Regina had just come home from college to spend Christmas time with her parents. The beginning of her freshman year at Princeton had distracted her a little from her misery and broken heart. She had to share a room with someone for the first time in her life. Her roommate was an irritating know-it-all named Zelena, a red-head who was a sophomore. Regina intended to get an MBA after graduation, but for now she was more interested in Princeton's arts department than in its finance and public policies classes. In fact, she had signed up for Creative Writing and Advanced Painting. Working on art projects was a way for Regina to turn all her painful feelings about Emma into something positive and try to get over them.
In spite of herself, she had often been wondering how things were going with Emma, who had not planned to go to college, being neither rich enough to pay for it, nor brilliant enough to get a scholarship. Regina had never yielded to her longing to call her though. Emma had slept with someone else, and she had not tried to contact Regina once.
The last thing Regina expected when she entered that diner to grab a bite in the middle of her Christmas shopping day was to discover that the waitress who came to take her order was Emma – a pregnant Emma.
They both paled and gazed at each other silently. Emma was the first to recover from the shock and said softly: "You look great, Regina. I love that new haircut." Regina, still silent, didn't really take the compliment in. She just stared at Emma's belly, making her blush.
"Congratulations," said Regina coldly. "I guess it's Neal's? You must be so proud."
Emma seemed about to dissolve into tears for a second, then put her best poker face on and said in a neutral tone, not looking at Regina: "And what will you have?"
"Chicken salad, please," Regina answered distractedly, puzzled at Emma's reaction. What was wrong? Were expectant mothers not supposed to be glowing with pure joy and hormones or something?
"One chicken salad," repeated Emma, scribbling on her notepad. "If you'll excuse me, I have other orders to take. I'll be right back with your salad."
When Regina got her order a few minutes later, she found out that her appetite had deserted her. She watched Emma go back and forth across the diner room without meeting her eyes. Regina had thought she was mad at Emma, and she was more fiercely jealous than ever now that Emma was carrying that baby in her belly. But there was something off. Emma looked miserable, she had dark circles under her eyes, and in spite of herself, Regina was compelled to help her.
Regina paid her check and left a good tip. Putting her scarf and gloves back on before going out, she asked Emma: "What time do you finish working? I'd really like to catch up with you afterwards."
"As far as I'm concerned, you've seen pretty much everything there is to know," said Emma, still not meeting her eyes.
Regina bit back answering "Don't you want to know about me?" Apparently Emma did not. "Tell me what time, Emma. I'll be here." A bit of her usual commanding tone had crept into her voice. She put her hand on Emma's upper arm. Emma did not pull away, and finally looked at her.
"Fine. Be here at nine."