#Zhenou castain

[soldiergirlscorned]

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch. 8

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch. 8

1950

           Rio jumped onto the desk in Captain Lester’s classroom as the freshmen filed out. Some of them looked at the women with awe written across their faces and Rio had to wonder whether it was because of who Rio was or because she was a senior getting ready to leave. With freshmen she never knew.

Captain Lester closed the door after the last freshman scampered from the room, “You’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Yep.”

“You going to miss us?”

“No,” but Rio’s voice was already breaking.

Captain Lester held his arms out and his TA ran into them. The both of them stayed silent for a minute, listening to the familiar ticking of the clock and the whirling of the fan.

“Thank you,” Rio said, “For everything.”

Lester laughed, “I should be saying that to you. I’ve relied on you for three and a half years now. I’m going to have to find more cheap labor once you’re gone.”

“I already have a list of people for you to look at.”

“Still trying to take care of me?”

“A little.”

Lester let go of her, and started for the desk, “Well, you’ll still be some help for me, either way.”

“Why is that?” The captain smiled and pulled a large book out of the drawer. “This has been added to the reading curriculum. I am required to teach the book to every freshman.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Sergeant Richlin, you are part of the West Point curriculum.”

“You have to teach all of the book?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Could you…uh…no one really needs to study…you know.”

“We can gloss over Tunis.”

“Thank God.”

“Speaking of relationships: is your husband coming?”

Rio nodded, but her eyes didn’t leave the ground, “Not every day your wife graduates college. Let alone West Point.”

“Everything okay?”

Rio shrugged, “He’s a little…upset. I did go to college when he didn’t. Let alone one that everyone knows by name. But he’s putting on a brave face. He’s wondering what’s next for me. Or for us. I can’t really be in the army in Gedwell Falls. At least not to the extent that I’ve been trained for. So, we may move. Or we may stay. I might work or I might not.”

“He doesn’t want you to work?”

Rio laughed, “In his mind, West Point was just an excuse to put off having a baby. So, to him, we’ve waited four years and that’s long enough. He wants a kid and he thinks that me working will distract from that. Or make it harder to actually get pregnant.”

“That scares you.”

“To Hell and back.”

“You all will figure it out.”

Rio swiped her foot across the floor, “I hope so.”

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“Look at you!” Zhen wrapped her arms around her friend. “You look hot!”

“I’m wearing my dress uniform, Zhen. I’m not supposed to look hot.”

“Take the compliment.”

Rio laughed.

Zhen let go of Rio and Richlin walked to her husband, “You made it.”

Strand shrugged, kissing her on the cheek, “Of course, I did. You’re my wife. And, I also can’t wait to bring you home.”

Rio tried to laugh, and also tried not to look behind her at the imposing buildings that felt more like home than the comfy house waiting in California.

“Hey, Richlin!” someone called and Rio waved.

Strand stared at her for a moment, “I didn’t realize you went by your maiden name here.”

Before she could respond, Zhen grabbed Rio and turned her around, “So, I did something.”

“That’s scary.”

Zhen shrugged, “I just made some calls. And promised you’d buy a few drinks.”

“What?”

“Richlin!!” Richlin was raised up onto a shoulder.

“Geer?!” Rio shrieked, holding onto his head as he paraded around, holding her on his shoulder.

A small crowd of familiar faces from Geer and BeeBee to Milkmaid were there. And Sergeant Cole.

When Geer puts her down, all she can do is stare at him.

“You look good, Richlin. Those stripes fit you.”

Richlin beamed more than when she had received her diploma, “Thanks, Sarge. That means a lot.”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Geer called. “We have to go celebrate!”

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Strand sat in a booth full of Army people in a crowded bar on the edge of town. Everyone had seemed to have the same thought and had eventually ended up at the bar. Rio occasionally had to break from the conversation to hug a graduate good-bye or to promise to stay in touch. Captain Lester eventually joined the group, saying he had gotten a call when he got home to meet them here (Zhen was busy talking to Geer when Rio had looked in her direction). Now, he stood amongst her old platoon looking very comfortable laughing and telling stories.

Lester laughed at a story Geer said, “You don’t have to tell me that! I remember one time that she came into my class and immediately said ‘Look, I’m hungover, so I’m not doing anything and I’m curling up beneath your desk’.”

“What did you say to that?” Zhen asked.

“I asked her how she got through PT that day and she just turned green.”

Everyone roared with laughter.

Eventually, Rio was able to escape to the bar and was joined by no one other than Molina.

“What are you doing now, Molina?” Richlin asked, leaning against the bar.

Molina shrugged, “I have a husband. A one year old. I work as a teacher in the local elementary school.”

“That’s good. How do you like being a mom?”

Molina smiled, “I love it. He’s just perfect. He gets so excited about anything new…I just want to show him the world.”

“If you don’t mind me asking: how do you manage to have a job and a kid?”

Molina grimaced, “It’s hard. Really hard. Both jobs are so demanding. I wish I had help, but I can’t afford it. Occasionally, I can get my husband to put him to sleep if I’m grading papers, but…mostly it’s just me. The schedule helps though.”

Rio looked down as her drink that she had just ordered as Molina studied her, “I don’t know how anyone would handle a job with a more demanding schedule. They would need their spouse to help support the child a lot.”

Rio nodded.

“Strand seems nice.”

Again, Molina’s old, confident sergeant nodded.

“He has also brought up kids four times since we’ve been here.”

Rio finally looked up at her, “Yes, he has.”

Molina continued to study her, “What do you want to do, Sarge?”

“Sometimes it doesn’t matter what I think.”

Molina’s face twisted, “That’s not what my sergeant would have said.”

“Your sergeant wasn’t married. I have another person that I have to take care of.”

“Sure. Just as long as you’re still taking care of yourself. If you’re not happy with having a child, then don’t have one. And there’s nothing worse than having a mom that didn’t want you. If you can’t love that child completely, then do it a favor and don’t get pregnant.”

Richlin looked up at someone who used to be her inferior, and Molina stared back with absolute certainty, “I may not know you very well, Richlin, but I do know your sense of duty is strong. So, you have to pick which duty you’re going to fulfill: the duty to your husband or the duty to yourself and your unborn child.”

Richlin turned back to the bar, “I don’t think I could fulfill that duty to him even if I tried. When I went to West Point for my senior year I found out that I was pregnant. I was so close to graduating and I didn’t know if I wanted it and I knew Strand would try to force me to come home and…I panicked. I had an anxiety attack and woke up in the hospital and….”

Molina looked down, “I see. It happens to a lot of women. That extra stress can sometimes cause…problems with the pregnancy.”

Rio didn’t look at Molina as she whispered in the crowded bar, “I never told Strand.”

Molina studied the sergeant for a while, but Richlin suddenly perked herself up, “Come on, Milkmaid. Enough heavy talk. Let’s go back to the others.”

Then, Rio slipped across the bar and sat down in the booth, sliding into her husband’s embrace.

[soldiergirlscorned]

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch 7

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch 7

“You mean to tell me that you’ve been living with a man that you aren’t married to for two months and have not told me or your father?”

