58.
~ The day Norma died ~
~ Norma had the whole house to herself. Alex taking Lulu for the day would be a chance to catch up on everything that needed to be done, and there was always something to be done.
Cleaning this monstrous house, tending to the motel, was becoming too much. Maybe Alex was right, and they should put Lulu in daycare. It wasn't good that Norma was looking forward to the moments away from her daughter. The blissful moments of privacy where she could go to the bathroom alone, do laundry and clean the house without having to worry where the baby was.
Lulu was far too mobile. How had she done this with Dylan and Norman? True she'd been younger, but she'd managed two active young boys at the same time. Now a two year old girl was running her ragged. When she was in kindergarten, it might be easier.
Norma smiled at the memory of Norman's first day of kindergarten. He'd been the sweetest little boy anyone could want. He never screamed or became upset. He just wanted to love her. If she could live in a moment forever, it would be just before Norman started kindergarten.
She felt an intense sadness then.
Norman was lost to her. He hadn't tried to make contact with her since leaving Pine View. Since before Lulu was born.
Surely he must need help. Money maybe? There was no contact at all and Alex hadn't been able to find out where he'd turned up.
"Once he uses his social security number, we can find out where he is. He has to get a job." Alex had assured her over and over.
Deep down, in a dark well of fears, Norma thought her son might be dead. That he caught the virus and died. Or something else bad had happened to him. Norman had never been away from her for this long. To just vanish so completely was unheard of.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the door bell.
No doubt one of the motel guests wanting more towels. They had trekked up to the house instead of calling the motel number as it was instructed to do in the office. All the more reason to build that gate around the house. She didn't like guests coming up to the house.
The doorbell rang again.
"I'm coming!" She shouted in annoyance. She rarely got annoyed these days. Having Lulu at this stage of life had a calming effect on her temperament.
She expected to see one of the motel guests, entitled and complaining about towels or water pressure, but sucked in her breath at seeing her youngest son.
"Norman?" She cried in near alarm. He looked so different. Heavier and wearing wrinkled, dirty clothes.
"Hello, Mother." Norman said with a shaky voice.
~ Norma made him something to eat; the two of them alone in the kitchen. Her son looked sickly. As though he hadn't eaten right in years.
"Where have you been?" She asked tentatively.
Norman didn't answer.
"We've been looking for you, Norman. Where have you been?" She asked setting down a sandwich for him.
She wanted to cook him something more lavish. A roast perhaps. Anything to get him looking and feeling better.
"We?" Norman asked looking at the sandwich without interest.
"A- yeah." She said. She wasn't sure she should say Alex's name. "Where have you been, honey?"
She wanted to cry. Wanted to slap him and send him to his room for making her worry so much. She also wanted to make elaborate meals for him and hug him close.
The way Norman looked now though, she didn't dare touch him.
"You and Sheriff Romero?" Norman asked.
Norma leaned away from her son.
"Alex and I got married." She said.
"You dress like him now." Norman said nodding to the blue flannel shirt and capri pants she always wore. Her showy dresses a thing of the past now that she had to chase a toddler around.
"You used to dress nice. Now, you dress like him." He accused hatefully.
"Norman." She rolled her eyes. "Alex and I are happy. Can you stop with this bullshit?"
She was angry now. Norman had put her through hell these past years and she was exhausted.
"Why did you run away from Pine View? They were trying to help you. I was trying to help you." She said hotly.
"By sending me away? They locked me alone in a room for years, Mother!" Norman spat back.
"Years?" Norma laughed. "You were there for only a few months, Norman. Not years."
"You locked me in that place so you could fool around with Romero. Like a whore." He accused harshly.
"Norman!" She lashed back at him. "Don't talk to me like that. I'm your mother!"
"You're a whore!" He accused and lunged at her. Norma jumped away in shock.
"Norman!" She shouted. "Stop it!"
It all happened so fast. Norma wasn't sure if she meant to run up the stairs or to the front door to try and escape him.
Norman had tackled her in the hallway and she was fighting him.
"You bitch! Whore!" He was shouting as she tried to get away. Her youngest son much stronger than she remembered him. She was pulling away when he grabbed her by the neck and she felt her foot slide out of her shoe.
She was being chocked then, Norman on top of her and squeezing her throat. His hands large and strong. He reminded her of his father. Of the rages Sam would fly into when he beat her. Her instincts telling her to go limp and try not to fight back.
