He shrugs. “You never seemed happy while living with us, and once you graduated, you hightailed it out of Maryland faster than the 82d Airborne. Since then, we only see you a couple of times a year.”
The somber note in his voice tugs at my insides. It’s as if he believes he’s done something wrong.
“I didn’t want to weigh you down,” I confess.
He pivots his entire body toward me. “Explain that.”
I pinch my lips together, doing my best to encourage the words to come out. “I mean, I knew you wanted your career in the Army but after grandma died you had to retire to raise me.”
He looks at me for a beat, his head dropping to the side. “Is that what you believe?”
I nod. “Grandma and Mom always said how much you loved your career in the military.”
I stop when he lets out a loud guffaw, clapping his hands in front of him.
Uncle Theo drops his head between his shoulders, shaking it.
“I fear I thespianed too close to the sun.”
“Huh?”
He chuckles.
“I’m sorry.” He sighs, turning to me and taking my hands in his. “I appreciated many things about being in the Army. Loved?” He shakes his head in answer to his own question.
“Grandma always said?—”
“Your grandmother only knew what I told her. The benefits and skills I acquired, the ability to travel the world, yes, those are all great opportunities I took advantage of. But to be honest, I didn’t have any other choice.
“After high school, I did nothing for almost five years. I hated school and had no desire to pursue a professional career. And then there’s Owen.”
“I don’t understand.” I spent years thinking my uncle had retired from the military only to take care of me after my grandmother passed away.
“When I spoke with your grandmother or my sister, I never told them about the dark side of my career. They wanted to believe I was happy, and I let them.”
He squeezes my hand.
“Now, don’t get me wrong. I had some great times in the Army, one of them being when I first met Owen. But it gets tiringhaving to keep our relationship a secret. We went back and forth for years, and broke up a couple of times due to the stress of it all.
“When mama got sick, I knew she was worse than she let on. She had you to take care of and the last thing she wanted was to leave you what you’d been through.”
His eyes drop to my rose tattoo. I squirm underneath that look.
“The day she told me the doctor told her the cancer had spread, I started my retirement submission.
“Owen did the same thing. No questions asked.”
A ghost of a smile crosses his lips, making my heart stutter. The love he has for Uncle Owen is apparent.
“I’m happy you had him,” I say.
“And you had us,” he tells me, squeezing my hands.
“If anything, coming out to take care of you gave us the opportunity to be free. There was never a moment of hesitation on my part. After my sister passed, your grandma insisted I stay in the military even after I’d told her I would retire so you could come live with me full-time.”
“I never knew that.”
“She thought she was doing what was best for everybody.” He squeezes my knee. “Maybe it was for the best, but I hate that you thought you interrupted my career or that taking care of you was an inconvenience.”
