"Was there any mail for me today?"
Alex frowned at the question. It was the third time she'd asked this week, her tone overly casual, while her eyes darted around the kitchen counters, eagerly searching for a stack of mail she'd missed.
"No. Nothing." He said slowly, watching as her face fell the tiniest bit, before she noticed him looking at her, fixing a wide smile back on her face.
"Why?"
"Nothing serious. The electric bill is late. That's all." She shrugged casually, turning back to her oatmeal and staring down at it glumly.
She was lying to him now, he was sure of it. She didn't seem to know that he kept a casual eye on her finances, making a note of the bills that came in, often surreptitiously checking their joint account to see if there was enough in there to cover it. He was always ready to jump in, to bail her out if her barely-breaking-even business were to fail, but she always seemed to manage the bills, no matter what. She had been managing without him for a long time now - She never needed his help, and until she asked, he wouldn't dare offer, but he hoped she knew he would help her in a heartbeat.
She'd paid the electric bill days ago, less than a day after it had arrived, just like she always did, and he frowned across at her, observing the way she was resting her head on her hand, toying with her breakfast sadly.
"You ok?"
"What?" She looked up, as if startled by the casual question. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled at him, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and he tried to smile back, hating that there was something bothering her that she wasn't telling him about. He knew better than to push it though, and simply nodded gently at her, before rising to his feet and kissing her goodbye.
She waited until she heard his car pull away, waited until the sound of tyres on asphalt had faded to nothing and the house was still and silent before slowly rising from the breakfast table, and treading to her bedroom, sitting heavily on the edge of the bed. She sniffled deeply, feeling pathetic as she leaned forwards, bending to reach under the bed, pulling out a battered old shoebox.
Tears threatened to fall as her hands skimmed gently over the creased, crushed cardboard surface, before she shook herself. It wasn't a big deal. So he had forgotten this year? That was fine. He had alot going on with his treatment. She didn't need to torture herself.
Taking a deep breath, she shoved the shoebox back under the bed without opening it, swiping her fingers under her eyes and carrying on with her day, not noticing the corner of black and red cardboard that was still poking out.
"Norma? Norma?" Alex jogged into the house, noticing how still it was, letting himself glance around the empty kitchen for a second, before sprinting up the stairs. "Norma? I forgot my tie...?" He trailed off as he realised he was talking to no-one, slowing his pace a little, and heading over to the dresser to grab the tie she had picked to go with his suit. He was about to head out when a little flash of red poking out from the bed drew his attention and he stopped, strangely intrigued by what seemed to be a shoe box he'd never seen before, old and tattered, unlike anything else Norma Bates owned.
He sat down, unable to resist the mysterious box, running his hands over the surface, wiping the fine layer of dust from the top of it. It looked old - not vintage or antique - just old. The faded logo of some shoe store that didn't exist anymore adorned the top, in a garish, blocky 90's font, and there was an air of neglect that made him feel sad without knowing why. Already nervous about what he might find, he slid the lid off, frowning as he was presented with a fairly innocuous looking collection of birthday cards.
He grabbed the top one, a generic, but expensive-looking card, opening it and reading the message.
To Mother. Happy Birthday! All my love, Norman xxx
Alex smiled a little at his sentimental wife secretly keeping these things in a box under the bed. It didn't seem like her.
He grabbed the next one, another pretty, expensive-looking card, with intricate flowers printed on heavy paper.
To Mother. Can't wait to spend your birthday together. Love forever, Norman xx
He flicked through the next few, noticing that they all seemed to be from Norman, all on classy, pretty cards, with simple, heartfelt wishes, realising they seemed to be going backwards in chronological order.
To Mom! Happy birthday. Lots of love from Norman. And dad too. xxx
Alex frowned at that, flicking through a few more cards, noticing that there had been a good few years where Norman had signed the cards from his father aswell. Surely Sam had got her his own birthday card too though? Alex knew from little snippets he had pieced together that Sam Bates had been an asshole, quite possibly abusive, and an all round bad guy, but, he'd surely gotten his wife a birthday card at least once over the years?
Apparently not. Eventually, the expensive cards segued into cheaper ones, the choices of a smaller child, perhaps saving up his allowance to buy them, and eventually, he was at a small stack of homemade cards, near the bottom of the box.