Rio recognized that tone of voice, even with her and her mother only connected through a phone over the whole country. She was in big trouble, and no amount of cajoling or avoiding would get her out of it.

“Yes, Mom. That’s…exactly what has happened.”

“Have you lost your mind?”

“No, ma’am.”

“So, what have you lost?” Rio tried not to smile at the opening, but her mother continued, “Your dignity? Your common sense?” The ability to not enjoy being in bed with a man.

“It didn’t really start like that, Mom. He just needed a place to stay, so I let him stay with me. I think it was your voice that reminded me that putting a friend up in a hotel is rude.”

“He’s a single man and you’re a divorced woman!”

Rio heard the front door open and Jack’s voice rang out, “I’m home!”

“In the kitchen!” she yelled back, covering the mouth-piece so that her mother wouldn’t hear as she continued on her motherly tirade. As he came closer she whispered to him, “My mother found out that a man moved into my house.”

Jack gasped, “A man? Here? You better kick him out. There will be a scandal.”

Rio laughed as he gathered her into his arms, “She’s particularly mad that she hasn’t met him yet.”

“Well, then tell her we’ll come.”

“What? To California?”

“Yeah! It’ll be fun. We can meet your parents and go see Zhenou.” “Jack….”

But he had already grabbed the phone from her hands, “Hello, is this Mrs. Richlin? This is Jack Stafford…. Yes ma’am. I realize that I should have asked your permission. There’s no excuse for that. I’d like to make it right. Are you and Mr. Richlin free the weekend after next? Great! You see, I just got a job in town as a real estate agent.”

Rio’s head snapped up and a smile spread across her face.

“Why, thank you, Mrs. Richlin, I appreciate that. Yes, well the job also means I just came into some sizable funds. I’ll buy some airplane tickets and Rio and I will come stay with you all…. Yes ma’am, I understand. You could give me a pillow and blanket on the porch and that would be fine by me.” Jack laughed at something Rio’s mother said, “Alright, ma’am. We will see you soon. What’s that? Yes ma’am, I’ll tell her to wear a dress.”

Rio rolled her eyes as Jack hung up.

“You got the job,” she said as soon as he hung the phone back up on the wall.

“Yes, I did.”

Rio kissed him, “That’s fantastic, Jack!”

“Thank you, love.”

“We should go out and celebrate!”

“I’d rather go upstairs and celebrate there.” Jack was already significantly closer and Rio’s insides instantly twisted in the best way she knew.

She grabbed his hand, and pulled him forward, “I suppose we could also make up for the time we’ll lose while in California.”

Jack followed her, “I reckon we should.”

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“And I told Mrs. Winkler, you know I told her! But she wouldn’t listen, the poor women! And she just kept on talking with Mrs. Stickle!” Mrs. Richlin said, walking arm in arm with Jack listening attentively to her.

“No! After you told her not to?!”

“Yes! Yes, can you believe it?”

“No!”

Mrs. Richlin nodded, “I’m afraid we won’t see her at church for a while now.”

Rio’s father shook his head, “We best remember to not let those two out of our sights.”

Rio nodded, “Yes. Who knew cranberry pie could be so damning.”

Mr. Richlin leaned close to his daughter, whispering, “It was really good.”

“Better than Mom’s?”

He just held a finger to his mouth and laughed.

“Now, Jack, honey.” Mrs. Richlin carried on in a louder voice that she knew would carry to her daughter, “We must have a serious conversation about something. I told you to tell Rio to wear a dress.”

“Well, ma’am. I told her, but in the end I wasn’t going to force her into it. That would be improper.”

“Well. I’m just glad one of you has their finger on what is proper or not.” Mrs. Richlin looked at her daughter over her shoulder as they continued to walk to the car from the terminal.

“Yes, well, her skirt is very pretty, don’t you think, Mrs. Richlin?” Jack tried to defend her.

“Hmm. Seems a little too tight for my taste.”

Rio smirked as Jack turned to look at her. The tight-fitting skirt showed off her figure and she was certain that was why Jack liked it.

Rio’s dad shook his head, before raising his voice so his wife could hear him, “Well, honey. At least we know that, no matter how far Rio goes to find them, you will always be her toughest adversary.”

Mrs. Richlin turned her nose up at him.

“Well. If you think I’m bad, just wait till we get home. The people waiting for us there are much worse.”

Rio stopped in the middle of the pick-up line of the garage, before her father pulled her along, “What people?” “The whole neighborhood is coming to see you! You’ve only been gone for five years! They want to make sure you’re still alive! And with your…profession no one can really blame them. And they wanted to meet your future second husband!”

Jack looked down at his girlfriend’s mother, “Oh, Mrs. Richlin. We’re not engaged.”

She patted his arm, “Yes, you will need to fix that.”

“Mother!” Rio gasped, but Jack just smiled.

“Indeed, I should ma’am. Let me open the car door for you!”

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The boy landed at Rio’s feet when she got out of the car, football tightly in hand. He couldn’t have been more than six years old with his gap-toothed smile and crazy hair. Rio had to admit that he looked just like his father.

“Well, look at you. You must be Strand.”

The boy got to his feet, “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

“No. You don’t. I’m— “

“Strand!” the woman called from the Richlins’ front door, “Come and—oh.” She made her way to the boy and older woman, placing her hands on her son’s shoulders, “Junior, did you say hello to the Colonel?”

“You’re a Colonel?” the boy latched onto the word.

“I am.” Rio smiled.

“Wow. Have you ever fired a gun? Have you ever killed anyone?”

Rio shifted uncomfortably. These questions were exactly why she had not wanted a child. The child didn’t seem to mind her not answering though. He continued on, “My dad says I’m not allowed to have a gun. He said no normal person should ever touch one.”

“I suppose that’s why I have my job then, don’t I?”

The newer Mrs. Braxton, with all her pretty curls and frills and pearls, tightened her hold on her son, “Come on, Junior, let’s go get you some food.”

“But I want to talk to the Colonel!”

“The Colonel has other people to talk to.” She pulled him quickly towards the door, “Leave that filthy ball outside.”

Rio watched the two of them climb the steps, not taking her eyes off them even when Jack’s hand came to lay on her hip.

“So, that’s Strand’s kid.” It was a statement that left Jack’s lips, but Rio still nodded, “He seems nice. Completely mixed priorities though. Who would want to talk to you when there’s food?”

Rio laughed, hitting his shoulder, “Come on. I’ll introduce you to people.”

But Rio soon lost track of Jack in the crowd of people who wanted to talk to her. She had just managed to duck away from her old neighbor when she saw him and the man standing by the stairs to the backyard from the porch. Rio didn’t have any time before her ex-husband asked if the red-headed man was Jack, reared back, and punched Jack. Jack went flying down the stairs, landing harshly on his back.

Before Strand could walk down the stairs and continue the fight, Rio was twisting him, pushing him away from the man trying to get up. She brought her fist down on his cheek before bringing her shoulder to his stomach, knocking him into a table that broke under his weight.

“Rio!” Jack called. Rio turned sharply at the sound of his voice to see him sitting up. The silence in the air was palpable

She took one more look at the stunned Strand before stiffly walking to her boyfriend, picking up his cane from the bottom of the stairs. “Are you okay?”

