"Thanks for coming for dinner, you two. It's lonely with the girls at camp." Danielle stated over dinner at her house.
"Not a problem," Auggie replied. "I always enjoy your cooking."
"By the way, Auggie, I am blaming you for the horrible day I had." Danielle added.
"You wouldn't be the first. What did I do?"
"Evidently you taught me to be inconsiderate toward the blind."
Auggie smirked. "That sounds like me."
"I'm serious! This man chewed me out. It was horrible."
"Did you lead him into a pole or something?"
"No. He fell down the steps."
"That's always upsetting."
"Who was this guy and why were you leading him around?" Annie asked.
"I was meeting a client at a hotel, and she brought her parents. She and her mom were going over the seating arrangements, so I offered to help her father to the bathroom. There were two steps down, and he tumbled right into me. Thankfully he wasn't hurt, but I felt horrible."
"He didn't feel you go down first?" Auggie asked.
"I guess not." Danielle quipped.
"I never tell you about steps." Annie said.
Auggie shrugged. "I always feel the other person drop. It's not that big of a deal. But not everybody is as good as me." To punctuate his point, Auggie stuck his fork directly into a piece of asparagus on his plate and popped it into his mouth.
"They acted like I intentionally threw him down a flight of stairs. I was horrified."
Auggie sat down his fork and sighed. "Danielle, don't worry about it. Everybody makes mistakes. Living with this," he motioned at his eyes, "Is hard. Everybody faces it their own way. And sometimes it feels really good to be able to blame things that happen on others."
Danielle was quiet a moment. "So you aren't secretly always frustrated with me?"
Auggie scoffed. "You are fine. Probably right to blame me for it all, though."
"You always make it look easy." Danielle said, openly staring at Auggie as he ate.
"It isn't." Auggie said very seriously. He looked directly at Danielle. "I lost my sight when I was young and invincible. Before the accident, I was damn good at adapting, and far more coordinated than your average computer geek. I'm sure there are hundreds of things that I deal with on a daily basis that are a struggle for other blind guys. Everybody is different."
"How old were you when it happened?" Danielle was never afraid to ask about things.
"Twenty eight."
"You still thought you were invincible at twenty eight?"
Auggie had to laugh. "Yep." He left out the fact that he still pretty much felt the same way. He had to, or the vulnerabilities of life would overwhelm him.
...
After dessert, Auggie excused himself to go to Annie's mostly abandoned apartment to make a phone call.
"He's amazing." Danielle said once she and Annie were alone.
"Yep." Annie replied.
"And he's lasted more than three weeks."
"He'd go to the courthouse and marry me tomorrow if I gave him the slightest hint that's what I wanted. He's not running off, and it's not because he can't see the path."
"You think pretty highly of yourself." Danielle replied, taking a drink. Then her eyes lit up with an idea. "Or is he smothering you? Please don't tell me you are feeling smothered. He is so good for you, and the two of you..."
Annie waved off Danielle's concern. "We are fine. We are so fine that it freaks me out, really."
"I'll drive you to the courthouse myself." Danielle said with a wink.
"Not yet." Annie replied. "I'll make sure you are there."