Ever Since You Walked Into My Life

The next morning came fast. I awoke to a soft voice, breath running smoothly over my ear. I smiled, recognized Norman's voice even in the slumber I found myself in from last night. I shoved my hands under my head, sighing comfortably as he continued. I must have dozed back off, because the voice had left me. My eyes shot open suddenly, however, when the bed began to shake. He was nudging it with his knee, trying to wake me.

"I'm still tired," I curled up under the thick blanket, breathing in deep.

The soft scent of lavender detergent had me almost drifting off again. I grumbled quietly when I felt the blanket slide off of me, even when my hand reached out to take it a few seconds too late. My eyes jolted open, however, when a heavy weight began jumping on the bed. I sat up quickly, feeling random strands of hair misplace themselves on my head and in my face. Norman laughed loudly and sat back on his knees.

"Come on. Time to get up," he smiled and nodded toward the kitchen, "coffee's ready."

"What time is it?" I muffled my yawn with the back of my hand.

I brushed my hair back, trying to get my blurry vision to focus in the dim light.

"Five o' clock," he chuckled.

"Five -"I gasped and fell back into the bed, pulling one of the extra pillows over my head.

My next statement - You're crazy! - was muffled beneath the feathery pillow. Norman laughed and said, "Get up, Rascal. I got some shooting to do today. I want you to meet everyone,"

I groaned, pinching the pillow tighter to my head.

"I'm warning you," his voice had a playful sternness to it.

"Uh huh," I said.

"And I have a surprise for you," he bribed.

"Uh huh," I yawned."I'm going back to bed."

I curled my knees to my chest and took in a deep breath. Five o' clock in the morning was for crazy people. At least that's how I pounded it down in my own mind. I'm sure even Sammi and Mingus were having difficulty with the early morning hours. Granted they were children, they rose up early on weekends and late on school days. I guess it always depended on how they felt about the day.

"I wonder," I felt him shift closer, "if you're ticklish,"

I could feel the smile work its way onto Norman's lips. I sat up as he moved closer, holding the pillow close to my chest as a kind of plushy defense.

"Don't you dare," I tried to hide my smile.

That morning, lazy and half asleep grin you get when someone pokes fun at you before you're fully awake. Norman inched forward, slowly but surely, the moment growing intense until he was sitting in between my knees. It went fast. The pillow was ripped from my grasp and his hands were attacking my sides, poking and groping until I nearly stopped breathing. I pushed him hard by the chest, but when you're hysterical, strength comes rarely.

"Alright!" My laughter continued as he pressed on, shoving my hands out of the way and continuing on with what he started, "Norman! Stop! Uncle! I give!"

I reached down to grab his hands, but he took my wrists, holding my hands lightly on my belly with his. He smiled, leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss on my lips. I chuckled out of still ticklish nerves and breathed heavily, wondering how long he went. It wouldn't have been much longer before I wet myself, I could tell you that much.

"You're evil," I whispered.

"And you're gonna make us late," he laughed, "come on, I made you coffee. The kids are getting ready now."

He stood from the bed, pulling me up with him. We sat and had our cup of coffee, Sammi and Mingus strolling in only minutes after. I brushed a hand through my nest of hair and said, "So, you mentioned a surprise?"

"Oh, so you could hear in that coma?" He smiled as he poured milk into Mingus' bowl of cereal.

"Yeah, its this thing called selective hearing," I smiled as I set my cup in the kitchen sink.

Norman laughed obnoxiously and Sammi giggled quietly from in her seat. I ran a few fingers through her hair as I passed, watching as she spooned a bit of cereal into her mouth. I had rummaged through my bag for clothes and within the hour I was ready to go. Norman and the kids crowded the door as I stepped up, phone in the back pocket of my jean shorts and cigarettes in the front. Norman smiled and said, "Be ready for some serious heat."

"Heat on the set?" I smiled, "I can't wait to see the real you,"

"Oh yeah. Bad boy Jesse James right here," he lead the kids and I out of the room and I found the walk was peaceful in the morning hours.

He stole my hand as we walked to the car, where my mouth continued to pool with saliva. Sammi and Mingus climbed in the back, but before I could climg in, Norman held the keys out to me. My heart skipped. Was I going to drive?

