Hey all,
So I can’t even begin to say how excited I am about the justification vs justification that @jhull shared yesterday in the writer’s room. I wrote this under the memory quad (Truth, Suspicion, Evidence, Falsehood) Let me know what you think.
Rick rolled his Harley to a stop and pushed the kick stand down. For a moment he just sat staring at the grand old house with it’s huge columns and broad porch.
“You just gonna sit there and stare?” Will’s voice came from over his shoulder.
He swung his leg over and slid his helmet off. “How you doing, little brother?”
“I suppose that depends on why you’re here.” Despite its close crop, Will’s hair shifted in the afternoon breeze.
“Just visiting you and G-pop.” He should tell Will. Be honest with him but he couldn’t.
“I’m joining, and there ain’t shit you can do about it. There’s been Kitchings in the Navy since before there was a Navy. G-pop, put my name on the list on the day I was born, same as he did for you.”
How did he tell him? He took a deep breath and the shoved the words out. “G-pop was an asshole and a liar, he never served.”
“Liar! Git the eff out of here, Rick. I’m going to Annapolis. And then to a carrier! What the hell makes you think it’s okay to shit all over G-pops memory?”
“He didn’t serve. He [TK-military term for] flunked out.
“You are an ass trying to tarnish the history of man that can’t defend himself. Where’s your proof? Cuz I’ve got a box full of his medals that say otherwise. ’
Rick hesitated. “Look, I know you worshiped him. But Gramms is the one that—
“She’s just a bitter old woman.”
“No denying. Doesn’t change what she told me. She said she hid a copy of his discharge papers before he burned the originals.”
“Where?
“Attic.” Rick followed Will into the house and up the attic stairs. A thick layer of dust lay over everything. Rick searched the back wall for the painting Gramms had described. Stapled to the frame, exactly where she’d said it would be was a thick envelope. He freed it and pulled out the contents.
“Just like she’d said.” Rick handed the contents to Will.
Will flipped through the papers. “None of this makes sense, why would he lie? Why did you care if it was all lies.”
“Look, I don’t care if you join up. If you want to serve, serve. Just don’t do it on some romantic notion he fed us about carrying on family traditions. Don’t let his memory or his lies put you in harms way.
Will nodded, closed his eyes, and took a deep gulp of air. “Want some iced tea?”
I knew the justifications needed to be shared and discussed, but I thought I should see if other people thought the scene stood on its own.
