By Any Other Name
Mrs. Mary – Margaret Nolan walked between the desks of her first grade class, passing out arts and crafts kits to her students. They eagerly unpacked the kits, pulling out glue sticks, colorful construction paper, glitter pens, markers, googley eyes and pipe cleaners. Once she handed the last one out, she returned to the front of her classroom, clasping her hands in front of her waist.
"Alright kids, who can tell me about Valentine's Day?" She asked, glancing around. She could see hesitant looks on their faces, uncertainty etching their features. Slowly Grace Hatter raised her hand.
"It's a day where you give someone you love stuff that shows you love them," Grace answered.
"Good, that's the general idea. It doesn't necessarily have to be romantic love though, you can give valentines to your friends, or your parents, maybe even your teachers! So, in honor of Valentine's Day, I thought we could learn a little bit about the history and then we can make valentines for the special people in our lives. How does that sound?" Mrs. Nolan's ears were met with enthusiastic cheers from her students. She smiled at them as she walked around the front of the class.
"Now, Valentine's Day was named after?" Mrs. Nolan looked out and saw uncertainty or confusion and perhaps some of her students deep in thought, but again, no one seemed too eager to answer her question.
"Was it named after some named Valentime's?" One of her students, Roland Locksley, blurted out. Students in the class let out soft giggles.
"Valentine's, Roland, and, yes it was. In fact it is named for many Saints named Valentinus. One such Saint performed wedding ceremonies for soldiers who were forbidden to marry before he was imprisoned."
A chorus of whoas echoed throughout the classroom. Wide – eyed faces stared back at Mrs. Nolan as she leaned back on the front of her desk.
"But, in the 14th Century we started associating Valentine's Day with romantic love. Many a men would court women they were interested in. They would do this by giving flowers or sweets or writing little notes."
Another student, Henry Mills, raised his hand.
"Yes, Henry?"
"What does court mean? I thought that's where the bad people went to see the judge."
"Well, that is a different type of court. To court a person is to show them affection or show that you're interested in them in a romantic way. Maybe you want to date them and perhaps marry them someday."
"Ohhhhh. Well, how do those people go to court?"
Mrs. Nolan let out a small chuckle.
"Well, they don't go to court, Henry. Usually the man takes an interest in a woman and he does different things to show her that he is interested in her."
"Things like what?" Another student, Nicholas, shouted out.
"Well, maybe he invites her out for coffee or maybe a fancy dinner. Maybe he sends her flowers."
"Yeah! My dad used to send my mom flowers all the time. But now he only gets them for her when he's, um, in the dog house?" August supplied.
"Oh dear, I'm afraid that's something entirely different that has nothing to do with courting or Valentine's Day. Alright class, why don't you all get started on making your Valentines? Remember, you can make these for anyone you like, a friend, your mom, your dad, your teacher. If you have time, you can make more than one. If you want to write a little note on it, that would be nice too. I can help if you're having trouble, alright?" The student let out a chorus of "Yes ma'ams" and set about putting together their Valentines while Mrs. Nolan returned to her desk and set about working on her lesson plans for the next two weeks.
The classroom was quiet for a while, save for the sounds of furious coloring, scissors cutting paper, and the slapping of hands ensuring their paper cutouts stayed glued down. A knock on the door startled the room. Everyone paused their ministrations as Mrs. Nolan looked up from her desk to see her husband, David Nolan, standing in the doorway of her classroom. Her eyes lit up as she pushed herself away from her desk and stood to greet him. He met her halfway, pulling her into a hug as a grin stretched across her face. The students all let out giggles as the couple parted ways. David backed away and knelt on his knees, offering his wife a dozen red roses.
"For you, my love," he proclaimed.
"David! What are you doing here?" she gasped, a hand going to her heart.
"I came to give you my Valentine!"
"But David, not that I'm not happy to see you or that I don't appreciate these roses, I am in the middle of a lesson."