He smiled at the adorably bad penmanship of a very small child, each card a mess of glue and glitter and too many colours.
Mommy. Happy birthday. Love Norman. xxxxxxx
The barely legible scrawl read.
There were a couple more of the sentimental homemade cards near the bottom, and he frowned as he came to the last handful of cards, which seemed colder somehow, impersonal and cheap-looking, compared to Norman's prettier choices.
To Norma. The teacher made me write this. From Dylan.
It was written in the scrawl of a very angry little kid and Alex hated the idea of her hanging on to this, as if she needed to be reminded that one of her children used to hate her, like she wasn't worthy of the love that the rest of the box contained.
The last couple of cards were more of the same, either dripping in blatant resentment, or wishing her a happy birthday in the most disinterested way Alex had ever read. She'd mentioned that her and Dylan hadn't always gotten along, but, seeing them together now, he had no idea Dylan had once felt his way about his mother.
The very last card was definitely the oldest, and the most worn, definitely the sort of card someone picked up at a gas station as an afterthought.
Norma. Happy birthday. From Sam and the boys.
He flipped it over slowly in his hands, searching for something else, anything that would make it clear why she had chosen to save these cards along with Norman's. With a start, he wondered if these were all the cards she'd ever received? Surely they couldn't be. They were all from Norman, with only a handful of vicious birthday wishes from Dylan and one singular card from her second husband. Where were the cards from her family? Or from her first husband? Alex's childhood had been a mess, but even he had had cards and a cake on his birthday.
He suddenly felt like he was intruding on something very personal, something very sad that Norma wouldn't want him to see, and he quickly arranged the cards back in the box, doing his best to keep them in order and splay them out just the same, before sliding the box back under the bed, not releasing his breath until he was sure it was in the same position as when he found it.
Grabbing his forgotten tie, realising he was now absurdly late for the deposition he was supposed to be attending, he slipped his phone out of his pocket, dialling as he jogged down the stairs.
"Janine. I need you to do something for me. Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm on my way there now. I forgot my damn tie... Ok, well tell them to wait. I'm literally right outside."
He broke into a sprint down the steps to his SUV, guiltily realising how late he was.
"I need you to check on something for me. I need you to find out when Norma Bates' birthday is... Janine? Are you there? ...Norma Bates."
He turned the engine on, and backed out of the parking lot at a ridiculous pace.
"Yes, Janine. My wife." He sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. "Don't start with me, ok?"
There was a long pause while Janine clacked away at the keys and Alex drove dangerously fast to get to his deposition, somehow trying to tie his tie, drive the car and stay on the phone to Janine, all at the same time.
"Yeah, I'm still here. YES! I'M LITERALLY RIGHT OUTSIDE!" He yelled down the phone, still roughly ten minutes away from the courthouse. "Ok. So that's... Wait. This Saturday? THIS Saturday?" He sighed heavily and hung up without saying goodbye to Janine. His receptionist was used to it by now, but it was a behaviour Norma was trying her best to stamp out, unsuccessful thus far.
Suddenly, Norma's frantic scanning of the mail the past week made sense now, and his heart filled with sadness for his beautiful wife, who didn't want to tell him that her birthday was in three days time.
Norma stretched contentedly in her bed, reaching for Alex, frowning when she found his side of the bed empty and cold. She sat up, grumpily scanning the room and finding it empty. He was an early riser during the week, but he usually slept in a little on the weekends, and she'd been looking forward to a roll around the sheets to start her day off. She dressed slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the door, hoping he'd wander back into the bedroom before she was fully dressed, giving her an excuse to take it all off again and crawl back into bed with him. Alas, he didn't appear, and she stomped downstairs in a mood, ready to snap at him for not waking her, stopping dead when she found her kitchen empty, the smell of coffee wafting over to her from the fresh pot sitting in the maker.
"Alex?" She yelled tentatively, already hearing the silence in the house that told her he wasn't home. Panic flooded through her before her eyes fell on a little scrap of paper lying in the middle of her table.
"Norma. Been called in to work today. Sorry. I'll be home for dinner."
