20.

~ Norma had expected it to rain that Sunday, but it was unnaturally warm and sunny. Almost like it had only teased at being fall the previous week. She quickly dressed and slipped on her well worn summer clothes. The glaring sun almost felt like home and she was comfortable in her old, well worn jean shorts and flip flops. Attire that would never do now that cold rain was always the norm.

Fanny had fallen asleep as soon as she came home past three in the morning. Nothing more was said between mother and daughter about plans to move back to Florida. No more boxes packed at least. Norma took it as a positive sign that a phone had been installed.

It was good that they had a phone. Normal people had a phone. She quickly scratched out their new phone number to give to Alex from all the paperwork Fanny had received after the hook up. Her heart beating happily at the idea he could call her now.

'Caleb could call us to.' She thought suddenly. A cold clatter pounded in her chest at the idea of her brother invading their space with a simple phone call. An unwelcome presence after so long without him. He shouldn't be unwelcome. He was her brother after all. It was wrong to not want to hear from him. Surely he'd be one of the first people Fanny would want to contact now that they finally had a phone and a stable place to live.

Norma felt uneasy at the idea Caleb might know where they were. He might come here. Might show up at anytime and live here. She felt her body go cold, her fingers shake and her head hurt.

'Don't think about that now.' She ordered herself. Fanny wasn't good about maintaining contact with people and Caleb had sent them just a few half legible postcards from his boot camp when he signed up. Norma had no idea where he was now and she was sure Fanny was even more clueless. It was best to not worry about something until there was something to worry about.

~ Norma was used to the occasional beach trip and she had a small bag ready by the time Alex drove up. She wore her bathing suit under her clothes and packed a towel, sun block, cash and even had a change of clothes at the ready. Her experience in all day adventures on neglected Florida boardwalks had taught her to be prepared for anything.

"Not too late to change you mind." Alex said when Norma climbed into the passenger side. She noticed his eyes drifting to her legs that were on full display in her noticeably revealing shorts. She smiled softly to herself and let him look. She'd knew her legs looked good in these shorts. Knew they looked good by the way the faded and worn fabric fit just right and hung so precariously low on her hips. Knew that the frayed ends were just frayed enough to elicit Alex's stare to wander over to the small rips. Knew that her legs were shaved smooth, tone and tanned from the long summer before when she had to walk everywhere; giving her a very nice look indeed.

"I'm good." she sighed carelessly and pretended she didn't notice that his attention had been so diverted by her clothes.

Alex's gaze was ripped away from her legs draped lazily over one another and he appeared to be slightly embarrassed.

"I mean..." he said quickly. "It's a nice day. I know a place that's quieter. A place I like to go fishing."

"Let's go meet your friends." Norma reminded him confidently.

~ As expected, more than a dozen or so people that Alex had grown up with had spent the night out by the quarry. It was so hard to get to, so much of a trek, that it was hard for police to come and bum rush anyone out.

As a result, whenever the weather was good, the local kids would camp out here on the hard rocks and go swimming in the clear ice cold waters below. It was private and painfully isolated. Any accident that happened here, would stay here.

Alex had his misgivings about bringing Norma to this place and he already felt bad about allowing her to come. He should have taken her to his favorite fishing spot and enjoy a peaceful afternoon alone.

After all, those shorts she was wearing needed to be outlawed. It didn't help her t-shirt was so faded, shrunk and battered from so many washings that it had become nearly threadbare and he could clearly see the blue bathing suit under it. The very idea that he was seeing skin on her he'd never seen before made him breathe a little faster.

Instead, like an idiot, they hiked the mile up the hill to the quarry and already could hear Keith Summers screaming a drunken war cry.

"What was that?" Norma asked at the sound.

"Um... they've been here all night." Alex explained pulling Norma over a rough climb. Her foot ware not suitable for the rough terrain of sharp rocks. "Drinking. Swimming. Camping."

"Oh." She said and caught up to him quickly. Alex snuck a glimpse at her legs that showed no tan lines at all. The weathered denim shorts looked distressed enough to fall apart at any second. The idea making his heart race a little.

"If they get too rowdy, we're leaving." Alex said coolly.

"I lived in Florida, Alex." She told him with an eye roll. "I can handle drunks."

"Not like these." He warned and came into the clearing of the quarry. He could see Keith Summers and Jimmy Brennan taking turns on a rope swing to jump into the water. Keith Summers bathing suit was nothing more than embarrassingly threadbare underpants in which his already growing stomach was protruding at the young age of eighteen.

