Chapter 5 Is home where your heart is?

What happened last:

He was exhausted after the day. He was stuck for nearly an hour in traffic because of an accident on his route to his apartment. When he finally walked in, he grabbed a coke out of his fridge. He made his way into his bedroom. He put the can down and changed into one of his old university hoodies and some grey, loose fitting shorts. Years ago, he would have walked barefoot but now he couldn´t. That was really something he missed, walking in sand or grass, or just feeling everything on the floor.

He was reading on his iPad when he heard a knock on his door.

He put the iPad down on the table and called out, "Hold on a second!"

He stood up and walked to the door. He had no peephole, so he asked, "Who's there?"

"It's Annie. I'm bringing you something that I'm sure you will like."

He worked the locks and pulled on the handle so that the door slid open. He looked Annie up and down and saw she was bearing his favorite meal. She was holding a pizza box in one hand and a wine bottle in the other. She sported a red face again and seemed to be a little unsure about her own actions.

"Will you let me in?" she asked shyly.

"Oh yes; I forgot my manners." He motioned to Annie to step in. "Come on in. What brings you here?"

Gaining confidence, Annie asked, "More than the pizza?"

"Uhh… yes, you must have a motive for being here." He turned and walked to the kitchen island and collected cutlery and dishes. "By the way, it's a pleasant surprise, and sorry for my sloppy appearance."

"No problem. I wear the same kind of clothing at home so don't feel embarrassed." With that, Annie walked to the dining table and put down the pizza box and the bottle of wine. She took off her jacket and her scarf. "Can I put my clothes somewhere?"

"Let me place these on the table and then I will put them in the closet." Auggie walked over to her and put the silverware and plates down and then held his hands out towards Annie. "Could you be so kind and set the things appropriately on the table? The wine glasses are in the glass cabinet over there." He pointed to the living room area.

Aware that Annie was observing him and his every movement, he walked more cautiously over to the closet to store her clothes away. On his way back, he retrieved the corkscrew.

"How did you know where I live?" he asked, truly curious.

Annie appeared to be thinking about the question, and how to answer it. Auggie proceeded to uncork the bottle and pour them two glasses. Annie was silent, longer than Auggie thought she'd be, so he got on with the task of handing out the pizza.

"Auggie, the whole afternoon I'd been thinking of how to make it up to you properly. You mentioned that pizza is something you like a lot. So I just waited for you to go home and then walked straight to Joan's office. I just asked her if she could give me your address," Annie explained. Auggie muffled something over her explanation. Annie thought, that she heard something along the line that Joan was trying to intervene again in his personal life. Both of them were silent for a few moments. "Joan asked me why and I told her honestly about our rocky start and that I wanted to make it up to you for hurting or upsetting you."

After finishing her speech, she grabbed the wine glass and took a large sip from it.

Auggie was the first to speak. "Annie it's very kind of you to want to make it up to me. Thank you." Annie replied, "You're very welcome. Let's eat or the pizza will get cold."

Together they devoured the whole pizza. Auggie put the dishes together and pushed back on the table to stand up. He had his balance and began to clear the table. He couldn't get everything in one turn. He turned and crashed into Annie who held the rest of the dishes and the empty box. He began to sway and was one second short to falling down. Out of reflex he grabbed out and just got a hold of Annie's arm. He was able to steady himself, but then he blushed crimson red.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Annie. Hope I didn't hurt you?" Auggie asked, getting worked up.

"Everything is fine, Auggie. These things happen to anyone. I shouldn't have stood right behind you."

Annie grabbed Auggie on his arm and held him firm in place. She wouldn't want to risk that he walked away from her.

Auggie put his hand over hers and looked in her eyes. "Annie, I'm not good in these interpersonal things, which you should know by now." He let his chin falling onto his chest. He then mumbled, "I'm a half man and not worth anything anymore. No one wants to interact normally with me, over the time I didn't just lose my legs but my trust too."

This admittance to her was breaking Annie's heart. She didn't know how to respond. She didn't want to appear that she pitied him; she just didn't know how to make it clear without being to forward that his disability didn't matter to her. She too wanted not to handle him like china. She felt sure that he just needed someone to lean on. Annie put one of her hands on his back and the other under his chin to lift it up.

"Auggie, I may not know you very well yet, but what I do know is that everyone is worth something. I would like to get to know you better. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I'm just letting you know I am a really good listener. I hope we can become friends." The last thing she added got a reaction out of Auggie.

She thought his eyes might actually pop out of their sockets. "Really, Annie? You want to be my friend?" Auggie asked really shyly.

Annie just nodded. She walked over to the table and refilled the glasses, clearly indicating she didn't want to end the evening because of what they were talking about just minutes ago. This was showing him that she really wanted to interact with him.

"Come on, Annie. Take a seat on the couch. Do you want to… um, listen to some music or maybe watch a movie?"

"Music is fine. Just don't torture me with techno," she said.

"Ok. I think some nice slow jazz is something you may enjoy." Auggie walked over to his sound system and turned it on. He retrieved the remote control, then walked over to Annie and took a seat beside her.

"Here, Auggie. Your glass." Annie took it off the table and handed it to him. She got rid of her shoes, turned sideways and moved one of her legs under the other.

"You may find my next idea childish, but let's play twenty questions. Ok?" she suggested and waited for a response from Auggie.

"Sure. We can do this. I'm a gentleman. So please: ladies first." He clinked his glass against Annie's.

"First question for you, what kind of food do you like besides pizza?" she wanted to tread on light terrain for her first few questions.

"That's easy. I like a good burger or a good medium grilled steak with potatoes," Auggie answered with a smirk. "Where are you from, Annie?"

"From everywhere; I moved a lot because of my father. I lived in six countries so far and a lot of army bases on US soil." "Wow, that's a lot, Annie. So home is where your heart is, or…what?"

"Is this your second question Auggie?" Annie laughed.

"Yes it is."

"For me, home is where my heart is. I wouldn't be surprised if you knew the concept for feeling home yourself?" Annie finished and took another sip.

"As a military servant, I know this concept…" Auggie didn't finish and just changed his position a little. Annie observed how he picked his legs up to change the space between her and him.

Annie was dying to know what happened to Auggie but she didn´t dare ask a question in that direction. She didn't want to appear nosey. She just had to wait for her and Auggie to build a closer relationship before she could ask those kind of questions.

They went on and on about the game just touching light subjects like favorite musician or favorite boo. Neither one didn't pay attention to the time.

Well after midnight, Annie left his apartment.

Auggie wore a genuine smile as he walked into the bathroom. He proceeded with his routine. He lay in bed and couldn't help but think about what happened that day.

At the same time in Annie's room, she lay awake too. She thought about everything Auggie told her and everything he showed her through his nonverbal behavior. She hoped she could get him out of his hole. He was a normal person, just one with a disability. He was a handsome man and more important to her, he had a nice smile, witty humor, and a kind and gentlemanlike nature.

Thank to my beta luvtheheaven. Please review!