"A lesson about Valentine's and I thought I would show the kids the proper way to express their love for their significant other," David announce as he rose from his knees and turned to face the class.
"Oh David, why don't you have a seat next to Henry over there and perhaps I can impart some knowledge on you about your flawed thinking," she smirked as she set the roses on her desk. David bowed his head and sheepishly sauntered over to the empty seat next to Henry. David's frame was quite comical in the little chairs made specifically for the small children in her class. The children let out quiet giggles as Mrs. Nolan clapped her hands together to get their attention.
"Alright class, now while what my wonderful silly husband did was sweet, giving roses or flowers, while a nice romantic gesture, isn't the only way to show someone we love or care about our friends or family. And it doesn't have to be something we just do on Valentine's Day. Can you guys think of some ways we can show people we care about how much we care about them?" The class was silent as they considered Mrs. Nolan's question. After a few beats, Grace Hatter raised her hand. "Yes Grace?"
"Um, sometimes my dad mow's his girlfriend's yard for her. Does that count?"
"Why, yes, it can! It's a big job to mow the lawn and your dad knows that, so mowing the grass for her is a nice way of showing he cares. Anyone else? And remember, it can be things we do for our friends. Take for example, my friend Emma. She sometimes babysits our son Neal so that David and I can have a date night by ourselves."
A chorus of "Ohhhhhs" echoed throughout the room.
"Let's see," she started out as she began pacing the room, racking her brain for more examples to give her students. "Oh, I know! Sometimes David will cook dinner after a long day of work so I can spend some alone with Neal." Roland raised his hand. "Yes Roland?"
"Do you do stuff for David?" A bashful smile crept onto David's face.
"Well David, do I do stuff that lets you know how much I care for you?"
"Uh, yeah. You make sure I have a nice home cooked meal when I get home from work. You make sure I don't leave the house without my second cup of coffee so I'm not a grumper at work to my coworkers," he stands and approaches, bracing her arms, forgetting that he was in front of first graders. He stares deep into her eyes, "And the biggest gesture you have shown is giving us Neal."
A silent gasp escapes her lips at his confession, but has her immediately stuttering and turning towards her students to gage their reactions. They were much too young to know how very intimate her husband's confession was and she's certainly going to give him an earful when they get home.
"Um, well, yes, some people consider giving their partner a child is a very big way to show them how much they care."
"Why is that?"
"Now, Lily, we don't blurt out questions in class, okay? I think that's enough for today. Why don't we pack up your projects and we can continue working on them this afternoon," the words tumbling out of her mouth to cover her slight embarrassment.
":Aww man, I was just getting to the coloring part!" Nicholas whined.
"Nicholas, you can continue coloring this afternoon. How about we all go outside for recess? Does that sound like a compromise?" That certainly put a pep in everyone's efforts at packing away their art supplies and projects. Soon her students were seated nicely in their seats waiting patiently for her to call their row to line up at the door to file out for recess. She brightly smiled at their obedience and commenced their routine for processing through the building.
All the students fled out the doors that led to the playground and claimed their usual spots. Twins Nicholas and Ava headed over to the blacktop to gather everyone for a round of kickball. Roland hardly ever got chosen for a team because he was small, so he mostly sat on the sidelines and just observed. Sometimes his friend Henry would sit with him and today seemed like one of those days. There was sidewalk chalk in a bin near them. Henry chose a green and started sketching on the blacktop. After a few minutes he picked another color, a brown, out of the bin and drew a vertical line with a slight curvature. Roland stood up from his spot and circled around to peer over Henry's shoulder.
"Henry, what are you drawing?"
"I'm trying to draw the grass and some flowers," Henry responded as he selected a yellow and drew a circle on what Roland assumed was the stem.
"Oh, what for?"
"I'm gonna put it on my Valentine but I want to make sure it's perfect."
"Oh. Who are you going to give your Valentine to?"
"I'm gonna give it to Violet."
"Ewwww! You're gonna give it to a girl?! Girls are gross!"