Jack smiled, a bruise already forming on his cheek, “I’m fine, love. I’ve had worse.”

Rio looked down at the cane in her hands, “I suppose so.”

“Strand?” Mrs. Braxton asked, trying to pick her husband up from the ground.

“Lucy,” Rio turned towards the woman, “I think it’s time for you all to go home.”

She nodded, “Yes, I think so too. I’m sorry, he just…he just wanted to come.”

Jack now stood beside her, watching as Rio shook her hands out with unleashed energy, “Mrs. Richlin,” he called, picking Rio’s mother out in a crowd, “Rio and I are going for a walk. We’ll be back soon.”

Mrs. Richlin looked at the mess the fight had produced before studying her daughter, “I think that would be best.”

Jack took Rio back towards the barn and away from the people, “Are you alright?”

“I should be the one asking you that, Jack.” Rio stepped over a stump in the high grass.

“But still?”

Rio shook her head, “I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, Rio.” They both stopped, staring at their intertwined hands, “I don’t want you to feel like you can’t tell me the truth.”

She looked up at him, “I was so scared. And angry. I don’t know why he…. He just attacked you. He pushed you down those stairs and your cane was out of reach and something just snapped.”

Jack gathered her to him as she started to shake. “I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to punch the brains out of his skull. You were…you were….” Rio’s eyes took on a far-off look.

“In the same position, I was with the sniper.” The same sniper that had almost costed him a leg and his life.

“I’ll kill him. I will.” Jack shook his head, dragging her by her arms into a barn.

“Stop. Stop. Rio, you’re not in an open war zone.” She continued to shake, “You’re safe. I’m safe. Love, look at me.” He took her face in her hands, “It’s just a bruise. I’m alright.” The shaking started to subside. “I’m alright. I’m here, with you. We’re in California. We don’t have guns. There’s no one chasing us. You’re safe. I’m safe. Okay?”

Rio nodded, her face still gently held in his hands.

“We’re fine.” Jack smiled, lessening the tension in the air like he always did, “Your ex is just an ass.”

Rio smiled a little before her lips met his, “You are the best man in the world.”

Jack smiled back, “And do you have any proof of that, Colonel Richlin?”

Rio’s smiled melted into a warm, knowing smirk. She walked Jack backward with a hand on his chest until his back was up against a column of the old barn. She whispered into his ear, her hands running down his body, “I suppose I’ll have to prove it to you.”

Jack’s eyes lit up, even as he looked around, “We’re in a barn, Rio.”

“We are.”

“Your parents barn.”

Rio hummed in agreement.

“Someone could walk in at any moment.”

“And they would be hit with the fact that I am completely and utterly yours.” She yanked on his pants, “Don’t worry, baby. You don’t have to worry about my modesty.” She got down on her knees in front of him, “Just yours.”

M SCENE

“Rio, Rio, Rio!” Jack’s voice got higher as Rio took more of him into her mouth.

She stroked him in her hand as she smiled up at him, “Shh, babe! Or else the whole neighborhood is going to know what is happening.”

Jack groaned, resting his head on the column, “You’ve gone through a lot to make sure I’m alive just to slowly kill me.”

Rio laughed around him.

“I’m serious, you wicked woman.” His hand went to her hair, “Look at you. Oh, love. You are, you are one wicked woman. Doing this to me with everyone just a way away. It’s like you want to get caught. Your ex probably hasn’t even left yet. Oh, Jesus. Do that again. Yes. Rio. Rio.”

He continued to talk to her the whole time, telling her everything that could come to mind. He told her how much he loved what she did, how much he loved her. And then he finished, Rio taking all that she could.

M SCENE DONE

“Jesus.” Jack rested his head against the column.

Rio got up, wiping her mouth, “Nope, just me.”

Jack laughed, “You’re definitely something heavenly.”

Rio smirked, cleaning the hay off her knees, “I would have thought that you would say something from the other region.”

Jack took her face in his hands again, “Do you feel better now? Are you okay to go back?”

Her hands covered his as much as they could, “Yeah. I’m good. I’ve blown off some steam.”

Jack smiled, “Wicked woman.”

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“The love birds are here!” Zhenou looked amazing. Her dress was so in fashion that it looked like she had just walked off the runway to welcome them to her home. Her hair was curled and the hand that held her martini glass was pampered and manicured. Zhen was living life to the fullest. Especially when Rio considered the quite handsome man and the huge, modern house behind her.

Rio smiled, “Hello, love.”

Zhen hugged her tightly, Rio feeling the breast that had been removed. Just another reminder of how she could not protect the people she loved.

“Love? What are you? British, now?” Zhenou let her go, “At least half British because here’s her better half!”

Jack enveloped her in his arms, lifting her friend off the ground. Zhen laughed, “Careful! Don’t crush the baby!”

“Baby?” Rio’s eyes went wide.

Zhen cradled her drink, “This baby.”

Rio laughed, “Well, if that’s a baby, I want one too.”

Zhen jumped, “Yes! You do!

“Now, I’m sorry, Jack. But I haven’t seen my friend in ages.”

“Say no more. I hear you have a swimming pool.”

“Thomas will take you there.” Zhenou was already dragging Rio away and into the kitchen. She started putting together a drink as Rio sat at the breakfast bar. Zhen looked at her, eyes gleaming, even as she poured too much liquor into the glass, “How’s work?”

Rio rolled her eyes, “You don’t want to know about my work life.”

“No. No, I don’t.” Zhen put the drink down in front of Rio with a resolute sound, “Spill.”

[soldiergirlscorned]

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch. 9

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch. 9

Rio and Jack had fallen into a routine. Jack got up before Rio, kissing her awake with a cup of coffee, then they got ready together. They talked about their days and what they were having for dinner. Jack would try to persuade Rio to get a dog and they would leave the house. Jack would go show people houses and Rio would head to her office. Then, after work they came home, Jack getting there before Rio. They would make dinner, clean up together, and then usually participate in some late-night activities. Sometimes, they would go out to the bars with their neighbors, but usually it was spent under the covers whispering about their days. Jack would talk about the strange people he showed houses to and complications with prices. Rio would talk of colonels and greenies alike making trouble.

They liked their routine. Liked the simplicity and natural feel to it. And it did feel natural. It felt like they had done it their whole lives, even if it had only been a few months since Jack had stepped back onto the US.

But, one day Jack wasn’t home when Rio got there. She looked for a note from him explaining his absence, thinking about how they needed milk last night. What she found was his handwriting written on a scrap piece of paper on the counter, reading: “Needed to take care of something of national importance. I will be back later. PS: turn over”.

Rio flipped the paper over, to see another note: “Fooled ya.”

She shook her head, laughing a little, before opening the cabinets to see about dinner.

Jack was probably dealing with the Roberts’ house, which had magically sprung a leak the day before closing.

However, when Jack came home, Rio realized that he had most definitely not been dealing with the Roberts.

The door opened, but Jack’s voice didn’t ring out like it usually did.

“Jack?” she asked, heading towards the hall.

The only response was the sound of paws clacking unevenly on the hard-wood floor.

