Hidden Clips

Holiday Calamity

What you need to know about this shot: Norman is 8. Dylan is 10. They met when the boys were 2 and 4. Alex married Norma and he adopted the boys. That is it.
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"I didn't sign up for this," Norma tells Alex, her back turned to him as she mixes the vegetables without much enthusiasm with a wooden spoon.

Alex peers at her from the laundry room, expecting her to look back at him and somehow let him know that she was joking, but the tone of voice and the fact that she didn't turn around at all told him what he needed to know.

"I mean, do they really think that you'd rather spend Thanksgiving working than with your family?"

He smiles slightly to himself. She's been moody since Alex received a call from the station not long ago, commanding his presence at work. He doesn't like the idea either, in fact, he doesn't like it at all, but unfortunately, duty calls.

His uniform shirt is still unbuttoned, revealing the black t-shirt underneath. He wasn't expecting to go into work today so Norma had washed his uniforms the night before and they were hanging on the rack downstairs.

"It's only for a couple of hours," he tries to sound convincing, hating the fact that he had to leave his wife and the boys for almost the entire day. He steps into the kitchen and sets the clean pair of socks on the table. "I'll be back before you know it."

"You don't know that," she says groggily. She finally turns around and wipes her hands on her apron. "You thought you were off today and look what happened."

She flings the wooden spoon into the sink, the utensil landing in a bowl full of water and soap, the action provoking the foamy water to splatter everywhere. She hates, for the first time, how he looks in his uniform. Only because she has to be angry at someone and seeing him in uniform makes her even more upset.

Alex stands in front of her, giving her an apologetic look before ceasing his hands on her waist. He wishes he didn't have to go in today. She woke up early to start preparing her marvelous Thanksgiving feast, and she's been in the kitchen ever since.

The boys could be overheard playing in the backyard, enjoying their new baseball equipment and Dylan loving, more than anything, his new stainless steel bat. Alex looks at her and is promptly reminded of Baxter, their sumptuous German Shepard. The creature looks at Alex the same way Norma is looking at him right now. With large, imploring eyes. The only difference is that Baxter always wants a treat, and his wife simply wants him to stay in with her and the kids.

"Don't make this harder than it already is," Alex tells her, his hand finding her jaw. "You think I like it?"

"I know you don't. But we don't even spend birthdays apart," Norma points out. "We almost did when Norman turned five, and you refused to work that day even though they called you in. Why can't you do the same now?"

Alex takes a deep breath and breaks eye contact. He couldn't look into those pleading, German Shepard eyes anymore. He spots Norman from the kitchen window, his baseball helmet way too big on him, the thing swaying on his head.

Alex spots when Dylan, out of his sight, hits the ball Norman just pitched at him, sending it down the hill. Norma follows his gaze and sees when Dylan begins racing around the yard, willingly stepping on the paper plates that resembled the bases, shrieking HOME RUN! at the top of his lungs.

"That's my boy," Alex says mostly to himself, smiling like the proud dad that he is. Norma's hard glare softens the moment she hears him, intensely loving the always present connection between the boys and Alex.

As if forgetting about their insignificant argument, they both relish on the perfect view they are granted with. Norman running down the side of the hill holding onto his helmet as if his life depended on it.