physical excercise. He went to the gym twice a week to keep himself fit and in shape. And if he wanted to breath a bit of fresh air, and the weather was good, he preferred a jogging tour through the park to a run on the treadmill at the gym. During all these years a blind man, he had not had that option and he had missed that freedom.

One afternoon, he was just counting his sit-ups, when a young lady entered the gym. She had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a radiant smile. She smiled at him, whilst she stepped on the treadmill and he continued with his sit-ups.

„Is it possible that we have already met here before?" She asked.

„Could be" Auggie said. He was not up for a talk.

But the woman continued „I am sure I have seen you before. I think you are the guy who has beaten my ex-boyfriend in a weight lifting competition."

Now Auggie recalled a day in April at the gym. There had been a guy, who had challenged him. He had claimed that he could lift more weight than Auggie. Beating a blind guy, seemed so easy. But Auggie had proven him wrong and the guy had never shown up again.

„Could be that I have beaten your boyfriend" Auggie said „I have already beaten many people when it comes to workouts and such stuff." And with these words Auggie grabbed his towel, slung it around his neck and made his way to the locker room.

When he stood under the shower, and the warm water splashed down on him, Auggie thought how good it was to be remembered for something else than just for being blind. Of course, a white cane drew more attention to him as a person, and therefore people remembered him more easily. But it felt really good, to be remembered for a real achievement and not exclusively for a special trait, that made him different from all the others. The young lady had not even mentioned that he had been blind when he had met her boyfriend. And that was good.

Annie had quickly gotten used to having a sighted friend now.

One afternoon, she had taken a seat on his couch and Auggie was preparing coffee. She watched him walk around the kitchen grabbing cups and spoons, filling water into the coffeemaker and pouring milk. Nothing reminded her anymore of her blind friend. His movements were quick and confident. No longer slow, searching or tentative. He looked like a different person to her and now Annie had an idea, how much a visual handicap could change the appearance or the personality of a person. She had only known him blind and the Auggie she saw now, was different, but in a positive way.

„Something wrong? Or why are you staring at me?" Auggie asked.

„Nothing wrong" Annie said „I was just thinking how much you have changed in the last two months"

„Did I really ?" Auggie asked. And then with a roguish smile „I thought I was still the same fascinating, handsome, smart guy"

„Stop kidding me, August Anderson. You know exactly, what I am talking about" Annie said and tried to sound stern.

„In fact I do" Auggie said and walked over to the couch, where Annie was still sitting.

„Seeing makes lots of things easier and I get it, that since you have only known me blind, seeing me now, makes a huge difference."

„That is exactly it" Annie said and kissed him. „And I hope that this will never change again" she added with a smile.

Auggie got up from the couch and poured two cups of coffee. He handed one over to Annie and sipped on the second one. „Has it ever disturbed you that I could not see"? He asked her.

For a moment Annie remained quiet, searching for the right words. Then she answered

„Disturbing is not the right term. I have liked you from the very first moment. The fact that you could not see, has never played an important role for me. I have always appreciated you for your capabilities but that had nothing to do with your blindness. I did not mind that you could not see, but sometimes I wished, that I could have shared all the beautiful things with you. The things, that you could only see through my eyes, through my descriptions.

The sunset, the colour of the roses, the beautiful city of Barcelona and many other things. But being blind or not, does not change what you are to me. The most impressive man that I have ever met.

And with these words, she kissed him again passionately. The night that followed that kiss, was the exact proof, that everything that she had said before was true. His sensitive fingertips explored every inch of her body and his lips found hers again and again for a passionate kiss.

Thursday morning at 8:00 Auggie walked into the adjacent office. He was looking for Eric Barber, because he needed to talk to him. In all these years, as Barber´s colleague and superior, he had never really seen Barber´s desk, but what he saw now, was apalling. A mess of coke cans, pizza boxes, chewing gum papers and chips bags littered the table. And right in the middle of all that... Eric, typing on his keyboard and chewing on a piece of applecake.

"How can you work like that?" Auggie asked incredulously when he spotted the chaos on Eric´s desk.

"Creative mess, a genius needs its personal chaos" Barber replied and grinned.

Auggie had always been neat and even more so during his time as a blind man. There was nothing worse than chaos for a person who could not see.