She turned the paper over in her hands, staring incredulously at it, before noticing the two chicken breasts defrosting on the side, and read the note again, her eyebrows shooting up. So he was going to be out all day, and he'd thoughtfully got the chicken out so she could prepare him a meal for when he got home? Pfft.
Screwing the note up and flinging it to the ground, she opened the freezer door, slinging the chicken breasts back in and slamming the door with more force than required. She was being ridiculous, of course. He had no reason to know it was her birthday. No reason to make any sort of special effort, or to tell work he was taking the day off with his wife. But she was mad all the same, slamming around the kitchen for a few minutes before taking her phone out, scrolling through for the number and huffing angrily while it dialled.
"Dylan?" She puffed out before calming her tone a little. He had never remembered her birthday before - He had no reason to now. "Hi honey. I was wondering if-"
"Hi Norma." He cut her off, his tone short and sharp. He sounded a little breathless, and almost irritated by her call. "Listen, now isn't a good time." He said curtly.
"Oh. Ok then. I was just wondering if you were free to get some lunch later? My treat?" She added pitifully, rubbing her hand up and down her arm, feeling very sorry for herself all of a sudden.
"No." He said quickly. "No. Sorry, Norma. Not today. I'm busy." There was a pause and it sounded like he was covering the mouthpiece, a faint murmuring just making it's way through to her and she wondered what all the secrecy was about. Norma gasped as she had a sudden thought, wondering if Dylan was back in the drug trade, hoping against hope he wasn't back in that life.
"Dylan, I-"
"Listen, Norma. I gotta go. Bye." And then he hung up, and Norma dropped into the seat at the kitchen table heavily, biting her lip to stop it trembling, fighting the urge to cry and wallow.
On the other end of the phone, a frantic panic was brewing.
"I went too far." Dylan said glumly, as Emma nodded, and Alex shook his head.
"You called her Norma alot. She hates that." Emma pointed out accusingly, shaking her head at Dylan who looked stricken.
"No, no. It was perfect!" Alex protested, clapping the miserable looking Dylan on the shoulder and grinning happily at them. "The disappointment part is integral to the surprise."
Emma rolled her eyes, reaching for her phone, wondering if men ever grew out of their stupidity.
"Whoa, whoa." Dylan's hand shot out to stop her as she dialled. "You know the plan? Keep it simple, ok?"
Him and Alex exchanged a pointed look as Emma rolled her eyes at them both, shaking her hair out of her face and pressing the phone to her ear. Secretly, they had no faith in the sweet, honest Emma's ability to lie.
"Norma? It's Emma... Yeah, I'm good. Listen, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come shopping with me today? Maybe grab some lunch?" She shrugged, keeping her tone casual, her face falling at Norma's reply. She looked very sad for a moment, casting her eyes accusingly at Alex. "Oh? You're spending the day with Alex? Well, that's ok then." Alex shrunk a little under the girl's glare, suddenly wondering if he really had gone too far. To him, the disappointment was all part of it, but he frequently forgot how sensitive Norma could be. His eyes widened as Emma nodded understandingly down the phone, before she jumped up suddenly, rubbing her hand across her face.
"Norma?" Her tone was completely changed, soft and pleading and fragile all of a sudden, and both him and Dylan stared open mouthed at her as her face crumpled out of nowhere. "I don't know where Dylan is." She whispered, sounding almost tearful. "No, no, no. I mean, he's fine. But he wouldn't tell me where he was going today, and like, he was so distant this morning..." Her voice cracked convincingly, and if Alex wasn't looking at Dylan right now, he would have entirely believed her.
"No, no. I'm fine." She breathed out tearfully. "Don't cancel your plans. I just... I'm just worried. I kinda just wanted to take my mind of it but-"
Her face lit up and she moved the phone away from her face for a moment, holding her finger carefully over the mouthpiece.
"She's talking to you." She whispered, nodding at Alex and he frowned in confusion for a moment before realising what she meant.
"Yeah, I'm here? Oh Norma. Are you sure? I don't want you to have to- Ok. Ok. Yeah that sounds good. Ok, I'll see you there... Bye."
Emma clicked off the phone, smiling triumphantly at Alex and Dylan who were staring at her incredulously.
"You cancelled your plans. You were very good about it." She smirked at him, and he exchanged disbelieving looks with Dylan.
