Alright - you convinced me. Let's play a little bit more with these two. If someone wants to be my beta, let me know!
Oh, on a side note, I don't know how three-year old speak, since english is not my mother tongue and I don't have encounters with little kids speaking english. So I'll just write grammatically incorrect sentences... :)
Mara.
Next time I saw Robin, and his adorable son, Roland, I was not with Kathryn. I was with my mother.
"Regina, dear, would you please get some diapers?" I heard her say, "We don't have anymore for Leena,"
"Why can't Zelena buy the diapers for her daughter?" I asked. I loved my niece, but Zelena was the laziest mother on earth. She didn't even live with us! Yet, mother still do the groceries for her, which meant that I was still my older sister's slave.
It is one thing when you are five years old, and your older sibling is ten, and they make you do things. Because at that young age, you believe that your sibling is some sort of God on Earth, he or she are your heroes and role-models and you would do anything to please them, anything to be their friends. But at the age of eighteen and twenty-three? It was just ridiculous. Someone needed to put Zelena on her place. That wouldn't be my mother, of course; Zelena was her first-born and heiress to my mother's political party. If Zelena said 'Jump', my mother would say 'How high?'.
I, however, was Daddy's girl. But my father wouldn't dream of putting a stop to Zelena's behaviour, he wouldn't go against my mother - he knew better than that.
"Just go and get the diapers, Regina," my mother's voice snapped me out of my mental rant.
"Yes, mother," I rolled my eyes and followed her orders. At least I would have two minutes away from her, two minutes of silence, two minutes of me-time.
I walked down the baby's aisle, to the spot where the diapers were stocked. So many brands! Why there have to be so many brands?! How was I supposed to know which branch did Leena use? What if one brand gave her rashes? Or if she wasn't comfortable in them? What if they were too big? Or too small? I took one and read the small printing. What on earth were swaddlers? This is exactly why you don't sent a teenager girl to buy diapers. I could bet that my father was better at buying tampons that I was at buying diapers.
"Gina!" I heard a familiar voice scream, and then I was tackled by a little person. I lowered my face to meet with Roland's eyes, he was looking at me with a smile on his face, "You are a mommy?" he asked.
At first I didn't understand his question, but then I saw what I was holding, "Um - no," I said quickly putting the diapers in the place where I had found them. I raised my head to see if the kid was alone, of course he was not. Robin was up the aisle, buying baby food. He waved at me and continued putting Roland's food into his cart.
"Why you buying nappies?" he asked, tilting his head, "You need them too?"
"God, no," I shook my head and giggled, "I have a niece,"
"A niece?" Roland ask, and I wondered if he knew what a niece was, "Do you wove her?"
"Of course I do, Roland," I replied as if it would be obvious, "She's like my baby,"
"Am your baby," he crossed his arms and frowned. I smiled at the hint of jealousy, he looked so adorable I just wanted to squish him with a tight hug.
I kneeled to be at his height "Yes, you're my baby boy, and she's my baby girl,"
That explanation seemed to please him, because Roland smiled and uncrossed his arms. I couldn't help myself, I had to ruffle his hair in a way that only family did. He giggled at my action and went to ruffle my hair too. Normally, I wouldn't let people touch my hair, let around mess it - I didn't even let Kathryn brush my hair. But I couldn't help myself, I was not immune to the little's boy charm.
"I'm sorry if he's bothering you," Roland and I both raised out sight to see Robin next to us, I stood up and fixed my ruffled hair.
"Not at all," I smiled at Roland, "He'd never bother me,"
"Do you need help?" Robin asked, "I couldn't help but notice that you look kind of lost,"
I let a breath out, "You have no idea," he smiled at me, and I felt the butterflies in my stomach. 'For crying out-loud, Regina!' I mentally slapped myself, 'This is a married man you are talking to,' I cleared my throat "So, um - I have a two-year old niece, and I'm supposed to get diapers for her," I explained, playing with the trinket that hung from my necklace.
Robin simple nodded and looked around the diapers, he took a Huggies package, "You see, here's the age for which the diapers' size is suitable for," he pointed at one of the package corner, "It's in months," he added.
"Thank you," I grabbed the package and feeling more stupid than ever.
"Regina, dear, how hard can it be to get diapers for Leena? It's not like it's rocket science," I heard my mother making one of her always-inopportune entrances. "Who's this?" she said staring at Robin.
"Mother, this is Mr. Hood," I said, hoping she wouldn't comment anything stupid, "And this is his son, Roland,"
"Gina helps me off the car!" Roland said raising his arms towards me and I took him in my arms, it was not like I could refuse something to a kid with such charming dimples.
"That I do, young man," I gently tipped his nose with my index finger, he closed his eyes and giggled at the touch, "This is my mother, Cora Mills,"
"You have a lovely daughter, Miss Mills," Robin extended his hand to shake Cora's, my mother shook his hand and studied him "She has enchanted my son. I used to drag him out of the house, but now he goes to school willingly, just to see Regina,"
I smiled at the kid, and Roland blushed slightly, wrapping his tiny arms around my neck.
"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Hood," my mother said sharply, and I knew she didn't mean it, "But we need to go, Regina," she added, "Your father is waiting for us,"
I nodded and placed Roland on the floor. He wanted to protest, but Robin took him in his arms and whispered something into his ear before the kid could say anything. "Bye Gina,"
"Bye Regina," Robin echoed his son.
"Bye," I smiled at both of them and followed my mother towards the cashier.
She didn't say anything as we passed the items from the cart to the cashier and then placed them into bags, and I didn't push any conversation either. In the eighteen years of my existence, I had learned how to interpret my mother's silences by reading her faces. And this silence was not good. It wasn't until we were in the car that she shared her thoughts.
"You were flirting with a married man, Regina," she pointed out.
My mother was not a person of many morals, but she was a politician, and having a daughter wrecking a marriage was not good publicity for her. Yes, it was all about her reputation, not about the correctness of my acts. My mother was a true believer of Machiavel's 'The end justifies the means.' phrase; if something was good for her image, she didn't care if it was correct of not, if it damaged her image, then it was wrong.
"I was not flirting with him," I defended my actions. Mostly because I was sure that if I kept saying it out-loud, I'd believe it as well.
"It didn't seem that way," she snapped "Imagine what would a scandal such as that to do my career," I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"It wouldn't do anything, because nothing is happening," I spat, putting more venom into the words than what I had intended to, "He's nice to me because Roland likes me, nothing less and nothing more," I explained, calming myself, "I'm just a girl to him,"
"Good," I saw her nodding by the corner of my eye. "Keep it that way,"
"Yes, mother," I replied reluctantly and looked out of my window.
Of all the men my brain and heart could like, they had to choose a married man. And of all the women that could be my mother, I had to get the one that didn't really care about my feelings but only about her image. I hated my life.