I will be continuing this story. Chapter two coming soon. It is halfway done.
Regina Mills' day began as any other day in the last year had. She woke up at 5 a.m. and donned a simple frock and entered her kitchen, slipped her apron over her head and tied it at her back, then started to prepare breakfast. A household full of working factory women and a growing boy required plenty of sustenance if everyone was to make it through the day until a short lunch and then supper time.
She whipped through a simple breakfast of eggs, potatoes, toast, and homemade preserves. It was really the best they could do during the war. The eggs had come from her own chickens kept in the coop in her own yard. The preserves, her own strawberry garden. At least she could feel better about that. The potatoes and bread were the only thing that came from elsewhere. Food the women of her household had brought home on their way from work along with other things.
Regina sighed. The war had been hard on all of them. It had left her without a husband and her son Henry without a father. She now let rooms to women who worked the factories in order to make extra money. It beat working herself, and well… the noise honestly helped the house feel less… empty.
Five plates were served and set out on the table. Regina sat and waited, she watched the clock. 5 minutes. She heard a thump and somebody growling. Smirking to herself, Regina began to spread strawberries onto her toast. It never failed. Finally, the first of her housemates clamored down the steps. The leggy brunette, Ruby, detoured into the kitchen, probably to make up the day's coffee.
A few minutes later and Regina's son, Henry came down, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. At the age of ten, he was rather small for his age and slightly lean. Finally, the rest of her housemates made it down to the dining room just as the smell of coffee wafted throughout the house. Mary Margaret and Kathryn joined them at the dining table just as Ruby exited the kitchen, a pot of coffee and a jug of juice in her hands.
Ruby poured drinks as everyone began to dig into their breakfasts. Juice for Henry and Mary Margaret. Coffee for Kathryn, Regina and herself. She set down what was left in the middle of the table and took her seat to Regina's right, across from young Henry. Everyone reached simultaneously for their drinks and took a sip with a sigh.
Mary Margaret was the first one to break the morning's silence, as usual.
"What a lovely breakfast, Regina, thank you, as always, for making it. I don't know how I would get through my day without it!" The short-haired brunette told Regina in that all too chipper fashion she always seemed to speak with.
Regina attempted not to cringe outwardly in response. Sometimes Mary Margaret's general affect had a way of raking on her nerves. Instead she attempted to reply as politely as she could, though it felt like pulling teeth to do so, "Why, thank you, Miss Blanchard."
Henry tapped at Regina's elbow. He had cleared his plate and was asking silent permission to leave the table. Regina nodded.
"Go. Get your things ready for school," she told him quietly. The boy nodded and slid out of his chair, hurrying away from the table to get ready for school. Regina watched him go. She worried about him. He didn't talk as often as once did. The death of his father had been hard on them both.
The other women had been chattering away as she had been occupied with her son. They cleared their plates as she finished another cup of coffee. She listened as they hurried around the house, gathering whatever they would need for their workdays. Regina enjoyed the noise.
A light tap on the shoulder alerted her to Henry's presence. She turned to find him waiting, silently, his pack thrown over his shoulder. Regina grimaced. She wished he would speak. She wanted him to be okay, just like any other boy his age.
"You ready?" Regina asked him.
At his nod, she stood, went into the kitchen and grabbed the lunch she had prepped for him then walked with him to the door. The other women of the household came rushing down the stairs, just as they made it there. They liked to walk with Regina and Henry to the school bus stop before heading down the road to their own bus stop to the factories.
They chattered excitedly around Regina and Henry as they exited their home. Walking down the dirt path as a group, the strange family made their way to the main road where the bus stop was located. Henry held his mother's hand the entire time.
Regina smiled down at him as they reached his stop. She kneeled down so she could speak to him at eye-level.
"Henry, I want you to have a good day. Be good, and be careful, okay?" She told him, earnestly.
Henry nodded. As Regina stood, the other women in the group each gave him their salutes for the day. Mary Margaret gave him a hug, Kathryn a wave and Ruby, an actual salute before they walked off down the street toward their own stop, continuing their ceaseless chatter as they did so.
Regina waited with him as the bus rolled up and Henry boarded. She waved as he took the next to last seat, next to the window. He looked out, and gave her the smallest hint of a smile and a wave. It was all Regina needed to reassure herself, that maybe, just maybe, her little boy would be okay.
Regina watched as the school bus turned the corner, waiting until the sight of its bright yellow behind was no longer in view, before she turned away and followed the dirt road back home. She didn't look forward to the next part of her day. It was too quiet.
She listed off tasks as she made her way home. Dishes, dusting, sweeping, weeding, gardening, the chickens would need looking after if one of the other women hadn't already taken care of it. Regina would go through the house tidying up until it was near time for everyone to come home. Then she would stop, clean herself up, and prepare dinner. Anything to keep busy.
It was how she spent her days. How she was accustomed to doing things. Regina was halfway through her day's rhythm, the radio station played Frank Sinatra's The Night We Called It A Day, when a knock sounded at the front door, interrupting her, in the middle of tidying up the bathing room.
