"I'm so sorry", Henry swan said, helping the woman he'd run into pick up her bag.
"That's quite alright, dear" she responded, patting the boy on the shoulder to put him at ease
"No harm done, see" she tried to assure him
"No, i should have been more careful" Henry kept on.
"I appreciate your concern young man, but I'm really alright"
"Do you need any help, with your bags or something?..." he asked
"You're quite an esteemed young lad, aren't you? Your parents must be very proud of you" she offered him a kind smile causing Him to look down trying to hide the blush that covered his face.
"Thank you ma'am but it's just me and my mum. She does okay..." he smiled, returning his gaze to the ground, catching a glimpse of his watch in the process.
"Oh, crap!" he exclaimed
"Is anything the matter, dear?" the woman asked
"No, Imean yes. I was supposed to meet my mom for lunch and I'm late" he said, bending to pick up his backpack that had been lying on the floor the whole time.
"I'm sorry for keeping you here longer than was necessary, dear" the lady said.
"Henry, call me Henry" he smiled, holding out his hand which the woman shook in appreciation.
"Regina, Regina Mills" she smiled back brightly at the teenager who didn't look a day over thirteen.
"Pleasure to meet you Miss Mills. Here is my mom's number. If I messed up anything, just give us a call. Again, I'm sorry" Henry was already on his way as soon as Regina had taken the card, not realizing that he'd left one of his most treasured books behind on the floor.
"The pleasure is all mine..." she all about shouted after Him.
Regina smiled to herself at how nervous and sweet the boy had been.
"Miss Mills?" a voice called, pulling her out of her previous thoughts.
"You dropped this" an attendant at the mall informed, handing her a huge and strange looking book.
"Um...no, that's not mine" she answered, hardly addressing the man, her thoughts still on Henry.
"Ok..." the man turned to leave when Regina turned to him,
"You know what, I think I might just know who it belongs to. I can pass it along if you leave it with me" she said.
Regina Mills exited the mall a couple hours later, her driver in tow carrying her bags.
"Back to the hotel Miss?" the shorter man asked.
"Yes Lee. I'll be having dinner at the restaurant later so you'll be done for the day once we get there" she answered, taking out her phone and dialling the number on the piece of paper she had been holding for the last two hours.
"It's time" she whispered to herself as the phone on the other end of the line started to ring.
"It's been one long year" she thought.