"Not all girls are gross. Violet's cool. Who are you gonna give yours to then?"
"I don't really know. Guess I hadn't thought about it. It'd be stupid if I gave it to my dad. He's a guy."
"Well Mrs. Nolan said we could give them to our parents if we wanted. It's just a extra special way to show someone we like that we care. You like your dad, right?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Well, if you don't wanna give one to your dad, maybe you can give one to my mom instead. You like her right?"
Roland pondered Henry's question for a moment. Ms. Regina was a girl, girls were gross, but Ms. Regina wasn't like other girls. She was a mom. And while she wasn't his mom, she treated him just like she treated Henry. Sometimes he would get to go home with her after school if his dad got stuck at work and she would feed them dinner and help them with their homework. He decidedly knew he liked that, so yes, he supposes he does like her. But did he like her enough to make a Valentine for her?
"I guess, your mom's pretty cool. I do like it when she lets us help make dinner and helps me with my homework and lets us have slumber parties and stay up late sometimes."
"She only does that when you're there. She must really like you too!" Henry exclaimed looking up from his drawing. Henry added purple petals on his flower because he knew Violet was also a purple color and not just the girl he likes' name.
"I guess. Well what should I make her?"
"Hmmm, I don't know. Maybe you can make her some flowers on a card like I'm doing for Violet."
"I can't draw good like you. Can I give her some flowers instead like Mr. Nolan gave Mrs. Nolan?"
Henry shrugged. "I guess, but how are you going to get them?" Roland pursed his lips deep in thought.
"I know! I'll ask my dad to take me to the store after school!"
Just then, a bell rang in the distance alerting the students recess was over and it was time to return to the building to resume class. Roland walked back with an extra pep in his step, giddy over his plan to give Ms. Regina flowers just as pretty as Mr. Nolan had given Mrs. Nolan.
Everyone filed back inside and settled themselves in for the afternoon portion of lessons. It was Science day and they were learning about the different types of clouds. When Mrs. Nolan guided everyone to the window to glance at the overcast sky, Roland found himself daydreaming about giving his gift to Henry's mom. The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. He thought about what kinds of flowers he could give her and how he would get the flowers to Ms. Regina. At that thought a mild panic set in. Roland knew where Henry and Ms. Regina lived but not how to get there. Perhaps he would ask Henry later.
Roland stared at the clock, counting to when the class would be able to resume working on their Valentines. He finally had an idea for part of his gift to Ms. Regina and he was eager to get started.
"Alright class, there is about forty – five more minutes left in the day, so you may use this time to finish up your Valentines. Be aware, however, that you still need time to clean up and pack everything away before your parents arrive to pick you up, alright?" Random 'yes ma'ams' sounded from some students as they all hopped up to retrieve the arts and craft kits and their unfinished projects. Roland made his way over to where Henry seemed to be putting the finishing touches on his card for Violet. It looked really good. Roland's face dropped.
"Roland, is everything okay?" Mrs. Nolan asked as she made her way over to the two boys. Roland shook his head no. "Wanna tell me what's bothering you?"
"I wanted to make Ms. Regina a card, but it's not gonna look as good as Henry's." Mrs. Nolan knelt down so she was eye level with Roland and pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back in a comforting gesture.
"Oh Roland. You want to make a Valentine for Henry's mom?" He nodded his head into her shoulder. "Well, I'm sure she'll love whatever you make for her because she got it from you and you are a very special person to her. It's the thought that counts, you know that, right?" Roland nodded his head and leaned back.
"I know, but I still want it to look nice for her."
"Hey Ro, she'll love it, I promise. She'll even put it on the fridge at home for everyone to see! She always does that with the stuff I give her," Henry chimed in, hoping it would make his friend feel better.
The final class bell rang, startling the threesome. Mrs. Nolan stood and turned to address the class.