Who could that be? She had to wonder to herself. Regina rarely had visitors. She wiped her hands off on a towel and removed the apron she wore. She pulled off the scarf she had wrapped around her head to keep her hair out of her face. She looked into the mirror and attempted to tidy her brunette bob as quickly as she could, when the knock sounded again. She huffed, irritated at the sound. Whoever this person was, couldn't they be more patient? They were, after all, knocking, on her door, disturbing her in the middle of her day.
She marched down the stairs, ready to give this person a piece of her mind. Regina wrenched open the door only to find herself quickly forgetting why she had come down in such a rage in the first place. A rather becoming blonde woman stood on her doorstep, a duffle thrown over one shoulder. The blonde wore high-waisted slacks in the fashion of one of the women who managed the other women at the factories, with a button up blouse tucked in and a pair of Oxford shoes to complete the image. Her blue and green eyes took in Regina with wide interest.
Regina found herself gawking for several moments, unable to speak, while Frank Sinatra turned into Billie Holiday, before she realized how silly she must have looked! She scolded herself inwardly and shook it off.
"I-, how can I help you, Miss-?" She grimaced, she didn't even know this woman's name.
The blonde gave her a slight smile at this. She reached out a friendly hand, her skin was noticeably pale, a bit of a sunburn colored her arm. Regina grasped her hand. Slightly hard, but still smooth, she noted.
"Emma," the woman told her. "Emma Swan."
They shook hands, each of them with a firm grip. Emma's hands were warm. Something about her spoke of warmth to Regina. It made Regina almost nervous, but it somehow drew her in.
"Miss Swan, what can I do for you?" Regina asked, her voice just a touch shaky. Something about this woman was putting her nerves on edge. Was making her feel, slightly different. She just couldn't put a finger on what.
The blonde seemed to watch her curiously. Then she shook her head as if ignoring a thought before she spoke, "Well, if I could get my hand back, for one, that would be great."
"Oh!" Regina let go of the woman before she made any more of a fool of herself. What was going on with her? She felt hot all of a sudden.
The woman, Emma, Regina reminded herself, ran fingers through her hair.
"Uhh, well, I had seen your flyer down at the local grocer for boarders. I'm kind of new in town… Been living at the inn for a couple of nights, and just got a job at the small munitions' factory, as an assistant inspector…. I'm not into living at at the local boarding houses, all that much…." She trailed off, as if she had just realized she was beginning to ramble.
Regina nodded.
"You're looking for a place to board?" The brunette prodded her.
The blonde smiled.
"Well, yes, that would be the idea. I can pay whatever it is you're asking, for room and board. I'll adhere to any rules you have in place. What ever it is. I'm pretty clean as well." Emma answered earnestly. She seemed so hopeful.
Regina felt her heart ache just a bit at the expression. Something about this woman was pulling at her heartstrings.
"Well, you'll have to share a room with one other person. There are three other women here, not including me, and I do have a son. But other than that, we have plenty of room, if you don't mind sharing…." Regina told her. Emma seemed to think it over for a moment.
"I can handle a single roommate, I think." She told Regina.
"Great. Well, if you come with me." And with that, Regina held the door open, leading the other woman into the house.
Regina took her upstairs and led her beyond two sets of doors before they came to the door that open to Ruby's room. She turned the knob and opened it, hoping without hope the woman had cleaned up after herself before leaving this morning. It was always a 50/50 chance with her. She looked into the room to fin that Ruby, had indeed, tidied up before leaving that morning. She led the way in, Emma a few inches behind.
Two cots lay inside, as well as two simple dressers and two bedside tables with lamps. The blankets and sheets covering them were simple and warm. Nothing fancy, but everything comfortable and simple. Emma observed her surroundings quietly.
"Well?" Regina asked of her, softly.
Emma turned to her, with a grin.
"It's perfect." She told the brunette. "How much?"
Regina shook her head. "$5.00 a week, bring food home when I ask, and we'll call it even."
Emma nodded. She turned away and began to unpack her duffle bag. Regina watched for a minute or two, before she turned away and returned to her tasks. She went back into the bathing room and continued to clean but found herself unfocused. She felt unnerved. This woman had thrown her off. Something about her made her feel something, made her feel warm.
Regina finished cleaning then decided it was time for a break. Maybe a cup of tea, and the newspaper or a novel? Anything, to get herself out of her head right now. She slipped out into the hallway and quietly downstairs and into the kitchen. Brewing up her tea, she pulled out the day's paper. All of it, cover to cover seemed to be about the war front, or about what could be done here, on the home front to support the war effort. With a sigh, Regina tossed the paper into the waste bin. It was no good. She walked over to the bookshelf in the sitting room and without looking, grabbed for any old paperback.
