Bates

25

   The silky-brown puppy nibbled on Caleb's hands. He fought back laughter, trying to look serious, although he knew it was a lost cause. "C'mon, sweetheart, why don't you save up some of that energy for Norma, okay?"

   She whimpered at him. He kept walking, ignoring the little play bites until he got to the motel's door and walked in.

   "May I help you?"

   He was surprised to find a teenage boy working behind the desk, until he remembered the blue-eyed young man he had seen on Norma's doorstep. "Hey, uh, I was wondering if Norma's here?"

   The kid shook his head. "She won't be back for a little while now. Went to go get some new shower curtains. You can wait for her here if you'd like, or I can get you a room, for the right price," he offered. Caleb watched eerily as the boy's hand hovered over the candy bowl and gathered a handful of candy while his eyes never stopped staring at his new visitor. "Uh, I'll just wait here, if you don't mind," he found a chair in the office's little foyer and sat, being serveyed by Norman as he did so.

   "Where'd you get the puppy?" he asked.

   Caleb gave a tired grin. "Someone just down the street was giving them away," he glanced down at the little wirehaired thing, watching as it tripped over it's own ears and rolled around in a less-than-graceful way. "Figured it might be a nice present for Norma. She used to love baby animals when we were growing up. Would go out of her way to bring scraps to the strays and all that," he muttered softly. "That is, until our father stopped her." His green gaze became wistful as he looked from the puppy back to Norman. "So, you know Norma, then?"

   "She's my mother."

   The older man seemed breathless in that moment. He glanced up at Norman, his smile huge. "So you are Norma's. Nice to meet you," he told him. "Are you John Massett's boy?" he asked casually.

   Norman chuckled a little. "Oh, no, she's not in contact with him anymore. My father was Samuel Bates. She left him soon after I was born; Dylan says he was terrible to her."

   "Dylan?"

   "Dylan's my older brother. He's John Massett's son, although he hasn't gone to visit him lately."

   Caleb sighed. "I hear she's married to the Sheriff, now, is that true?"

   "Yeah, that's Alex. He's really the only father I've ever known," Norman admitted, fiddling with the tape dispenser.

   "And he's good to her?"

   "Oh, yes."

   A vehicle pulled into the drive. Norma peered at the lot from behind the desk, immediately recognizing his mother's car. Caleb followed his gaze. They both watched as Norma got out of the car, slamming its door only to open another one. She pulled out a few paper bags, then eased the door shut with her hips, nearly cursing as she tripped over her own shoe.

   Norman moved to open the door, but it was too late. She had already seen Caleb's figure and threw down the grocery bags, storming into the motel office. Norma slung the door open, screeching, "What are you doing here?! Get away from him!"

   "Norma, hang on, just let me explain--"

   "Get out, or I will call the police."

   "Mother..."

   "I don't want to hear it, Norman, you don't know what he's done." 

   "I just think that you should hear him out--"

   "Hear him out?" she let out a mix between a gasp and a shudder, "Norman, what he did to me was terrible," she moaned, shooting a glare in Caleb's direction. "It was unforgiveable," she hissed, turning towards him violently.

   "Get out of my motel before I kill you," she threatened, her body shaking as she did so. "Get out!" she screamed, and he did, but not before handing Norman the puppy that he'd intended for his sister.

   She watched as he left, then locked the door behind him. She turned back to Norman, wiping her forehead. "We're not keeping that thing," she said, stomping past her son.

   "C'mon, Mother, what am I going to do with it?!" he called.

   "Do whatever you want to with it, Norman!" she called back.

   Norman stared down at the puppy, wondering what Caleb may have done to his mother.

~                                                                                                                                                                                                  ~

   His little blonde-haired angel stood in front of the mirror, awkwardly eyeing the bump of her womb. He mused quietly as she tousled her own hair then bit her lip. She turned to one side, then the other, and, realizing that her dress was crooked, fixed it with deft fingers. "You okay over there, Momma?" he asked, smiling.

   "I suppose so," she looked in the mirror again. "I dunno, what do you think?"

   "I think you look fine," he told her. He came up behind her, helping her to zip the blue-and-white dress. 

   Norma turned to gaze up at her lover's face, then glanced down at his leg. "You really shouldn't be walking on that thing," she told him.

   "I can't believe you're still fussing over me," he said, sounding amused.

   "I am not  fussing over you, I just want to make sure you're taking care of yourself, that's all."

   "You're fussing over me," he teased, bringing his hand up to stroke her soft cheeks.

   She wrapped an arm around Alex's neck, leaning up to kiss him. Smells like lavender, he thought, nibbling on her neck a bit before pausing. "You're tense," he stated simply.

   His wife sighed, pulling away from him a little. "Caleb showed up at the motel again. Tried to give me a dog," she explained. "Norman's got it now. He's probably going to try to keep it," she warned.

   "What did he do to you, Norma?"

   Her gaze faltered. "We've just-- my father was a drunk, my mother was always high, and Caleb...was a mean-spirited person."

   "So-- you're mean-spirited brother brought you a dog?"

   "Alex, please, just drop it," she begged.

   He saw the stress in her eyes and caressed her gently. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to tell me anything. If you don't want your brother around, then he won't get another chance to come around. Okay?"

   "Okay."