54.
~ Romero was thankful that in Norma's short time on earth she'd given him a daughter, but he was increasingly thankful that she'd also left him a step-son in Dylan. Barely a week after Norman was buried in the basement, Dylan was opening up the motel with him, and checking in guests for the summer holidays.
Of course there was some morbid curiosity that haunted the first month of the reopening. There was gossip around the town about Norma's tragic murder and how it might have been a guest; how the 'Bates Motel' might be dangerous.
But that gossip soon faded away with the pressing need for summer tourists to stay somewhere clean and decent. The only other motel in town wasn't tourist friendly. Although larger, Alex knew it had never attracted the more wholesome clientele that Norma's little motel had brought in. Besides, Norma's death had been in her own home, where as Britney had been found in the trunk of her car by a seedy motel on the bad side of town.
Dylan had finally set up the camp grounds on the other side of the highway like he'd been trying to do for almost a two years now. Something that had required a mountain of paperwork, zoning and re-zoning.
Yet, it was appearing to be a worthwhile investment. A lot people wanted to stay in their luxury RV's and call it camping. They stayed comfortably in large land yachts that could be connected to water and electricity and was only a short hike from nature trails, rivers and other outdoor activities. These "campers" were like warm weather flowers, that flourished every spring and summer, only to die away come fall.
The motel had been fully booked almost everyday that summer, along with the camping areas. Dylan had been right, it would be the only time Norma's business actually turned a profit all year, so these months were important.
Alex lost track of time that summer. His mind distracted by the unending turn over of rooms and keeping the peace at the camp grounds. So many of them felt at liberty to get drunk and get into fights or worse, set fire to things. As soon as night fell, it was a constant struggle to keep things quiet among the rowdy campers. Dylan and Emma were invaluable to him during these times when Lulu was so active and there was so much work to be done.
The summer season ending after Labor Day and Alex had wondered where the time had gone. The diversion of work and maintenance to the house and motel had chased away all this bad thoughts about losing his wife.
Lulu had stopped looking for her mother too. She had become slightly sadder of course, but had accepted that Emma, Dylan and her father were there for her. She also had the distraction of her school now. Other kids to play with.
There had truly been a quarantine baby boom. Ms. Wilkie at the day care center had said they had twenty more children Lulu's age than was normal. They had to divide the classes and hire more staff to accommodate the sudden influx.
The weather had turned cold with September and Lulu's birthday in October had been a quiet affair at home. It was her first birthday without Norma and Chick had built her a minimalist style, wooden doll house to go in her playroom, complete with wooden, abstract looking dolls to go with it. It was the perfect gift for the now three year old. Allowing her to dive into a world she could control, Where the blond 'mother' doll was still there, still taking care of the children, and would never leave.
"You still haven't been reading the paper, Romero?" Dylan accused Alex one early morning in January.
There was snow on the ground and he hadn't even bothered to take down the Christmas tree Emma had put up for Lulu last month. The first Christmas without Norma had been like Lulu's birthday. Sad and immediate family only.
"No." Alex said grumpily.
Although the summer months were done, the flow of tourists to the motel never really ended. There were always people coming to White Pine Bay to visit family members in town for the holidays, or even some stranger who decided not to drive while sleepy. There was always one room booked at all times now.
"I have a bundle delivered to the motel every morning. You haven't even been looking at the front page?" Dylan said slapping the local paper on the kitchen table.
"I haven't had my coffee yet." Alex retorted.
"Bob Paris is facing a recall election." Dylan said pointing at the front page. Mayor Paris' face looked angry at the candid shot.
"It seems the FBI raided his place. Bunch of illicit dealing, tax evasion and maybe a link to Shelby and that human trafficking." Dylan said.
Alex finally took a moment to read the bold headline that dominated the front page.
'Mayor Bob Paris under FBI investigation.'
"Seems someone had been laundering money for him for years and was about to get arrested. They decided to work with the FBI so they can get a bigger fish." Dylan explained.
"They'll be a recall." Alex said dully.
"You should run." Dylan said casually. "For Mayor."
Alex laughed.
"I was voted out of my job as Sheriff, Dylan." He said.
"That was over a year ago." Dylan reminded him. "A lot has changed."
"Don't remind me." Alex shook his head.
"Crime is up since you left office. Don't think people haven't noticed that. Mom being killed. That other girl at the other motel?" Dylan reminded him.
"Flint-" Alex started to explain.
"Is incompetent." Dylan finished for him. "We still don't know who did this to mom or to that other girl in the same week."
