7.
~ "That was nice." Alex said as he drove them both back to his house on Pearl Street. Norma sighed and looked sadly out the window.
"I think Dylan will do fine at his new job. He's always had a good head on his shoulders." Alex offered conversationally.
"I asked him if he would take me with him to see Norman at Pine View while you were paying the check." Norma confessed suddenly.
She perceived Alex's angry look though she didn't turn to him to make sure.
"He said no." She shrugged indifferently. Depression grabbing ahold of her with cold, clammy hands and pulling her under.
"He said I needed time away from Norman and he needed time away from me." she sighed.
"I think that's best." Alex said carefully.
"Was I really that bad of a mother?" she questioned pitifully. "That it's best for everyone that I don't see my own son?"
"I've seen worse mothers, Norma." Alex said. "Women who needed their children taken away for their safety. Trust me, you're not a bad mother."
Norma watched the beautiful view of the bay as Alex drove them along the shore line to his house.
"When I was little, my mother never did much for us." she said. "She was in her own world a lot. Depression maybe. I just remember at a young age we had to take care of ourselves. Feed ourselves, that kind of thing. When Norman was born, I remember wanting to be a good mother to him. It was like God had given me a second chance with this beautiful, perfect little baby. That I needed to do right by him and take care of him."
"You are taking care of him." Alex said soothingly.
"Why did he do this?" she whispered. "Alex, why did he do this to me?"
Her husband was quite and made the gentle turn onto Pearl Street.
"I don't know, Norma." he said at last. "We're home now, and you're safe."
~ "What's wrong?" Dylan asked.
Emma jumped and hid her phone under her arm. The reassuring click of the smart phone meant he couldn't see the email she'd gotten without her passcode.
Dylan seemed to sense instantly that something was off and nodded to her phone.
"What is it?" he asked suspiciously.
The two of them had gone back to the old house to supervise a local contractor. He'd finally come to put in a new pane of glass in Norma's bedroom. The weather report said a snow storm was on the way and the house needed to be secured before it hit.
"Nothing." Emma shook her head and stepped away from him.
Dylan looked skeptical and she rolled her eyes in defeat.
"I just… I got some bad news." she said at last.
"What kind of bad news?" Dylan asked. His face growing concerned.
"It's nothing for you to worry about… and I don't want you to worry about it." Emma said quickly.
"Emma." Dylan said gently.
"It's just… well, my dad's insurance." she sighed and felt embarrassment tint her cheeks. "He's always had private health insurance for me and the rates are really high with everything I've needed. With the surgery and now the transplant drugs. Everything's gotten so much more expensive." she sighed pitifully. "I just don't see how he's going to afford it."
"You need the transplant drugs." Dylan said matter of factly.
"Yeah, most likely for he rest of my life." Emma sighed. "It's just… we thought I would be eligible for grant money and tax breaks. That kind of thing."
"No luck." Dylan said bitterly.
"No, but we can apply again. We've done it before. I can do a research group. Transplanted lung patients need to be studied and evaluated by medical students. I've done that before." she said hopefully.
"Or we can get married and you can get onto my insurance." Dylan shrugged easily.
"I'm being serious." Emma sighed. Her new lungs suddenly feeling very burdensome to those she loved most in the world.
"So am I." Dylan said cooly.
"What… we're not getting married just so I can be on your insurance plan." Emma laughed. "That's… that's crazy."
"Mom and Romero did it." Dylan said with a sly grin. "They seem pretty pleased with each other."
"Yeah, but…" Emma was suddenly filled with a need to giggle at the absurdity of it all. "This isn't a romantic comedy, Dylan." she said seriously.
"I know it's not." he said just as seriously. "This is real life. This is your life. I'm paying for this insurance and if it can help you and take some of the financial burden off you and your dad, then I want to help."
"You're being serious right now?" Emma asked. She could hardly believe this was real. If Dylan married her, if she was on this expensive insurance he was getting through his new job, she wouldn't have to worry about drug costs or being in research studies to help offset the expense of her treatments. No more mountains of paperwork for grants and aide. No more six figure bills her dad couldn't pay.
"I know I should propose with a ring or something." Dylan sighed and patted down his coat pocket. "Oh, wait… just a second."
Emma watched in muted amazement as Dylan fished out a black velvet ring box.
"I found one." he shrugged and opened it to show her the lavish antique engagement ring her great-grandmother had worn.
She drew in a breath at seeing the ring that was a real family heirloom and was kept inside the large safe in her dad's taxidermy shop. Something she had always held romantic feelings for ever since she was a little girl.
"When I asked your dad's permission to marry you, he said you always loved this ring. That you were more likely to say yes if I gave it to you. If you want a new one-"
"Dylan." Emma felt herself start to cry.
He was smiling as she snatched the ring box from him.
"You know I'm only eighteen years old." she sniffed and watched how the light played over the still brilliant stone.
"You're not like other eighteen year olds." he told her honestly.
Emma tried to think of a valid reason not to marry him. She loved Dylan. She could see him for what he was and could see how amazing and rare he could be. How he wanted and needed her for comfort. How he needed her to be the strong one and how he needed to be her knight in shinning armor at the same time.
How he appreciated and cared for her. Even when she was so close to death, he'd been there for her.