A dog, with his nose down to the ground sniffed around the hallway before going towards her. It was an older looking German Shepherd, probably around seven years old, jogged towards her. On second inspection, Rio realized that the dog was missing one of his back legs.

Rio’s hand automatically went to pet his head, even if her eyes were raising towards the man smiling at her.

“John Stafford. What did you do?”

He continued to smile, “I figured we didn’t have enough one-legged veterans in the house. This is Mickey. He was a K9 unit dog before…you know. One of my clients worked with these types of dogs. He said Mickey needed a good home or they were going to put him down.”

Their eyes stayed locked on each other. Mickey sat down and used one of his front paws to get Rio’s attention.

She continued to scratch at the dog’s ears, “You should have asked me.”

“I know,” Jack shifted, his hands nervously playing with his cane, “But I wanted to ask you something else. Check his tags.”

Rio raised her eyes to his for a minute, before looking at the collar around his neck. Hanging from them was the regular bone-shaped tags, showing his name and a phone number, but also hanging from it was a ring. A diamond ring that sparkled in the light from the windows.

“Jack?”

She looked up at him as he neared her, “I can’t get on one knee, so I can’t do this the right way, but I wanted to know…. Well, you see Rio, I wanted to know if you might want to marry me.”

The words were rushed, and clearly driven by nerves, and Jack smiled disappointedly, “I had a whole speech prepared and that’s what comes out. Stupendous.”

Rio laughed through the happy tears, hoping none of them spilled out of her eyes, “You crazy gimp.”

She stood, the dog following her as she strode to wrap Jack in her arms, “I’d marry you even what you said didn’t make sense.”

Jack smiled, his lips nearing hers, before backing up like he had just remembered something, “Is that a yes?”

Rio laughed, “Yes! That’s a yes!”

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“Jack Stafford, I see you feeding that dog under the table.”

Jack’s hand flew up, hitting the edge of the table. He looked at her guiltily, “No, I’m not.”

Rio laughed loudly, her hand flying up to cover her mouth to keep the unladylike sounds from coming out.

Jack’s smile lit up with genuine pleasure, “You told me when I first came to the house that you hadn’t really laughed in a long time. I promised you that I would make up for that lost time. Do you think I’ve done that?”

Rio looked down at the ring that had sat on her finger for only two hours now before getting up. She pushed Jack’s chair away from the table before crawling into his lap, her legs on either side of his and their chests pressed up against each other. She took her finance’s face in her hands, “Undoubtedly.”

Their lips met in a way that could have started a wildfire, and in fact did. Rio’s lips moved to Jack’s throat and they both groaned as Jack’s hips jumped up to meet her own. Rio grabbed onto Jack’s shirt, pulling him towards her before grinding her hips down to hers.

She was panting by the time she pulled away from the kiss, her hips still moving against his, “You’re going to regret this dog, Jack Stafford.”

“O-oh?” was all he managed to get out.

Rio nodded, a light blush appearing on her cheeks, “Because I’m not going to let you undress me while he’s staring at us.”

Jack’s head snapped towards the dog, who’s tail thumped on the floor, watching his new owners with delight. Jack groaned as his hands went to Rio’s ass, making her stop, “I suppose that’s a good thing, because I have a confession to make.”

Rio’s head cocked to the side, but she said nothing.

Jack smiled a little, “I have to admit that I did plan the reveal around one particular event.”

“What’s that?”

Jack’s forehead rested against hers, “It’s Wednesday.”

And, as if on cue, the phone rang.

Rio’s eyes lit up, “You diabolical man.”

Jack patted Rio’s leg, “Go. Go tell Zhen.”

Rio gave him one last kiss before going to pick up what was most certainly going to be a long call.

[soldiergirlscorned]

The 119th future plans and what will actually happen RIO
EXPECTATION: She fully intends on doing what her mother told her she would do. Get married (most likely to Strand), have kids, an hang up the gun.
WHAT HAPPENS: She stays in Europe for a while after the war. There are so many people that felt the sting of war and she wants to help. After that she works in the military, but in the states this time. She works through the Cold War. Eventually, she marries Jack and they have beautiful twin girls. They follow their parents into military service. 
JACK 
EXPECTATION: Goes back to Britain after the war and live a quiet life. 
WHAT HAPPENS: His life is nothing but loud. When he’s not chasing his girls around or making his wife laugh, he’s giving talks about the wars, raising money for the military, and supporting women in the army (how could he not).
ZHENOU 
EXPECTATION: Dies in the war 
WHAT HAPPENS: Ha. Psych! This girl outlives them all, with a successful career as an author. Her and Cat live in an apartment in NYC near Rainy.
CAT 
EXPECTATION: Opinionated Cat lady 
WHAT HAPPENS: talk about a ladies lady. Seriously, her war talks get her a long way with the ladies. Even into a couple of beds. 
STICK: 
EXPECTATION: Long career in the military. 
WHAT HAPPENED: Unfortunately, Stuck gave his life for his country before the war ends. He gave up his life so that his friends/his family could get away. There is no better way Stick could think to die.
GEER: 
EXPECTATION: Becomes a successful businessman. 
WHAT HAPPENED: War takes its toll in certain ways. Geer ends up assaulting a man for talking shit about women in the army, especially black women. He’s in jail for two years before the rest of the 119th manages to pull him out. 
RAINY 
EXPECTATION: Leads an exceptional career as a spy. 
WHAT HAPPENS: Exactly that. She also ends up with the biggest family of them all. Five beautiful, multilingual, rambunctious kids and a more than happy husband. 
FRANGIE 
EXPECTATION: Goes back to Tulsa and starts a job. Doesn’t end up as doctor. 
WHAT HAPPENED: She starts to do that, but a year after the war, Rainy and Rio show up at her doorstep. Turns out, the only thing that was needed to get Frangie into medical school was a forged high school diploma (courtesy of Rainy) and a threat to show up with a gun at the school (courtesy of Rio). She becomes a successful surgeon 
BEEBEE: 
EXPECTATION: Goes on to live a quiet life 
WHAT HAPPENS: Well, quiet in a way. This scavenger becomes a successful broker for the United States. He spends a lot of his time glaring at foreign diplomats across the table

[soldiergirlscorned]

The 119th Headcannons

-Everyone knows Rainy and Frangie are in the squad. It's an unwritten rule. -They have Miss Lion, but after Rio finds a dog in the woods and Frangie takes a thorn out of its paw he won't stop following them. They name him Mister Wolf. -The 119th has a rule: they can be mean o each other, but others can't. This rule has started many a fight. -The 119th hates Strand. Why? He's not Jack, therefore he's not good enough for Rio. -They will also do anything to get Jack and Rio together. -Don't tell me that they have jam sessions when they're marching from one place to another. -They make up the lyrics and even some of the instruments which makes them the best acapella squad in the division. -They may or not have choreographed their songs. -Zhenou is the best singer. -They still hold Richlin's Raid over Rio from back in boot camp. -After the war, they travel the globe before settling down in different parts of the US. -They still get together every year though. Every year. -They have kids and grow old, but never forget the war and what it brought them.

[soldiergirlscorned]

Ok, but kudos to Stick for telling Rio that she couldn't win the war by herself.

