Corpsman (14 page)

Chapter 21

Liege waited impatiently outside of arrivals. 

What’s taking them so long?
she wondered, checking the time yet again.

“Take it easy, Liege,” Fanny told her. 

Liege nodded and reached out to take Fanny’s hand and give it a squeeze.

She almost didn’t recognize her as she came out of customs.

Oh my God, she’s a woman now!
she thought as she took in the sight of her.

“Leti!” she shouted, jumping up and down and waving her hand.

Liege had seen her sister on camchat, but the little screen on her PA hadn’t been able to fully display the change in Leticia.  The word “blossom” was used too often, but Liege didn’t know of anything better.  Leticia had blossomed, pure and simple.

Leticia looked up, caught her eye, and waved back, then turned to the elderly man beside her to say something.

And Liege’s heart fell.

That elderly man was her Avó, and he looked far, far too old for his years.  The joy in seeing Leticia evaporated like desert dew.

Liege pushed through the waiting people to reach the bars that kept friends and family from customs.  She reached over the bar to hug her sister, squeezing her tight.  She didn’t want to let go.

“Avó, it’s Liege,” Leticia said, pulling her grandfather around.

The old man looked confused for a moment until recognition seemed to dawn in his eyes.

“Criceto,” her grandfather said, “Where have you been?  Your mama’s looking for you.”

Liege’s mouth dropped open, and tears began to form in her eyes.  “Criceto” was an old nickname he used to call her when she was a child.  She’d managed to get a hamster from somewhere, and she’d loved the little rodent.  Her grandfather said she spent so much time with it that they must be sisters, so she must be a criceto, too.

“Now Avó, I told you.  Liege is all grown up.  She’s in the Navy now, and we’re coming to live with her,” Leticia said with a well-seasoned patience.

“But her mama is looking for her,” the old man said.

“How did he. . .” Liege started.

“It hasn’t been good.  He’s slipping.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“For what good?” Leticia asked.  “So you could run home and do what, exactly?  No, you were here doing what you had to do.”

She turned to her grandfather and buttoned the old man’s top shirt button, then brushed off his shoulders. 

Just like mama
, Liege thought. 
My little sister’s become the mother of the family.

“Hi,” Fanny said, reaching across the bar to offer a hand.

“Oh, yeah.  Leti, this is Fanny.  I’ve told you about her.”

“Oh yes, good to meet you.”

“Move it along,” one of the security guards said, sweeping his arm as if to shoo them along.

“Come on, you’re blocking the others,” Liege said. 

She paced them as they reached the end of the barricade and stepped out into the open area.  She took the hovercart with their luggage:  four battered suitcases, representing all their worldly possessions.

“I’m taking three days leave.  Right now, we’re going to get you moved in, and tomorrow, I’ve got Avó his first appointment.  After that, we’ll see what our options are,” she told Leticia as Fanny led the way to the rental hover.

“You’re getting us moved in?” Leticia asked with emphasis on the “us.”

“Uh, yeah, about that.  I wanted to get you closer to the hospital, and I can’t really afford a three-bedroom anywhere near there.  I’ve leased a nice two-bedroom, so both you and Avó have some privacy.”

“I thought we’d all be together here, like you said.  What’s wrong with you and me sharing a room?”

“I know you thought I’d live there with you.  And I’ll be there as much as I can.  The couch is a sleeper, and I can use that.  But there isn’t much room, and I’ve got all my gear, so the first sergeant said I can keep my room in the barracks.  I’ll leave my military gear there, and depending on what’s going on, I might sleep there sometimes.  But I’ll be with you whenever I can.  Just not all the time.”

Leticia seemed about to say something, then made an obvious effort to stop herself.

“What were you about to say?” Liege asked.

“Nothing.”

“No, really.  You need to tell me.”

Fanny turned back to say something, realized there was an issue, and quickly introduced herself to their Avó, taking him by the arm and leading him forward.

