Notes: Thanks to Jen, one of our first REAL World contest winners, for this prompt. I hope you enjoy the story!
Thanks to Mari and Sammy for the encouragement and for reassuring me I was on the right track with this. And thanks, Sammy, for the food chopping line :-)
But most importantly, to the men and women who have fallen in defense of our country and to their families who continue to live in their memory, to our veterans and those still serving and their families – your service and sacrifice is humbling. "Thank you" is not enough, but it is heartfelt, today and everyday.
Memorial Day (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
Steve was still at his desk, immersed in a file on his laptop when Danny opened the door and leaned inside.
"I'm headed out."
"All right. I won't be too far behind," Steve said, not looking up.
"You sure you don't need help setting up or anything tomorrow?"
Steve's focus remained on the screen as he said, "It's just a cookout, Danny. We're fine."
Danny hesitated and then stepped into the office. "It's just, I know you and Cath are going to be at the cemetery most of the morning."
"Yeah, but we'll be back in plenty of time." Steve shrugged, still not looking up. "Kamekona's bringing most of the food anyway." He narrowed his eyebrows, distracted by a detail in the computer file.
"Okay, okay," Danny held up his hands. "Just trying to be helpful."
Steve looked up at last. He sighed apologetically. "Sorry, man. I appreciate that, I do. But we're good." He smiled. "All you gotta do is show up with Grace."
"Speaking of . . . that's who I'm going to pick up now. She and her cheerleading team are helping sew leis for the grave markers at the Punchbowl."
"Yeah? Good for them," Steve said genuinely. "That's really great. I know they need thousands. Lemme guess, Grace's idea to help?"
"Yes, actually, it was. She uh . . . she saw the announcement about it online and told her coaches. I don't mind telling you it was one of my prouder moments as a father."
"She's growing up to be a remarkable person, Danny. You should be very proud."
Danny nodded, swallowing to cover the sudden display of emotion. He smiled and said, "Well, I shouldn't keep that . . . remarkable person waiting. Are you sure you guys don't need–"
"Danny, we're fine. I promise. Cath's picking up the last things on the list right now."
"Ah. Now I see why you're really still here," Danny said with a chuckle.
Steve looked a little guilty, but then shrugged. "She offered."
"Yeah, cause she knows you."
Steve acknowledged the point with a nod.
"So we'll see you tomorrow afternoon?" Danny asked, turning toward the door.
"Yup, see you then."
On Memorial Day, Steve and Catherine spent the morning at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, paying their respects to fallen friends and comrades by alternately sharing memories or standing in silent reflection.
By wordless agreement, they ended at the gravesite of John McGarrett, looking down at the familiar name of Steve's father. Catherine knelt, rearranging the yellow lei that was draped around the base of the American flag at the head of the stone. As she stood, she saw a man approaching them.
"Steve," she said quietly, nodding head slightly toward the figure she now recognized.
He turned in the direction she indicated and his face registered surprise at the sight. "Joe."
"Steve," Joe said as he reached them, offering his hand. "Thought I might find you here."
"You looking for me?" Steve asked as he shook his old commander's hand.
Joe gave a slight nod and said, "I was paying a few respects of my own."
Steve nodded in understanding.
Joe turned to Catherine and held out his hand to her. "Catherine, it's nice to see you again."
"You, too," she said, shaking his hand.
All three fell silent as they gazed down at the grave, each with their own thoughts on the man buried there.
After several minutes, Steve spoke again. "How long have you been on the island, Joe?"
"Just got in today."
"You staying long?"
"Couple of days," Joe answered vaguely.
Steve regarded him for a moment, but didn't ask any other questions.
"Well," Joe said, "I should give you some time."
Steve and Catherine exchanged a look.
"We're having some people over to the house later," Steve said. "You should come."
Joe paused before he nodded. "I'll bring some beer."
"Okay."
Joe waited for Steve to say more but when he didn't, said, "I'll see you both later, then."
Steve nodded and watched as Joe turned and walked away, his eyes staying on the older man.
Once Joe was out of sight, Steve turned to Catherine and said, "You ready?"
"Yeah, let's go," she agreed.
With a final look at his father's grave, Steve slipped an arm around Catherine's shoulders as they walked away together.
