Thanks for the wonderful reviews of the last chapter. The muse was fed.
Disclaimer: I don't own Auggie. Wish I did.
Chapter Eleven – Moving on
Late June, 2008
Auggie sat in the computer lab having fun surfing the web with his new computer skills. He groaned slightly when he heard the door open and a gentle floral fragrance met his nose. By now the entire staff knew that if he wasn't where he was supposed to be at any given time, to come and look for him here. But it was late Wednesday afternoon and he'd thought that all of his lessons were over with for the day. Christ, couldn't he have a moment's peace to practice his skills?
"Auggie, sorry to interrupt, but there's someone in the lobby who wants to see you," the soft voice of the center's receptionist said. "Says he's your brother, Austin."
"Tall, broad shouldered, and very blonde?"
"That would be a good description. And he's as handsome as you are, too," she quickly added. He could actually hear her smile. Austin elicited that response from the ladies.
"Could you show him to my room?" Auggie asked. "We might be having words that wouldn't be appropriate in the lobby," Auggie added by way of explanation. "I'll be along as soon as I shut the computer down properly." He turned back to the keyboard and began keying in commands.
Five minutes later he entered his room. "Austin?"
"Over here, bro," Austin said from the desk area of the room.
Auggie heard the catch in his brother's voice. He knew it was hard on his family to see him with the cane and what it symbolized for them – that their son and brother was no longer the person that they had known. He greeted his brother like nothing was out of the ordinary between them.
"What the hell are you doing here without letting me know you were coming? You know I don't like surprises." He was anything but upset with his brother. A broad grin graced his features as he embraced his boyhood ally.
"How ya doin', Augs?" Austin firmly patted his brother on the back as he broke the mutual bear hug.
"Been worse, gettin' better. How 'bout you?"
"All's right in my world," Austin said. "Except for this unexpected trip to DC. The guy that was supposed to come had a family emergency at the last minute. I barely had time to run home and pack before I had to be at O'Hare. Flew into Dulles and since I was so close I thought I'd stop by and se— … visit my baby brother."
"It's okay, Austin. You can say the word 'see'. I just 'see' differently now." He wiggled his fingers in Austin's direction from where he now sat on his bed.
"Okay. See, see, see," Austin teased.
"I lied. You wound me so with your words," Auggie said. He smiled broadly while clutching his chest in mock distress and falling back on the bed.
"Cut it out you clown. Mom said you needed some legal work done?"
Auggie sat back up. "Yeah, nothing major, just something that gives you permission to sell stuff for me. Just need someone I trust to help me get rid of my car and bike. I'm pretty sure that my driver's license is no longer valid. Without that I don't think I should be driving the car or riding the Harley." He smiled, but there was heaviness in his heart.
"And you trust me?"
"Yeah, I do. I may be blind now, but I can still whip your ass. And you know that I will." He rose from the bed and launched himself in his brother's direction. He grabbed his brother around that waist and tossed him off the desk chair. The chair went careening across the room and banged into something. Both men were laughing heartily by the time that Auggie straddled his brother and pinned his arms above his head. Suddenly Austin stopped struggling.
"Uh, Augs, there's a pretty woman standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Ya know, like Mom gets when we're misbehaving."
Auggie rolled off of Austin and stood in one quick motion. He held out a hand to help Austin up. He inhaled deeply. "Ah, Marissa, what brings you here? I thought that you'd have been long gone from here."
"I was on my way out when I heard that you had another family member visiting. Thought that I'd stop by and see if this one needed the quick course on your care and feeding, too. Do I need to referee now, too?"
"Just making a point that I can still take his ass if he thinks about cheating me," Auggie quickly replied with chagrin at getting caught.
"Austin Anderson," Austin said as he crossed the room toward Marissa. "Auggie's slightly older brother."
"Marissa McClew, his Orientation and Mobility instructor."
"Thanks for stopping by, Marissa. I think I can teach my brother how to lead me around if we need to do that."
"Just don't run him into any walls. He's done enough of that all on his own. I'll see you tomorrow Auggie. I'm going home now."
"She's gone?" Auggie asked conspiratorially a few moments later.
"Yeah. Why? You gonna kick my ass some more?"
"Nope. I've made my point," he said with a broad grin. "She'd just chastise me for what I'm going to ask you to do for me."
"And that would be?"
"Would you put the chair back by the desk for me? I have no idea where it went and I don't want to trip over it later."
"Done," Austin said a moment later. "How about we discuss what you need over a few brews at a local tavern?"
Half-an-hour later Auggie and Austin were seated at the bar in Chili's Bar and Grill nursing draft beer and waiting for their dinners. Over dinner – a Santa Fe Chicken Wrap for Auggie and a nice steak for Austin - Auggie had made it very clear why he wanted Austin to sell his vehicles, and that he wanted to get sloppy drunk – so drunk that, for a bit, he could forget about the IED that had claimed his sight.
Getting smashed hadn't worked. It had only made being blind worse. Several hours later Austin led a very intoxicated Auggie back to his room in the rehab center.
The next evening, after his meetings in DC were concluded and he'd made a quick stop at Auggie's apartment, Austin returned to pick Auggie up and take him to his storage unit. On their way out of the building they'd been stopped by the center's director. Auggie had been told not to come in drunk again.
At the storage building, Auggie handed the key over to his brother. Once the overhead door was opened Auggie slowly felt his way along the sidewall to the back of the unit. He quickly located his 2006 Heritage Softail and began to pull the cover off. Austin helped him finish removing the covering. Once the motorcycle was uncovered, Auggie swung his right leg over his iron horse and, pulling it upright under him, sat in the saddle his long legs easily straddling the mechanical beast.