"Stop looking at me like that. You shouldn't have underestimated me!" She chastised gently, smiling smugly at them before reaching for her coat and her bag, starting to walk away from them.
"Emma?" Alex called her back, suddenly wondering if she'd be able to help him figure out something he'd been trying to figure out for the past 3 days. "What kind of flowers do you think Norma likes?" He asked nonchalantly, and Emma span back to him.
"She likes lupins, even though they remind her of her childhood. She gets sad when she sees them. And white roses used to be her favourite, but she had them in her wedding bouquet with Sam so I'd maybe avoid those? She likes peonies, and blue daisies and sunflowers, but she only likes sunflowers that are still growing. She doesn't like when people cut them."
She finished speaking and Alex stared at her open mouthed for a few moments, wondering why he didn't come to Emma with every problem he'd ever had.
"What?" She inquired, looking innocently from Dylan to Alex.
"I just... I'll never underestimate you again."
She smirked at them, before leaving without another word, leaving the boys to their busy day.
"Thank you for today, Norma." Emma said sweetly, as Norma pulled the car into the motel lot, noticing Alex's squad car parked in it's usual spot. She frowned, before fixing a smile back on her face.
"No problem, honey. I had fun. And don't worry about Dylan. Let me do that, ok? I'm sure it's nothing."
Emma nodded, casting her eyes guiltily down at the footwell.
"I'm real sorry about your skirt aswell." Emma gestured to the shopping bag at her feet, which contained Norma's stained skirt. Emma had timed the spillage just right, testing the temperature of her coffee to make sure it wasn't going to burn, before "accidentally" tipping the whole thing down Norma's outfit, forcing her to change into the dress she'd bought today.
Norma flicked her head down at herself, like she had forgotten about the incident.
"Don't be silly. It's fine." She said warmly, opening the door and climbing gracefully out of the car, smoothing her dress down as she stepped out. "And besides, it gave me an excuse to wear my new dress." She smiled sweetly at Emma, who averted her gaze, afraid she was going to give the game away with her eyes. The coffee tip had been a spur of the moment thing, after she had managed to convince Norma to buy the slightly overpriced floral print dress from the vintage boutique they'd been to. She'd looked wildly over dressed for the rest of the day in the pretty dress, with it's full A-line skirt flaring out of her hips, high, straight neckline, and open back, dipping down to the snug-fitting waist.
"And you're sure it's ok if I stay for dinner?" Emma asked for the fifth time, because she knew it would look suspicious if she didn't question it.
Norma glared at Alex's car before linking arms with Emma, starting up the steps.
"Of course! We'd love to have you! Let's be crazy tonight! Let's get a pizza!" She chirped, giving Emma's arm a little squeeze, secretly loving the idea of Alex coming home to an empty house, thinking his good little wife would have cooked him a hot meal to come home to. She was glad to invite Emma over, knowing Alex sometimes felt a little awkward around the girl he barely knew, pleased to add a little extra penance for not knowing it was her birthday, even though that wasn't fair, since he had no way of knowing.
She glanced up at the house, frowning at the darkness that greeted her. Usually she had to chastise him for leaving all the lights on, going around turning them off, grumbling about him "not caring about the planet" so it was strange to her that her home sat still, in darkness.
"Why are all the lights off?" She muttered, mostly to herself, as she unconsciously pushed Emma behind her a little, the natural reaction of a mother sensing potential danger, as she unlocked her door, stepping tentatively over the threshold.
"Alex?" She called out nervously, growing more anxious as she was met with only silence from the darkened house. "Alex?" Her voice grew a little shriller as she tiptoed inside.
The usually overly talkative Emma remained silent, offering no suggestions, or worries, or panicked chatter, which Norma would usually find odd, but she was too preoccupied with her own anxiousness to notice, thankfully not glancing behind her to where Emma was biting her lip to stop from giggling.
There was a tiny noise from the dining room, the formal room they rarely used, and Norma jumped, flailing her hand quietly to usher Emma behind her as she slowly pushed the door open, her mind expecting the worst.
"SURPRISE!" Emma suddenly yelled from behind her, just a split second before Alex and Dylan shouted from inside the dining room.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They shouted, all three of them faltering as they realised they'd shouted different things at the same time.
