Jodie Carpenter

Blood is thicker than water, a phrase that is supposed to bind families together. An interesting concept don't you think? Todger65 was the editor for this story, I liked his work so much I asked if he would edit this one for me as well. I do hope you enjoy your read.

*****

It had taken twenty six years for me to finally say my life was my own and I was damn well enjoying it.

Oh what it is to tempt fate like that because you know life is going to stick it to you in the most gruesome of ways it can think of. I was sitting in the officer's lounge reading some reports when my Base Commander's adjutant sat down next to me. Instinctively I stiffened, when the mountain comes to Mohamed you know the world is going to end.

"Martin I need you back at the office in twenty minutes."

With that he got up and left and that sinking feeling started. When I arrived I was sent straight into the base commanding officers office; the regiment's padre was stood to one side of my commanding officer and between them they tore my life apart.

My brother and his wife were in a car accident, and as he spoke he also slid papers across the table towards me informing me I was being placed on immediate compassionate leave. Neither of them knew what to do when I declined and asked if I could be dismissed. The soldier in him nodded and I saluted and left to return to my room.

The thing about the forces is that we look after our own, even when we don't realize we need looking after. The padre came by, my leave papers in his hands, and I listened to him as he gave me the speech about love and family. I then told him about my older brother and his bitch of a wife who spent their lives making mine as miserable as they could until I was old enough to get out from under and eventually join up.

He then played the only card he had left, Jodie.

"I have read your file; Jodie now has no one but you. There is no other living relative in her life."

He saw me waiver.

"At the moment Jodie is being looked after by a neighbor. She needs family at times like these."

I knew I was toast, so when I finished nodding my head in the right places I was on emergency leave. It still took me two days to get to my brothers house, and Jodie was sat on the porch as my rental car pulled onto the drive. I had watched her grow until she was six and then once more for a couple of weeks when she was ten. Now a fifteen year old, she watched as I left the car and sat next to her on the porch; we both sat looking down the drive like we expected someone else to turn up.

"You don't say much do you Uncle Martin?"

"I'm sorry for your loss Jodie."

This time she looked at me.

"It's your loss too Uncle Martin, he was your brother and my mom was your sister-in-law, nothing can change that."

This wasn't the time though for the conversation that should follow what she said. My brother was a bully he took me in when mom died, but only because felt he had too. The bitch he married resented me even more than he did and the efforts I took to keep out of their way were never enough.

We busied ourselves with the funeral arrangements and had the funeral a week later. His neighbors and work colleagues attended and shook Jodie's hand offering their condolences as best they could to a fifteen year old. They weren't sure what to make of me, as it seems up until last week no one other than Jodie knew I existed.

The reading of the will was quicker than even I had expected. Jodie got everything on her nineteenth birthday, that girl was going to be very rich at a very young age. All the administration of the will was to be handled by my brother's lawyers, and they made it clear that I was to be given an allowance for Jodie's upbringing and her education. Once Jodie had decided what University she wished to attend then the lawyers would get involved.

Come her nineteenth birthday the lawyer's would get involved again and that's when the rest of the estate would be handed to her. Jodie sat and listened although I'm not totally sure she took it all in. To me, a lawyers office isn't somewhere I wanted to talk to Jodie about her life, so I waited until we got back to the house. By the time I had got us a soda and a coffee Jodie had changed into a one piece swimsuit and sat with her feet dangling in the pool.

"Can you think of anyone who would take you in until college?"

The look I got from her made me think she was going to cry, what she said next made me realize how much I had hurt her.

"You don't want me?"

"Jodie you're fifteen and if not already then soon will be in need of a mother figure. I'm single and a career officer in the military, I would be dragging you from base to base, you would be living your life as an army brat."

Remind me never to play poker with this one, all she did was listen and wait for me to finish painting her a very realistic picture of what her future would look like for the next few years until she went off to college and then she lifted her hand towards me ready to shake on it and said 'deal'.

How I managed to back myself into this corner I will never understand and most of that night I went over it as best I could remember, and still didn't see it coming until she hit me with it. The next day Jodie either sat and listened or sat out by the pool as I spoke to the base admin people and sorted out a place for us both to live. The lawyers were pissed that I was taking their charge all over the country with me, but since she had agreed they had little choice.

The house was let and all the furniture was placed in long term storage. The lawyers refused to sell the house since it now belonged to Jodie and was considered an asset, they had no choice then but to let it out. When I brought Jodie back to base and showed her our new home she was like a kid in a candy store. I'm sure the padre had some input, because the day had not even ended before a steady stream of our new neighbors came on by with dinner in a dish for us both.

I still heard her cry herself to sleep at night and began to wonder if she was really going to be able to handle her new life and was she telling me the truth. The tour of the base and shops took her to a sort of comfort zone and we enrolled her in school that same afternoon. The base children her age soon came by and to them she was one of their own, I knew they had her back at school and for the rest of the week we just hung out, with me showing her the mall and other things she may need.