"Alright everyone, hopefully you got everything finished. If not, you can take them home and bring them back for the Valentine gift exchange tomorrow if you made something for one of your classmates. Please remind your parents to bring your class Valentines tomorrow. Have a good evening!" She called out as the students started packing away their areas and parents arrived to pick up their children. Roland returned to his seat still sullen and slowly packed away his desk. As he was pulling on his coat, the sweetest voice met his ears. It was her, Ms. Regina, come to take Henry home. If only he'd finished his Valentine for her, then he could give it to her now. Now he was even more upset with himself. More tears began to stream down his face.
A soft click of heels slowly made their approach in his direction.
"Hey now, what's got you so upset?" It was her. She was here asking him why he was upset. His voice died in his throat. Roland couldn't tell her that he was upset because he made her an ugly Valentine no matter what Mrs. Nolan and Henry said. All Roland could do was sit stone still. "Roland? Are you okay sweetie? Your dad will be here soon, okay? Do you need me to stay with you?" She questioned him. And still he only sat, almost solid as a statue save a few audible sniffles. He heard her stand and then he heard Mrs. Nolan's quiet voice. Then he heard a soft chuckle as she approached him once more, this time turning his seat so she could kneel in front of him. To his surprise she had the biggest grin on her face and what appeared to be tears coming from her eyes. She was sad too? Or was she happy?
"Oh Roland, is it true? Did you make me a Valentine and you're afraid I won't like it?" Roland looked up, first at Ms. Regina and then to Mrs. Nolan, a scowl deepening his features.
"You told her? It was supposed to be a surprise, and now you've ruined it!" Tears began to fall more earnestly down his face. At a loss, he could feel Ms. Regina gather him into her arms, hugging him tightly to her chest.
"Now, now Roland, there's no need to be upset or to yell at Mrs. Nolan, she was only trying to help. I was very worried about you. And you needn't worry. I'm sure I will love whatever you have made for me."
"You will?" Roland asked in a hushed whisper.
"Yes, I will," she responded, pulling back some of the curls that stuck to his face. "And do you know why?" Roland shook his head no. "Because it came from you and that already makes it special."
"Will you stick it on your fridge like Henry's stuff?"
"Mmm hmm, maybe I'll even take it to my office and show everyone I work with what a special gift you made for me, how does that sound?" Roland shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess that's okay."
"Good, now dry your tears."
"Hey, what's going on?"
"Oh hi Robin," Ms. Regina glanced over her shoulder at Roland's father. "Roland was just telling me how worried he was that his Valentine wasn't good enough for his intended." Regina stood and allowed Robin to comfort his son.
"Is this true?" He questioned Roland. Roland nodded his head yes. "Well, anyone who doesn't like your Valentine is a silly little bugger." Robin responded, giving his son a reassuring squeeze of his shoulders. "Now let's get your things, alright?"
"Okay, but first I need to give Ms. Regina something."
"You want to give Ms. Regina something?" Roland nodded his head.
"Yeah! My Valentine is for her! And you know what?" Roland asked, while his father's mouth parted in a slight gasp.
"Uh, what?" Robin responded, in somewhat of a daze.
"She does like it and she hasn't even seen it!" The adults let out a chuckle as he pulled his Valentine from the stack of papers that had yet to make it into his back pack. Roland proudly presented his partially finished Valentine to Ms. Regina. She took it from him and studied it intently.
"What do we have here?" She asked as she stooped so Roland could explain his drawing.
"It's a bunch a flowers like Mr. Nolan gave Mrs. Nolan, only I can't drawed them as good as Henry."
"Oh, I see. Well these flowers look just as beautiful as the ones Henry drew, I'm sure. Henry, let's see yours!" Ms. Regina called to her son.
"Well, you can look but it's not for you mom," Henry responded as he bent to pull out his Valentine.
"Not for me? Who else are you giving Valentines to other than your mother? I thought I was the only girl in your life." She teased as she took the card from Henry's hand, a little sad that her son wasn't giving her a Valentine.
"I don't wanna say," Henry whispered.