“OK, now, what were you going to say?” Liege asked as Fanny moved on ahead.

“I just thought, I mean, since you’ve been gone, it’s been all on me.  I. . .I haven’t had a moment to myself in two years.  And I thought you could finally help me.”

Tears welled in Leticia’s eyes as emotions broke down.

“Oh, Leti,” Liege said, pulling her sister into her arms.  “I am here, and I will be here.  I’m not trying to stay away.  But I’ve got my duties, you know?  I can’t ignore them.  We’re getting Avó his care because of my job, but that means I have my responsibilities.”

“I know,” Leticia mumbled into Liege’s shoulder, hot tears soaking through the jumper Liege had on.  “It’s just, well, you don’t know how bad it’s gotten.  And he knows it sometimes.  He sees his mind slipping away, and he acts out.”

“Has he hurt you?” Liege asked, pushing her sister back so she could see her face.

“He doesn’t mean to,” Leticia said before hurriedly changing the subject.  “And now with moving here, and I don’t know anyone, I. . .I’m afraid.”

The favelas were not the best place to live, but within each small neighborhood, there was a support network.  And Liege had yanked Leticia out of hers.  No wonder she was on edge.

Liege pulled her sister’s head back to her shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, little Leti.  I’m here for you and Avó.  Don’t worry.”

She wasn’t sure how she would juggle her duties as a corpsman and as a caregiver, but she’d somehow figure it out.

Chapter 22

Liege looked down at the Navy Cross hanging from her chest.  For the last four hours, she’d barely given it a glance, not wanting to look vain.  Now, however, sitting at the table at Porcao de Rio, she thought she could risk a quick look.

It was an old design, a bronze cross pattée hanging from a dark blue ribbon with a white stripe running down the middle.  It was not very flamboyant, but there was a long history to it, being one of the two medals that conveyed almost unchanged from the old US Navy and Marines into the Federation armed forces.

The ceremony had been impressive.  The commandant himself, General Joab Ling, had presented it to her in front of a battalion formation.  Liege had felt a little guilty making her battalion go through the hassle of a parade—but only a little. 

She’d been honored by the effort, honored by the award, but perhaps the best part of the day had been when her Avó came up to her immediately following the ceremony. 

At first, Liege had been afraid that he’d say something weird to the commandant, but to her intense joy, he touched the medal hanging from her chest, then said, “Liege, I’m so proud of you.”

It wasn’t much, and perhaps no one other than Leticia noticed it, but it had been a huge step for her grandfather.  He’d only just begun to receive treatment, but it looked like it might have been having an effect.  He still had a long journey in front of him, but for a brief moment, at least, he was back.

And now he was back at the apartment
, she thought guiltily. 
Alone and not with Leti and me.
 

As part of a celebration for her Navy Cross ceremony, Vic had offered to finally take her to Kentville to try that rodizio he’d mentioned after the patron day celebration.  She’d demurred, telling him she had her sister and grandfather to take care of.  In reality, however, she had longed to go.  She wasn’t spending as much time in the apartment as Leticia, but it was already grinding on her.  Between her work and her grandfather, her social life had ground to a halt.

Vic hadn’t accepted her refusal.  Before she quite knew what was happening, he had arranged for a caretaker, and Leticia, Fanny, Pablo, Tyrell, and she were on the maglev heading to the beach.  Liege had protested that she couldn’t afford it, but he insisted it was all on him.

Liege realized that despite their time in the squad together, she didn’t know that much about his personal life.  An oblique question to Fanny let her know that, despite only being a newly promoted corporal, he could afford pretty much whatever he wanted.  She knew she shouldn’t accept.  It was too much no matter how rich he might have been.  But she really needed a break, so she accepted.

They’d checked into the Marine Corps Lodge.  Vic had offered the Hilton, but Liege had put her foot down.  The Lodge was good enough, and far cheaper.  She, Leticia, and Fanny were sharing a room, and she assumed the boys were as well.