Over the week I did notice one thing and still kick myself for not noticing it sooner; not once had she mentioned her mom and dad at all since we had left California. Still being a male of the species it took a reminder from the base padre's wife that Jodie was growing from a girl to a young woman. She came on by and took Jodie shopping, when they came back she had two bags with the name of the local drugstore on it, everything else was in brown bags and she was bright red when she passed me and headed for her room.

With my leave up I returned to duty, Jodie was speechless the first time she saw me in uniform. For the first three months things went as smooth as I figured they could. Jodie had the padre's wife on speed dial and once a month they went shopping, I never asked and she stopped going red when she passed me with her bags heading for her room.

Orders came down for my unit; we trained hard and the neighbors closed ranks and looked after Jodie when my team needed to be away for a night or two. It helped that Adele Richards next door to us had a daughter the same age as Jodie and when I went away they took her in. The reason for the training became clear when I was called into my boss's office. When he was done I walked over to admin and signed everything I owned over to Jodie.

Three days later she watched as I placed all my personal belongings in my room, I said goodbye to Jodie and she wouldn't let go until she dragged a promise from me that I would come back. It was the first time I had seen the little girl in her, since we sat on the porch of her house before the funeral of her folks. We came back four months later, older wiser and one man down. Jodie never left my side throughout the funeral.

As I sat on the couch that evening she brought me a coffee and slid in next to me.

"Now I understand why my mom and dad's death didn't hit you so hard."

She had caught me in one of my more unguarded moments, I had just lost a very good friend and she was comparing her own father to my friend. Hell she was old enough, so I told her everything, from the death of our mom to the reluctance her father, my own brother, had to look out for me as I handled the loss of our own mother. The vicious vindictive things both said and the verbal but never physical abuse both gave me.

The pattern of abuse increased when my sister-in-law found herself pregnant. To them I was a worthless piece of shit that was taking up room and eating food and the sooner they could get rid of me, the better they could live their life and not have me under their feet. The happiest I had ever seen them around me was when I finished high school and headed off to college. It was my involvement in the ROTC course that eventually had me sign on the line.

Hell they even had a civil word to say to me. Goodbye.

It wasn't something that Jodie should have to hear as none of it was her fault. Yet she sat and listened to me talk and didn't interrupt me once. As the silence started to become uncomfortable for us both she leaned over and kissed my cheek, I felt her tears as she did.

"I'm not going to say sorry Uncle Martin since I was too young to know any of this. I'm glad you took me in though, and thank you from the bottom of this girls heart."

She never mentioned her folks again, I'm not sure if she stopped just around me or completely. I felt like shit that I had spoken out, and tried to make it up to her as best I could, even suggesting she talk to the padre's wife. Jodie just smiled and hugged me saying nothing. I watched her as best I could; going to each of the school functions to check how she was doing.

The answer was always the same; to each of her teachers she was a well adjusted young lady, the only time she showed any anxiety was when I was away from base. But they noticed that with all the base children.

Her sixteenth birthday was fast approaching so being a guy; I asked her what she wanted. She just smiled and told me to surprise her. That was no clue whatsoever so I arranged for Jodie and her friend to have a pamper day at the place in town. Getting Adele to go with them so it was an all girl day wasn't all that difficult, after all it was a pamper day and a guy was paying for it. Well that's how she looked at it anyway.

To say wow would be a total understatement for all three of them when I went to pick them up. She declined a real party in favor of dinner in town. Other diners looked up and followed her with their eyes as we arrived and did so for most of the evening. It sure made me feel both uncomfortable and very protective of her at the same time.

*******

Jodie was standing in the middle of the day room when I walked in late one afternoon, her arms crossed and she stood like an island in the middle of my camping gear. Then her arm slowly swung over every piece of kit laying there.

"You never told me you like camping, why?"

A shrug of my shoulders wasn't enough for her.

"It keeps me fit and I enjoy the peace and scenery, I hike more than I camp. I just assumed you wouldn't like it so I just left all my kit in the box."

Oh boy wasn't that a mistake. The glare I got from her let me know a storm was coming. She even crossed her arms, now I've been in firefights and close quarter battles, yet this was about the only time in my life I flinched as a sixteen year old stuck it to me.

"Uncle Martin you're my guardian and my uncle and I love you dearly. You take care of me and make the decisions that have kept me healthy and wanted ever since I have been here. BUT, don't ever assume anything about me, ask and I will tell you, but don't ever assume."

She was still fit to bust, and a kick of my backpack sent it across the room and she walked through the space now vacated by my pack to head for her room; she was mumbling so fast and to herself that the only word I did hear clearly was, 'men'.

Her mood was a lot better the next morning. She backed it up by telling me that we were heading into town come the weekend, to fit her out for her own hiking boots and anything else she needed. Her eyes told me there was more but she held off on that surprise for another three days.

Saturday had arrived; the post for me was a usual run of bills and flyers. Although there was one addressed to Jodie, and the heading on the envelope showed it was from the lawyers. She read the letter and handed me a check for three thousand dollars. After she finished she handed me the letter to read; she must have sure been pissed at me over me assuming.

The letter stated that they had released some funds under educational and personal needs; the money was to kit out Jodie with her own camping equipment. I learned two lessons that morning. It reinforced in me never to assume anything about Jodie, and when I did she could come up with her own big stick to beat me with. I don't think shrugging my shoulders was the result she expected from me, but it's all she got.

