Dialtown Oneshots

norm being father

I sure do love adoptive father figures

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Nobody's POV

"Oh yea, that's my sister Jennie! That's Carla, Mary..."

The whole group had gathered together just to catch up and hang out together. Karen was in town for the next few weeks, so they took advantage of it and met up in Jerry's baasture. Somehow, their conversation had shifted to family. Randy was telling them about his sisters, Gingi had their kids, Jerry had his wife, and Karen had her mother and younger brother. They were all happy together talking about family and how they had all these siblings and how much they care.

Well, all but one.

Oliver sat by happily listening to their stories about dumb rules or adventures with siblings, but he felt so disconnected. It was years ago that he had lost his parents. Why would he care that everyone else was happy? He should be over it by now. But he looked at Jerry sitting with his wife or Gingi holding their kids and wondered why he couldn't have that. If it wasn't for Mr.Dickens, he'd be completely alone.

He made the quick excuse of needing air just to get away from everything. He leaned up against the small home and stared at the cloud floating through the open sky. He loved that group more than anyone, but why did he feel so out of place? How can one day he not care about his parents, but now feel like breaking down crying about them? Why was he making a big deal about this? Everyone has families, and everyone has dead people. He isn't special. He shoved his hand in his hoodie pocket and kept trying to focus on anything other than his racing thoughts.

"Y' doin' ok?"

Oliver glanced up at the tall man. Norm was still wearing his paper bag and hat, but he traded his NASA uniform for a gray knit sweater and blue jeans. He still had his holster, and his long black hair stuck out of the paper bag like it always did. He was quite tall, around 6'4", overweight, with carmel skin and a gold ring on his left hand. Norm was probably the closest thing Oliver had to a father other than Mr.Dickens. they didn't exactly start out on a good note, but they quickly grew close without much trouble.

"Oh, yea. Just needed some fresh air. You can only sit in a tiny living room with so many people for so long before getting sick of it."

Norm stood next to the fez man and looked at the sky with him. Oliver knew deep down that if he could see Norm's face right then, he'd be smiling.

" s' beautiful out here. Reminds me of my home in Arizona a bit, just a lot more cold. Still ain't used to the chill of this place!"

Oliver chuckled and went back to trying to think of anything but the horrid ideas still bouncing through his head. Suddenly, Norm rested his hand on Oliver's shoulder.

"I know why you're out here. You don't have to lie to me. I understand."

...

"If you want me to leave, I can. But don't lock yourself out. I'm always here to help ya if you need it."

....

"Norm, do you also know what it's like to lose your family?"

.....

Sigh

"I do. I lost my wife and daughter when I went to space. I never truly got to say goodbye."

"Do you ever blame yourself for what happened? Even if you know you couldn't prevent it?"

"As a matter of fact, I just about blamed everyone for it. I tried to blame anything just to have a reason to grieve. Took a while to finally understand that it was nobody's fault. Sometimes it's better to stop looking for blame and holding onto hatred and jus'...let go."

"Is it possible to sometimes miss them, but sometimes not care?"

"Oh, of course. Grief doesn't go away, it just takes different forms. Some days you dont even think about how they're gone, and other days you can't stand seeing happy couples with kids because of what you lost. S' not about not caring whatsoever about these people who meant a lot to you, it's about not letting it control you anymore. And it's good to know when you need a break to recollect yourself."

Oliver knew the last part was a jab at him. Maybe it was time to stop letting his emotions control him. Norm pulled out his wallet and took a photo out from behind a few cards and IDs. It was a picture of a much younger looking Norm next to a tall woman with a big afro, a nice housedress, dark skin, and a ring on her left hand that was identical to Norm's. She was holding a baby dressed in a pale yellow jumpsuit. The baby had Norms eyes and their mothers skin.

"That's my wife, Louisa. She and I met in the late 50s. God, she's the most beautiful woman you'd ever meet, on the inside and out. Soft eyes, soft lips, a wonderful sense of humor. She and I clicked 'fore we even knew eachothers names."

Norms voice started to crack a bit. He took a deep breath, and pointed to the baby in the photo.

"And that...that's my Eloise. She was named after my mother. I'll never forget when I first held her. She was crying and squirming in the doctors arms. Once I got ahold of 'er, she calmed down. When I...left, she was only about 2. She was a quick learner, she could walk when she was only about a year old."

Norm put the photo back into his wallet and turned to Oliver. He put an arm around his shoulder.

"I know how much family can mean to you. One day you wanna pull yer hair out because of them, the next, you'd give anything to hear their voices again. If you ever need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to tell me. I care about ya a lot, Oliver. Please don't forget that."

Norm put his hands in his pocket and went back inside the house, flashing Oliver a thumbs-up as he shut the door behind him.

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Space cowboy being a father make brain happy