[soldiergirlscorned]

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch 6

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch. 6

“Hi. I’m your roommate. Who are you?” the woman that slammed the door open had quickly flung a bag onto the bed and turned on Rio. Rio’s mother made a sound of disapproval, but did not comment on the women’s bad manners.

Rio, on the other hand smiled, “Staff Sergeant Rio Richlin. You are?”

“Corporal Dianne Dyland.”

Rio smiled at the familiar name, “Well, if you turn out to be like another Dianne I know, you’re going to be one hell of a woman.”

“What an odd thing to say,” Dyland mused.

Zhen’s head tilted, “You really don’t know who you’re talking to, do you?”

“Zhen!”

“Where are you from? Obviously, I need to market there better.”

Dianne’s face wrinkled in confusion, “Market? Are you selling her?”

Rio answered ‘yes’ the same time Zhen said ‘no’. They both paused and looked at each other. Then Zhen looked back at Dianne, “I wrote a book about her and a couple other people during the war.”

Dianne nodded, “Okay…I guess. I haven’t heard of it.”

“Which means we’ll probably get along just fine,” Rio assured her.

Zhen smiled a little, “When she walked into the dorm people stared at her. She doesn’t much like attention.”

Someone knocked on the open door. A bright eyed, yellow haired sergeant interrupted the conversation before it could get any more awkward by saluting, “Hello, ladies. I was sent to invite all the beautiful women to a party to start the year off right.” His eyes flicked to Zhen, “You, lovely, are more than welcome to come. It’s supposed to be students only, but…you’re very much invited.” He winked at her, saluted Rio again, and left.

“Well…I suppose I could stay a little longer,” Zhenou wagged her eyes at Rio.

“Yes, I would say he fits the bill for you.”

“Except the sergeant part. Sergeants are all terrible.”

“Thanks, Zhen.”

“Welcome.”

(*&*)?><<>??><<>??><<>??><<>???><<<>???><<>??><<<>??><<>???><<<>??><<<>??><<<>??

“No, seriously, I don’t like parties.” Dianne threw up her hands even though the two friends couldn’t see her.

“How long were you in the war again?” Zhen asked over her shoulder.

Dianne shrugged, “Six months.”

Both Zhen and Rio made a sound of realization.

“You should have joined during North Africa.” Rio turned around and walked backwards as she pointed at her roommate.

“That was where the party was.” Zhen nodded in agreement.

“Ladies!” the blonde corporal showed up again, throwing his arms open, “I did not realize when I invited you all earlier that I was talking to army royalty!”

Rio snorted under her breath as the man took her hand and kissed it, “It’s an honor to meet you, Sergeant Richlin.”

He looked down at the hand he still clasped between his and saw the ring placed as it always was, “Or Sergeant…”

“Braxton, but Richlin is fine.”

The corporal smiled, “Are you sure it’s not Stafford?”

Rio pulled her hand away from his. “I’m sure if you know me, you know my friend Zhenou.”

“It’s still Castain, by the way.” Zhenou willingly placed her hand in his.

The corporal’s eyebrows went up, “Charmed.”

“And this is my roommate, Corporal Dianne Dyland.”

“Welcome, ladies! Drinks are inside! No bar fights, please.” He laughed as if he had made the funniest joke in the world and left.

“I am seriously confused.” Dianne decided to fit in.

Rio smiled, “Isn’t everyone?”

When they entered the house, it rang full of cheers and clapping.

(*&*)?><<>??><<>??><<<>??><<>??><<>??><<>??><<>??><<>???><<>??><<>???><<>???><<<

Rio jumped onto Captain Lester’s desk and took the apple that was on his desk, “Morning.”

Lester looked up from where he was sorting through his filing cabinets. It being the end of the school year, he was trying to get his classroom in order. His TA did not seem to be interested in helping as she bit into hisapple.

He crossed the room, taking the apple and throwing it in the garbage, “You know,” he said, good-naturedly, “I let you be my TA, despite being a freshman, because you did exceedingly well in my first semester class, and I thoughtyou would help me.”

“Alright, alright. What do you need?”

He handed her a stack of papers, “Grading key is on the top. When is your husband coming to get you?”

“Strand? He’s not coming.”

“Who’s helping you clean out your dorm?”

“No one. It’s just me.”

Lester turned away to the file cabinets so she wouldn’t see his face, “Is someone coming to help Dianne?”

“Sure. She’s got her parents and two of her siblings coming. And her boyfriend.”

Rio didn’t seem to care that she would be one of the only people going home from her first year of college alone. Maybe she thought that since she lived so far, it was fine that her family wasn’t going to be there, that her husband didn’t want to help her move out.

“What’s it going to be like when you get home?”

Rio shrugged, “Probably the same old thing. Cooking, waiting. At least now I can train or run since I’ll have nothing else to do.”

Lester smiled, “You’ll probably be the only student coming back more fit than when you left.”

Rio snorted.

“I’ll do fine.” It wasn’t until Lester turned to look at her that she looked away, “It…it can’t be that bad.”

(*&*)?><<>??><<>??><<>??><<>??><<>??><<>??><<>??><<>??><<<>??><<>??><<>??><<>??>

Strand did not pick her up at the airport. It was Zhen. Rio had told Strand in their weekly call what time she would be coming home, and he had asked what she would make for dinner that night. She had laughed off the discomfort she felt, “Whatever you want, Strand.”

But Zhen had been the one to pick her up at the airport, jumping up and down as she held a sign saying, “Staff Sergeant Smartass.”

Now, Zhen was swinging Rio’s front door open with her foot, letting it bang into the wall behind it, “Honey, we’re home!”

“Zhen!” Rio reprimanded, following her friend into the house. She walked with one of her many bags over her shoulder into the kitchen to see Strand sitting at the kitchen table with two of his friends. All three of them had beers in their hands despite it being just before noon. Rio smiled as best she could, “Hello, gentlemen.”

Strand smiled at her, “Hey, babe.”

Rio walked up to him, bent over (despite the heavy bag on her back), and kissed him.

He patted her cheek, “What’s for lunch?”

Rio looked at him incredulously, “You all haven’t eaten?”

“No, and the boys and I are starved.”

Rio could feel rage dripping off Zhen, “Okay, let me finish emptying the car.”

She got Zhenou out of the room before she could blow up. She managed to close the front door before Zhen had turned back to give Strand a piece of her mind. Fortunately, Rio was able to hold her back.

It was only then that Rio realized how much stronger than Zhen she was. Richlin easily held her friend back, even though Zhen had been through the war as well.

“Telling him off won’t help anything, Zhen. Leave him alone.”

Zhen stopped struggling to point at her friend, “You do realize what he was doing, don’t you?”

“Yes.” “He was trying to reestablish dominance! Showing off in front of his friends! Telling them and youthat you going off to college wasn’t a big deal!”

“I know.”

“That you having more education than him, that you trying to have a job, that youjust generally being a better person than him, is not a big deal.”

Rio grabbed her best friend, “Zhen, I know. I know what he was doing.”