"I thought we decided on 'Surprise'?" Emma mumbled accusingly, as Norma gasped at them, taking in Alex and Dylan's sheepish, unsure expressions, and her little dining room filled with flowers and balloons, and then glancing over her shoulder at Emma, who was beaming happily at her.
"Did you do all this?" She blurted out, her mouth hanging open in shock, her hand flying to her chest like she was having palpitations.
"Me? No! This was all Sheriff Romero." Emma grinned at Norma's dumbstruck reaction, as she turned back to her son and her husband, who were still standing awkwardly, not quite sure if they'd done well or not.
Norma took a few moments to take it all in, blinking rapidly at the ground to keep the unshed tears in her eyes from falling, taking deep breaths until her heart-rate slowed and she glanced up, smiling broadly at them both.
"Oh honey!" She trilled as she swept over to Dylan, pulling him in for a bone crushing hug he wasn't expecting. "Thank you." She muttered, and he nodded back, stiffly returning her hug, before she released him, spinning round and embracing Emma, stroking a hand down her curls gently, feeling the girl clutch her back like she was starved of a mother figure.
"Thanks Emma." She whispered gratefully, before turning to the waiting Alex, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him, feeling him envelope her in his embrace.
"How did you know it was my birthday?" She whispered against his neck.
"I have my ways." He murmured back cryptically, pressing a gentle kiss against her temple, before pulling back and going to turn away from her. Her hand shot out, grasping his hand, stopping him from going anywhere. She shot him a quizzical look, pouting a little and he chuckled, easing his fingers from her grip.
"Relax. I'm just going to get the food." He mumbled, sounding a little shy, as Emma gasped cutely at his words and Norma's mouth dropped open.
"Food?" She repeated.
"Sit, sit." He demanded, sounding more like her than himself, and everyone was too shocked to do anything else but obey, all taking their seats and gazing curiously at the doorway, waiting for him to return.
"Alex cooked?" She whispered to Dylan, who shrugged nonchalantly, giving nothing away. Norma flashed her eyes at Emma, shooting her a curious smile.
"Well, I guess we all die tonight then?" She joked innocently, finally letting her eyes drift around the table. They had laid out her best china, which would normally be a serious offence, but she was touched at the gesture today. Her hand reached out to gently graze the petals of the baby pink peonies that adorned the centre of the table, smiling gently at them, noticing the tiny blue daisies and bluebells and wildflowers that were dotted between them. How would he have guessed all her favourite flowers? She was too in awe of the perfect arrangement to notice Emma's pleased grin as she watched Norma stroking her fingers along the blush petals.
"I hope you're hungry!" Alex announced, his tone slightly apprehensive as he appeared in the doorway with a steaming serving dish in his hands, dropping it down and disappearing again, this time balancing another serving dish and a bottle of champagne in his hands.
"You really shouldn't have gone to all this trouble..." She started meekly and Alex ignored her, taking the covers off the dishes with a flourish, smiling proudly down at his creation, as they all leaned in curiously.
"What is it?" Dylan blurted out, and Alex smile faltered a little.
"It's ropa vieja. And rice and beans." He announced and they all looked from the dishes to his pleased little face. They was a long pause and he rolled his eyes at them. "It's Cuban." He clarified, and he cast his eyes down sadly to the floor for a moment. "It's nothing special. Just beef and..." He trailed off, shrugging.
"It's the only thing my mom ever taught me to cook." He said quietly, darting his eyes up to Norma, like he was sharing that with only her, like Emma and Dylan weren't there for a moment.
They stared at each other for a moment, just long enough for her to blink her eyes slowly at him, shooting him a soft smile, which he returned, before Emma piped up out of nowhere.
"Well, it looks great!" She said cheerfully, leaning forward to gaze at the food.
"Is it spicy though?" She added warily, and Alex laughed at her, sliding into the seat next to her, right across from Norma.
"I always forget you're English." He joked, and Emma's mouth dropped open, unused to being the butt of a joke from Sheriff Bulldog Romero. "I'll do bangers and mash for you next time."
Emma gasped in faux English outrage, and the slight nervous tension was lifted, beginning an evening of merriment and gentle chit chat.
"Oh my god, Alex!" Norma blurted out, covering her full mouth with her hand. "This is really good!"