"I see, well look Roland, I think your drawing and Henry's drawing are just wonderful, okay?" Roland sniffled, wiping his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.
"Okay, if you say so."
Robin's heart melted, he could tell his son was still a little torn about how the drawing of flowers wasn't as good as Henry's. At that moment, he knew what he had to do to make it up to his son.
"Alright son, let Ms. Regina and Henry get home, we still have stop by the store and pick of Valentines for tomorrow, remember?"
"Oh yeah! I already know which ones I wanna get! I saw them when I went with Ms. Regina the other day to get Henry's!" Robin stole a glance at Regina, a smile still etched into her face, that dare he say, even went all the way to her eyes. Roland quickly grabbed his backpack and rushed out the door. A few seconds later he reappeared. "Dad, come on!"
"Alright, alright! I'm coming!" Robin turned to properly face Regina. "So sorry for all this."
"It's no trouble, it's really quite sweet. And it looks like that will be the only Valentine I'm getting this year," she commented as she grabbed Henry's hand and led them out into the hallway that led towards the school parking lot. They walked in silence until they arrived at her car and she helped Henry strap into his booster seat. Robin rounded the car with Regina while Roland chatted with Henry.
"So, no more Graham?" Robin ventured. Regina let out a sly chuckle.
"Has it really been that long since we've had a parent chit chat?" It was Robin's turn to chuckle.
"If you're about to tell me you guys have been broken up for more than two weeks then I guess so."
"Well, yeah, I suppose it has been about two weeks."
"Your birthday?"
"We spent that with you. That's partly why, uh…" her voice trailed off. Robin tried to follow her eyes as she looked away, uncomfortable but clearly unwilling to divulge anything more. "No worries, it was probably for the best. We didn't exactly have the best chemistry. I'll uh, seeya later, Saturday? For soccer?"
"Yep, you got it! I'll be there with the hot cocoas!" He tossed his hand in a wave as he grabbed Roland from the backseat and carried him over to his car. Robin was a little giddy, an idea wormed its way into the forefront of his thoughts at Regina's revelation that her relationship with Graham had ended. Oh how he had waited for this moment, had hoped for this moment, not that he wanted for her to break up with Graham and be unhappy, but he had a gut feeling that she and Graham wouldn't work out. And now, now it was his chance.
From the first moment he laid eyes on her when they were dropping their children off on the first day of kindergarten, he felt something for Regina. They struck up a comfortable friendship that revolved mostly around their sons. There had been more than one occasion Robin had gotten stuck at work and begged Regina to bring Roland home with her. In exchange he offered to watch the boys whenever she needed a few hours to herself, which then turned into a few hours while she went on dates with Graham. She never felt quite comfortable bringing Graham around Henry, but that didn't stop her from somewhat developing feelings for Graham and that had saddened Robin's heart. He had taken too long to work up the courage to pursue her and his chance had seemed nonexistent until now.
Driving down Main Street, Robin turned into the parking lot for the small town of Storybrooke's only grocery and prayed they had what he needed.
"Alright Roland, we're here. Let's go and get what you need." Roland, seemingly in better spirits, excitedly unbuckled himself from his booster seat while Robin pulled the door open so he could hop out. Robin grabbed his son's hand and led him towards the entrance of the store.
"Come papa! They're this way!" Roland took off towards the brightly decorated seasonal aisle filled with so many pink decorations Robin thought he might puke. Robin briskly walked towards the aisle, taking notice of the bunches of flowers at the front of the store. They were from the local flower shop, Game of Thorns, letting Robin know they were pretty fresh.
"Son, slow down!" Robin called.
"But papa I wanna make sure no one tooked the ones I want!" Robin rolled his eyes as he tried to follow Roland running up and down the aisle, searching high and low for the Valentines he wanted. Robin got distracted by the Valentine's Day cards on display. He picked up a few, but decided Regina was just too classy for such silly nonsense. After a few moments, Roland came running back up to Robin, holding a few boxes of Minions Valentines. "Here they are! I found them!" Robin laughed as he took the boxes Roland held in his arms.