"You know, that I may not stay healthy like this for long. My body could still reject these lungs." Emma felt her voice quivering slightly with fear. Not fear for herself, she was past that, fear for Dylan's happiness. "I could have an infection. I could stroke out or even die in my sleep. Freak things like that happen all the time with transplant recipients." she added.
She hoped it would scare him a little. Make him see things wouldn't always be this perfect.
"Tomorrow isn't certain." he shrugged and a delighted smile inched across his face.
Emma felt the joy of taking deep, cleansing breaths as she tried not to love him anymore than she already did.
"Well?" Dylan asked hopefully.
"Of course I'll marry you." Emma whispered. She felt her heart beat fasted when his hands encircled her waist and pulled her close.
"What are we going to tell your mom?" she teased.
"Now, see." Dylan sighed in frustration. "Never bring up a guys mom during a moment like this. It really kills the mood."
Emma couldn't stop smiling at the prospect of being a bride and have this handsome man as her groom.
~ "I like the Grinch." Alex said.
"Of course you like the Grinch, Alex. You are the Grinch. I'm surprised you didn't steal Christmas morning from all the little kids of White Pine Bay." Norma snapped.
She rested her head back on his chest as they watched the annual holiday cartoon on TV. The classic reminded her of watching it with Dylan and Norman when they were little. Her youngest child always feeling sorry for the dog Max who had to pull a heavy sled and take abuse from the horrible Grinch. That was Norman though, he always felt sorry for the unfortunates in any story.
"I wouldn't steal Christmas." Alex chuckled and she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders tighter. The two of them snuggled on the couch in the now cozy house. There had been a sudden blizzard during the night that trapped them indoors. Alex was still on family medical leave and Dylan had called a few hours ago to tell them they were safe at the old house until the bad weather had passed and they could maneuver the streets. Norma had enjoyed the sudden storm that had forced the both of them to stay close to the fire he'd built. She'd even made a stew and the whole house felt clean, cozy and smelled of home cooked food.
"They have 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' after this." Alex said lazily.
"Norman loves Charlie Brown." she sighed heavily. She wanted to kick herself for always bringing up her wayward son, but she couldn't help it. She missed him so much it was like being in constant pain. It felt like a piece of herself, the best piece of herself, was missing.
She felt Alex stiffen slightly but not pull away.
"I'm sorry." she sighed. It was frustrating to have to think of things to say to him that didn't involve her son. Norman was all she could think about these days. All she wanted to do was see him and talk to him. It felt like years had passed since she woke up in the hospital instead of just a few days.
"It's okay." he said soberly.
"I think, next week sometime, I'll be allowed to see him." she said brightly. "I think once we have a nice talk, like we used to, that I'll feel better."
"When the three of us sit down to talk." Alex corrected her.
Norma leaned away from him. Her sprits crushed that Alex would want to intrude on her long awaited personal time with Norman.
Her husband refused to look ashamed.
"The last time you had a heartfelt talk, he ended up coming home too soon." Alex argued. "I'm not letting that happen again."
"Alex." Norma started to protest. "I know Norman made a mistake. I know it wasn't an accident. He was just upset-"
"Upset?" Alex laughed. "No, he wanted you both dead, Norma. Why can't you see that?"
It felt like a knife had been plunged deep into her heart at the accusation. She couldn't bare to hear such ugliness about her son. The person she loved more than her own life.
"I told you." she said trying to stay calm. "I told you I understand what happened. I know it wasn't an accident or a misunderstanding. It feels like you and Dylan have just conspired to keep me away from Norman when he just made one mistake."
"One mistake. Tell me about the gun." Alex said simply. "You said Norman had a gun and you were scared."
Norma's breath caught and she tried to explain how Norman holding her at gunpoint was no big deal.
"It wasn't like that." she insisted. "He... he was in a bad place-"
She stopped short as Alex gave her a serious appraising look.
"Alex, I never told you about that." she said. A sense of betrayal flooding her vision of him. How dare he used clever cop tricks to get her to tell him things she didn't want to.
"You were sleepwalking." he said calmly. "You kept telling Norman to put the gun down. Not to hurt you, not to hurt anyone else. So it's reasonable to think he's threatened you with a gun."
Norma didn't like the look he gave her. The look that seemed to read her mind, could see the truth she kept hidden.
"Why didn't you tell me he tried to kill you before?" he asked.
"Because he didn't!" she pulled away from him and stood up. "You're just trying to trick me into saying Norman's dangerous and it's not going to work."
"Norma." Alex said calmly. He stood with her, his hands trying to capture her but she refused to even stand within arms length of him. "You and I both know he's dangerous. Why do keep lying to me?"
"I'm not!" she said quickly. Her lower lip starting to tremble.
She glance back at him and regretted seeing the heartbreak in his eyes. It was the same look he'd given her when she lied to him before. An action that seemed to wound him deeply.
She let out a sigh and shook her head.
"If he's dangerous, if he's really done everything you say he's done… then I've raised a monster." she admitted sadly.
Sorry for the late post. We had a FriendsGiving dinner tonight and it was very nice.
I've decided Alex will not be arrested for lying about Rebecca in this story. It makes it too complicated.