Sisterly Love Comes First

From the end of Part 1, with one small editing change. Sorry it took so long to finish this one. You probably want to read Part 1 first.

END OF PART 1

"To: Kathy and my traitorous sister and brother-in-law. I have left and have no plans to return. You can file for divorce or just take the rest of money in our accounts or both. It shouldn't make any difference to you since you didn't mind cheating on me when we were married. The enclosed business card is the lawyer I have given my POA to handle my divorce. You can send any official documents to him. Good-bye."

I was called into the Blackwater office in Oak Grove. "Austin, we have a problem. Your wife has threatened to file criminal charges against you if you don't talk to her before you leave. If she does that, you cannot go. Your team leaves in two days, with or without you. Take care of this."

"Yes, sir."

Damn that bitch! I guess she has to have the last word. Fuck it! I'll listen to her whine and then leave. If she's not telling the truth about just wanting to talk, I'll find another job somewhere far, far away.

KATHY'S PARTING MESSAGE

"Thank you of showing up Austin."

"You kind of took away my ability to say no."

"You wouldn't have come without that. I just want you to know something before you go."

"Go for it."

"First of all, I am not here to apologize. I did love you, do love you and will love you forever. I also love my sister and have ever since she was born. They are different kinds of love - both are very deep. I understood what marrying a military man meant. There would be long times of separation and I would be expected to be faithful to you. What I did was in my mind was more being faithful to my sister than being unfaithful to you.

"The situation was unique. You would be gone for 12 months. It only takes nine months to have a baby. She could not have a baby. I could. I could not turn her down. I guess that's not totally true. I could have turned her down, but I don't think I would have been able to live with myself if I had. She looked into in vitro fertilization, but it costs many thousands of dollars they couldn't afford. I thought of telling you, of course. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was afraid that not only would you refuse, it might mess with your mind. A 'messy' mind can get a man killed with the job you have. Again, this is not an apology. This is an explanation.

"I am hoping you will understand and come back to me when you get back. I will be here waiting for you for a year. I will be faithful to you. In my mind, I have always been so. If I do not hear from you in a year, I will divorce you and move on. Good-luck and keep your butt safe." She kissed him and walked out.

*****

SOMEWHERE IN THE ARABIAN PENNISULA

It was a typical situation like I had experienced many times in the military. Wait. Hurry up. And then wait some more. Everything security-wise was checked and rechecked. Intel was always mentioning probing and planning. I just figured they were trying to find a weakness.

Finally, one day they came at us with a shield of women and children in front of them. We had a plan for dealing with this. Grenade launchers lobbed grenades behind the mob. Then we opened up our guns shooting just above the heads of the advancing crowd. The shield had been told not to drop down, but the reality of being fired on took precedence with most of the civilians. A few stayed standing but there were enough down that we could fire at the main part of the terrorists. Chaos reigned. Once the smoke cleared, 12 terrorists were killed along with one civilian used a shield. Several were wounded.

Since no one knew whose bullet killed the civilian, all of us were required to see the company's shrink. I didn't think anything of it. I had been used to collateral damage reviews from my time in Afghanistan. I got blindsided.

"Austin, your file has an entry about finding out your wife betrayed you on your last tour. Did that influence your approach to the attack the other night?"

I was surprised at the question and my gut reaction. "I didn't think so, but I guess it was in the back of my mind."

"It sounds like you have not reached closure. Tell me about it."

My emotions spilled out. "I couldn't believe it. Before I found out, I believed my wife to be the most loyal spouse and best friend. Then, she goes and fucks my brother-in-law to give her sister a baby. She's probably still fucking him right now."

"Do you know that for sure?"

"No, but I'm gone so why not?"

"Did you not believe your wife was telling you the truth about giving her sister a baby?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I agree with it. I wasn't even asked."

"If she had, what affect would it have had on your tour in Afghanistan?"

"It would have been hard to focus on the mission. If she had asked and I said no, I would worry that she would do it behind my back. If I said yes, I would wonder if she was trying to make a baby or just fuck another man."

"So, by not telling you, she may have saved your life?"

"Yeah, but now she's killed me another way. I have lost my wife, my marriage, my chance to have kids with the woman I wanted to be the mother."

"No chance of forgiveness?"

"I don't see how. When I think of her, I picture Paul on top of her fucking away. Kathy is urging him on, telling him how much better he is than me."

"Austin, are you familiar with the story of David in the Bible?"

"Yeah, killed a giant with a stone and a slingshot."

"Do you remember what David did when he lusted for one of his troop's wives?"

"Yeah, he sent the husband into battle to get killed so David could marry his wife."

"What did God do to punish him?"

"Nothing. He went on to be king and write most of the Psalms."

"God did something very profound - he forgave David of his sin."

"So?"

"If you compared Kathy's sin against you to David's sin against the soldier, which would be greater?"

"Getting the guy killed."

"Yet God forgave him. Do you think God has forgiven Kathy's sin against you?"

"I don't know. Probably. She does think she had a good reason."

"Then why can't you forgive her?"

"I'm not God."

"Is that what is stopping you forgiving Kathy?"

"Are you saying I should forgive Kathy and act life she did nothing wrong?"

"I didn't say that. I'm saying that if you don't forgive Kathy, you will never have peace in your soul."

"I'll think about it."

*****

END OF TOUR

Our replacements arrived early, and we finished training them in before my two years was over. I packed up to head home. No one knew of my coming. I went by our old place. There was someone new living there. I assumed that Kathy was living with Brandy and Paul, so I went to their house.

Kathy's car was the only one there, so I assumed Brandy and Paul had left Kathy to babysit my namesake. I knocked on the door. She peered through the hole but did nothing with the door for over a minute. Finally, she opened the door and let me in. I stood in front of her and watched as she slapped my face. "Why are you here?"

