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Tim Gutterson ([personal profile] walkingtrigger) wrote in [personal profile] tinstar 2021-05-30 06:31 pm (UTC)

Memorial Day Tim Gutterson Style

It was Memorial Day weekend. Raylan had Willa for the weekend, but it was time for the hand-off to Winona and her current beau a younger man named Tyler.

They had agreed to meet at the annual Miami Memorial Day festival down on the boardwalk and when they had arrived Winona came bearing paperwork that she needed to discuss with Raylan. Without a word Tim had collected Willa and the two made themselves scarce so that the child’s parents could talk without upsetting small ears.

At some point Tim had put Willa up on his shoulders so she could have a good view of all the festivities going on around them, particularly the parade. All around them were families, men and women in uniform celebrating the day. Willa had her fingers curled in his hair but was otherwise a quiet passenger as they walked along. It wasn’t until they were standing and watching more of the parade go by that she leaned down and pressed her head against his.

“What does that sign say over there?”

“Hmm?”

She pointed and Tim felt his lips twist into an amused smirk. Leave it to Raylan Given’s daughter to home in on ice cream.

“It says ‘free large ice cream to in uniform military personnel’.”

“Oh.”

Willa went quiet for a bit one arm leaning on the top of Tim’s head and he knew she was watching various families going up to the vendor and getting the free ice cream. He knew the question was coming and turned to walk them away from the noise of the parade, over to a low retaining wall where they could walk in the shade and a bit of quiet. Willa didn’t protest the change of scenery and rode along quietly for quite a bit longer than Tim had anticipated.

Girl really was chewing on her thoughts. Just like her daddy.

“Why aren’t you wearing your uniform?”

And there was question Tim had been waiting for most of the day. He walked a little further until they came upon an area that had been sectioned off for people who wanted to sit and have quiet picnics, yet still be part of the celebration. Here Tim lowered himself, silently prompting Willa to get off his shoulders and on to the retaining wall. This put her a little more even with him when he stepped up beside her so they could talk quietly.

“It’s a personal choice,” he began. “Memorial Day is celebrated a lot of different ways. For some people it’s the start of summer, for others just a long weekend. Some people approach it to show respect to the men and women of the armed forces. That’s why you see signs like that one for the ice cream and it doesn’t have to be all one or the other.”

As he spoke Tim’s eyes scanned the picnic people until he spotted what he sought. Leaning close to Willa’s shoulder, he didn’t point (that would be rude) but verbally directed her gaze.

“See the people over by that big tree to the left? The man with the three children and the couple that look like grandparents?”

Willa put on her serious searching face, the one that made her look like her father when he was after a hillbilly in the wild. It took her a minute or so but then she perked up.

“The people on the green blanket with the red cooler?”

“Good spotting.”

Willa beamed at the praise and then tilted her head, long dark hair falling over her shoulders as her expression turned curious.

“What about them?”

“Do you see the flag just behind the man’s shoulder? On the flag rod?”

“The one with the gold star?”

“Yes.” Tim confirmed and he moved to pick Willa up in his arms, putting her on his hip. She was almost too big for this, probably six more months before he’d have to stop holding her this way so he was going to enjoy it while he could.

“That gold star means they lost an immediate family member in service combat,” he explained as he started to walk them back to where Raylan and Winona were hopefully wrapping up their conversation. “I suspect that man is a widower and lost his wife, the children their mother and the older couple probably their daughter. Men and women like her, those who fell in service to their country and in service to the welfare of those of us -like me- who survived? They’re the ones I want to honor on Memorial Day.”

Willa had her arms around Tim’s neck, her head on his shoulder, but he could feel her lips pulled into a little frown as she processed his words. At one point she turned her head back towards the park in a pensive manner.

“But why does that mean you can’t wear your uniform?”

“I can, Willa.” He corrected. “I choose not to because I don’t believe that Memorial Day should be about me. I am here to celebrate the day because of the sacrifices made by the men and women and their families when they didn’t come back. For me, the day is about them, not me getting free ice cream.”

Willa was quiet the rest of the trip back to her folks, wriggling as they got within eyesight of Raylan, Winona, and a handsome young blonde man in a Reservist Uniform. Tyler was maybe close to turning twenty-six, an IT specialist who was attached to the US Coast Guard Reserve, a man who had paid for his college career with service time. Tim could respect that; he had no issue with Tyler and honestly enjoyed watching Raylan rumble and growl over Winona having gone out and getting herself a boy toy. Tyler was good with Willa and that was enough for Tim.

“Hey Tyler!” The little girl in question piped up as she ran over and threw her arms around his waist. The young man smiled warmly and reached down to give her a hug. He was nervous about picking her up and Raylan’s glaring at him wasn’t encouraging the familiarity.

“Hey pipsqueak! You enjoying the festival?” Tyler looked up at Tim as the sniper stepped up beside Raylan and the two men gave each other a small nod. They might not have much in common, but they were both in the position of partners to the Raylan and Winona rodeo. That made for a common bond.

“I am! Tim took me to see…” and Willa was off to the races mentioning everything they had done together and the parade. Oddly, Willa did not mention the park or the families having a picnic. Tim wasn’t too surprised; it was a heavy subject for a child to process.

“Sounds like you and Tim have hit up most of the best activities,” Tyler said reaching out a hand for Willa to take and one for Winona. “How about we go find some ice cream hmmm? We can get an extra large with sprinkles for free!”

Willa smiled and was ready to skip off with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.

“Can we get three small ones instead? There’s someones I want to share it with!”

The three had moved out of hearing range so Tim didn’t get a chance to learn what response came to this request. He pushed his hands into his pockets and smirked at Raylan. “I’m just gonna apologize now for the phone call you’ll be getting tonight after she goes to sleep.”

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