"Alright ma boy, why don't we head over here," Robin said, directing his son to the front of the store.
"But papa you didn't get any Valentines!"
"Well, I don't really have anyone to get Valentines for, do I?" Roland looked as his father, a smile spreading across his face.
"I know! You can get Ms. Regina one! She looked sad that Henry wasn't giving his Valentine to her!" Robin had to chuckle at that.
"You're right, I should get her something, shouldn't I?" His little boy could read his mind. "What do you think about real flowers?" Robin asked as they arrived at the display at the front of the store.
"Like what Mr. Nolan got for Mrs. Nolan?" Roland asked as he browsed the flower selection. He stopped in front of the roses. "These ones!" Red roses. Those were for someone you loved. He hadn't given red roses to anyone other than Marian and he wondered how appropriate red roses would be to give to Regina.
"How about we compromise? Hmm?"
"What means compromise?" Roland asked as Robin reached out to the bushel of single long – stemmed roses.
"It means neither one of us gets exactly what we want, but we each get a little bit of what we want."
"Ohhh kay. How are we gonna compromise?"
"I was thinking maybe we get Ms. Regina one rose, how does that sound?"
"Why only one?"
"Well, roses are a special flower you give to someone."
"But isn't Ms. Regina special?"
"She is, but giving her as many roses as Mr. Nolan gave Mrs. Nolan is more for married couples like Mr. and Mrs. Nolan."
"Oh, well are you gonna married Ms. Regina so you can give her lots of roses?" Robin almost choked on the air he was breathing.
"Uh, no son, there are a lot of other things that have to happen before two people get married. Ms. Regina and I are just friends right now," Robin tried his best to explain.
"Well, what kinds of things do you have to do?"
"Well, I have to ask her on a date, then maybe a lot more dates – without you or Henry."
"Why without me an Henry?"
"Well, adults need time to be by themselves without kids, so they can get to know about each other."
"Oh. Well can we go ask Ms. Regina on a date now?"
"What?"
"You have to give her the Valentine and take her on a date! Then more dates and then you get married! And then she can be my momma and you can be Henry's papa and then we can be real brothers!"
"Did you just come up with this? Or have you been thinking about this for a while?" Roland looked down at his feet.
"Me and Henry talk about being real brothers. But Mrs. Nolan says you and Ms. Regina would have to get married first. But she also said we can just be pretend too." Roland explained.
"I see," Robin responded, not sure how to respond to his son's longing for a more complete family unit. His mind was now made up, he was certain. "Alright, you want to take this to Ms. Regina right now?" Robin asked his son, kneeling to face him.
Roland's face lit up in a smile as he nodded his head, "Uh huh! Can we?"
"Sure, let's go pay for these and maybe pick up some pizza and an adult drink. And if you promise to behave yourselves, I'll get sodas for you and Henry." Roland let out a not so quiet "Yes!" and he took off down the soda aisle.
"I know which one to get for us!" He exclaimed.
Now all Robin had to do was check to make sure Regina was home and wasn't already working on dinner.
Hey, are you home? He sent in a text message. A few moments passed before his phone vibrated in his pocket.
Yeah, need something?
Nope, Roland has something he wants to give you
Oh, alright, well, come on over. Do you want to stay for dinner?
Maybe we can knock out these Valentine exchanges together
Robin grinned at that.
I like the way you think Ms. Regina. I'll grab dinner though, pizza and adult drinks
Ooo, I like the way you think Mr. Robin, Seeya in a few
Robin made his way over to the deli to pick up the ready – made pizza and a bottle of Regina's favorite wine. Her favorite wine? When had he made note of that?
"Alright Roland, ready to go? Ms. Regina says we can come over and put together Valentines with her and Henry. Does that sound like a plan?"
"Yay!"
Robin paid for their items and they quickly made their way to Regina and Henry's house on Mifflin Street, a pleasant feeling blooming in his chest.