"Britney." Alex corrected. He wouldn't forget her name.
"Yeah, Britney." Dylan nodded. "Then there was that fire at the docks that was very suspicious. The murder of two women connected to Bob Paris. Who were attending his parties."
Alex grimaced.
"We can talk to the City Council." Dylan said. "You're still friends with them. If Woodward hadn't died last fall, I'm sure he'd run. We can remind people that you saved lives during the quarantine."
"No." Alex shook his head.
"Why not?"
"Because I'd loose and Bob Paris would have more to gloat about when he gets off from whatever they charge him with." Alex snapped.
"Well, I already set up a meeting with George Ambrose. The head of the City Council." Dylan said. "To put your name on the ballet."
Alex started at him in horror.
"He thinks it's a good idea. Thinks you'll win." Dylan said hopefully.
~ Bob Paris didn't get off. He was considered a high flight risk and held in federal custody later that week. The papers were all over the story now and speculating as to who would replace him.
"We think you'd win." George Ambrose was telling Alex later that week. "You're a small business owner, a decorated veteran, a former elected official and you have a family here in town. Roots here."
Alex rolled his eyes.
"It also does't hurt that you lost your very lovely wife, Alex." George pointed out. "A nice widower who wants to make the community safe for the daughter she left behind will pull on all the right heart strings."
"I don't have a political party." Alex said curtly.
"Doesn't matter." George shot back. "You'll say at the debates that as a member of law enforcement, you never picked a side. We will run you for what you are, and your record of service to the town will speak for itself."
"What about the quarantine?" Alex asked lazily. "People are still mad about that."
"It's been more than 3 years now." George said. "If someone brings it up, for God sakes, don't flip flop. Stick to your guns like you always have."
"I don't think I'm right for politics." Alex shook his head.
"Well, you better start getting there. The only other candidates are Maggie Travis Gray from the council and some twenty year old kid who flunked out of the local junior college. No one wants Maggie. She talks about nothing but conspiracy theories and was arrested in Portland last year for assaulting a woman.
Alex rolled his eyes.
"You'll win." George spat.
~ It had been easier than Alex, or even Dylan had thought. The twenty year old junior college drop out was a poor public speaker, and the Gray woman cried over how the pandemic hadn't really happened at all. That the deaths had been apart of some government conspiracy and no one had really died at all. A statement that had gotten a lot of boos from the audience that had lost loved ones.
Alex, having been coached by the right people in sticking to the issues and always falling back on his military service and service to the public as a cop, had done much better. Dylan and Emma had helped him prepare issues to stick to. The rising crime rate, the high taxation of small businesses. How he planned to build a toll road on the main high way to bring in much needed revenue.
The election was held on a Tuesday in February, with Sheriff Flint even telling the papers he planned to vote for Romero.
It had been an easy win and, ever unglamorous, Alex went to work at City Hall a few days after the election. He was sworn in by Connie. The same judge who'd married him and Norma in this very building almost four years ago.
His office was just as boring as it had been during Mayor Woodward's tenure.
"Mr. Paris was never here." His new secretary, Marla Owens, said flatly giving him a large soft cover binder to go over. She was a cold, angry looking woman who was efficient enough in her work and didn't bother to be friendly or flirty with the new mayor.
The next few months had been chaotic. As mayor, he gave a lot of interviews on a local podcast that was run by two women who seemed entirely smitten with him and couldn't stay on topic.
"Mayor Romero, are you planning to remarry?" One of them asked when the subject was repairing the warhorse district that had been burned down a year ago.
"I haven't taught about it." Alex said coldly. "What needs to happen now, is a complete audit of the county's funds. There are some issues with the last administration."
Romero was careful to never mention Bob Paris by name. Simply 'The Last Administration.'
An intense audit had revealed a corrosive money laundering scheme had siphoned the town nearly dry. Another charge to add to Bob Paris who was now in prison. It hadn't surprised Alex at all that Rebecca Hamilton had been the one who had communicated with the FBI about Paris. She'd made a deal to get immunity and there was precious little Alex could do about it. Even when new evidence about the money laundering had her handiwork all over it came out.
She'd long ago fled back to the midwest to 'take care of a sickly mother'. So, Romero was left alone to clean up all the mess in White Pine Bay.
~ He was unopposed in the next election, and the next, and before he even knew that much time had passed, he was seeing his own reflection in the bathroom mirror. Wondering who was this older, gray haired man looking back at him was.