I was born about a year before my parents were married. They were only seventeen and eighteen, but their relationship lasted. When I was six, my little sister Devon was born. My parents were close to me in age and we got along quite well. My sister and I were pretty far apart in age, so we got along really well too. I was always really protective of my baby sister, and it seemed like from the time she was born until I was eighteen, we were inseparable.
I still remember the look on her twelve-year-old face when I joined the marines after high school and she realized that I wouldn't be there for her like I always had been. I had given her the "be strong" speech before I left, but I knew that I would miss her as much as she would miss me. The first few years, I was able to come home on leave a couple times, but when I was twenty, I got shipped out and even after I returned to the US, I didn't get the opportunity to come all the way home.
That didn't mean that we didn't keep in touch. I wrote and called my family constantly. I had all the updates as to what was going on at Devon's school and Mom and Dad's work, and they heard all about my life in the Corps. The conversations always ended with an invitation and a promise of my visiting home again soon. Somehow it just never happened. That is until I received a call from my somber sister regarding my father's sudden death from a car accident. The next day found me on an airplane on my way home.
Standing at the baggage claim in my home town, waiting for my duffel to come around the carousel, I heard a familiar voice.
"Jason!" I turned around at hearing my name in the voice I knew so well. For a moment I scanned the crowd for the face that went with it; in my mind at least. My eyes widened as they rested on the young woman with dark auburn hair and a killer figure trotting toward me, a huge grin on her face. My shock at seeing her so grown up was replaced by the realization of how attractive she had become, immediately followed by a rebuke from myself for thinking that way about the baby sister I loved.
Pushing my last thought from my mind, I held my arms out and scooped up my little sister in a long-overdue hug. I squeezed her tightly and squeezed back as she said, "Oh Jason, it's so good to see you again."
We released each other and our smiles faded as we remembered the reason for my homecoming. We talked a bit as I got my bag and Devon took me to the car to take me home. Mom was at home taking care of the funeral arrangements and trying not to break down. Dad was only 42 years old and his death was sudden and tragic.
We arrived at an empty house with a note from Mom saying that she was sorry that she wasn't there to meet me, but that she had a lot of things to take care of and would be back later that evening. Devon and I went into the living room to watch some TV. We sat on the couch looking at the TV though neither of us was really watching it. The room was dark and quiet except for the TV.
"Thanks for the camera." Devon finally said into the silence. I had sent a digital camera for her birthday.
"Hey," I replied, "it was your big one-eight. I needed to get you something really nice. Especially since I wasn't here to celebrate properly."
"You know, Mom was only eighteen when she married Dad. I can't imagine being married with a child at my age. Mom and Dad must have really loved each other." There was a pause here. Then she said, "I wonder if she's OK." She sniffed and I realized that she was crying.
"Oh, Dev." I said as I held out my arms. She fell against my chest sobbing freely now. I held her close and stroked her hair as she heaved and shuddered against me. I could feel the front of my shirt beginning to dampen with her tears, but I only laid my cheek against the top of her head and continued to hold her. That was what she needed now; someone to hold her and be strong for her. I held her until she ran out of tears. She was sitting in my lap now, like she used to when she was ten and I was sixteen and her rabbit ran away.