Zhen stopped and studied her friend, the person she had been through thick and thin with, the person she had been through many dangers with, had seen shot and tired and injured and defeated. She recognized the look on her face, “And you’re going to let him.”

Rio looked down at the ground, seeming ashamed at what she was doing, “He’s my husband. I’m his wife. I’m his wife.”

[soldiergirlscorned]

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch. 5

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch. 5

 Jack laughed into Rio’s neck.

“What?” she asked, feigning innocence.

Jack shook his head, “You are diabolical. You didn’t have to scare them off.”

Rio smiled, “They were staring too much. I wanted you all to myself.”

Their foreheads touched, and Jack brushed her hair back, “I can’t blame you for that. Although the whole restaurant has been staring at us this whole time, so….”

Rio rolled her eyes, “We’re probably insulting someone’s sensibilities in this crowd. Bunch of hoity toity people. They’ll get over it.”

Jack laughed, “Hoity toity?” he looked around, “I suppose you’re right.”

Rio smiled, taking a sip of her wine, “You should have just taken me to a bar. We could have made out in the back corner.”

Jack laughed, “As exceptionally appealing as that sounds, I wanted to do this first date thing right.”

“How charming.”

Jack cupped her face in his hands, “Rio. If I finally get to have you I want to do it the right way. With the first dates and the meeting the parents and the anxiety of proposing. I want to make it worth the wait for both of us.”

Rio looked up at him through her lashes, “A life with you is already worth the wait, Jack.” She straightened his jacket, even though it didn’t need to be straightened.

He gave her one last kiss, “Come on. Let’s go somewhere else where we can enjoy more than just each other’s company.”

So, they did end up at a bar. Drinks and cigarettes in one hand and darts in the other. Once they both got the hang of having a dart instead of a bullet it became easy for them to go several rounds without not hitting a bullseye or at least very near it. They ended up having to take several steps back, leaving people to walk through the tables at their own peril.

“My God, you need glasses,” Jack laughed, “You’re fine for a long time and then you take one more step back and you can’t get a bullseye.”

“I do not need glasses!” Rio retorted.

“Really? Is that what you say or what the eye doctor says?”

“He’s stupid.”

“He’s a doctor, Rio!”

“Well, I’m a colonel and I don’t tell people that they need a gun!” she seemed to think that was pretty clever of her and smiled victoriously at Jack.

“No more scotch for you,” was all he said taking the drink out of her hand. Rio sent a rebelliously dart at the board. Jack didn’t even look up, “Miss.”

“That was so a bullseye!”

Jack checked the board and then smiled at her, “I know you can’t see that since you don’t have glasses— “

Rio just laughed.

After a short drive home, they stumbled to the front door, both feeling a heaviness descend upon them both. Although it was enough to sober the both of them up, it wasn’t an unwelcome feeling. It was more like the weight of a heavy blanket on a cold winter’s night. Rio unlocked the door, letting them both in. Then she leaned her back against the door, flicking the lock back in place with a sound that seemed to electrify them both. Jack’s weight was very welcome against her, his hands gripping her waist, his cane digging into her side, as hers went into his hair.

A moan escaped Rio’s mouth as Jack moved across her jaw and down her neck.

“You said no sex,” Rio said, Jack making a regretful sound as he bit lightly at where her shoulder met her neck. Rio cried out, her eyes trying to close, but she managed to keep them open, “But, there’s other stuff we can do before the sex.”

Jack faltered against her. He took a couple steadying breaths before he tried to talk, his voice and octave lower and slightly muffled by her neck, “What did you have in mind?”

Rio grabbed his hand before leading him backwards towards the stairs. The look on her face was carnal and very similar to the look Rio gave to so many Krauts when she had them cornered.

“God, Rio. You’re going to be the death of me.” He hooked his cane on the railing once they got to the top of the stairs. He closed the door softly, as if the sound would shake Rio out of her stupor and she would tell him that she couldn’t do it anymore. But when he turned around he realized that was never going to be the case.

His jaw dropped open as she laughed and turned in a circle for him in nothing but her bra and underwear, her red dress a pool on the ground. Sure, he had seen her dress and undress in the army, but that was when she was eighteen and in ill-fitting, army-regulated underwear that most likely hadn’t been washed in a while. Years in the army made her mostly muscle but age had added a little weight to her ass and thighs and even a little bit to her chest. And the underwear she had on was…most definitely not army uniform.

“Like what you see?” Rio asked, shocked at how confident she felt. Although, when a man looks at you with that much awe how could you feel anything except sexy?

Jack slowly walked to her, grabbing her face in his hands and kissing her passionately on the mouth.

Rio’s eyes did close this time as Jack’s hands drifted down her sides. He moaned, pulling her to him. Rio gasped when she realized just how much she was affecting him.

“Jack. Clothes.”

She pushed his jacket off him, before going for his tie.

“No sex, right?” Jack asked.

Rio smiled up at him, “No. No sex.” She helped him out of his shirt and leaned closer to him before whispering, “Trust me. I’ll take care of you.”

“You’ll take care of me?” he sounded confused.

Rio gave him a wicked grin, “You spent time with Geer. You can figure it out.”

When she reached for his belt buckle, Jack blinked in recognition of what she was saying, “O-oh.”

“Lay down.” Rio ordered after she got his belt off.

He did what he was told, crawling back to put his head on the pillow. Rio ever-so-carefully took off his shoes before pealing his pants off him. As she reached for his boxers, he grabbed her hands, “Rio, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

She silenced him with a kiss, “I want to.” And then she slowly pulled his boxers down.

M SCENE

When she took his shaft in her hands, Jack barked out her name. Smiling just a little bit, she had to remember that no one had ever touched him. This was the first time he was feeling something other than his own hand. Well, she supposed she would just have to show him what he was missing.

She knelt between his legs, careful to avoid putting any weight on his bad one, and took him into her mouth. His head slammed back onto the pillow as she slowly, so devilishly slowly, took him in deeper and deeper, moving her hand up and down the shaft to help. She sucked on his tip before taking him in fully. He was about the size of Strand, maybe a little bigger, but it wasn’t too hard to take him all. If her ex-husband had done anything for her, it was to teach her how to do this.

She wondered if there was a sort of irony to that. Strand had hated Jack with a firm passion, even though he had never met him. Anytime Jack’s name was brought up in a conversation, Strand would change the subject. Yet, here Rio was, pleasuring the very man he hated with the skills he loved the most.

Rio giggled at the thought and the vibration in her throat brought Jack over the edge. Rio smiled knowing there was certainly some irony in that.

M Scene Done

“What did you do to me?” Jack asked, trying to catch his breath.

Rio laughed, crawling up to lay by his side, “Did you like it?”

“You know full well that I liked it,” he kissed her passionately, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to do the same to you.”

She kissed him again, “There is no way.”

Jack looked confused, “What do you mean there is no way?”

“For you to do to me what I just did to you? There is no way.”

“What?”

“There is no way, Jack.” She laughed a little at the absurdness of the idea, “Women don’t have anything for you to suck on.”

“That seems unfair.”

Rio shrugged and watched as Jack yawned, “Go to bed, Jack. It’s been a long day.”

“The best day.”

Rio kissed his cheek and laid her head on his chest.