The mess on Barber´s table made him speechless. But he had not come to complain about Eric´s sense for tidyness. He needed to talk to him.

"Eric, I need you to check on the bugs we have installed in the apartment of an asset. We have no connection. When Hollman and Franklin installed everything it worked perfectly, but since yesterday evening everything has been quiet. Carina wanted to meet with our target person but we could not get any intel because the connection failed."

"I´ll take care of it" Barber said, swallowing the last bite of applecake and wiping his hands on his jeans. Auggie turned and left the room. He had a lot of work to do and needed to get started. Auggie walked back to his office and booted his computer. He was still disappointed that Joan would not let him get back to the field again. He was convinced that he could do a good job, no matter how long he had been "out of business" so to speak.

Auggie typed a few e-mails and printed some information for Annie. She was preparing her next mission, and he was her handler again. They were back to the good old times, almost...

One of the differences was, that in the good old times he could not see and the other, that he and Annie had been a lot more relaxed. But after all that they had been through, their relationship had changed. It had gotten a bit more depth and a bit more distance at the same time. They needed to find back to their old faith in each other and to the usual ease they had felt when they were together. They were on a good way to have that again.

Annie smiled. She stood in front of the mirror and was trying various clothes. Auggie had invited her to a chic restaurant and she was not sure what to wear. Finally she opted for a black sleeveless dress that reached down to her ankles with a long slit at its side. She added black high heels and a silky black panty hose. Finally she put her hair up in a bun and and took her black lacquer handbag. In a few minutes Auggie would be there and pick her up.

Seconds later, the doorbell rang and Annie opened. "Oh my God, you look stunning!" Auggie said when he saw her. His eyes wandered from Annie´s blond her down to her black high heels and Auggie held his breath.

He slowly pulled her a bit closer and placed a soft kiss onto her red lips.

"You look great, too" Annie said and straightened Auggie´s tie. He had chosen a black suit, a white shirt and a red tie.

"Let´s go" Auggie said and offered Annie his arm to walk her to the taxi that was still waiting outside. Auggie enjoyed walking. Now, it wasn´t anymore all about feeling where to go, feeling for curbs or obstacles in his way, before he could make the next step. He could walk quickly and with a confident stride and that made him happy.

The place Auggie had chosen for dinner, was stunning. It was a French restaurant and it had taken Auggie a few calls to get a reservation. The restaurant was popular and it was difficult to get a free table for an intimate dinner for two.

Annie and Auggie entered the restaurant, and a waiter in a black tailcoat led them to their table. The room was huge and dominated by an enormous crystal chandelier. The furniture in Rokoko style had dark blue padding and golden ornamentation. White damask tablecloths and damask napkins artfully folded, added to the elegant and sophisticated atmosphere of the place. Together with the white china plates and silver cutlery, the whole setting reminded of the dining hall in a royal palace.

Auggie helped Annie to take her seat and then sat down himself. Chivalry was one of his best traits.

The menu was not long, but offered an exquisite selection of French specialties.

Auggie opted for asparagus soup as a starter, Boeuf Bourguignon with Pommes Duchesse and for the dessert Créme Brulee. Annie ordered Escargot in white wine sauce, trout and for the dessert vanilla ice cream with cherries.

The meal was excellent and for the first time in years, Auggie could revel in all of it. He looked around and took in the elegant ambience of the place and enjoyed every bite of his meal whilst looking over to Annie in her elegant evening dress. The wine, they had chosen for the meal was fantastic as well and after a cup of Espresso, to finish the dinner, they left the restaurant. Auggie took out his Iphone and called a taxi. Ten minutes later, the taxi driver stopped and opened the door for Annie and Auggie to get in.

Annie was not reluctant to follow Auggie to his apartment and as soon as they had slid the door shut behind them, Auggie started to unbutton his shirt and Annie kicked off her high heels. What followed was one of the most memorable nights for both.

The following morning Annie woke up in Auggie´s arms.

Auggie could not get enough of his beautiful girlfriend. He looked over to Annie and gently traced the features of her face with his fingertips as he had done before when he could not see.

"You are so beautiful" he sighed and placed a kiss onto her forehead and then onto her mouth.

"I love the way you look at me now" Annie said "It took me a while to get used to it. To realize that you really can see me now when you look into my eyes ."