She’d wanted to change clothes, but they’d all insisted that they all stay in uniform.  This was a military planet, after all, and it wasn’t every day that someone was awarded a Navy Cross.  Vic had laughed that someone might comp them the meal.  Liege didn’t know about that, but as they waited in the bar for their table, some retired colonel paid for their drinks, and no one thought to card Leticia, who was still two months too young to drink.

Now, after the ceremony and after catching the maglev, she finally had a chance to sit and catch her breath.  She still wasn’t too sure that she wanted to eat, but she had to admit, the smell was pretty enticing.

Porcao de Rio proudly advertised that they served Higgensworth and Griselda.  Higgensworth was Higgensworth of Parker Manor, one of the more famous beef cultures.  Griselda was Sweet Griselda Blue, one of the more famous pork cultures.  Liege had never imagined eating at a restaurant with a patented culture, much less one with two. 

Now, the smell of cooking meat warred with her image of thousands of slabs of living flesh growing in farms around the galaxy.  Higgensworth wasn’t even alive anymore.  The Blue Angus steer had died 50 or more years ago while slabs of his flesh, like eternal zombies, kept marching on.

No one else seemed to have her squeamishness, so she thought her reaction was odd as she was a corpsman, supposedly inured to mangled flesh.  Leticia was sure excited, at least, although that could be due to this being her first social outing in a long, long time.  Liege looked up across to the table to where Leticia was laughing at something Vic had said.  She placed her hand on Vic’s forearm, leaning in to whisper something into his ear.

What?  Is she flirting with him?

Vic whispered something back to her, and she laughed as she leaned back and playfully slapped his shoulder.  Liege watched for a moment longer, but Fanny said something about getting another drink, and Leticia turned from Vic to listen to her.

No, she’s just happy to be out
, Liege decided.

Liege had been a little wary of Tyrell and Leticia coming on the same trip.  She dearly loved the guy, who’d do anything for any one of them, but it was also well understood that he’d fuck a dead dog at the side of the road, if it came to that.  Leticia was still young and still getting used to living on Tarawa, and she could be a little vulnerable. 

A waiter dressed in some sort of gaucho outfit came to the table and explained the process.  Each person had a small wooden cylinder, one side painted green, the other side red.  When they wanted meat, they flipped the cylinder so the green side was up. When they were done, it was red side up.  He then took their drink orders.  For that, Liege didn’t need any explanation.  They might not have rodizios in the favelas, but they have caipirinhas, the lime and rum drink that might have originated in Old Brazil but had spread across the galaxy.

After the explanation, they stood up and went to a very large salad bar.  Liege, not sure how much meat she was going to eat, loaded up on the salad.  Little signs indicated which ingredients were organic and which were fab, but she didn’t have a mental problem with organic veggies and fruits.

As they returned to the table and sat down, Vic kept standing. 

He lifted his glass and said, “This is in honor of our good friend and brother-in-arms Doc Neves, and we’ll get to that, but first, I think we should offer a toast to another brother-in-arms, Chief Warrant Officer Tamara Veal!”

They all stood up and lifted their glasses.  People at several tables surrounding them heard Vic as well, and to a person, they all stood up, lifting their glasses high.

“Here, here!” emerged from a couple of dozen throats.

Liege felt a lump in her throat as she thought about Tamara, but she had already come to terms with what had happened.  She was glad that Vic had thought to remember her.

“And now, to the reason for the season:  to HM3 Liege Neves, our squadmate, our friend, in honor of being awarded the Navy Cross today, we salute you!”

“Ooh-rah!” shouted her squadmates, joined by at least half of the tables in the restaurant.

Liege reddened, embarrassed by the attention.

“He’s going to get someone to pick up the tab for sure now,” Fanny said to Liege.  “Smart guy.”

“OK, OK, sit down,” Liege insisted.

