Regina loves her job. She moved to Toronto almost 5 years ago with the intention of improving as a violinist; but while working on it she finds something that she is more passionate about…
She teaches at a music school to young kids, and she loves every minute of it. Today she is listening to the scratching, almost angelical sound created by 5 years old and his violin, or at least that what she thinks it's… angelical.
"I can't do it. I'm bad" states a 5-year-old blonde.
Having kids had cross Regina's mind in more than one occasion, but Emma doesn't seem to be ready yet. Honestly, she doesn't think Emma will ever admit being ready even if to Regina it all comes down to doing it together as a family, learning along the way. So, while she waits for Emma she pours all her love into these little monsters.
"Come here" She says in the most sweet voice and with a genuine smile on her face. "You are not bad. Do you know why?"
The 5-year-old shakes her head. Regina continues "Because if you were bad, then thah would mean I was a bad teacher... and in fact I am a fabulous teacher, right?
This gets her a bright smile "Hence, you couldn't possibly be bad". Encourage by his teacher the 5-year-old replies "You've got a point."
Regina goes to her desk and gets her own violin to practice with her students. "Come on. Let's all play together. You're ready?. One, two, three..." and she laughs and smiles at hearing those scratching sounds that seems too angelical for her.
After Emma finished her meeting, she goes to a near by pub to meet with her friends. She told them about her day and how close she was to closing the deal. "I had them, I had them in the palm of my hand.
"I can't believe Regina pulled that stunt after...
She spent all morning being peeved at me for
not being in the moment' or some bullshit". She takes a sip of her drink.
A young waitress passes close to the group and one of the guys decides to jump on her.
"Excuse me, miss. I couldn't help but notice that you work here. I was just wondering what time you... knock off?"
The waitress turns around a looks at Killian from top to bottom before answering "Oh, honey you don't stand a chance with me. Now, the blondie hottie you have as friends is a different story" Giving a sultry look to Emma's way while saying this.
All guys started whistling and calling Emma a lucky bastard for not only having an amazing woman waiting for her at home but also running their chances of getting some. At that exact moment Neil decides to give it a try at pool and shoots a ball that almost hit Emma.
"Oh, shit. Sorry, Em" Neil expresses his concern.
"That's all right, mate. I should be heading off anyway." At that particular moment her cell phone rings and Regina's picture is there. She mutters "Regina. Right." While hanging up the call.
"See you later, boys."
"Bye bye, Romeo." Killing yells after her
Regina and Kat are a Kat's car when they spot Emma walking around. Kat slows down so they can take a better look. "Is that Emma?/span" says Regina "What's she doing?"
They see Emma entering a travel agency. At that Regina's hope come back at full force. "The surprise" she remembers. Maybe Emma changed her mind, and they are actually going together to her sister's weeding after all. With a smile on her face, Regina asks Kat to keep going. She has a concert to attend.
Emma finishes her business and at 6:30pm she grabs a cab.
A black cab pulls over and she indicates the address "Clifton Hall, please."
Inside the cab the driver starts some conversation.
"That's a music school, isn't it?"
Emma answers "Yeah, there's a concert"
Your girlfriend's a musician." The driver states, before adding "And you're having problems with your love life."
That picks up Emma's attention "How in the world did you know that?"
"People in my profession are second only to bar men in knowing about the problems of the heart… So what's the trouble?" he asks
"Ah, don't wanna talk about it."
"That's a good idea. The thing will probably just fix itself" Replies the driver while giving Emma a look through the rear mirror.
Emma sits a little forward "Well, I can't seem to make her happy. How can you love someone so much and not know how... how to love her?" maybe it sounded like she was asking the driver, but she was asking herself. After 4 amazing years how come she is seating here, having this conversation with a taxi driver.
"So you do love her?" the driver's question spooked Emma out of her own head.
"Yes, very much." It was an answer she doesn't even need to think about, because she knows she loves Regina with all her heart even though she is incapable of making Regina happy anymore.
"Yeah, well that's all that matters"
After a long pause Emma adds "She's going away tomorrow for two weeks… She wants me to go with her". She pauses again lost in her own monologue; but she is again pull out her thoughts by the driver "What if she never came back?"