For once he allowed a wave of nostalgia to wash over him. Of all the things he would miss, at the moment he missed being able to ride the most. He remembered the long hours of riding the back roads of Virginia and Maryland. He closed his eyes as memories of his last ride flooded over him. Mental images, clear, colorful and full of motion, danced in his mind's eye. He'd been given a week off just before being deployed to Iraq. It had been exceptionally warm for October and he'd ridden over to Shenandoah National Park and then rode the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way south to Smokey Mountains National Park. He'd spent a few days in the Cherokee, North Carolina area and ridden many back roads in the North Carolina Mountains. He and his bike had been one as he navigated the tight mountain curves at speed. His memory of the sights, and sounds, of that ride were so vivid that he almost felt the weight of his leathers on his body.
He opened his eyes and shook the memories of that week from his head. If he allowed himself to wallow in memories of what had been and would never be again, he'd probably find himself begging Austin to stop at a bar and letting him get drunk again. What he did allow himself were a few tears.
"It's okay, Augs," Austin said compassionately as he slipped an arm around his brother's shoulders. "I can only imagine how hard this is for you. I know how much you loved to ride."
"It's so damn unfair," Auggie moaned softly, "so damn unfair." He balled his hands into fists and pounded them on the fuel tank in front of him. Suddenly he pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and located the knob on the fuel tank. He flipped the top open and fumbled a bit as he inserted the key to unlock the ignition. His left hand pulled in the clutch lever, his right the front brake after a quick twist of the throttle. His right thumb went for the toggle switches located on the handlebar and he pressed 'start'. To his surprise the engine roared to life.
"Auggie, what the hell are you doing?" he heard his brother yell in surprise over the throaty rumble of the big V-Twin.
Auggie revved the motor a few times and then shut it off with the toggle switch on the handlebar. He then turned the knob on the fuel tank and tossed the keys in Austin's direction.
"Just making sure it would still start," Auggie replied innocently. He'd just wanted to hear the sound of his black Harley, and to feel the engine's vibration under him one last time. He knew that Austin would understand, but he didn't want to voice that need. There was finality to it. With the back of his hands, he brushed the remaining tears from his cheek and then swung his right leg back over the bike.
Once off his motorcycle, Auggie took a few steps to the front of his 2002 Camaro. He leaned against the hood. When he heard the rustle of the motorcycle cover, he asked, "You're not covering her back up are you?"
"No. The pipes and engine are too warm. I'll come back tomorrow and cover it back up. You know, you didn't fool me when you fired her up."
"I didn't? Then why did you yell at me?"
"Took me a minute to understand. I think I might have done the same thing if I was in your place. Alan's not the only one who understands you, Augs. I was afraid for you when I heard what had happened. I'm so glad that my fear was unfounded. You're handling this much better than I'd anticipated. You're moving around with confidence."
"Only in places that I know." Auggie admitted reluctantly.
"Did you know the bar we were at last night?"
"Yes, I've been there a few times before. Not since being blinded, but before I left for Iraq. I had a memory of the place to guide me."
"But still, if I didn't know you were blind I might not have guessed that right off. Now, let's see if the car will start, too."
With a slight sigh, Auggie stood up and followed the edge of the car to the driver's door. On his way he activated the fob and unlocked the doors. He felt the side of the door until he located the handle and then popped open the door. Once he'd settled in behind the steering wheel, he, with a bit of fumbling, stuck the key in the ignition, placed his foot on the brake, and then turned the key. Just like his Harley had, the Camaro roared to life. His hand naturally fell onto the gear shift.
"Oh, no you don't," Austin exclaimed as he leaned in the open door and turned off the engine. "If anyone's backing this vehicle out of this storage unit, it's going to be me. Do you hear me?"
"Oh, c'mon, Austin," Auggie pouted putting his hand back on the key and twisting it. "It's just a few feet." The engine idled quietly under the hood.
"Shut the door, Augs. And roll down the window so you can hear me when I yell for you to stop. And for god's sake don't hit the rental. I don't want to have to explain why a blind man was driving a car."
Auggie smiled broadly as he reached out to close the door. When the window was down, he pulled the gear shift back a click, and gently pushed on the gas pedal. He was elated as the vehicle slowly moved backward. A few seconds later he heard his brother's voice calmly tell him to stop. He'd done it. It was the last time that he figured he be behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.
The driver's side door opened, and Austin said, "Okay, Augs, time to get out."
"Austin, Let me …"
"No, Augs, no. I know what you want. I'm not going to let you drive any farther, not even with me guiding you. And I'm definitely NOT going to ride you bitch around the streets of DC on your Harley. So don't even suggest that." He placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezed it gently.
"Not even around the lot here?" Auggie pleaded.
"No, Augs. Not today. Let it go. It's hard, but let it go. And I'm not going to let you get drunk again tonight either. It's not going to help. You're blind, Augs. There are some things you just can't do anymore. Lot's that you can, but these are not them."
Auggie took a deep breath and shut off the car's ignition. "When did you learn to be so brutally honest?"
"A few years ago in law school. Had to learn how to tell people things that they didn't really want to hear."
"You're damn good at it," Auggie said with a crooked grin. He hated to admit it, but his brother was right – he was blind. There were things he could no longer do, but lots of things that he still could. He just had to discover how to do the things he still could.
Please feed the muse again. It's still hungry.