"You see, I was right," Danny said as he and Grace entered the kitchen and saw Catherine and Leilani cutting fruit at the island. "I told him you'd need help getting everything ready."
Catherine laughed. "Danny, we're just cutting fruit. I wanted it fresh so I didn't do it last night."
Danny shook his head and said, "You're as bad as he is."
"Can I help?" Grace asked.
"Of course!" Catherine said with a smile. "This fruit isn't going to arrange itself."
Grace handed Danny her purse and skipped over to the sink to wash her hands. Danny sighed, looking at the blue purse in his hands. Shrugging, he put the strap over his shoulder.
"Hi, Leilani," he said. "Good to see you."
"You, too, Danny. No Amber today?"
"No, she's uh . . . she's visiting her folks."
Danny watched as Catherine showed Grace the serving tray for the fruit before picking up her knife again. "Wow, Cath. That's . . . quite a knife you got there."
"It's all about having the right knife, Danny," Catherine replied, matter-of-fact. "The right knife makes chopping a pleasure."
Danny paused, studying her. Catherine smiled slowly with a mischievous look and Danny shook his head.
"Of course it's about the knife. Just like him. Never seen two people better matched." Though his tone was weary, his smile gave away his true feelings.
Catherine and Leilani chuckled.
"Everyone's out back?" Danny asked, motioning with his thumb.
"Yeah," Catherine said. "Go on. We got this. Right, Grace?"
Grace nodded enthusiastically and Danny headed out of the kitchen, his daughter's small purse still slung over his shoulder.
Catherine looked at Grace who was artistically arranging fruit on the serving tray. "Grace, I heard you and your team made some of the leis for the grave markers. Of course I didn't know which ones were yours, but they all looked really beautiful this morning."
"I made mostly yellow ones. Like yellow ribbons, you know?"
Catherine smiled, remembering the lei at John McGarrett's grave. "Good choice."
"That's really great that you got your whole team involved, Grace," Leilani added.
Grace smiled a little self-consciously at the compliments.
"What do you think?" Catherine asked, sensing the need to change the subject. "More pineapple?"
"Nice purse, brah," Kono said as Danny stepped onto the grass. "Really brings out your eyes."
Beside her, Adam chuckled.
Danny nodded good-naturedly. "Thank you. Yes, I thought it went very well with my uh . . . with my outfit."
"Gracie inside?" Steve asked.
"Yes, she is helping your knife-wielding girlfriend arrange fruit."
Steve just smiled in response. "Beer?" he asked, holding out a bottle to his partner.
"Thank you." Accepting the Longboard, Danny stepped over to the table where Kamekona and Flippa were uncovering food trays. "Lemme guess. Shrimp, shrimp, and more shrimp."
"You know it. Best on the island," Kamekona said.
Danny sighed and said, "As long as there's no Spam."
"Don't eat that one, then," Flippa advised, pointing to one of the trays.
"Hey, there they are," Chin called out as Grace, Catherine, and Leilani appeared from inside the house.
Steve stepped forward to take the tray of fruit from Grace.
"Gracie, hey." He hugged her to his side with one arm.
"And look who else we found," Catherine said, motioning behind her.
"Jerry, glad you could make it, man," Steve said, smiling at him. He set the fruit tray down and turned to greet the woman who had come with Jerry. "Mrs. Ortega, welcome."
"Thank you for inviting me," she said as she shook his offered hand.
"Of course," Steve said. "Please, help yourself, there's plenty of food."
"There is for now," Grover said, appearing at the backdoor with his daughter in tow.
"Samantha!" Catherine said with a smile. She stepped over to hug the teenager. "I'm so glad you came. Hey, I got your email with your final course selections. Looks like it's going to be a challenging year."
"Yeah, I'm a little nervous, but I took your advice and went with Algebra II."
Catherine nodded. "I think it was the right call. And hey, you let me know if you need any help, okay?"
"Really?" Samantha asked, beaming. "Thanks!"
"Sure. And you know what goes really great with algebra?"
"What?"
"Pizza."
Samantha laughed and said, "Chicago-style!"
"There you go!" They high-fived enthusiastically.
Steve and Grover smiled as they watched the two laughing and chatting together.
"I'm glad you brought Samantha," Steve said.
Grover chuckled. "Are you kidding? Catherine's her hero. I couldn't keep her away even if I wanted to."