Emma thinks about it. Could it be possible? Could Regina leave her? But she decides that she did not need to expose her insecurities to a stranger, so instead she opted for her own come back "What sort of a question is that?"
"Well, come on, picture it. You wave goodbye at the airport she gets on an airplane...you never see her again. Could you live with that?"
"No" She couldn't live without Regina. She cannot picture a life without Regina in there. Without waking up next to her, without her smell, her smiles, her contagious laugh, without her sweet kisses and touches. She loves Regina more than anything in the world to just let her go. Emma adds one more time
"No, I couldn't" maybe trying to confirm for herself that no, there is no tomorrow without Regina in there.
The driver stops in front of a building, turns the engine off and turns back to look at Emma "Well, you know what to do. Appreciate her, and what you have. Just love her"
Emma looks out of the window and notices that she is not at the Clifton Hall. The driver looks at her direction and adds "You are not there yet. It's not for another two blocks. But, ou can't show up empty-handed" Encouraging her to get a bouquet.
Emma gets off the cab and thanks the driver. Buys some flowers and take those two blocks walk with a smile on her face.
Back at Clifton Hall Regina cannot stop thinking about Emma and what she saw this afternoon. Walking around with Kat she mutters out loud what she hasn't been able to stop thinking about "You know, if Emma bought a ticket and if she's coming home with me, that's really sweet. I mean maybe she's coming around"
Kat just gives her a look. She had learned to know Emma, and she just hope Regina is rigth. "I hope so, you deserve it. And if Emma doesn't know that she's nothing but a deep shit"
Regina cannot stop the snort that gets out of her mouth "You always know exactly what to say."
Forgetting for a second about all this mushy, romantic stuff Kat reminds her "Now remember, you are the bee's knees. Have a great time tonight" She kisses Regina's cheeks and rushes off to find a seat.
The concert is in full bloom. Regina is lost in the momentum. She is enjoying what she does. Hours spent with the violin, are now paying off in front of an audience. The best part is that she is not alone, so she can blend with the rest of the band while focusing on giving her best performance without being on the spotlight.
The presenter introduces the next number. A lady in a long red dress stops in the middle of the stage while the band keep playing. At this point Regina spotted Emma and Kat sitting on the third row to her rigth. She starts mimicking the singer and making funny faces to make the two laugh.
After another one the concert finished, and Regina had time to catch up with Emma and Kat who were waiting for her at the main salon.
"Hi, thanks" She says receiving a hug and congratulations from her best friend.
"Ready?" asks Emma. While preparing to leave Regina is intercepted by her greatest admirer. A 5-year-old blonde named Oliver.
"Hey Oliver, oh you made it, hi!" She crunches to his level in order to hug him.
"Are you kidding? He wouldn't have missed it for the world" Replies Oliver's dad.
An excited Oliver adds "She was the best one. I love Miss Mills, everyone loves her". It I was just a few years older..."
Regina cannot stop smiling at Oliver's occurrence. Oliver then shows her a present he got for her as well as a hand made card.
"Emma, is this not just the cutest card?"
"Yeah, we should go" replies an anxious Emma.
At this Regina feels embarrass. This little person came to see her and shower her with all the love he could muster, and now they are getting cut off by Emma. Noticing her embarrassment Oliver's dad decides to step in "That's okay, we need to go too"
At the restaurant Emma couldn't stop talking about her meeting "It was a disaster. Dunbar passed, Drown is pissed and I'm screwed"
Regina tried to apologize "God, Emma, I'm so sorry..." To which Emma tries to brush it up.
After two minutes of silence Emma asks "So, what else is going on?" trying to show some interest in Regina's life.
"Kat has an exhibit tomorrow. Some bigshot galleries, the 'Zinc'. I went down there to help with..." but she is rudely interrupted by Emma
"Sounds like fun".
Regina really tries to omit Emma's short answers and disinterests. She looks around the restaurant and an idea pop her mind "Wanna dance?"
"When have you ever seen me dance?" replied Emma dryly.
Remembering what she saw this afternoon, Regina tries to inquire more about what Emma did before the concert "So where did you go this afternoon after your meeting? I called your cell a zillion times"
"Oh, I turned it off. Didn't wanna hear from anyone. Spent the rest of the day walking around the city, thinking".
