A/N: The puppy is named after the Norse god, Njord. "The Norse god of winds, sea and fire. He brings good fortune at sea and in the hunt." (Encyclopedia Mythica: Norse Mythology. See: . for more information) This story does have abusive situations, such as in chapter 1, where children and/or women are being abused. I do NOT condone abuse (I abhorr it, actually) but hopefully this can help inspire anyone reading who may know someone in Renée's situation. There is help out there available for victims of abuse. As always constructive criticisms and reviews are much appreciated!
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Hearing Renée Walker's voice on the other end of the line, the pencil fell from Norman's fingers. Of all the people he knew to call him, he never imagined it would be his childhood best friend. A moment of unsettling silence passed before her nervous voice pulled him back from his memories.
"Um, is this a bad time? I can call back at a better time…I-I just needed someone to talk to and you were the first person I could think of. But I can call you back, I'm s-sure you're busy and all." Shaking his head with his heart in his throat, Norman quickly spoke up before Renée could end the call. The last time he'd heard her like this, it was the night before she moved away.
"No, no! I'm just working on some paperwork for the boat. But I need a break anyway; this crap is giving me a headache. What's up, how've you been?" Wincing, he mentally berated himself for asking the last question. How do you think she's been? With that jackass Vince, she must be feeling pretty shitty. He heard her laugh shakily and take a deep breath before answering.
"I've been better…I, um, I did it. I finally did it. Norman, I finally left Vince! I left him and, oh God Norman! I'm so scared! I don't know why I did it…he's just going to hunt me down and drag me back to Arizona. What am I going to do? I can't do this anymore, Norman! I can't live like this anymore. What should I do…oh, God, what can I do?" As she trailed off, he could faintly hear the buzzing whir of traffic and blasts of vehicle horns. Rubbing his free hand through his light brown hair, Norman sat back and stared out the window of his home office.
"Um, well, where are you? Do you know where you're heading? Maybe I can help you make a plan for where to stay. If you need to, you can come up to Seattle and stay at my house until you find a place of your own." Grimacing again, he took of his glasses before pulling a hand down across his eyes. The awkward silence was another stark reminder of her predicament.
"I'm…I'm, um, on my way to Seattle right now…I didn't know where else to go. I…I thought I might look up Jessica when I got there, but that won't be for another couple days. I just left Phoenix and I think I might go across California to the coast and go straight up along the coast."
As Norman listened to her explain the route she'd picked on the spot, he promised himself he would do whatever he could to help her get through the experience. When she had finished speaking, Norman repeated his promise to Renée. Although he knew next to nothing about the happenings of her life over the past twenty years, save what rumors he'd heard from old acquaintances, something felt right to him as he verbalized his heart-felt promises of help to the terrified woman.
With little encouragement, Renée had him talking about what he'd been doing with his life since they last saw each other. She had spent her first ninteen years playing with him and his two brothers, watching as they'd gone out to sea with their father to learn the fisherman's trade. Every time they went out, she would stand and wave goodbye; the golden haired girl was the last person Norman saw as they departed and the first person he saw upon their return.
Hearing the doorbell ring at the front, followed immediately by the sounds of three children's voices calling his name, Norman propped his elbow on the edge of his desk and rested his face in the palm of his hand.
"Hey, Renée? It's been really great talking to you again. You remember my youngest brother, Edgar? Well, he and his family are here so I have to go now. But I've missed you, and I really look forward to seeing you again. Will you call me when you stop for the night? I worry about you, and…I-I just miss you." Hearing footsteps racing up the hardwood stairs, his courage had failed and his last statement sounded lame in his ears.
In the silence following, his niece and two nephews paused in the doorway of his office. They noticed he was still on he phone, and quietly shushed each other. He was grateful for the phone hiding his burning ear and pink cheek. When Renée still didn't respond, he feared the connection was lost and he faltered for something to say.
"So…I-I'll talk to you later then?" A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he heard her voice confirm that she'd call him when she stopped for sleep. He listened to her disconnect the call with a soft 'goodbye' and he hung up, returning the cell phone to the holster at his hip. Rubbing his face with both hands, he sighed deeply again and flinched as his niece wrapped her arms around his neck.
Amy giggled as she planted a kiss on his still pink cheek. Pulling away, she studied his sad face and picked at a loose thread on Norman's sleeve.
"Uncle Norman, why do you look so sad?" Eric and Logan joined their sister at Norman's side as he struggled to find an answer. Eric nudged Amy in the awkward silence and chided her as only a brother can.
"Amy, you're not supposed to ask stupid questions like that – it's rude! What if he doesn't want to talk about it?" Amy crossed her arms and stared defiantly at her brother. Before she could fire off a retort, Norman put a calming hand on either child's shoulder.
"It's all right Eric, I don't mind. I just got off the phone with a friend I haven't talked to in a long time. She…she's in some trouble and needs some help with something." He ignored the boyish snickers his nephews made when they heard his voice catch. Instead, he rose and ushered his youngest brother's children from his office and followed them downstairs.
