21.
~ Norma decided it was best to leave her youngest with Sybil that morning after Alex picked them up. Little Norman would be fussy and it was clear that a soon to be three year old wouldn't be ideal.
"I'll probably be back before he even wakes up." she whispered to the older woman when she laid him down on the spare bed. "But here is his breakfast and little dog."
She sat down Norman's tote bag with the barking dog he loved so much.
"He'll be fine. You have a nice time and tell Little Bear I said hello." Sybil told her.
It was hard to believe it was morning when she went back outside. It was still dark and quite with no signs of other people and no birds singing. White Pine Bay felt empty with all its inhabitants still asleep. Yet, the air felt electric with the promise of a new day.
Alex and Dylan were waiting for her in the cab of a well worn Chevy Blazer from the 1970's. It looked massive compared to the newer, smaller cars in the sleepy neighborhood.
Her youngest son looked tired, but excited to be going on a real fishing trip again.
"Why do we have to be out on the water so early?" he asked Romero once she had carefully climbed back into the cab. This old truck clearly wasn't made for someone wearing a dress. She felt like she was climbing on a horse just to get back in.
Norma fastened her seatbelt before Alex put the truck into drive.
"Because that's when the fish are the most active." he explained. "They feed early and it's easier to catch them. Also, if we go too late, the other boats will be out and scare the fish away."
"We have to use worms, don't we?" Norma asked. She wasn't looking forward to that.
Dylan started to giggle from the back seat and she thought she caught Alex holding back a smirk.
"What? What is it?" she asked.
"We don't use worms, mom. No one uses worms." Dylan laughed.
~ Norma didn't want Dylan to get too close to the boat when Alex launched it in the bay. She held Dylan back and had already strapped him into the child sized life vest Romero gave her. She was constantly thinking of what could go wrong today. The boat capsizing and Dylan drowning were the tamest of her fears.
Alex had made launching the Sheriff's fishing boat look easy. Norma had to admit, it was very nice even if it was only used on the weekends. It could comfortably seat half a dozen people, had a well equipped fold out kitchen and even a small bedroom and bathroom below deck.
She had decided not to venture down below deck when she saw how messy it was. Clearly the Sheriff's boat "The Jailhouse Now" wasn't female friendly.
"I take it Mrs. Wilson doesn't come out here too much." Norma mused. She watched Alex bait her line and was surprised to see Dylan was already fixing his own tackle without any help.
Alex gave her an amused look.
"No. She hates fishing." he said. "She's always glad to see us leave for the day. I think she knows she won't have to put up with a husband for a few hours."
"It's nice not to have to put up with a husband." Norma agreed.
She and Alex exchanged looks.
"I wouldn't know. Never had a husband before." he told her.
She laughed at the comment. It was odd to have Alex, always so stoic and grumpy make a joke. An actual joke that was funny. Clearly he was a different man when he wasn't on the job. It felt good to laugh again after all that had happened.
The insurance check was just the latest in things that kept her up at night. Money that was just sitting there and she couldn't get to it.
"Mom! You're gonna scare off the fish!" Dylan complained.
Norma looked up to see her oldest had thrown his line in and was standing on the edge of the boat.
"Dylan, no sit back down." she ordered.
"He's fine." Alex said. "The water's still."
Norma wasn't listening to him and rushed to her son's side. She quickly pulled the child back to a safer spot and made him sit down.
"You could fall in." she scolded.
"Mom! This is fishing. You're messing it all up!" Dylan told her. .
"If 'messing it up' means I don't want you to drown, then fine, I'm messing it all up." she argued.
"Dylan, stay in the seat." Alex told him. "Your mom's right, you could have fallen overboard and I don't want to jump in to save you."
Norma turned to look at him in annoyance. Why did it feel like Alex was teasing her?
He looked back at her from his seat. His eyes innocent, but mischievous.
"What? The water's really cold." he explained.
~ Aside from Norma's paranoia, Alex thought things went very well. It was clear she had no interest in fishing, but it was nice to spend time on the bay. There was a sort of magic in the air this time of morning. None of the summer people were out yet and Alex hand't seen a single boat belonging to the other fishermen. He could easily imagine they were the only people in the world here.
He glanced back at Norma to see if she felt it to, and saw her shivering slightly from the chill in the air. Even though it was summer, the bay still held onto the cold in the mornings. While he and Dylan had dressed more practical for the early cold that hung over the water, Norma had worn a fairly thin summer dress with an equally thin sweater. It was an odd choice of fashion to go fishing in, but she did look very lovely. Especially when the breeze picked up and made her dress flutter slightly.
"Cold?" He asked and pulled off the leather jacket he alway wore. She nodded, her lower lip still quivering slightly. Alex nodded for her to lift up her broken arm and let him thread it through the sleeve first. Her body was so slight she looked to be drowning in his jacket. But she seemed warmer.