"I came to tell you I have forgiven you."

"Whoopty-shit. If that's all you have to say, I have work to do." She closed the door in my face. After a minute, I walked away.

I felt a need to find out what was going on, so I called Brandy's phone. Disconnected. I tried Paul's phone. Disconnected. I then called Brandy's work. That's when I was told that Brandy and Paul had been killed in a car wreck several months earlier. They said no child was involved. I assumed that meant that Kathy was caring for their son for them. My immediate thought was that she probably needed help. Had she found a man to help her? Did I want to help her? Would she let me help her?

I went back to what had been Brandy's and Paul's house. As soon as she opened the door, I asked, "Can I come in? I would like to talk. Please." She stood there a few minutes fuming.

"Okay, but make it quick." I came into the house little changed since the previous encounter after my return from Afghanistan.

"Kathy, I heard about Brandy and Paul's death. I am sorry for your loss. I assume you are caring for their son, Austin."

"Not quite. I am caring for their son Austin and their daughter Audrey. After not hearing from you for a year, I filed for divorce and moved on. Brandy and Paul wanted one more child. Since you weren't in the picture anymore, I agreed. Once I got pregnant, Paul had a vasectomy. They were on a date night when they got hit by a gravel truck and killed instantly. If the kids had been in the car, they would have been killed too. I inherited everything which wasn't much. There is still litigation over the culpability for the accident. Those funds should allow me many years of not needing to work outside the home. Meanwhile, I have been trying to keep the family together by myself with what I got from the divorce."

"Haven't you found someone to help you out?"

"If you're talking about a man, you have to be kidding. When do I have time to date? Who wants to date a woman with two infants?"

"What about me?"

"Not only no, but Hell no."

"Why not?"

"If you don't know, I don't even want to talk to you anymore. You can leave now."

"Can I see the children?"

"NO! Get out."

Back in his apartment, Austin contemplated what to do. He remembered how unkempt the lawn was at the house. He decided to help whether she wanted it or not.

*****

"What the heck are you doing?"

"I believe it's still called mowing the lawn."

"Smart-ass. I mean what are you doing here. Was I not clear that I didn't need or want your help?"

"No."

"NO? Okay, knock yourself out. Mow the damn lawn." She went back inside.

Two hours later, she came back outside. "What are you doing now?"

"Trimming and pruning. You've got a jungle started in your backyard."

"All right, but this is it. No more helping."

"I hear you."

The next day, Kathy looked out into the back yard. A gym set was being assembled.

"You have gone completely crazy. The kids are too young for that."

"They'll get older."

"Come in for a drink when you take a break."

***

"Austin, what are you trying to prove with all these positive gestures? I can't let you break my heart again. You've got to stop."

"I won't break your heart again. I still disagree with your decision to have a baby without my consent, but I understand why you thought you had to. I think I also feared that you would like sex with Paul better than me."

She laughed. "He was so bad that I had to have a couple of drinks before each time with him. His breath was so bad, I made him use mouthwash just before he came into my bedroom. Luckily, he shot off quickly each time, even after having gotten off minutes before. I was so glad both times when my stick showed blue so we could stop. I think he wanted us to continue but knew Brandy would have cut his balls off. There was more than a 100% chance I would never have sex with him again.

"Once I filed for divorce, Brandy approached me about having another baby. They wanted two children and then stop. I had enjoyed the pregnancy with Austin, and I knew I would be around the next child too. I gave in and got pregnant easily. Audrey is a real precious girl. I love every minute with them.

"They are my only point of focus in life. Any man I might be attracted to will have to realize that he would be second to the children. At least until they were grown."

"I could live with that."

"Don't tease me. Old feelings for you are being dredged up. I'm too vulnerable right now."

"Let me help. I'll do chores and repairs and anything that you need without having to be married."

"The problem, Austin, is that what I want most right now is sex from someone who cares for me. I don't see how you and I could have sex without more baggage coming with it."

"There's one way to find out. We could have sex and then I will leave for a few days for you to figure out if we can make a new arrangement."

"I'm too tired to resist. Please Austin, make love to me."

*****

THREE MONTHS LATER

I wound up moving in. Gradually, Kathy and I became a couple and co-parents. I thought I would favor my namesake, but Audrey was just so cute, she won my heart. This is what I had wanted: wife and family. We talked about getting re-married and me adopting the kids. What could go wrong? I shouldn't have asked.

One day I received a letter. Based on the marks on the envelope, it appears that the letter had just missed me several times over the year or so since it was first posted. The postmarks were from four different countries. When I opened it up, I saw it was from Brandy dated a couple of years ago.

"Dear Austin:

"I hope this letter finds you well. I have thought long and hard about sending this letter, but I finally thought you needed to know regardless of whether or not you return home. I was absolutely thrilled when Kathy said she would have a baby for Paul and I. We talked about how we would keep it a secret from you. After a few weeks of their having sex, I began to get anxious. Both seemed far too interested in having sex the next time. It seems like they kept having sex even after she was pregnant. They were very careful, but I put some voice-activated recording devices under Kathy's bed. My fears were correct. They had sex during her pregnancy.

"I was afraid to rock the boat. I hoped that it would stop after Austin was born and it did, for a few months. When I found out that Kathy was pregnant again, I confronted them. They were not surprised, in fact, they had a speech ready for me. I could be the mother and we would share Paul for sex. I agreed to share in order to have another child. I wanted to be a mother more than anything.

"I hope this letter does not upset you too much. Please stay safe.

"Your loving sister-in-law,

"Brandy"

I was at the Blackwater office the next day and shipped out in a month. I never talked to Kathy about it. I hope to never see her again.