Kennedy- Brotherly Love

June, 2002

Alex Kennedy groaned as the phone rang in his apartment on base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In a couple of days he would be returning to the submarine, and for the time being Alex was enjoying doing things he did not have space for there, like breathing, thinking, and, as he had been doing at that moment, sleeping comfortably. Muttering something about who the hell would be calling him anyway, he picked it up. “Hullo?“

“Alex!“ came the voice from the other end of the line. “Damnit, don’t tell me I got the time change wrong. I woke you up, didn’t I?“

Alex blinked a few times, recognizing the voice of his younger sister. “Kathryn? No, it’s just after two...What the hell do you want?“

“Fuck, Alex, can’t I check up on my big brother without wanting anything?“

“No, you can’t, and do Mom and Dad know you use that kind of language?“

“‘Course not.“ Alex could almost hear the grin in her voice. “What, you’re embarrassed that your baby sister cusses like a sailor?“

The young naval officer attempted unsuccessfully to make his tone scolding. “No, I’m embarrassed because my baby sister cusses worse than a sailor just for the sake of pissing off her parents.“

“And you would know.“

“I would, as a matter of fact. Now what do you want, Brat?“ But the term was one of endearment. Despite their gender and four-and-a-half year age difference (or perhaps because of it) the two siblings got along fairly well, both teasing each other non-stop while the elder adored the younger and the sister worshipped the brother.

There was a momentary pause from the other end of the line, then came, “I’ve decided what I want to do with the rest of my life.“

“Oh really?“ Alex chuckled softly. Her entire childhood Kathryn had been telling Alex ‘what she wanted to do with her life‘, rotating monthly, sometimes weekly, between astronaut, or teacher, or doctor, or politician. Alex had assumed she had given that up when she entered high school, dyed her hair black, and decided that the responsibility that went with adulthood was pointless, but she had just begun her senior year and he supposed that anything was possible.

“No, Alex, for real this time. I’m seventeen, not ten, for God’s sake,“ the sister protested, reading his thoughts.

“Well, what then?“ There was still a note of humor in his voice.

“I want to be an actress.“

Alex would have laughed, but something about her tone made him realize that she was serious and he sat up straight with surprise. “A what?“

“An actress. For the stage,“ she replied simply. “You know I’ve been involved with drama a lot at school-“

“Well, yeah, but-“

“-and I’ve been getting lots of really great roles, and I love it more than anything else, so that’s what I want to do.“

Alex let this sink in. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?“

“Dead serious.“ Kathryn paused. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna go to college and everything. I want to more now than I ever did. I’ll go somewhere in New York and major in theater...They say that’s the best way to get connections anyway.“

Alex shook his head. “Kathryn, do you realize what most so-called actresses do for a living? They wait tables at some bar, and that’s if they’re lucky. People don’t even like theater anymore.“

“You do.“

“I think it’s been long established that I’m am oddball.“

“Alexander-“ she protested, a hint of whine coming into her voice.

Alex cut her off. “You sound like Mom when you call me that. Do what you want, Brat, but I’m telling you that the idea is stupid.“

“Stupid!?“ Kathryn almost yelled into the phone. “You spend most of your life in a little metal box in the middle of nowhere thousands of feet underwater, and you’re calling me stupid? You voluntarily put yourself in the army-“

“Navy.“

She continued with barely a breath. “You voluntarily put yourself in the armed services when the country could go to war any day-“

Alex rolled his eyes. “For christsake, Katie, the United States is far from offically going to war.“

“And you sound like Granddad when you call me that.“

Alex sighed, searching for another train of argument. “Mom and Dad will never let you major in theater, let alone become an actress.“

Instead of a tirade similar to the one Kathryn had just finished, there was an unexpected pause before she said hesitantly, “Well...that’s why I called...I was kinda hoping you could convince them that it isn’t such a horrible idea...“

At that, Alex laughed outright. “You’re kidding. Please tell me you’re kidding. It would take an expert shmooze to convince them of that and they don’t even like me much.“

“They didn’t want you to go into the Navy either,“ Kathryn reminded him, “but Granddad convinced them to let you try.“

Alex snorted. “Granddad thinks that all the marching will somehow infuse the ‘highland spirit‘ in me so that he’ll die with at least one good Scotsman as an ancestor. And Mom hates him for it.“

“Exactly!“ The teenager’s voice caught a bell of excitment. “Mom doesn’t get along with Grandad and she still let him convince her, so it should be easy for you to convince Mom and Dad that it’s okay for me to go into theater.“

Alex sighed again, though this time there was a note of kindness, almost exasperated indulgence in it. It was obvious that she really did want this, for no one flew in the face of the Kennedys‘wishes without good reason. “Kathryn, there’s a bit of a difference betrween me going into the Navy and your attempt to become the next Sarah Brightman.“

Kathryn scowled. “I have no desire to be the next Sarah Brightman. Have you heard the original cast of Phantom of the Opera?“

Alex grimaced slightly. He really should have known better. “Save me the Webber rant; it’s beside the point. It still stands that I don’t like this idea.“ A pause. “And you can’t tell me that part of this isn’t about pissing off Mom and Dad.“

“And you can’t say that half the reason you went to Annapolis wasn’t to prove to them that you could.“

Alex went quiet. He couldn’t argue that point, his sister knew him too well. After a few moments he objected, though a little less insistantly, “I can’t convince anyone of anything if I don’t even like the idea myself...“

“Alex, you could at least try...“

“Katie-“

“Please?“ She was begging now.

Alex sighed, resigned.“I’ll mention something to Mom and Dad next time I talk to them.“

Kathryn’s face lit up in a grin that Alex could distinctly hear in her voice.“Thanks sooo much! I completely and utterly owe you. I’d even hug you if I could.“

“I’m sure you would,“ he told her, amused. Alex paused as he heard someone call his name. “And look, I gotta go.“

“You’re the best brother ever.“

“I know. Talk to you later.“

“I love you.“

“Goodbye, Katie.“ Finally she hung up and Alex did the same, chuckling and shaking his head as he did so.

posted at 10:38 p.m. on 08-06-02