Summers had aged out of middle school last year and never went back. Relying on his dad's business of running a seedy motel to keep him in money and a place to stay. He still hung out with Jimmy Brennan and Alex though because they'd all grown up together. Even when Jimmy, Alex and Bob Paris had passed him by in middle school.

Norma, had seemingly caught Jimmy's eye and Alex had reflexively put himself between the two of them. Jimmy Brennan was tall, lean and dangerously muscular. He'd been in fights with his father several times that year and Alex was sure there'd come a day when Jimmy would win and his father wouldn't easily walk away. When there would be some kind of 'accident' at the house and the old man would end up in the morgue. Violence at the Brennan house was a given. It was natural for there to be punches thrown, voices raised and anger to boil. Alex wanted none of that directed at Norma.

"So you brought her." Jimmy nodded as Alex stood between Norma and Jimmy. His childhood friend looking Norma up and down and taking in her well shaped legs.

"Yeah." Alex nodded.

"Rebecca said you would." Jimmy shrugged and walked away. He watched Keith Summers stupidly test his ample weight on a the rope swing. The heavy young man seeming to ask a lot from the tree branch before swinging out with a loud holler, scream and then letting go with an obnoxious cannon ball that rudely splashed the other half dozen swimmers in the area.

"That's Keith Summers." Alex nodded to the belly floppier who was now trying to gracefully climb out of the water without his underwear sagging down to his knees. The sunburn was already spreading all over his shoulders and he looked half drunk.

"Wow." was all Norma said with an amused laugh.

"Yeah, he'll get himself loaded and then fall down drunk. Last summer he fell in a fire." Alex told her. "Every group has one." He shrugged. "Just stay away from. He get's so wasted he won't even notice you're here."

He grabbed ahold of Norma's hand and guided her to the small gathering.

"Let's just say our hellos and then we can leave." He said.

"Alex." She said stubbornly. "We should at least go swimming. That rope swing looked fun."

"It is fun." Came an amused voice behind them.

Alex and Norma seemed to turn in unison and saw Rebecca behind them.

She looked Norma up and down and seemed to critique her.

"Cute outfit." She said at last. "I think I saw Cindy Crawford in something like those shorts. I thought they were a bit white trash, but on you they work, Norma."

Alex caught Norma glance at him before she smiled at Rebecca.

"Thanks for inviting us." She said at last. "I haven't had much of a chance to swim. I used to swim a lot in Florida."

"Well, not like here." Rebecca scoffed with a toothy smile.

"Well, the ocean." Norma agreed with an equal grin. "This water is pretty tame.

"By all means." Rebecca said and waved her hand at the rope swing.

Alex caught Norma's eyes blaze slightly.

"Norma, the water here is pretty cold." He said hesitantly. "We shouldn't-"

"Here." She pushed her bag at him peeled off her shirt and her shorts slipped off her hips without her even unzipping them.

"All right, baby!" Came Keith Summers shout before he slipped on the rocks he'd been climbing back up.

"Norma." Alex said quickly plucking her clothes as soon as she'd discarded them. Her body was tone and stunning in the sunlight. Her arms and legs long as and graceful as any dancers.

"Norma!" He said again as she easily grasped ahold of the rope swing looking as if she'd done this a thousand times.

"Norma, the water's really cold and really deep. This isn't Florida. This water was snow a few hours ago."

"Alex, I've swam with bull sharks and jelly fish, I'm not afraid of a little cold water." Norma said stubbornly. She backed away and her slight weight didn't cause the tree to creek at all.

"Norma!" Alex said crossly before she swung out. Before he could stop her, she was in motion. Her swing high and arching further than any he'd seen before.

"Norma." He said under his breath as the other kids around them cheered.

"Let go!" Jimmy shouted.

"Let go!" Alex shouted to when he saw Norma had reached as far as she could and she could safely hit the water. Norma, graceful as ever, leg go of the rope and seemed suspended in mid air. Her body delicately flying upward in it's perfect momentum as the rope fell back.

Then her body, light and in perfect motion, fell back down slowly and slipped easily into the dark waters with hardly a ripple. The clear quarry water swallowing her whole and showing no sign at all of where she'd vanished to.

Sorry I went so long without an update. Been very busy. Will update very soon.