CAPE FEAR BLACK FEAR CAPE BLACKWater Water DEEP DEEP daniel ray norris ray daniel a novel by daniel ray norris Carolina Beach, North Carolina Daniel Ray Norris Cape Fear Blackwater Deep Carolina Beach, N.C. SlapDash Publishing, LLC. 386 pp. INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER 978-0-9834175-7-6 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER 2014956535 311 Florida Avenue, ©2015 Copyright Carolina Beach, NC 28428 Daniel Ray Norris 910.232.0604 [email protected] First Printing – February 2015 www.carolinabeach.net Typefaces: Trade Gothic, Gotham, Veneer. Utopia (body). Software: Adobe® InDesign® CC, Photoshop®, Illustrator® and other Adobe® products Apple® Macintosh® computers and Canon® imaging products were used in the proofing and production of this book. All rights reserved: No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means either electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without written permission from the publisher or author(s). No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. Trademarks: All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. SlapDash Publishing, LLC or the author(s) cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Warning and disclaimer: Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty of fitness is implied. The information is provided on an “as is” basis. The author and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book. Characters: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. iv | Daniel Ray Norris Cape Fear — BlackWater DeeP | v Acknowledgments CREDITS David Covington, Robin Hardin, Nancy Fonvielle, David Photo on page vi by Daniel Ray Norris. Lewis, Richard Neal, Ronnie Hawes, Jenny Hamm, Talley Cover image of roiling ocean from istock.com. Thompson - all contributed in different ways. Thank you for Regional map on page x, xi from istock.com. your interest, expertise and inspiration. Definitions on page xi from wikipedia.org. Bee image on page v from istock.com. A huge thank you to my nieces, Kelly and Taylor Forbis. I be- Photo of Daniel Ray Norris (back cover and p. 374) by Amy M. Norris. lieve they are fortunate enough to have been bestowed a ge- Photo of Fresnel lenses (from Pigeon Point Lighthouse, CA), netic quotient that will likely support any goal they pursue courtesy of Pam Winegar in life. Kelly and Taylor helped edit the manuscript multiple Photo of Frying Pan Tower, p. 369, from www.fptower.com. times over. Any typos are their fualt. My mama, Patricia Norris, was helpful and encouraging as she read the rough draft and listened to me as I developed the characters and story line. And finally, I’d like to thank my wife, Amy Norris. She has been a patient and supportive partner during the period I wrote this book. I pity her daily for having to live with a hus- band obsessed with the creation of literature. This book is dedicated to Ann Baker Beale The Queen Bee 1924–2014 “Just tie another knot in the rope and hold on.” viii | Daniel Ray Norris Cape Fear — BlackWater DeeP | ix x Preface CONTENTS 2 Gourd to Death 14 The Station 30 Azaleas and Amy 42 Bald Head Island 58 Lenses 70 The Unraveling 92 The Awakening 100 Fayetteville Fandango 124 Trapped 136 Out of the Fire and Into the Frying Pan 156 The Tournament 178 Salty Secrets 198 Fran 230 Homecoming 242 Orton Plantation 258 The Bunker 278 The Race 296 Change of Plans 316 The Reunion 328 Floyd 346 The Garden of Getting Even 362 Fear of the Cape x | Daniel Ray Norris Cape Fear — BlackWater DeeP | xi Preface Two events in my life provided fruitful inspiration that managed to make it into this book and to some extent kick- Firsts are exciting. First car, first beloved pets and first day start the process of writing it. One involved hanging about of school pretty much rank up there as monumental land- a dozen martin houses around my property. Two years ago, marks in anyone’s life. But this... This book. This amalgama- I imagined someone trying to attract little birdy residents tion of inner thoughts, feelings and imagination tops them by hanging dozens of hollowed out gourds, only to have the all. Writing my first novel has trumped all the other firsts I first one occupied fall – driving that person over the edge. have ever experienced in my life. It could happen. And in 1994, I found the lenses from Old During the development and first draft phase, I wrote a lot Baldy lighthouse in an antique store in Wilmington. I nearly of this book (in my mind) while riding my bike to Fort Fish- purchased them from the owner. There’s more to that story. er and back to my house. Brainstorming during these bike To mine nuggets of material for this book, I dug deeply rides helped keep my sanity but biking to the same place into my own fears, thoughts and ambitions. Getting these day after day becomes unbelievably monotonous. I sang. thoughts into a form that was fluid, believable and proper- I acted out impromptu plays of my own creation. For some ly formatted was honestly a lot of work. I rummaged around reason dirty limericks and alliteration were quite common inside my head, mulled over vivid and not so vivid memories themes. My mind reeled with book ideas during every trip of places, people and things and reeled in the interesting tid- and I wanted to record the details so instead of stopping, I bits. I was careful not to make it too personal, lest I find my- used my ever-present iPhone’s ability to send voice dictated self guilty of the “It’s all about me.” syndrome. I think I got emails. This worked out pretty well. “Send an email to Dan- the balance right. And now, here’s hoping I made the right iel Norris, home.” Even though the recognition wasn’t always choices. I reckon second novels are easier to pen. I do hope perfect, I could easily decipher the meaning when I got back so. And I do hope to keep writing and to follow this book and checked my email. Technology that works effortlessly is with a sequel. But who knows? I just might not. It depends awesome. on a lot of things. I also wrote much of this book while selling and signing While writing this preface, I did not know how well received books at the Carolina Beach boardwalk. My iPad and a por- this novel will be. Mothers, nieces, friends and acquain- table keyboard made swift work of that. Sitting for hours at tances do not count when testing the literary waters. But I a little folding table was made more productive as I typed am grateful for the people who have read it and have offered away at the manuscript in my corner at Britt’s Donuts. their input. (see acknowledgments) Thank you Bobby and Maxine. Similarly there were plenty of productive sessions out on my pier at home. I did find it nec- When you are done reading this book, please send me an essary to point myself towards the house, away from the wa- email. I’d love to hear what you thought about it. terway, and wear noise canceling headphones to reduce dis- Daniel Ray Norris tractions. Pitiful. So many beautiful boats and birds make Carolina Beach, NC, October 9, 2014 the mind wander. But you find solutions to your foibles and [email protected] trudge forward. definition: Cape Fearis a coastal plain and tidewater region of North Carolina centered about the city of Wilmington. The region takes its name from the adjacent Cape Fear headland, as does the Cape Fear River which flows through the region and empties into the Atlantic Ocean near the cape. blackwater definition: is a river with a deep, slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling tea or coffee. Deep definition(s): 1very intense or extreme. 2penetrating, perceptive, insightful. 3difficult to understand. 2 | Daniel Ray Norris Cape Fear — BlackWater DeeP | 3 Chapter 1 Gourd to Death Teetering near the top of an old weathered, step lad- was having sex with the ladder, thought Cameron. It was both der, Cameron reached out and grabbed the green clothes funny and sad. line for balance. Ronnie reminded Cameron of an old hippie - a crusty sea “Holy crap…whoa…Ronnie. That was close.” Cameron said. captain perhaps - or a slightly disheveled, less child-friendly version of Captain Kangaroo. His beard matched his salt and Ronnie shifted his feet, looked up at Cameron and said, pepper hair. Ronnie had on a dingy long-sleeved plaid shirt, “Okay.” nondescript dark blue jeans and tattered running shoes.