We put the check into her account and used my money to get her kitted out. My pride made me do it that way, and Jodie knew me well enough not to push her luck. We hiked a great deal over the summer months and we even managed into late autumn before we stopped. My units training had increased again and Jodie feared the worst and I knew through the grapevine that she was talking to the padre's wife.

Jodie was in tears when she watched me place all my personal items in my room, the Hummer waiting outside for me. Adele Richards came across and gave me a hug and watched with Jodie as I stepped into the Hummer. That was the first Christmas I had been away from her since she had been with me. I gave Adele money for presents and asked her to help me out. She gave me a glaring look and I wondered if that's where Jodie learned it from.

The wives and girlfriends from my unit did what all service families do, wait. They had Christmas to keep them occupied but that was all, we came back in late March, just older, wiser and this time two men down. The loss hit my team the worst, between the base commander and the padre they had laid the groundwork, it still broke my heart to look into loved ones eyes and tell them I was sorry for their loss.

Jodie kept so close that I thought at one stage she was joined at my hip. The weekend after the funerals of both my men we hiked, and when we camped she zipped her bag to mine and held me tight. The next morning I told her she couldn't do things like that, but the glare she gave was identical to that of Adele's. The voice may have come from her lips but I wouldn't have recognized it if I hadn't been watching her.

"Uncle Martin, I don't question your love for me, so don't you dare question the love I have for you and how I express it. Yes I know I'm seventeen now but that means shit, we didn't do anything except hold each other, so don't you go letting your head tell you otherwise."

I didn't have it in me to argue the point; Jodie had told me to my face that I had forgotten her birthday. She didn't make a big deal out of it since she knew why, but she felt I had hurt her and she needed to hurt me back. I accepted it for what it was and vowed to myself not to let her zip anywhere near mine again.

Through all that was going on at the base, Jodie's school work still took precedence, her grades slipped for awhile so I called a halt to our hikes until they got back up again.

When I talked to the padre all he could do was give me general advice, the man was between a rock and a hard place since Jodie seemed to confide in both Adele and his wife, and he couldn't come clean and break any confidentiality. He hinted that it was just a reaction to my unit being away for a length of time and the loss of two from my team; since it hit me the hardest she felt it too.

*******

We were 'summoned' to California; the lawyers wished to discuss Jodie's choice of University. She had kept quiet about it to me as well so I had to admit to a certain amount of curiosity. My own promotion was imminent and I had asked that it be held back until Jodie left for whichever University or college she got around to choosing. Her stability at school this year had to be my priority.

Even the days before our journey to California, Jodie gave me no indication what college she was going to, or even what she planned for her future and I felt like a third leg. The few times I tried she would swerve around the conversation like a true politician. There was something going on in that girls head that was for sure, yet it seemed this was going to be the one topic she would never discus with me and this was new ground for us.

We were at the lawyers for the day, it felt like a week, hour by hour Jodie's decisions on her future came to pass and within a few months she would be eighteen. I tried to get her to talk to me, but she shot me down. The young lady that was sat on the porch waiting for me to turn up and take her away that day three years ago, was no longer the young lady sitting across the table today.

Jodie's decision was that she wanted to stay in California, and she wanted to become a teacher. I couldn't blame her. I had ripped her out of her life here because I was her sole living relative. No wonder she wanted to come back. I'd had three years of Jodie in my life and enjoyed every moment of them, but in a few months it would be time to give my niece her life back.

The journey back to base was the most quiet I've ever had. Jodie kept her own council and I chose to no longer interfere in it. Adele came by the next day; she said she stopped by for coffee, but she was so obvious that she wanted information.

"She wants to return to California, the lawyers are sorting out university information. She plans to go to the same one my brother went too."

"Did she say why?"

I shook my head and recounted everything that went on at the lawyer's office, when I had finished, she freely admitted she was at a loss as well. Jodie came back from the PX then and all further discussion on why stopped. If anything I took a step back; exams were coming and the pressure that entails was enough.

My promotion came through; as Jodie's last exam was over I was packing everything we owned into boxes and into a U-Haul.

"Please Uncle, can we go hiking one last time."

It wasn't in me to refuse her. The weather was beautiful as was the company, although she was reluctant to the bitter end to explain so many things. I had come to know that she was her own woman now. In three days time she would be in California and a week later I would be on another continent. But until then I had my niece by my side.

We camped up on Compton Ridge, the sun had just started to slip towards the mountains across the valley; Jodie sorted out the cooking while I put the tent up. When she called me and told me that it was ready she brushed passed me as I left the tent and minutes later I heard her zip our bags together.

The look she gave me when she left the tent told me that it would be advisable not to touch them. It didn't stop me from trying.

"Jodie, we agreed this wasn't going to happen again."

"No Uncle Martin, you agreed. I refused to accept it. This is the last time I will be seeing you for awhile and I intend to be as close to you as I can."

I tried again.

"Jodie we can't do this."

Her eyes welled up, her face flushed and her fingers clenched tightly into fists.