They both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.

 (*&*)?><<>??><<>??><<>??><<<>??><<<>???><<>??><<<>??><<<>??><<<>???><<<>??><<<>?

 Rio woke up to the phone beside her ringing. Not wanting Jack to wake up, she turned around and had grabbed the phone by the second ring.

“Hello?” she whispered into the phone.

“Hi! This is Zhen, your best friend since forever! Also the person that you’ve called every Wednesday since you moved. Remember me?”

Rio collapsed onto the bed, quietly sighing, “It’s Wednesday.”

“Was Wednesday, honey. Now it’s Thursday. I thought you had died. Or had gone off to war. Again.”

Jack rolled over in his sleep and Rio got even quieter, “I’m sorry, Zhen.”

“And why are you whispering?”

Rio looked at the sleeping form next to her, “Uh, no reason.”

“Rio…Is somebody there?”

“Uh…no?”

“No? NO? NO?! Who is there, Rio Richlin?”

“Give me the phone,” Jack said suddenly.

“No, go back to sleep,” Rio said to him.

“Go back to sleep?! Richlin! Who. Is. There?”

Jack rolled on top of Rio, pinned her arms to the side, and grabbed the phone from her, “Hi, Castain. Long time no see.”

The line was dead for a minute before Zhen burst out, “STAFFORD?!”

“The one and only. Hey, I have a question for you since I have Rio pinned: how do I pleasure a woman?”

Zhen was quiet for a second before laughing on the other end, “You put your penis in her vagina, Stafford.”

“No, another way.”

Zhen’s voice became sly, “Oh, another way?”

“Jack. Get off me. Give me the phone.” Jack kissed her before carefully covering her mouth with his hand.

“Hush now. I’m trying to take care of you.”

Rio started laughing beneath her gag.

Jack and Zhen talked for a few minutes, Zhen giving Jack the most delicate of details. Rio couldn’t help but marvel as the man in front of her asked the most profane questions she could ever imagine. This was a man who wanted, maybe even needed, to take care of her. To make her feel good.

And it made her want him more. As she watched his eyes go dark with want and felt him growing against her belly, she wondered if she had ever been this turned on with Strand.

By the time Jack said goodbye to Zhen and hung up the phone, Rio would have been more than ready for him. And the bastard knew it.

He kissed her soundly on the mouth, before quickly trailing kisses down her neck. “Do you trust me?”

Without a second of hesitation, Rio answered, “Absolutely.”

M Scene

She could feel him smiling, even when he pushed her bra down and latched onto one of her nipples, playing with the other with his fingers.

“Jack. Jack, hands.” He quickly released her hands from her sides and they quickly buried themselves in his bright red hair. Rio stared at the difference between her white skin and his hair as Jack moved down her body, kissing down her stomach.

He pulled her panties off before settling between her legs, “God, Rio. Look at you.”

She tried to close her legs, but he caught them. He looked up her body into her eyes, “You trust me, don’t you?”

Rio let her head drop onto the pillow and relaxed her legs.

“You okay?” Jack asked and he waited until she nodded to kiss up her legs.

“You need to hurry this up or I’m going to combu—” Jack gave a strong lick up her slit and Rio keened at him.

His hand moved up to explore and Rio realized with startling clarity that Jack had never seen the underside of a woman before.

He seems to be perfectly capable of figuring it out by himself, she thought before thinking was suddenly impossible.

Jack’s finger entered her, stretching her for the first time in almost a decade, and Rio recognized the familiar feeling of needing more, of waiting for something even if she didn’t know what it was.

“Jack,” she said, burying her head in the pillow.

“Do you know what Zhen told me?” Rio didn’t particularly care to talk about Zhen right now, but she lifted her head to look at him anyways. Jack smiled, adding another finger inside her, “She said she was pretty sure that your ex never took care of you. Never made you come.”

Rio recognized the expression on Jack’s face. It was first time she had seen it on him, but years in the army had made her able to recognize male pride. “She also told me how to make you come. How to drive you crazy. Do you want me to show you?”

Rio could only nod.

His thumb went to the top of her slit, searching for something, and they both knew when he found it. Rio couldn’t help the loud gasp that tore through her throat.

“Jack!” her elbows couldn’t hold her any longer and she collapsed at the sudden explosion of feeling inside her, “Oh, oh, God!”

She had never felt anything like this and she felt like a virgin again, figuring out what felt good and what didn’t. She had always thought that the pleasure women talked about came from how they made their partners feel. It had never occurred to Rio that she might feel the same pleasure herself.

Jack leaned down, latching his lips around the treasure he had found and it was all that Rio could do not to shriek with pleasure. Her hands grabbed onto his hair and her toes curled into the sheets.

He used his tongue in different ways: circles, figure eights, stars. Rio felt something build inside her and her back arched.

“Jack. Jack. Jack.” She chanted his name like a prayer before something snapped inside her and she screamed.

M Scene Done

Jack got up and gave her a wash cloth to clean herself off with. Then, he curled up in bed with her, unclipping her bra and throwing it on the floor next to her panties. He pressed her back against his chest and kissed her cheek, “You have about four hours before you need to be in for work.”

Rio was already asleep.

[soldiergirlscorned]

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch. 4

Call Me Rio and I’ll Call You Jack Ch. 4

 Captain Lester spent an hour taking Rio around the campus and introducing her to some of the students they ran into. The men and women who met her seemed surprised that she wasn’t still in the military, but were more than happy to see her get back into it.

“When something feels like home,” the uniformed girl shrugged, “Why would you ever want to stop?”

Pretty soon, a crowd followed them wherever they went, staying back to give Rio just enough room to look around.

“Why are they all following us?” Rio whispered to Captain Lester.

“Well, I suppose they’ve read the book. They want to know if it’s true or not.”

“Huh.”

The captain looked her over, “You know, most people have a hard time getting into the academy, but you? You would be the easiest ‘yes’ the committee has ever made, even if you are a woman. You have reference upon reference and no black marks on your record. You have experience and clear intuition. You can get in. The question isn’t if we’ll let you in. The question is if you will.”

 (*&*)?><<>??><<>??><<>??><<>??><<>???><<>??><<>??><<>???><<>??><<>??><<<>??><<>?

 Strand was on the front porch when she came home. Rio waved goodbye to Zhen before letting him take her into his arms. He kissed her solidly on the mouth, a hand coming up to tangle in her hair.

“I missed you.”

“Strand—“ Rio tried to tell him, but his mouth was on hers again.

“I got you something.”

Rio’s eyebrows shot up, “Me?”

Strand brought her inside and gave her a box tied together with lacy black ribbon.

Giving Strand a skeptical look, Rio opened the box, “Oh, my God!” Rio laughed, “That’s going to stay in the box for now!”

Strand wrapped his arms around her and buried a smile into her neck, “Until later tonight?”

Rio laughed, “Maybe if you’re good.”

Strand brought her into the kitchen and sat down next to her at the kitchen table, “I was thinking while you were gone.”

“That’s a dangerous statement.”

Strand smiled at her, then his smile turned a little dreamy, “I want a kid.”

Everything around Rio stopped, “…O-oh?”