She just wanted to read anything, whatever, so long as it got her out of her head. She checked on her tea. It was near-boiling. Time to pour. Regina pulled out a teacup and poured her tea in. It didn't need sugar. The flavoring prevented the need for it. She set the pot aside and arranged everything within reach on the table near her seat where she would spend her time reading.
She took a seat and began to read. Soon enough, she realized this had to be one of Ruby's novel's. The opening scene had begun with something so, so heat-inducing. Regina could feel the flush that was making its way from her collar up her neck. She was glad for her olive-tan skin, but still. If she were to read on, she might not have a chance at hiding what she was beginning to feel.
She looked around. No one was moving around the house, perhaps that Emma woman had taken a nap? Regina decided to continue reading. The characters in the story, were interacting in such a way. How bold! Yet, no pronouns. How strange. She read on as the story made it's way into some territory she had never been. One was putting their fingers, where? But she only did that when…. And she read on, as she felt herself growing hotter, a light heat growing below her navel. Were these both women? Was she reading an erotic novel about two women?! She nearly threw the book, but found herself unable to let go, unable to stop reading, when suddenly-,
"What are you reading?" A light voice came from behind her. Regina yelped and slapped the booked shut, hiding it in her lap.
The blonde woman, Emma stood behind her. A curious expression on her face. Regina felt herself flush to be gazed at by her. She ducked her head, momentarily, then looked back up, to find at the woman had not yet stopped looking at her.
Regina found herself shocked to realize that she didn't want the woman to stop looking. She met her gaze steadily.
"Oh, umm, just one of the novels one of the other ladies of the household left behind on the bookshelf. I didn't really look when I grabbed. It's nothing really." Regina told Emma as nonchalantly as she could, though she felt her voice came out a little breathily.
Emma raised an eyebrow.
"Well, okay… If you say so. You have anything to eat? I'm pretty hungry. I didn't get lunch. I can bring back whatever you ask tomorrow." Emma told the brunette with puppy eyes.
Regina felt herself smile at the woman. Her son had the same habit. It didn't work on her very often, and it wouldn't work on her with this woman either, but she couldn't deny a hungry woman food.
"I can make you a sandwich to hold you over until dinner. I should probably get started on that anyway, it is getting around that time." She told the blonde. Regina stood, and walked over to the shelf, placing the book back in its place.
As Regina passed Emma on the way to the kitchen, Emma placed a hand on her arm. Regina stiffened at the tingles she felt from the contact.
"If you don't mind. Show me where everything is, and I'll make it myself. I don't want to burden you. It sounds like you do enough around here with making dinner and all." Emma told her, her blue-green eyes holding Regina's own chocolate brown ones.
Regina gave her a brilliant smile. "Thank you, but I like doing it. I-, I'll let you make your own sandwich just this once, but if you make a mess, you'll be banned from the kitchen."
Emma laughed. And threw her hands up in surrender. She backed up and followed Regina as she led her into the kitchen. Regina showed her the location of silverware, bread, bread-knife, lettuce, the different vegetables she might want to put on her sandwich and her deli meats, which were not much due to the war. Emma made her selections and carefully prepared her meal, making as little mess as she could. When Regina nodded her satisfaction at her ability to make a sandwich without making a mess, Emma smiled and proceeded to take a hearty bite out of her creation. The filling of which promptly fell on the floor.
As lettuce, tomato, deli meat and dressing hit her floor with a light, slap! Regina looked up at Emma and promptly began to laugh. Emma, wide-eyed, only watched as she finished chewing. She swallowed, then gaped, open-mouthed at the woman before her. A sight that made Regina laugh even more, even as it warmed her from head to toe.
Finally, the blonde managed to speak, "You have the most amazing laugh."
Regina coughed as she heard the words. The awe in the blonde's voice had caught her off guard. It almost reminded her of-,
She shook her head. Regina wouldn't think of him.
She waved her hand at the pile on the floor.
"You should probably pick that up." Regina told the woman. "I should probably get to making dinner."
Emma blinked at the abrupt turn in conversation, before she nodded her agreement. She turned away fro a towel and got down to business. Regina moved around the kitchen, gathering her pots, pans, utensils, and ingredients for dinner.
It was as she grabbed the last of her ingredients, tomato, fresh from her garden, that she bumped into Emma.
Emma caught her, keeping her from falling back. Regina felt her heart hammer in her chest from the closeness of the woman and knew then, that she was in trouble. If she was right, this woman was bringing out a reaction that only one other had brought out in her, but much worse. She it her lip as she stepped away from the blonde. Emma let her go as if she had been burned.
"I think I'm just going to go lay down for a bit until dinner…." Emma told her, backing away. She seemed nervous suddenly. Had she noticed Regina's reaction to her?
"You do that." Regina told her curtly. They turned away from one another quickly before going their separate ways. Regina began dinner with her mind more distracted than she had in the last year. One Emma Swan invading every corner of it.
Upstairs, in the bedroom she now shared with Ruby, one Emma Swan, now found herself unable to think of anyone but Regina Mills….