Roland impatiently rang the doorbell as Robin stood loaded down with their haul from the grocery. Regina answered the door in stockinged feet, not having changed out of her work clothes just yet.
"Roland! Are you excited?" she asked as she stepped aside to let them into the foyer.
"Yeah! I gots my Valentines!"
"Alright, well Henry's already spread out in the dining room. You remember how to get there, right?"
"Uh huh," Roland nodded his head as he took off towards the stairs that led up to the dining room.
Regina turned to take some of the things Robin was holding in his arms.
"Oh, no, I got it," Robin quickly stated as he began his trek up the stairs towards the kitchen area. Regina sighed, taken aback by his strange behavior.
"Alright, I was just trying to help."
"I know, I appreciate it, but you've been working all day, and you're going to be the one supervising the boys cuz I'm rubbish at all the arts and crafts stuff and I am evidently where Roland gets his creative talents, or lack thereof from," Robin huffed out as he kicked open the swinging door and roughly set everything down on the kitchen table. Regina rounded the other side and began taking things out of the bags. "Uh, why don't you let me fix all this up? Go help the boys." Regina eyed Robin suspiciously, taking in his nervous behavior.
"Are you alright? You seem not yourself."
"Eh? No, I'm good, I just uh, want to do something nice for you as a thanks for what you did for Roland this afternoon." Regina's eyes narrowed even more, but she nodded her head and exited the kitchen. Robin let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding as he pulled out the pizza and searched her kitchen for the wine bottle opener he knew she kept in the drawer by the stove. He poured them each a glass and allowed it to breathe before plating up two plates of pizza for the boys along with some salad. Regina would kill him if he neglected to put something green on their plates. He then took the soda Roland picked out for him and Henry to share and grabbed the two superhero cups Regina got just for the two of them.
"Alright boys, dinner's served!" Robin announced as he made his entrance into the dining room. Regina was bent over the table, helping Henry write his classmate's name on one of the Valentines he had in front of him. It was a nice view that he probably took a little longer than he should have admiring before he placed the food and drinks on the table. Regina stood up and smirked.
"Not enough arms?" She quipped. "You could've asked for help in carrying everything out here."
"Oh, welp, silly me. Can you help me get the rest of it?" Robin fake pouted to the laughter of two little boys. Regina shook her head and pushed Robin towards the kitchen.
"What's all this?" Regina asked when she made her way through the door. Her eat in kitchen table had a small table cloth covering it with a single white tapered candle burning in the middle. The table was set for two. And there was Robin, standing next to the table with one single long stemmed rose.
"Uh, for you, mi'lady"
"Robin?" She asked as she took hesitant steps towards him. He placed the rose down and grasped her hands.
"I, uh, hope you don't find this too forward of me, but I couldn't help but feel a little sad that you weren't going to have a Valentines this year. Henry decided to give his to another girl," Regina started to protest, but Robin gave her hands a gentle shake. "but the most exciting thing about this, for me, is that you're no longer with Graham." Regina snatched her hands down and wrapped them around her body.
"I don't see why you're excited about that," she spat out as she walked towards the kitchen sink. Robin came up behind her and rubbed his hands up and down her arms as he so often did when she would get into small disagreements with Graham and she would vent her frustrations to Robin.
"I hope this doesn't seem too forward of me," he rasped out as he spun her around to face him, "but from the moment I first saw you, when you saw how hard a time I was having dropping Roland off for kindergarten and you came to my rescue, I felt this connection that I've never felt with anyone since Marian. I was too afraid to act on it though, our sons hit it off and if something were to happen between us, I couldn't bear the thought of Roland not having Henry in his life. And then you started seeing Graham and I thought I was okay with that, but I realized this afternoon that I wasn't." Regina looked into his eyes, searching for anything that would let her know he was toying with her emotions, but all she could see was heartfelt sincerity and that made her eyes water.