“Yeah. It was so quiet when you were gone and a child would quickly make everything loud. And you’re so bored all the time. A child would give you something to do.”

“Strand. I’m nineteen. You really think a kid is the right thing to do? Now? You’re just starting out with your job and I was… never mind. It just doesn’t seem like the best thing to do.”

“Why? We’re both adults, just like you said. It’s not like my job is going anywhere. It’s not like you’re going anywhere. I don’t see— “

Rio grabbed her husband’s hand, “Strand. I went to see West Point this weekend.”

“That’s cool,” he said, sounding a little confused.

“It is?”

Now, they were both confused.

“Well…yeah. It’s a pretty town. Not much there, but— “

“There’s a military academy there. Strand, I went to go tour Wes Point. The military school, not the town.”

He leaned back in his chair, “Why would you do that?”

“Because I was thinking of going there.”

“Going there? Like… for school?”

“Well, yeah.”

Strand laughed, “Yeah. Okay, Rio.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t go to a military school that’s across the country. What was I going to do during that time? Follow you?”

“Well, we could figure it out— “

“There’s nothing to figure out, Rio. You’re not going.”

Rio stayed quiet for a second, “You can’t just tell me what I can and can’t do.”

Strand laughed, “I don’t have to. They won’t let you in. Women may be able to go into the military, but Wes Point is not stupid enough to create women officers. The gentler sex has no business being there.”

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 “I hope you made him sleep on the couch. Or the porch.”

Rio looked down at her wedding ring, “Of course I didn’t. I had just left him alone. And then told him I might leave him again. I wasn’t going to make him feel like he didn’t have a wife.”

Zhen leaned forward, squinting at her friend, “You still let him fuck you, didn’t you?”

Rio didn’t meet Zhen’s eyes, “I had left him, Zhen.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to reward him for telling you that you couldn’t do something you clearly want to do.”

“But is it something I want to do?”

Zhen blanched, “Are you kidding? You came back from West Point and wouldn’t shut up about it. I haven’t seen you that alive since the last time you were yelling orders at the platoon! You didn’t even look like that on your wedding day. Rio, when you talk about you and Strand being intimate you look like you’re going to be sick.

“Tell me how any of that says: Zhen, I so want to be a housewife for the rest of my days and pop out many Strands and bake cookies and rub my husband’s feet right before he fucks me in a way that gives me no pleasure whatsoever?”

“I do get pleasure from it!”

“Have you ever come?” “What?”

“Exactly!”

Zhen threw her hands in the air, “Rio… Some women can be perfectly happy tending to their husbands and loving on their kids. But you are not one of them. There has to be a point when you let go of who your mother has always taught you and be who you have taught yourself to be. This is that point.

“Go to West Point. If he doesn’t like it then you tell him what we said in boot camp: Tough shit.”

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 It took two months for Rio to get the letter, but only fifteen minutes for Zhen to get in the car and drive over to her house.

“Did you open it?” she asked, slamming into the door. Strand, who had come in five minutes ago, stepped out of her way.

“No.” Rio said, digging into her apron pocket to retrieve the letter. The pot she was stirring started to boil, the wooden spoon still in Rio’s hand.

“Open what?” Strand asked.

Both the women ignored him as they ripped into the letter together.

“Sergeant Rio Braxton, we at the West Point Military Academy are….” Rio trailed off as Zhen started jumping by her side.

Rio looked up at her friend, “I got in. I actually got in.”

The two girls hugged, laughing, and jumping.

Strand raised his voice, trying to get their attention. When the girls settled down to look at him, he started, “Rio. What is this?”

“I got into West Point.”

“The military school?”

Rio almost rolled her eyes, “Yes, Strand. The military school.”

“I thought we weren’t going to do that, honey.” He only called her honey when he was trying not to blow up at her.

“I thought you were under the impression I wouldn’t get in.”

Strand took a deep breath, “Zhenou, could you please leave me and my wife alone, please?”

“No, actually. I can’t.” Zhen violently shook her head.

Strand looked commandingly at Rio and she turned to her best friend, “He’s right. I’ll call you tonight.”

Zhen unhappily nodded, leaving her best friend alone with her husband.

Strand waited until he heard the door close to even look in Rio’s direction, “I don’t know what you were even thinking.”

“I was thinking that I could do something with myself. Something that I would enjoy and be proud of.”

“And you can’t be proud of raising our kids? Is that it?”

“I didn’t say— “

“Then why can’t we have kids? Why can’t you— “

The wooden spoon slammed onto the kitchen counter, “God damn it, Strand! I don’t want kids!”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“No. What’s ridiculous is you thinking I could raise kids? Use some sense, Strand! How do you think that would go? I take them to the playground and hear them telling the other kids that their mommy used to kill people and she was really good at it. Oh! Oh! And on top of that, their daddy was a goddamned deserter who couldn’t handle the fact that he might die in service to his country! Did you think that when I was tucking them in that I would tell them war stories? That they wouldn’t ask me why I used to shoot people in the head? Did you think that when they have nightmares they could crawl in bed with us like we don’t have nightmares ourselves? What were you thinking, Strand?!”

“I was thinking that we could move past the fugging war! That we could be a normal family! That we could be a proper family. But you keep bringing the war back into it! You keep trying to get back into it! This is all your fault!”

He jabbed his finger at her, “And you want to know why you can’t move past the war, Rio? You really want to know? Because you’re a monster!”

“Strand!”

“You heard me! Only a sick, monster of a woman could ever do what you did! Could ever find herself while she was killing people!”

The kitchen stayed quiet for a minute, the only noise was the clock on the wall next to them.

Strand started towards her, “Rio— “

“No, Strand.” She held up her hands, blocking him from gathering her into his arms, “If that’s how you feel then I’ll go.”

She went upstairs to pack a bag, Strand following right behind her.

“Rio. Rio, come on, baby. You know I didn’t mean that. Babe, just listen to me! Rio. Rio!”

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 The driver pulled up to the imposing building right on time. Zhen leaned closer to the window to be able to see the top. Then she looked over at her friend, “Seems like your kind of place.”

Rio smiled at her before smoothing out her uniform. She fixed her service cap, which sat on the regulation bun. It seemed the military had gotten itself together when it came to female soldiers. Long hair was allowed as long as it was tied up into a bun. New bras, ones that actually fit, also made their way into uniforms.

Although Rio missed the short, manageable hair, she was also glad that when she came home to her husband she would still look like the proper wife he expected her to be.

“Yes,” Rio’s father said, “I think this place will do you some good.”

He beamed at her, even as his downcast wife refused to look at the building.

“Mom?” Mrs. Richlin finally looked up at her only surviving daughter. Rio fidgeted in her seat, “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a long way from home,” Mrs. Richlin paused before finishing, “Your home. It’s also a long way from your husband.”

“And what a husband he is,” Zhen muttered.

“Hush,” Rio told her.

“Oh, honey,” Rio’s mother grabbed her daughter’s hand, “The idea of this place is already putting so much stress on your marriage. Don’t throw away your future for an education.”

Rio pulled her hand away and opened the door, “That’s where you’re wrong, Mom. This place is my future.”