"About?" Regina pushes again.
"About us, and whether we're gonna make it."
After looking at Regina's reaction she quickly adds "No I didn't mean that, you don't understand" Emma tries to think things over quickly so she adds
"I have to admit our morning was not the greatest, and the meeting was..."
another pause. How do you explain to the love of your life that you realized you are an asshole but at the same time express your concern about this and what you are going through professionally without hurting her feelings… "I was wondering what to do and then I met this cab driver."
"A cab driver?, you talked..." Regina inquires but is interrupted
"Sounds weird, but it was good, really. He made me realize that even though you and I have problems, we share a lot too. We enjoy each other, and I should appreciate that It's underneath everything and despite this awful day, I adore you"
Regina's face express confusion, despite that Emma continues "I guess what I'm saying is, I... I wanna fix this"
"No" was Regina's short answer.
"No what?"
"I don't wanna fix this Emma, if I were to stay in Toronto now, it would only be for you. For us, and I would do that in a heartbeat... if I thought that we were really special"
"We are" Emma interjected
"Really? You never tell me how you feel. You don't wanna meet my family, you forgot my graduation, we ran into my favorite student, and you act as if he has something contagious… Emma, I know you have the best intentions... but I just feel that I'm a very high second priority for you. That hurts.And the worst part is I'm starting to get used to it"
"I don't understand" Emma really doesn't understand. They love each .
"With tears in her eyes Regina replies "I know". She really knows. "It's what kills me..If there'd just been one day, Emma...one day, when nothing else mattered for us..."
In a desperate attempt Emma add "I adore you!"
"I don't wanna be adored. I wanna be loved" Regina says before getting up and walking in direction to the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Spend the night at Kat's, to the airport tomorrow and...I can't do this anymore" and she starts walking, but at the last-minute stops and turns back again
"I saw you at the travel agency today. Where are you going?"
"New York, business"
Hurt, disappointment, sadness all at once. Showing on those beautiful chocolate eyes and Regina rushes out of the restaurant in tears. She has hurt her. Again.
Emma runs after her "Regina, Regina wait, please. You can't do this to me. You can't leave me" she implores while Regina steps inside a can.
"You're saying, you're saying that I'll never see you again?" and again those eyes tell her the answer she fears. She won't see her again. That's it. Her thoughts are interrupted by the cab's driver "You coming or not?"
Emma looks at the driver and she recognize him from earlier. The driver asks once more "In or out my friend. it's your choice". Emma still doesn't understand. She doesn't know what to do. At this Regina takes the decision for her and closes the cab's door.
The cab starts its journey and Emma is left in the middle of the street, thinking about what just happened. She loves her. That's the only thought in her head. It's on repeat like an old album that got stuck; she loves her, she needs her but can only stare at the cab while it's driving away.
The cab stops at the light and Emma is suddenly out of her own mind, finally taking a decision. She runs after the cab, she needs to catch up with Regina, hold her and tell her how much she loves her. She needs to show her how much she means to her. So, she runs calling for her "Regina!".
She is close, she is getting close to the cab. She can fix it, she won't lose her. Not now, not ever…
The cab starts the engine again, but nobody could have seen it coming. I mean, how could they. Everyone in Toronto looks at the lights, the people walking in the street, crossing the streets. Drivers pay attention to their surroundings. But it happened.
The sound of tires screeching in the asphalt. The sound of metal, and screams. All at once. It happened so fast, and Emma cannot do anything. She just stares with wide eyes how her life crumbles into pieces.
"No, Regina!" Flashes of memories, a life that they were supposed to live. Laughs, kisses, touches. "Baby, baby please no!" Emma cries.
"Baby, baby please..."
She rushes to the car, she cries for help, she is lost. It all comes crashing down. The hospital, running behind a wheeled bed, looking Regina's life slip from her hands.
Emma catches a glance through the hospital room doors. Regina is there, staring at her back with those beautiful eyes and Emma knows. She feels it. There was no time for I love yous, there was no time for holding her. She is just watching in horror without being able to do anything.
Finally, they look into each other eyes one last time.