"Well, glad you didn't want to, then."
Grover nodded, hearing the genuine tone in Steve's voice. He smiled and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some of that shrimp before it disappears."
"Smart man."
Steve folded his arms, a small smile on his face as he looked out at the people gathered in the yard. Max and Sabrina had arrived and were now in conversation with Jerry, Chin, and Leilani. Closer to the water, Kono, Grace, and Samantha were trying to catch popcorn in their mouths as Adam, Danny, and Grover looked on in amusement. Mrs. Ortega appeared to be making recipe suggestions to Kamekona and Flippa by the food table.
Catherine approached and Steve unfolded his arms to wrap one around her shoulder as she reached his side.
"Hey," he said, smiling down at her.
"We're running low on ice," she told him.
He nodded and said, "There's some in the garage. I'll grab it."
"Okay. I'm going to bring out some more fruit, it's almost gone," she said.
"Okay." He kissed her temple before they separated and he headed for the garage.
Steve was pulling out an empty cooler when Joe stepped into the garage, six-pack in hand. Steve glanced at him, then opened the freezer door and grabbed a bag of ice.
"You gonna tell me what you're doing here, Joe?" he asked, bending to open the cooler and place the ice inside.
"I just have some business to take care of."
Steve glanced up at him and raised his eyebrows.
"I promise you," Joe continued. "It has nothing to do with your mother." He paused. "But you don't believe me, do you?"
Steve straightened, his hands going to his hips. "Can you blame me?"
"I suppose not."
The two men stared at each other for a moment. Steve turned and grabbed two more bags of ice, dropping them in the cooler.
"I'm not gonna stop asking questions, Joe," he said. "I'm not gonna stop digging."
Joe nodded. "I know you well enough to know you're gonna do what you feel you have to."
Steve paused, then shut the freezer door and said, "But not today." He closed the cooler lid and grabbed one of the handles. "Grab that end, would you?"
The two men reappeared in the backyard, carrying the cooler over to set it near the table.
"Hey Steve," Chin said. "We could use another bottle opener over here."
Steve glanced over to where Catherine was coming out of the house with another tray of fruit. Before either could say anything, Jerry stood.
"I'll get one," he offered, already heading for the backdoor. "I remember where they are."
Catherine exchanged a look with Steve, sharing an amused smile. "Thanks, Jerry," she said as he passed her.
"Sure, no problem," he said before entering the house.
Danny stepped over to where Grace was standing with a contemplative look on her face.
"What's going on, Monkey?"
"Danno, I was thinking . . . " she started, then looked up at him. "You know how at Thanksgiving we all get quiet for a minute and think about what we're thankful for that year?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think we should do something like that today? Think about the people who have died to protect our country? Like a moment of silence?"
Danny paused, overcome with pride in his daughter. He swallowed hard, nodding.
"I think that is a perfect idea, Grace," he said and put a hand on her shoulder. He looked around until he spotted his partner. "Hey, Steve," he said, waving him over.
"Yeah?" Steve said as he joined them.
"Grace had an idea."
"What's that?" he looked down, smiling at Grace.
"Go ahead," Danny encouraged her, squeezing her shoulder gently. "Tell him."
"I thought that maybe we could have a moment of silence. To think about all the people who have died protecting our country. Like your grandfather."
Steve didn't speak, overwhelmed for a moment. He dropped down to one knee and hugged Grace. When he pulled back, he took her hand.
"Grace . . . you're . . ." he swallowed and nodded. When he spoke, his voice was rough with emotion. "Yes. Yes, we should do that. Right now."
Steve stood, still holding Grace's hand, and turned to face the yard. "Hey, everybody. Come over here."
As they gathered, Steve glanced down at Grace.
"Do you want to tell 'em, or do you want–"
"You should do it," she said.
Steve nodded and glanced at Danny briefly. "The remarkable Grace Williams has made a suggestion and I agree with her completely."
Steve paused and Catherine came up to stand at his side in support. Putting an arm around her shoulder, he gave her a small smile before turning back to the group.
"So please join us in a moment of silence to honor the men and women who have given their lives to protect and defend our country. Let's remember our fallen heroes."
With that, he let silence descend on the group. Some bowed their heads, others looked to the sky, and others gazed out at the water where the gentle waves provided a rhythmic soundtrack for the quiet reflections of all.