"Where are your parents? I know we talked about you three staying here for the rest of the summer, but I didn't expect it to be so soon." Eric grinned as his uncle glanced into the small foyer for luggage.
"Well, they wanted it to be a surprise, but – ow! Logan, why'd you kick me?!" The four year old scowled up at his eldest sibling as he shoved a finger to his lips.
"Shh! Its supposed to be secret, Eric! Only mom and dad can tell him!" Norman stopped short as he followed the kids into the kitchen. The three children turned back to stare at him with grinning faces as they succeeded in their own secret mission of perplexing their uncle.
"What's supposed to be secret? Eric, what is Logan talking about?" The children giggled excitedly at their uncle's confusion; Eric shook his head, clapping a hand to Amy's mouth to keep her from spilling the news. They roared with laughter as Norman grunted in wide-eyed surprise as a sudden weight landed on his back. He doubled over to keep from sending Edgar and himself crashing into the kitchen table.
Reaching around, Norman pulled his youngest brother from his back and into a headlock. Edgar struggled to free himself from Norman's strong yet playful grip and gave a yell of mock frustration as Norman's knuckles rubbed against his scalp. He craned his neck to shoot a pleading look to his children, who were rolling on the floor with laughter.
"Hey, you're not going to let Uncle Norman get the better of your dad are yah?! Please, help! Argh! Where the hell'd that come from?!" Edgar's playful shouts turned to genuine surprise as a small bundle of fuzz came tearing out from nowhere and plowed into his legs.
Norman released Edgar and fell backwards, holding his sides as he broke down laughing as the small puppy cheerfully attacked Edgar. Hearing Norman's laughter, the puppy turned and pounced onto Norman's chest, licking at the tears of laughter as they rolled down his pink face. Norman gently held the puppy as he sat up, fighting for breath.
"When'd you get the puppy, Norm?" Edgar inquired as his children swarmed around the excited creature squirming in Norman's lap. Norman lifted a shoulder in a silent shrug as he brushed hair back from his eyes.
"I found him on my pack porch a couple days ago and I didn't have it in me to get rid of him. I've started calling him Njord, and I think it fits him. Runs like the wind, loves the water, and he's full of spunk. Hey, speaking of spunk, where's Louise?" Edgar cast a wry grin at his children as he let the suspense drag on. Rapping a gentle knuckle on his brother's head, Norman gave Edgar a look that said "out with it already".
"Well, you know how we recently renewed our vows, right? Well, we'd wanted to go on our second honeymoon so she's finishing up the packing. She wanted to go see Hawaii, so we're going to go for two weeks." Edgar glanced down at Njord, who had crawled into his lap, and stroked the puppy's rough fur. Norman studied the guilty look on his brother's face and sighed.
"When were you planning on leaving?" Edgar's head snapped up and a hopeful grin spread across his face, "we were hoping to leave next week. It's just one week before the kids would've come over anyways. Sig did say that he would take the kids for that week if you didn't want to, and would bring them over the following week like we originally planned." The hopeful grin faded from his face as he noticed the distracted look on Norman's face. Quickly picking up on tension, Edgar nodded to himself as he mentally made that decision for all of them.
"I'll call Sig and tell him the kids'll stay with him for the first week, and that they'll come over here for the rest of the summer. You call me when you want to talk about it…whatever it is." Norman played with his lower lip a moment, nodding in silent thanks at his brother's quick decision. He took a breath and then hesitated before starting again.
"Kids, will you take Njord outside and see if he needs to pee? There's a box of puppy toys by the back door, so take a couple balls and throw them for him too. He'll like that, I think. I need to talk to your dad for a minute. We'll watch you from the windows." Taking their cue from their father's nod, Eric called Njord to follow him and Amy and Logan followed closely behind Njord.
Waiting until he heard the back French door click shut behind Amy, Norman stood and crossed the room to silently watch his niece and nephews play with the puppy. Edgar came up to stand quietly next to him, patiently waiting for the words to come.
"You remember when we were kids there was this girl that lived down the street from us? Old Man Walker's little girl, Renée; the girl that was always the last person we saw waving goodbye when we went out on the boat with dad and the first person we saw on the way back in? Well, she called me up before you got here. Edgar…she said she needs my help and that she's on her way to Seattle right now. I want to help her, but what am I supposed to do? How do I help her when I know all the shit she's been through all her life?"
Worry and concern creased his brow and his brown eyes were troubled as he turned to look his brother in the eye. Edgar chewed his lip before meeting Norman's gaze.
"Renée knows you're a good man. You were always her best friend; she and you did practically everything together. She trusted you completely when we were growing up, and she obviously still trusts you now. So, what you do is just be yourself. The rest'll come with time." Edgar turned back to watch Eric, Amy and Logan praise Njord for relieving himself outside and smiled.
"Just be the best friend you always were, and she'll be all right."
Copyright Alissa Franko 2009
