Family Ties

Dad POV

I'm sitting in my office waiting for my ride to the hospital for my treatment. I feel so blessed that I have such a strong, dedicated and close group of friends and coworkers who support me and Rhi. My career started off strong and I had my eyes set on my goal from the beginning. Unfortunately, the things we don't plan for are the most challenging and a true test of strength.

I grew up on base, in the military lifestyle, and something was driving me in my choice of military service. So, when I turned 18, I followed in my father's footsteps and joined the Navy. I have always wanted to travel the world and joining the Navy gave me that opportunity to do so. I figured it wouldn't be much different because I was already used to the lifestyle and living in different places. I had a fantastic support system from my parents to my unit all the way up to my command and was given the support and direction that I needed to pursue and reach my goals.

I was privileged in a sense because my father is a well-known officer. Of course, now he's retired but he's still very active as a consultant on various things as well as in the community. He left a mighty large pair of shoeprints to follow but I'm pretty sure I can match his strides. I wanted to leave a legacy behind, even if I didn't have a child. I really only wanted to leave my mark, after all, that was my goal.

I did not expect to meet someone and make her my wife, let alone having children. I had planned on traveling and focusing on my career before even considering any of that. For that main reason, I didn't go out and party or socialize like most military men do. It wasn't my thing. I wanted to get as high up in rank as I could and command a sub or ship. Fate seems to have had different plans for me. I don't know if it was a test of strength or what but I like to think, after everything we went through, I was blessed with a successful career, amazing coworkers and friends. Let's not forget the most important thing, the apple of my eye, my pride and joy, Rhi.

I met her mother Veronica through a friend who later became one of my attorneys. He was having a barbecue and insisted that I go to relax and get away from the job for a couple of hours. I focused so much on my career that I never took the time to relax, so I was heavily coerced into attending. Ok, maybe I was guilt tripped into going but I admit, it was good for me to go and get away from the job for a couple of hours. Most of the people at the barbecue were from my unit as well as higher up the chain of command so it was a more relaxed atmosphere of work, which was nice. I could relax a little yet still have some form of focus on my career. I had aspirations and didn't want anything or anyone to get in the way or cause disruptions. Unfortunately, the opposite happened when I met her and it's been a struggle ever since. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think there could be someone who could have various masks to hide who she really was. I guess that is why I couldn't see it sooner to avoid all the heartache and drama. Then again, I wouldn't have Rhi so I guess it was a blessing in disguise.

From the beginning it was blatantly obvious that Veronica was ambitious and driven to reach the top status of the social circles; a not so nice term is a 'rank bunny.' It was apparent in the way she traveled from man to man asking about their jobs searching for her target and I guess I happened to be the lucky one. I really wasn't that bothered by it at that point because I really didn't plan on having any kind of real relationship with her. I know it sounds wrong but I used her just as much as she used me, though mine was just for sex and career advancement, considering she pushed and supported my drive to further my career as much as possible. She was a lot more into climbing that social rank and she was able to do so because of that drive. It seemed like a win-win, at the time. Never in a million years did I ever expect to have an innocent child be affected so horribly because of that decision. If I could take it back, I would, but unfortunately I cannot. Besides, if I did, I wouldn't have Rhi and I can't imagine my life without her.

I was sent on deployments on ships and subs and would be gone for months at a time and in the beginning, while I was gone, I would hear stories of her getting into support groups learning to cope with being alone while I was at sea. This made me happy and when I would return things would be fine and we would have an amazing reunion. Within a year of my enlisting in the Navy she got pregnant and I became a father. Unfortunately, she delivered the baby while I was at sea so I wasn't there for the birth of my son. Things seemed to fall into place after that and everything seemed to be perfect. However, that was short lived as my deployments became more consistent the higher my rank became. Two years later, she got pregnant again with my daughter, but this time it was different. The timing was off just enough to make me question whether or not the baby was mine, but I knew I could never turn a child away so I raised her as if she was my own. I have no regrets in that decision either. There was no reason to get a DNA test because the minute I laid eyes on her I was in love and couldn't see my life without her. I only wish her mother felt the same way.