"Thank you." she said with a soft smile.
Alex hadn't bothered to dress his own lines, but stayed entertained by Dylan's rapid progress. The little boy was able to dress his lines, organize the tackle box, and cast his reel with ease. He still needed help pulling in the bigger fish when his line suddenly jerked. His mother was terrified a shark like fish might pull too hard and drag her son underwater.
"I've never seen that happen, and I've come out here since I was Dylan's age." Alex told her.
"Never say never." Norma said. "I mean, he's little and a big fish could just pull him right overboard."
"I think you're thinking of a Bugs Bunny cartoon." he offered.
He didn't miss the look she gave him. Her eyes angry but her lips curling into an amused smile.
"Alright, Big Shot." she said. "When the Lochness Monster pulls him in, don't say I didn't warn you."
"Wow." Alex said. "We could be on the news."
That last comment was a little too much and she looked ready to argue.
Alex was quick to remove himself from the situation by helping Dylan recast his line so it would land farther out.
~ Norma had made sandwiches for all of them, even though Dylan had wanted to cook the three good sized fish he had caught. Alex had made him throw them back and Dylan had been disappointed to let them go.
"We have to let them go so there can be more fish next season." he explained. "It's the law here."
"You don't eat the fish?" Norma questioned. She handed Alex his lunch but Dylan was too focused on what he was doing to eat.
Alex nodded.
"Over fishing the past few years." he explained. "Environmental survey was done and everything. But the bay is making a comeback."
"That's good." Norma said. "So you've been doing this all your life?"
Alex washed down his food with bottled water and nodded.
"Yeah, I always had friends who's parents took them out." he explained slowly. "I always went with them."
"You never went fishing with your dad?" she asked.
Alex didn't answer. The two of them watched Dylan in silence.
"Your dad must have been busy. He was the Sheriff when you were little right? He must have had to work a lot." she said. She had meant it to be gentle. She didn't want Alex to be upset by her knowing anything personal about him.
He didn't answer right away. A darkness seemed to have passed over his features.
"My dad was the Sheriff." he said soberly.
Norma knew not to say anything, but she couldn't help it.
"Yeah, that's what Sybil said. I had asked her why she calls you Little Bear. She told me your dad was called-"
"He's in prison, Norma." Alex interrupted curtly.
Norma wished she had just kept her mouth shut.
"I'm sure you've heard the gossip." he added.
"People gossip about me to." she said at last.
"I doubt they gossip about you like they do about me." Alex said. He refused to look at her. His face seemed angry.
He was quite for a long time. The two of them letting the stillness of the morning add to the weight in the air.
"So, what did you hear?" Alex asked.
"Nothing. I shouldn't have brought it up. It's personal." she said quickly.
"No, I'm curious." he said. "Did you hear the theory that I was the one to turn him in? Or that I bribed the DEA agent? My personal favorite was that I'm really a double agent and this is my cover."
He smiled, but it was a mocking smile.
"I'm sorry I said anything." she said at last.
Alex shook his head.
"No, it's fine. It's old news anyway. I shouldn't be bothered by it. No, Norma, my dad never took me fishing. He wasn't a good person for most of my life. He was a dirty cop, a bad father and an even worse husband." Alex explained.
He was silent for a long time. Norma felt uncomfortable at the sight of his face losing whatever happiness he'd gained that morning.
"I'm sure you heard about my mother." he sighed. His voice was still angry.
Norma pressed her lips shut.
"She passed away. Seven years ago next week. Suicide." he said coldly.
"I'm so sorry, Alex." she whispered. She meant it to. She was sorry this happen to him.
"Yeah, that's my sad story." he admitted with a pang of indifference. "We all have them. It's only fair you know mine since I know yours."
Norma rolled her eyes. Alex thought he knew all her sad stories. He hadn't even scratched the surface.
"See this?" she asked. Her hand going between her legs, pulling up the sheer summer dress she wore.
Alex looked slightly alarmed that she was exposing herself to him when her son was barely five feet away. His gaze relaxed when he saw the frighting scar on her thigh.
Norma ran a hand over it. The scar was her oldest friend.
"My first memory." she said with difficulty. "Was being burned."
He looked at the scar for a few moments then back at her.
"I was about three and my brother and I were hungry. So, we decided to start a campfire behind our house and cook some hotdogs." she explained. She almost laughed at the absurdity of it. "I think the electric and the gas must have been shut off because we couldn't use the stove and a fire outside seems like a great idea. We actually bought the hot dogs at the store with some spare change and decided we could cook our own food and take care of ourselves. I remember I was running and jumping and then I feel into the fire. It burned me. My brother, he pulled me out. He doctored up my burn, and we ate our hotdogs."
"Were your parents mad?" Alex asked. He didn't seem to judge her actions as a child. Didn't show horror at the situation.
Norma shook her head. She was smiling and she didn't know why.