"Good with directions?" He asked.

"Good at avoiding being the backseat driver?" I smirked.

"Hopefully," he opened my door, allowing me to get in.

I started the car as he got in, giving the pedal an extra push just to hear its roar. I felt a shiver race up my spine, sending goosebumps all over my skin. It was a beautiful thing. Classic cars in my hands were a prized posession. Norman lead the way with left and rights, and despite the early morning hours, I found myself gaping at the scenery along the way. We came to a large parking lot, where a few trailers lined the edge.

I parked, allowed the kids to get out and followed Norman to a small group of people. He introduced me to Sarah, Andrew, Laurie, Steven, Chandler, IronE, Melissa, Jon, Jeffrey and Madison. Chandler, Madison, Sammi and Mingus were quick to gather, their conversation jumping from video games to zombies in minutes. I smiled as we conversed, finding the cast comedic, to say the least.

They were so comfortable with eachother. The way they clung to one another, poked with jokes that would insult strangers and smiled with such sincerity. A small spark of warmth glowed deep in my chest when I realized they were like an odd family. Our conversations were eventually cut short when they were called for makeup.

Norman had ushered Mingus to follow him to his trailer for makeup, but he pushed me and Sammi toward another. With a smile, he said, "I told you I had a surprise in store for you. Just knock,"

And so I did. The door swung open slowly, revealing a man in a low vneck t-shirt and skinny jeans. He offered me a warm smile and asked, "This is her?"

"Her? What?" I placed my hands on Sammi's shoulders and grew utterly confused.

"Rascal, this is Jerry. The special affects artist," he reached out, shaking his hand, "Greg agreed you could be a zombie. You go after Sophia on the highway."

"Oh, shit,"Sammi beat me to it and I scoffed.

"Sam!" I hid my smile the best I could.

She giggled quietly and I shook my head.

"You're in good hands," Norman gave me a wink before heading offf to the adjacent trailer.

"Come on, hon, let's zombify you," I followed after Jerry with Sammi and sat down in one of the two chairs inside.

Jerry slaved over me, digging into my skin with countless brushes and paints. Nearly half way through I could hear some of the equipment moving around, clanging into trucks as they readied to leave. Sammi fidgeted in her seat, occasionally peeking over to see what was going on. When Jerry had finally finished, it was almost eight thirty in the morning.

I gaped into the mirror when he moved, admiring the work he put into the design. He clipped teeth onto my lips and real teeth and forced the skin to look torn away. My hair was stringy and thin, giving the impression that I had been decomposing for the course of month. I was grey, pale and when we added the contacts I looked like an actual corpse.

"Woah," I gently touched the makeup.

It didn't feel like I was wearing much. I also took notice that it was incredibly hard to speak normally. Jerry extended a hand and helped me from the seat. Sammi gasped before giving me a toothy smile.

"Wow, Rascal! You really look dead!" she exclaimed.

"Thanks, Sam," I laughed, never realizing I had spit slightly.

No talking. I could do that.

"Let's get you dressed for the part." Jerry dragged Sammi and I behind, taking us to the trailer beside him.

After quick introductions, I was dressed in shabby jeans, tears on the knees and makeup added to affect that of a skinned knee in a fall. My shirt was once a nice dress tee, now ripped and torn in places unacceptable. I stumbled from the room once dressed for part, snarling and growling at Sammi. She squealed, more out of excitement than anything else.

I felt like a child playing dress up. I was ecstatic, knowing Norman had pulled this off just for me. My admiration for zombies and horror had never been taken so far. Sammi and I stepped out once being informed that Steven had come back to get us. He wasn't needed, as they were currently taking a quick break. I groaned quietly when we stepped into the heat.

Norman was correct on the weather. It was certainly hot outside. I turned when a loud whistle echoed out, finding Steven waving in our direction. He jogged over from the end of the lot, whistling lowly when he saw the makeup. He crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Wow. Jerry's damn good at that stuff. You look great."

"She can't talk," Sammi looked up at me, a grin forming on her lips, "or else she spits."

Steven laughed loudly and I shook my head in embarrassment.