The lack of bonding with mother and child was difficult to understand, and to be honest I still don't understand how it was never there. She treated Rhi different from our son and was cold and distant in caring for her, if you could even call it that. I ended up basically raising her myself, though I did have an amazing support system. My friends and coworkers and their families helped raise her and, in a strange twist, she was adopted by the people on base that I knew well and they volunteered to help raise and keep her safe. In essence, she had a huge family that was ready to care for her and protect her no matter what. It was a blessing because I always felt that her mother would neglect her and that there was a potential for abuse. While she doted on our son like he was the only child she had, she was cold and distant from Rhi and the older she got the more distant, demanding and judgmental she became of Rhi. She could never do anything the way her mother wanted and it was painfully obvious that she thought of Rhi as a mistake and unwanted.

James was Veronica's pride and joy and definitely a mama's boy. He did whatever she asked of him and in return, she praised him and gave him everything he wanted. His mother could find no fault in him and she certainly made that known to everyone, especially Rhi. Whenever she went out and socialized, which was quite often, she would take him with her and leave Rhi home with a sitter. She got comfortable with that and I wasn't so I just had my friends take her. I wasn't about to let just anyone watch her, I wanted the best for her and to make sure she was safe. It happened so often that I finally told her to leave the care of Rhi to me to prevent her from getting hurt. She was more than happy to let me handle her because it allowed her to go do her social ladder climbing.

Our son James and I had the typical father and son relationship, sports oriented and teaching him how to be a man. He was very intelligent but had absolutely no common sense and I'm not sure if it was because he born that way or if it was because of the way his mother acted around him. Either way it didn't make any difference in our relationship, it just gave us more to talk about and learn from, at the time. Our relationship was far from the close one I have with Rhi. He spent all his time with his mother and considering the type of person she was, he was likely to become her shadow. They were so similar in the way they think and act and feel. He and his mother both lack empathy and are only focused on themselves and how things will benefit them.

By the time Rhi was five I stopped caring what Veronica did, as long as Rhi and my son were safe. I still focused on my career as much as ever but I would have Rhi with me as often as I could. It was definitely not something that would be typical in the Navy, or any military branch for that matter, but it pays to have connections and between my father and myself, we had a vast number of connections.

Speaking of my father, he and my mother had to fight to see the kids because they did not get along with Veronica. However, the time they were able to spend with the kids they were able to forge a relationship that was incredible. My father and mother spent a lot of time with both kids. My father treating my son the same way he raised me and he treated Rhi like a princess. My mother, of course, was always trying to make sure they were happy in everything. She knew the situation at home and wanted to, in a sense, have the kids feel normal. They were disciplined when necessary and wouldn't take advantage of her but they did get special treatment from time to time.

Both kids got along when they were younger. They were the typical siblings with their bickering and everything but they were never close like I had hoped. There were often times that my mother would tell me James would say terrible things to her. He would tell her that she wasn't really his sister and that she was an accident. Of course, Rhi would go cry to my mother who would have to make things better and my father would discipline James. Veronica would hear about this and become livid. My mother actually got into it with her one day.

"How dare you punish my son! He did absolutely nothing wrong and you blame him?" Veronica shrieks at my mother when she found out James was punished.

My mother, being the calm person she is, gazed at her calmly and responded, "Obviously you don't really pay attention to what James does to Rhi. You're not a very good mother are you?"

You could tell by the reaction from Veronica that she was angry and stunned that someone would dare say something like that to her.

Narrowing her eyes, she snaps, "What you think doesn't matter. You believe that child no matter what and never think that maybe she is the one who starts all the arguments? She's a spoiled brat and a liar and everyone falls for her act. I'm the only one who disciplines her yet I'm the bad mother. How about you all look at yourselves and you will see you're the ones causing the problems."

My mother was no push-over and she certainly wasn't weak. She and my father were aware of how things really were and were just waiting for the right time to act upon it. They fed Veronica enough rope to hang herself with and would tighten the noose at the perfect moment. They waited long enough to let her damage herself but still did everything in their power to make sure Rhi and James weren't harmed. Unfortunately, things slip through the cracks and not everything goes according to plan.