"No, they had been gone for about a week. Left us alone. When they finally came back…" she sighed. She didn't want to remember when her father came back home "I don't remember why they left us for so long. I just remember my brother took care of me. We felt very independent. It's odd that it was such a hard time in my life, but I don't think I miserable. Maybe because I was so young."
Alex was watching her fingers trace over her scar. His eyes seemed fascinated by the way she caressed her own skin.
"It was always like that when I was growing up. We were just abandoned a lot. We were always on our own. My mother wasn't really there mentally. She drank and took a lot of medications. It was like she just checked out. We never had a stable place to live, never enough of anything. My father was always angry. I remember hiding from him. My brother…" she took a deep breath. "He would always get in my dad's way, you know? If I was the one who was about to get the belt, my brother would do something to piss him off more so that I wouldn't get hurt."
Norma pulled her dress down and covered her scar again.
"Where is your brother now?" Alex asked. His eyes were focused on her. The cop in him listening to every detail so he might better understand. The sun had finally come up while they were talking. It was going to be a beautiful day. Norma pictured the lie she told herself and decided it was a nice enough story to tell Alex. For all she knew about her brother these days, it was the truth.
"He went into the Army. Got in trouble and was discharged. He got mixed up with some bad people and got himself killed." she said simply.
"I'm sorry." Alex said sadly.
Norma shook her head.
"All in a day's work. I had left home long before it happened. I married my his school boyfriend and had Dylan. That's how I escaped." she admitted.
Alex was still interested and she knew that he felt pity for her. She smiled and pretended her past didn't bother her at all.
"So, that's my sad story." she said happily. She tried to smile brighter, but it came out wrong. "We all have them."
"We make a good pair." Alex told her.
She smiled at the comment.
"Yeah, we can start our very own club." she laughed.
"The 'Dad was a corrupt piece of shit club'. We could have special shirts made." he added.
"The 'Dad beat his kids and half starved them club'. We'll have lunch catered." Norma added. Her joke seemed to fall flat. But it made her happy to share her misery with someone who could respect it.
"Maybe we can choose our own destiny. Not have our past choose it for us." she said sadly. Lately it felt like her own path in life would always be tragic. Like she was a puppet and someone was pulling all the strings.
"Maybe." Alex said sourly. "Maybe we're just doomed to be the people we are. Maybe we can't change our true nature. We can't change our lives."
"You changed my life." she offered. "I would still be an abused wife. My son's would still be terrorized. You changed my life when you pulled Sam over that night."
~ Alex felt his heart beat faster. Her words were so soft and encouraging. He wasn't used to subtle hints from the opposite sex. He wasn't sure if this was the right moment. But the sun was breaking over the bay, the air was growing warmer. He looked to Norma and her eyes were like fire. Her body was leaning close to his and he knew this was the perfect moment.
He leaned in slightly to her. He pictured in his mind the endeavor going more smoothly. Norma pulled away sharply. Her lips clamping shut over the idea he had almost kissed her. Alex was quick to turn away from her. As if he had just lost his balance and nothing more. He focused his attention on the other end of the bay while she looked in the opposite direction.
'Nothing to see here, folks.' he thought to himself.
"I can't do this." she whispered. Her breathing was heavy. "It's too much."
"It's fine. It's okay." he whispered back. They refused to look at each other.
"I'm not ready for this." she admitted in a hushed voice. "Not even close."
"It's fine." he said quickly.
He wanted to be done talking about it.
He looked back at her and saw she was embarrassed. Her summer dress doing that heavenly flutter as another breeze kicked up. He found her hand, her good one, resting on her lap and she let him to take it in his. She wore no jewelry other than a vintage style wrist watch, and her fingernails were clean and smooth. She allowed him to gently inspect her hand for as long as he needed to. Her own slim fingers were running over the palm of his hand in a way that he liked, but couldn't ever remember liking before. It felt like a very real moment of intimacy was passing between them. This simple connection of flesh on flesh.
When he looked back up into her face, he saw that her eyes were sad.
"I'm sorry." she admitted.
Alex shook his head.
He turned to check on Dylan and saw the child wasn't there.
"You gotta be kidding me." he said darkly and abandoned Norma. The Deputy quickly reaching the edge of the boat and laying down to counter his weight over the edge. With one arm he pulled Dylan out of the water. The boy had fallen in while they were distracted. The life vest he wore keeping him afloat.
"I fell in." Dylan coughed once he was safely back on deck.
I know that is not how Norma got her scar on the show. But I'm not a fan of the whole incest storyline. I decided to make the back story for Norma a little different. This way, there is a healthier bond between her and Caleb when they were growing up. That he looked after her and that she wasn't always miserable during her childhood.
There will be more about her childhood because I want to show how it shaped Norma into the woman she is now. How it effected how she does everything.
I think it's also important to show how abusive her parents were... and might still be. Because who knows who might show up in White Pine Bay.