"Its okay. We don't have a lot of talking to do anyway," he smiled and waved for us to follow, "if I don't get you back soon Greg's gonna freak. Come on,"

The drive was relatively short, yet the conversation between Steven and Sammi was endless. Everyone seemed so joyful around her. I felt like I hadn't seen that smile in a long time. When we arrived, we stepped out, eager to see the set. Half a dozens cameras were placed around set, but there were nearly triple that in zombies. Sammi tugged at my arm as we grew closer.

"Rascal," she whispered.

I knelt down and asked, "Mhmm?"

"There's so many of them," she spoke quietly, as if she were afraid they hear her.

I laughed and said to the best of my ability, "Its okay, Sam. All makeup."

"Oh, sick," Norman and Mingus came forward, looking over the makeup like I had in the beginning, "This is gonna be great,"

And in fact it was. I pulled off the snarling cannibal as well as I could and it seemed like everyone was happy with the performance. We posed for pictures with fans and once removing the heavy makeup we spent a while hanging out together at the end of the day. It was absolutely fulfilling. The kids certainly enjoyed it. They were asleep two minutes into the ride home.

"That was great," I took Norman's hand and smiled, "thankyou Norman."

"I'm glad you had fun," he said softly, "that scene is gonna be crazy when they put it together."

"I can't wait to see my death at the hands of Andrew. He bashed my fucking brains in with that rock," I chuckled.

"We'll add season one to our never ending zombiethon." He laughed.

We arrived at the hotel, full of sweat, dirt and slime. I enjoyed watching Norman's performance. Even though it was just acting, I loved to see him get all into it. It was a profession he enjoyed and I think he loves the fans more than anything else. I wasn't surprised that the cast had to pry them away from their little fingers. We carrried the kids inside, gently placing them on the bed.

I stepped out after kissing Sammi on the head. I watched Norman for a moment from the doorway. Mingus had woken for a moment, taking his fathers attention for a minute. I smiled as he brushed his sons hair back, whispering sweetly to him in the dark. He was a great father and a fantastic significant other. He was an all around good guy and I was forever grateful for him.

I stepped away from the room and pulled my cell phone from my pocket. I wanted to call Sandra for news on Mom. It had been almost a week since I spoke to her last and the news always wavered on the day. Mom was good some days, bad others. It was a gamble. I dialed her number and pressed it to my ear. I was excited to tell her where we were.

A few rings went by and she answered with her natural greeting. We spoke for a few moments as I grabbed a soda. Norman came from the bedroom and smiled, watching as I paced around, the smile on my face never ending. He gathered clothes for a shower as I explained what went on in the day. She was as excited as I was when she found out about my encounter with the dead.

"So, how's Mom?" Norman stepped into the kitchen, stealing a soda from the fridge.

"Well, you know," Sandra sighed and I frowned, "she's not doing too good, Rascal. I tried to call Connor,"

I scoffed and said, "He's a prick."

"I know, but I -"I heard her stop and take a breath, "I don't think she has much longer. She has more bad days then good anymore. Come visit soon, okay?"

I swallowed hard, nodding my head as if she could see me. Quietly, I whispered, "Okay, Sandra."

Norman watched. I could see him in my peripheral vision. The worry lines were creased, his eyes glossed over in worry. He knew me too well. He stepped over and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I love you, Sandra. Tell Mom Sammi and I miss her like crazy." I said softly, "and we love her. Keep me updated, okay?"

"I will, Rascal. I love you too. Hopefully I see you soon," she implied.

"Absolutely. Bye, Sandra," with a quiet goodbye I ended the call.

I sighed softly and felt my eyes well slightly. Norman nudged me slightly and asked, "Everything alright?"

"Yeah," I cleared my throat and turned, smiling up at him, "Mom's just not doing too good is all."

He frowned as I put my phone away. I wiped at my tears and sighed softly.

"Its okay,"I whispered, "I'm okay."

"You sure?" He whispered softly, his hand working to my cheek to brush a stray tear away.

I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," I kissed him softly and rested my head against his chest.

I hugged him, feeling his arms tighten around me.

"Hey, Norman,"I began.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I'd like you to meet Mom," I whispered, "before its too late."

"Okay," he kissed the top of my head, "anything you want, Rascal."