"Robin, what are you doing? What, what are you trying to say?" Robin let her go and retrieved the rose, offering it to her.
"Regina, I want something more with you. I feel we have something and I'm hoping you feel it too. I can't quite explain it, I'm not the creative one. I can't think of any words that would properly express what I feel when I'm with you. When I see how great you are with Henry and how you treat Roland as if he was your own son. I worried so much I wouldn't be able to provide him with the type of love only a mother could give, but you've proven time and again, over and over, that despite your misguided belief that you're unloveable you have wormed your way into that little boy's heart, so much so that he thinks the two of us should be married like his teacher." Regina's lips parted to protest but Robin held up his hands to stop her. "I know that's a little soon, but it made me realize what I would like to happen, if you'll allow." Regina nodded her head for him to continue. "I want to take you on a date, a proper date, I want to spend my time wooing you, make you fall in love with me and perhaps next Valentine's Day I'll give you a dozen red roses. Tonight though, I thought we could start with just the one. Whadya say?"
There was a long silence. He could see her swallow, he could hear her thinking about what she wanted to say. Finally, she stepped towards him, grasping his stubble cheeks in her hands, and placed the most delicate, softest upon his lips. She withdrew from him, but her face hovered, her breath ghosting over her lips.
"You silly, silly man," she whispered as she dove in for another kiss, this time he reciprocated. "Do you know how long I've waited for you to ask me out?" She chuckled when they finally parted for air.
"Really?" Robin asked as they stood, holding onto each other.
Regina shook her head, "Mmmm, from the moment I laid eyes on you and heard your accent, it just sent shivers down my spine, all the way to my toes. You and Roland were so adorable and my heart just broke for your situation."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Well, you were recently widowed, and I wasn't sure if you were ready to start dating and I assumed you would make the first move."
"Well, I'm afraid I'm a bit dense."
"Hmm, so I've noticed." Another silence passed between them, only not as awkward as before.
"So, now what?" Robin asked.
"Well, now I suppose we enjoy this lovely little spread you have set out for the two of us, hmm?"
"Yeah, I guess we can do that." Regina took Robin's hand and led him over towards the table. He pulled out her chair and pushed her in before taking his seat. She picked up her wine glass and nodded for him to do the same.
"A toast, to new beginnings," she proclaimed as they clinked their glasses together and took a sip. They smiled giddy smiles at each other, reaching for each other's hands, unbelieving at their recent revelations. Their silence however, was interrupted by a small ball of energy in the form of Roland. He came bursting through the kitchen door with Henry trailing right behind him.
"Ms. Regina! Ms,. Regina!" Roland shouted as Regina and Robin dropped their hands, both somehow knowing it might not be a good idea to get their sons' hopes up about their potential relationship.
"Yes, Mr. Roland?"
"I gots you a better Valentines than the other one!"
"You do, do you?" she asked as she took the proffered Valentine from Roland's hand.
"Will you be my Valentine?" she read out loud.
"Oy, you can't give her that!" Robin cried out as he took the card from Regina's hands. She looked incredulously at Robin.
"But why not?"
"Because, ma boy, Regina is already someone else's Valentine." Roland quirked his head.
"She is?" He asked.
"Mmhmm hmm," Robin nodded.
"Who?"
"Me!" Robin exclaimed. Roland folded his arms across his chest and stomped his feet.
"That's not fair! I wanted Ms. Regina to be my Valentines!" Regina let out a watery chuckle, plucking Roland from the floor and placing him in her lap.
"There's plenty of me to go around, dear. I can be your Valentine and your papa's. And maybe even Henry's?" she asked as she turned her head towards her son, looking expectedly at him. Robin gave him a little shove in her direction and he rolled his eyes as she enveloped him into a hug with her and Roland. She looked over the boys' heads and mouthed a thank you to Robin. He made his way around the table to her side so he could wrap them all in a hug. He knows it's not today and certainly not tomorrow, but he knows this is it, this is his family and that this is the best Valentine he's ever had.