"Ok. The surprise in your voice is a little hurtful..." He deadpanned, and she laughed, shooting him a incredulous look.
"Why have you let me do all the cooking this whole time?" She took another bite and he rolled his eyes at her.
"Because one time I tried to make breakfast and you screamed at me for using the wrong pan."
"He was making an omelette in a skillet!" She protested, turning to Emma and Dylan like they were going to back her up. They shrugged at her and she rolled her eyes in response, going back to their meal, continually reassuring the visibly nervous Alex that she was enjoying the food and that no, she didn't need her glass topping up.
"Thank you for dinner, honey." She trilled at him, after they opened a second bottle and they were all sat back, clean plates all round.
"You're very welcome."
She automatically reached for her plate, her other hand stretching out to grab his.
"Don't you dare touch that plate, Norma Bates." He snapped suddenly, and she froze, tutting at him, but obediently sitting back in her chair.
Dylan and Emma rose as one, in perfect sync as they both reached for everyone's plates.
"No, no-" Norma started, as Alex rose too, holding his hands out to stop them.
"I'll do that-"
"No." Emma said simply, entirely ignoring him, apparently emboldened by the tiny glass of champagne she'd had, slapping his hands away from the plates.
"You cooked. We'll clear."
They couldn't argue with the girl's logic and even Dylan flashed them a little look that said he was impressed by this sudden burst of confidence as she successfully disobeyed Norma and Alex, clearing the table with Dylan's help.
They disappeared into the kitchen, just the soft murmur of happy voices and the faucet running floating into the dining room, where Norma and Alex were now alone.
"You didn't have to do all this, you know." She said softly, tapping her ring absentmindedly against her glass, gesturing at the flowers and the shiny pastel balloons hovering around the room, and then to the kitchen.
"Stop saying that." He chastised quietly, shaking his head at her as she glanced up at him, letting a small smile spread across her face.
"I wanted to. I wanted you to have a good birthday."
He didn't want to let her know that he knew she'd never really had a good birthday before. He didn't want to embarrass her or remind her of any sadness that her life before him had contained, so he left it at that, gazing deep into her eyes, blinking slowly.
She reached out, covering his hand on the table.
"I did have a good birthday. Thank you, honey." She beamed at him, and he stroked his fingers across her palm, bringing her hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles.
"It's not over yet." He murmured, his words full of promise, his eyes dark all of a sudden, and she let her foot graze up the side of his leg for a second, before Dylan and Emma reappeared in the doorway and she dropped her foot and her eyes guiltily.
"Ok. All washed up. We left the skillet soaking-"
"Dylan! You don't soak a cast iron skillet!" She whined, and Dylan and Emma burst out laughing as she fell for the weakest prank of all time.
"Oh ha ha." She rolled her eyes at them, as Dylan produced a handful of cards from behind his back, handing them over sheepishly.
"You got me a card?" She breathed out, flicking through the trio of envelopes, running her hand over them reverently.
Dylan dug his hands into his pockets casually, like it was no big deal, before Emma ushered them back to their seats, smiling almost tearfully at Norma as she opened the first card.
Mom. Happy birthday! Sorry I missed so many. I'll make it up to you.
Lots of love from Dylan and Emma xoxo
Emma had clearly written "lots of" in her own handwriting, and had added the kisses at the end, but the rest was all Dylan, and Norma stared at the card for a moment, taking deep breaths, willing herself not to cry.
"Thanks..." She sniffled a little, and Dylan looked deeply uncomfortable. "Thank you Dylan."
"No problem... mom." He choked out and Norma busied herself with neatly folding the envelope before taking a deep breath, and opening the next card.
To My Wife read the front of the card, and Norma bit her lip. She had been married three times, and she had never received a card that said "To my wife" on it. She tried desperately not to dwell on that, as she opened it, letting her eyes fall on Alex's looped, feminine handwriting.
Norma.
I'm glad I met you. I'm glad I married you. I'm glad I can make this birthday special. I promise I will make every birthday from this one special too.
All my love, Alex. x
She gave up at this point, letting a couple of errant tears fall from beneath her lids, sniffling at little as she grinned up at him, seeing him smiling sadly at her.