She tried to focus on her salad, but she was extremely conscious of the eyes on her.  No one approached her, thank goodness, but every time she looked up, someone caught her eye and lifted a glass in congratulations.

A gaucho-slash-waiter approached Liege, a flat wooden platter with a huge piece of beef ribs balanced on one arm.  Liege glanced at her little wooden cylinder, but it was still red side up.

“Ma’am, this is our specialty, costela.  Normally, this is by request only, but we’d like to offer it to you now.”

Liege was hoping for her first piece of meat not to look so, well, like meat.  The attentive waiter was looking expectantly at her, and she didn’t want to seem ungrateful, so she just nodded and moved her salad plate to the side.

He quickly sliced off a fatty-looking piece of meat and laid it on her plate.  Then he went around the table giving everyone else a piece.

“Say hello to Higgensworth!” Pablo said, looking down at the meat with covetous eyes.

Liege considered just sort of pushing the meat to the side, but she realized everyone was watching her, waiting for her to take a bite so they could begin.  She cut a tiny piece of the beef, looked at it closely, took a deep breath, and took the plunge.  She put the meat in her mouth. . .

. . .and it freaking melted!  The taste assaulted her tongue, and she looked up at Vic in surprise.

“Not too grubbing bad, huh?”

“No, this is good!” she said, taking another bite.

Two hours later, stuffed to the gills with picanha, fraldinha, ancho, costeleta de cordeiro, and more cuts that she couldn’t remember, and after more than a few caipirinhas, she was in love.  She was in love with her ancestral culture, even if she had to travel to Tarawa to discover it, and she was in love with a 50-year-gone Blue Angus steer—her new boyfriend, Higgensworth of Parker Manor.  All hints of squeamishness were gone.  It wasn’t as if the steer had been actually slaughtered for her pleasure.  What she had eaten was simple cloned tissue, nothing more.  At least that was how she reasoned it. The truth of the matter was that it was just so freaking delicious.  She didn’t know if she’d ever have enough money to make Higgensworth’s acquaintance very often, but for tonight, she was happy.

And Fanny had been right.  Whether Vic had planned it that way or not, the restaurant refused payment. 

She gave out a loud burp, pleased with the volume of it. Fanny tried to follow suit, but what she got out would have embarrassed a mouse, much less a hard-charging Marine.

“Amateur,” she told Fanny, patting her full stomach.

Across the table, Leticia was deep into conversation with Vic, who had that sparkle in his eyes that Liege well knew.  He wanted to get into Leticia’s panties, that was pretty obvious.  But she also knew that Vic was an honorable guy.  She could trust him.

But can I trust Leti?

“Hey, are we still going to the Deacon’s Hat?” Pablo asked.

Liege groaned.  The Deacon’s Hat was a well-known dance club, and they had planned on checking it out after dinner.  But that was before they’d put away a couple of tons each of beef, pork, and lamb.

“Of course we are, right?” Leticia asked, looking around at the others.

“If you want to go, then m’lady shall be granted her wish,” Vic said with a horrible medieval accent.

Really?  That’s all you got?
Liege wondered.

She was really too full to dance at the moment, but they only had one night in Kentville, and then they’d be back to the grind.  She’d regret it if she simply went back to the room and collapsed on the bed.

“If they’ve got caipirinhas there, I’m up for it.  Heck, if they’ve got beer there, I’m up for it,” she said.  “But first, back to the lodge.  If I’m going to shake my ass, I’ve got to get out of this uniform and into something a wee bit more comfortable.”

She got up to the cheers of the rest.  Vic put down a pretty hefty tip, and they all started to file out of the restaurant.

“Thanks, Vic, for all of this.  I appreciate it,” she said, pulling him aside.

“Don’t worry about it.  It’s been my pleasure, really, my pleasure.”

If he glanced quickly at Leticia while he said “pleasure,” Liege let it slide.  Tonight was too good a night to worry about possibilities.  Tonight was to celebrate the present.