I just wanna dedicate this chapter to a very special women in my life, she's inspired me in various ways over the last 10 months. She will remain anonymous but the sentiment is still there. Enjoy - MJ123 3
Norma didn't hesitate to set Katie and Ella up in Room 10, with the instructions to come up to the house if anything was needed. Now came the hard part, telling Norman and Dylan her plans. She wasn't stupid, she knew her boys would struggle with the reality of two more people moving into the home. Norman especially, that thought jabbed at her.
With a heavy sigh and a lot of internal pushing, she walked out of the motel room and up the stairs to her home. She walked in to find Norman and Dylan on the living room sofa watching a re-run of Bewitched.
"Hey," she announced, making both their heads snap towards her.
Dylan was the first to rise and make a move over to her, "Mom, is everything okay? How's Alex doing?".
"Oh yeah, about that...I lied. Alex has been totally fine this entire time," she answered, Norma had already reached her limit in the lying department.
"Wha-"
"Dylan, just sit down. Both of you need to listen to me right now," with that, she moved out of the hallway to the living room and sat on the single chair across from Dylan and Norman. It was funny actually, the way their eyes bugged out towards her in the utmost worry.
"Mother, what is going on, you're acting crazy," Norman said, leaning in closer to observe her. Typically, he could tell exactly what was wrong with her but now it was pretty unreadable.
Yeah, I'm the crazy one. She shook the thought and sighed once more before delving into the truth, "Do you two remember Uncle Steven?".
Norman sat back, seemingly perplexed at the question, it really was like they had left everything and everyone behind in Arizona...even family.
Dylan scoffed and nodded, "Oh yeah I remember Steven. Salesmen with the dad bod. He was Sam's brother, right?".
Norma nodded and looked at Norman now anxious towards his change in mood, "Norman, do you remember your father's brother?".
"Of course, Mother. He came over every Thanksgiving and always tried to cut dad off from drinking," he answered with a shiver running down his spine, deep down he was so happy his father was dead.
"Well, I don't know how to say this..." Norma began, thinking of the proper way to admit their previous affair.
"I already know, Norma. Not quite sure about mister gullible over here," Dylan broke to motion to his hapless brother, "But I know."
"What?" Norma rushed, her stomach in knots, "What is it that you know?".
"You two were...y'know...banging," Dylan said, with a grossed out look on his face.
She sighed at the vulgarity and hung her head down in shame as Norman shot up and looked at his mother in disgust.
"That's not true. It can't be true," he said, shaking his mother lightly on the shoulder so she would look up to him, and she did but with light tears in her eyes, "Mother, he's joking, right?".
She shook her head and let a single tear slip down her cheek, "No, Norman. That's the truth. Me and you're uncle were seeing one another for a year," Norma then preceded to look at Dylan, "How'd you know?".
He scoffed, "How could I not know, Norma? With the way he looked at you during holiday dinners, it was pretty obvious. Plus whenever you would come to pick us up from school, you'd always be fifteen minutes late with your hair disheveled or your blouse messed up."
"I'm sorry," she said simply, shaking her head, "It was wrong and sleazy of me to do that stuff with him. But I was so unhappy with Sam...I just needed attention from another man."
"But what does all of that have to do with right now, Norma?" Dylan asked, knowing the worse was about to come.
"He came back. He found me and he came back. I agreed to go out to lunch with him two days ago and instead he left me with his baby daughter, Ella. I've been taking care of her for two days now with Alex's help. Anyway, the babies mother came back this morning and they are staying downstairs right now." She stopped and let that all sink in.
"Shit, Norma." Dylan offered, his hands coming up to rub at his face, "You haven't seen Steven since then?".
"Nope. Just Ella's mother," she said. "You guys remember Katie from Trader Joe's in Arizona? Brown hair, beautiful, always talked to me in produce?".
Dylan's eyes immediately widened, "She's a mom now?" he asked in plain shock.
"Yep, but not by her own choice. Steven took advantage of her," she sighed, her eyes drifting off to the side, watching Norman just stare at her in concrete bewilderment. She wasn't going to bother with his reaction, there were bigger fish to fry.
"And now, she needs somewhere to stay while she finishes up school. She also needs someone to watch the baby while she works and I volunteered," Norma admitted, her hands knitting at her skirt in nerves.
"You what, Norma? You-what makes you think you can raise a child?" Dylan asked, shooting up from his seat. "That's like taking in a lost puppy and the owner."
"Dylan, sit down. Just listen," she started, shooting him a nasty glare, "I'm not raising her, Katie will be here too. She just needs to do school right now and I feel bad for her, the way her life has been effected by that asshole."
"Great mother, that's just great," Norman started, obviously angry, "You take in a total stranger and just expect us to live with it? That's insane."
"Norman, don't dare test me. I'm at my wits end and trying to do something good for this girl. Now, unless you wanna end up like a lost puppy, I'd stop talking and watch your tone with me," she scolded, feeling the frustration flow through her veins.
"Wait, what about Steven? What are you gonna do about that?" Dylan pried.
"I don't know, we are just gonna have to wait for him to show up and claim his daughter. But it's not like he can have her now, not after this shit show," she scoffed, her mind focused on what would happen.
"Okay, what about Alex? Does he know you're taking in two more people?" he asked, knowing it would not blow over well.
"No. He has no idea right now, but he'll be fine with it, it's not like he cares," she said, knowing he would practically have an apoplectic once he found out about her recent endeavors.
"Yeah, how are you gonna tell him about these new living arrangements?" Norman asked, his tone bitter, the smart ass smirk stretching mildly on his face. Norma hated when her son wallowed in her personal pain, it was the most unattractive side to him.
"Both of you need to relax, trust me. Alex will find out later. I'll make sure he does. And when he knows, he'll be fine with it," she said, flat out lying to make herself feel better.
"Whatever, Norma," Dylan sighed, sinking back into the coach.
With that, she rose from the couch and walked to the kitchen with her cell phone in hand. If Alex was gonna find out, it would be now.
Thanks for reading guys! Leave a review if you liked this and want more! - MJ123 :)