She didn't say anything - She didn't need to, just nodded at him, wiping away her little tear, before turning her attention to the last card, gasping as she recognised the handwriting.
"Is this..." She whispered, tearing open the envelope before she could finish her thought, throwing her hand over her mouth as she read it.
Mother.
Happy birthday. I forgive you.
Love, Norman x
She gasped into her hand.
"How did you... I thought he'd..." She choked out, clutching the card against her, now openly crying.
"I-" Alex started, and Dylan cut him off.
"Norman called me. They wouldn't let him mail it so I drove down to pick it up. He wanted to make sure you got it."
He was lying. He and Alex had driven down there and borderline threatened Norman into writing the card, since he had known very well what day it was and had planned on ignoring the date to spite her. But Norma didn't need to know that, and so Dylan lied - One of the kindest things he had ever done for her, and with enough finesse that she didn't question it.
"Oh." She breathed out happily, reading the card again, sobbing as she read the somewhat cold little message inside again. She didn't notice though, or she chose not to notice, choosing to feel loved and happy on her birthday.
Alex couldn't really blame Dylan for lying, and he was secretly just happy to let Dylan take the lead on that, not wanting to tell her the ugly truth, so he smiled at her, and got up, crossing the room and leaning down to hug her, letting her cry out happy tears against his shoulder.
"I think we're gonna head out." Dylan said suddenly and they broke apart, looking guilty that they'd made them feel uncomfortable.
"What? No, Dylan, Emma - Stay." She pouted at them, noticing the way his concerned gaze kept flicking over to Emma.
"Come on, at least stay for some cake?"
"There's cake?" Norma's face lit up and Alex closed his eyes in annoyance at himself for giving that away.
"We'd love to but... Emma isn't really supposed to be up and about for this long yet."
They all flicked their eyes to Emma, who looked decidedly paler than she had earlier and she looked stricken.
"I'm so sorry, Norma-" She started and Norma held a hand up to stop her.
"Stop it. Don't apologise. Your health comes first, sweetie."
Norma rose, wiping her hands across her wet cheeks, and Emma wobbled to her feet, looking more exhausted by the second, just as Dylan sprang up, rushing to protectively wrap his arm around Emma's waist.
"Thank you for dinner." She said politely to Alex, thankfully not lingering by him long enough to make him internally debate whether or not he should hug her. She reached for Norma, pulling her close and feeling her take a shaky breath.
"Did you have a good birthday?" She murmured and Norma pulled back, keeping her hands on Emma's arms, fixing her with a warm smile.
"I did. I really did. Thank you."
Dylan patiently waited his turn, obligingly letting her pull him for a lingering hug, feeling her start to cry very softly against him again.
"Mom... stop." He muttered and she sniffled and shook herself. "Happy birthday Norma." He mumbled.
"Thank you, Dylan. It means alot to me." She said quietly, before pulling back and watching as Alex and Dylan shook each other's hands.
"Thanks for your help, man." Alex said gently. "I couldn't have done-"
"Don't mention it." Dylan nodded back at him. "Anytime... Alex."
"Ok, now you take care of her, ok?" Norma said suddenly, wrapping her arm around Dylan as they walked out. "Do you guys want some leftovers to take with you?"
"We're fine, honestly. I'm just a bit tired. I'm ok, I swear." Emma assured her, as her and Dylan started down the steps.
"Don't worry. I'll look after her." Dylan piped up, as he turned round. "Goodnight. Save us some cake, ok?"
He led Emma down the steps to his car, as Alex wrapped his arm around Norma's shoulders, waving them goodbye as they drove off.
Norma opened her mouth to speak, cut off as Alex suddenly grasped her hand and pulled her towards him, kissing her passionately.
"Time to unwrap my gift?" She smirked against his mouth, as her hands brazenly tugged at the front of his shirt. He chuckled, pressing a soft kiss against her jaw and then pulling back, keeping his hands wrapped around her waist.
"Not quite." She pouted at him. "I wanna show you something..."
Part 1 is finally done!
Special thanks to DoomedSometimes for helping my clueless self with the Cuban food references and for everyone who sent me little ideas or supportive messages or anything while I was writing this. And yes - this is VERY PG. Don't worry. Part 2 won't be. ;)