But Lulu flashed in her mind and she was kicking back and hitting him. She'd managed to land a hard punch to his face. The attack only making him angrier.
He throttled her and she knew he was going to kill her. Knew she would die.
"You had a baby with him?" Norman was seething. "You had a bastard with him, mother?"
His face was red and deranged. Sam's face. The face of a true psycho; and she could feel herself slipping away.
~ Norma woke up in her bedroom. The morning was just beginning to stir. The windows were all open and letting in the cold air. White curtains fluttering in the breeze.
She'd been in bed naked and hadn't realized it till she went to the widows to see the view. A lovely pasture with cows mooing a greeting to her, and she smiled.
She felt as though she'd had a productive sleep and would have enough energy to start the day.
She looked back in her bed and realized Alex wasn't there. That she was all alone in this house. Something in the back of her mind told her he would be awake soon and not to worry. Even if he wasn't in the bed yet, he would be. That it had always been like this and would always be like this.
She vaguely wondered if she should stay naked. Her felt comfortable, confidant and beautiful in her own nudity. It would be nice to run around the house like this until until her husband found her. She smiled at the thought and decided to get dressed. There would be plenty of time for all that when Alex got there.
No sooner was she dressed then she heard someone calling for her. A familiar cry she'd missed hearing.
Across the hall, in a little room, was Norman.
"Good morning!" She said to her son in a delighted surprise.
He was reaching for her and she realized he'd just woken up to. He'd woken up naked and was laughing at seeing her.
She helped him dress. Her son putting his small, fragile arms around her and telling her he loved her. Her little boys sweet and playful again.
She gave him some fruit to eat, and typical, he wanted to go back upstairs to play with his toys.
"Alright, Norman." She smiled and guided him to the old toys he'd loved so much as a child.
"I have to get the house ready for daddy." She said and kissed the crown of his head. Norman nodded and started playing alone and in contentment, while Norma got her day started.
The house wasn't at all like it had been. All the old furniture and heavy dark wood was gone. It was like the whole house had been scrubbed down. A blank canvas waiting for her to color it.
She never thought it was strange, but she began to find things. All the things that had gone missing over her life. Her old bear, old photo albums. They all seemed to magically turn up without her questioning it. She even found Lulu's pink unicorn in the kitchen.
'I need to keep this safe for her.' Norma decided and placed it back on top of the fridge.
Somehow, she knew Alex was awake now and she glanced down at the bright diamond ring on her hand.
'I should start breakfast for him.' She thought and noticed he was stomping around upstairs. She always knew exactly where he was by the stomping. He was getting dressed. She knew they would have a busy day today.
She knew that Emma and Dylan would come by for dinner. That eventually, Lulu would join them. Maybe more people. They should have a nice dinner. The family. It was such a perfect day, they could have their meal outside.
"There you are." She smiled at hearing her husband stomp into the kitchen.
"Norma?" Alex called and she turned around to see him. He looked as handsome as ever, although slightly bewildered.
"I thought you were going to sleep all day." She teased.
~ END ~
Yes, this is the end. I wanted to have Norma and Alex in heaven. For their family to be reunited.
Yes, Norman killed his mother because he was always fated to do so. But, Norma wished he would stay her little boy forever. That is her idea of heaven.
Alex's idea of heaven is with Norma.
Norman's idea of heaven is with his mother and so on.
I know it was upsetting to have Norma die when she was still young and needed. I know it wasn't fulfilling to have Alex's daughter be slightly mad at him when he died. To me, that's closer to reality.
In my mind, Without Norma, Alex would have been overbearing and would have treated Lulu just as Norma treated Norman.
That she would have been fated to live Norman's life. I didn't want that.
When I was in nursing, and a very beloved resident died all alone, I was very comforted, when I went to his funeral, to see that he'd been buried with his parents and sister. That's why I wanted the family together.
We spend a lot of time and energy on the dead, and not nearly enough for the living.
Alex should have called Dylan his son years ago, and waited till he was dying to do so. That's a tragedy.
Alex had to live with doubt that maybe Norman DIDN'T kill his mother and he'd killed an innocent person.
Norman could never stomach his mother moving on without him, and it drove him insane.
Norma felt pressured into having a baby, by Alex, when she wasn't sure she wanted to.
We all have our tragedies.
I hope you enjoyed this story. It took over a year to finish it. I was writing it as the pandemic was happening.