Cassidy Nineteen Years Ago

I was so excited I could barely breathe. Mark was coming home today, bringing his new and closest friends with him. It had been months since I’d seen my big brother. Even though he called occasionally and sent letters, it wasn’t the same. I missed him so much that it made me sick to my stomach. Dad tried to help keep my mind off missing him, but he did too. We lived for our calls and letters.

It was just the three of us. Mom had died three years ago. I still missed her. She’d ignored the pain she was having in her stomach and waved it off as gas and constipation rather than going to the doctor to see what it was. Because she didn’t, she ended up with a perforated bowel. She hadn’t been able to recover from the massive infection it caused, and she died. It had devastated us. She knew there was no hope for her in the end, and before she died, she made Mark promise to go to the Navy as planned. It was her dying wish. She knew how much it meant to him and Dad, who’d served in the Navy. Mark had always wanted to follow in our dad’s footsteps. Not even a year later, he did.

My brother wasn’t content to be just any sailor. Oh no, he had to be elite, just like Dad. He finished his basic and elite training and was now a Navy SEAL. Most kids my age probably didn’t know what that meant, but I did. I’d listened to the chatter at home—even the discussions I wasn’t supposed to hear. I knew my dad and brother were badass men. I was proud of them. And I was thrilled they didn’t treat me like a nuisance, and I was taught how to do many things most people would say were only to be taught to sons.

I knew the names of the guys he was bringing home with him. He talked about them a lot on our calls and in his letters. They were Gabe, Sean, and Griffin. They were around his age, which made them nine to ten years older than my eleven years. I couldn’t wait to meet them. I’d always wanted more siblings. Four older brothers might be overkill, but I’d take it.

“Cass, get down here. Your brother is here,” Dad hollered up the stairs.

I ran from my room and pounded down the stairs. I hadn’t heard their car. As I came to a halt at the bottom of the steps, I saw four men standing next to Dad. Immediately, I threw myself into Mark’s arms. He was in front of the others. He hugged me tightly, lifted me off the ground, and kissed my cheek.

“It’s so good to see you, sis,” Mark said.

I was choking back tears. I refused to be a crybaby. “It’s good to see you, too. It’s about time you came home and let Dad see you. He’s been a wreck.”

This remark earned me chuckles from those around us and Mark. He held me up for another minute before he set me back on my feet. God, I hated being short. I kept hoping to grow to be much taller, but I wasn’t holding my breath at five feet two inches. That meant everyone towered over me, especially these guys. Everyone was six feet or taller. My brother turned me to face the guys with him.

“Dad, Cass, these are my best friends that I’ve told you about. This is Griffin, and Gabe is next to him. The last one in the back is Sean. Guys, this is my dad, Adam, and my pain-in-the-butt sister, Cassidy.” He said the last bit with a grin. I punched him in the side.

“Watch who you call a pain,” I told him.

That made his friends laugh. I saw them up close as they shook Dad’s hand and mine. I liked what I saw. Sean was the last one to shake my hand. As he did, a strange thought entered my head. He would turn out to be someone very different from Gabe and Griff. Why or how? I had no clue. It was just a feeling. Returning his smile, I let our hands slip apart. Now wasn’t the time for acting weird. I wanted them to like me and want to be my brothers, not just Mark’s. All the excitement must be messing with my head.