Chapter 52
"So what kind of dress are you thinking?" Ruby asks as she, Regina, Mary Margret, Elsa, and Anna sit around the master bedroom, helping their friend pick out something for her date. Henry was downstairs watching his sister while his mother tries to pick out something for the upcoming anniversary to her Irish boyfriend. Ruby sits on the bed, clinging to Killian's pillow, likely because it smelled like him; it didn't matter if Killian was the father of a child and in a committed relationship with another woman, Ruby would always have the hots for him. Anna sits in Emma's desk chair, her chin over her hands in boredom, Elsa is on the floor next to the bed, texting, Regina leans against the back wall and Mary Margret sits in another chair next to Sophie's bassinette, trying to provide moral support. "Something that shows off the boobs I hope."
Everyone rolls their eyes, no matter what happened in their lives; even if someone had a baby, or if another person was in love, Ruby could still be extremely dirty.
"Why must I show off my boobs, they hurt enough as it is and they're big enough with me breastfeeding," Emma says, looking through the array of dresses she has; most were from her work as a bail-bonds person, meant to entice men into trust her. But this wasn't a girl's night out, she had a boyfriend, an amazing one at that, but she can't find what kind of dress to wear.
"I'm jealous," Ruby says. "I still have to stuff my bra to get them as big as yours."
"Perks of having a hungry infant sucking on them every half-hour," Emma mutters to herself as she tosses another few dresses onto the bed next to Ruby.
"What about this one, accentuates the ass and if you bend over…"
"Why do you insist on doing that?" Regina asks, rolling her eyes. "Why can't you be mature for one minute? For God's sake, Henry's downstairs and he might hear you."
"If he has, he's on the way out the door," Anna states.
"Why does it matter if you highlight your breasts or your butt?" Elsa asks, "Why can't we just be happy with our body types?"
"Don't pull that feminist line with me," Ruby scoffs. "I've seen you on dates with Jack, real subtle with the slit in the dress going halfway up your thigh."
"Don't we have enough problems as it is for women?" Regina mutters, taking a pillow and whacking the waitress in the back of the head to tell her to stop picking on Elsa.
"Can we not have this conversation right now?" Emma begs. "That can be saved for the picketing lines and bra burnings."
"What about the one I lent you a year ago?" Regina suggests.
"The black one with all the beadwork?" the blonde asks.
"Yeah, hopefully, it didn't get buried when you moved."
Emma starts digging through her closet trying to find it. She was still having a lot of anxieties about doing this, the letter's threats still lingering, despite how long it had been. She couldn't shake the feeling that Arthur King would act on his impulses; he'd tied her hands about telling someone by threatening the lives of her family. This secret was eating her alive, consuming her every thought, and she couldn't stand that there was this big truth that only she knew. She tries to shake the sadness from her face as she searches the closet.
"Let me ask you a question," Ruby says, obviously being unable to keep her mouth shut for very long. She gets up from the bed and goes to Sophie's bassinette, she twirls one of the crystal unicorns with her fingers. "Why did you insist on me doing all that stencil work and painting in the nursery to have your baby sleep in here?"
Emma shrinks into herself a little bit of embarrassment and her cheeks flush red. Elsa glares at the dyed-haired friend of the group and Anna balls up a piece of paper and tosses it at her as well.
"It happens with new mothers, Ruby," the only mother of the group says. "It happened when I had Jacob too and especially during the whole investigation. For the first little while, I didn't want my son sleeping anywhere else that wasn't close to me. It's a security thing, plus it makes feeding a lot easier and a lot more convenient."
"I'm just saying one day she's going to be a teenager and all the girly artwork of butterflies and unicorns will be covered with posters of boy bands and she'll be spray painting Illuminati symbols on the roof."
Every woman looks at the waitress in confusion
"Did you do that?" Regina inquires, raising an eyebrow.
Ruby swallows. "I don't want to talk about my first year of high school."
"What high school did you go to? The one where they wear tin-foil hats as part of the uniform?" Regina scoffs.
"No, it's where we wore clay masks and pretended to fall into an animated sausage grinder while singing Pink Floyd." The maroon-haired woman snaps back.
"Here it is," Emma says, finally able to stop the endless bickering. She holds it up.
"Wow," Anna says, in amazement. "That looks really pretty."
"I picked it up in Italy a few years back," Regina says proudly. "Unfortunately, the sizes are different in Italy and America and it ended up being too small for me, so I gave it to Emma."
"You seriously think I can fit into it now, after a baby?" Emma asks.
"Did you even try it on before Sophie?" Regina asks.
"No,"
"Well then go to the bathroom and try it," Mary Margret insists, gently pushing her friend towards the door.
"Okay," the blonde says. "Can one of you pick out shoes for me? No pumps and nothing too high."
"On it," Ruby says, going into the closet, sounding like she was on an important mission.
"Why would she trust you to do that, you know you're just going to 'borrow' her stuff," Anna snorts.
"Hey, she might be a seven and I'm an eight, but I can squeeze into any type of shoe."
"That's like some bizarre version of Chinese foot binding," Regina mutters.
"it's a skill," Ruby says as she digs through the racks of shoes, the real-estate agent's phone goes off
Her dark eyes immediately roll over more than once when she sees who the text is from.
"What is it?" Elsa asks.
"My so-called sister," she mutters. "Apparently, despite being pregnant with Robin's child, she's found her way into some other guy's pants."
"How come you haven't blocked her number?" Anna asks. "Considering all the crap she's put you through."
"Don't you think I've tried? But she is my sister and I want her to tell me the good news of when my mom drops dead from excessive plastic surgery. I've even unfriended her on Facebook and yet her pictures still end up in my notifications. She just can't help but brag about this new guy and how amazing he is. Also, I need to know when she pops the baby out, so I can work out a way for Robin to get custody of it."
The other women in the room look around reluctantly, knowing that trying to get custody of a baby from a lawyer and the mother of the said baby would be extremely hard.
"How could you even afford to do that?" Elsa asks.
"Robin has a buddy named John who knows a great law team, they're willing to do it pro-bono for their friend."
"That's pretty lucky," Ruby says, coming out with two pairs of shoes. "What do you think, bows or leather?"
"What's this new guy's name?" Mary Margret asks.
"Jacob… Hart, I think it is, and all I've seen with her photos is 'Jacob this' and 'Jacob that' it get's pretty tedious, but according to her, she's finally found, true love."
"And he's okay with her being pregnant?" Anna asks.
"Apparently,"
"Honestly, if it's true love, then he's probably as bad as she is. He's probably a creep, she's a bitch and they both deserve each other," Ruby states firmly.
No one argues there, then Emma comes back in the dress and all eyes fall on her.
"Wow!" Elsa gasps.
"That looks amazing," Mary Margret chirps happily.
"It's a bit snug in the bust area," Emma comments, adjusting the fabric uncomfortably.
"Screw your bust, Emma you have to wear that!" Ruby says earnestly.
"'Screw the bust', never thought I'd hear you say that," the blonde smirks. "I thought the bust was everything."
"Not when it looks this gorgeous on you, look…"
Emma stands in front of the full-length mirror hanging from her closet door, admiring herself from all different angles. The dress is a tank-top style with a small slit down one of the legs, made of Italian silk most likely, and the entire bodice is absolutely covered in beads. All the beads are embroidered with various styles of flowers and mandala typestyles. They glitter in the light and the entire dress hugs Emma's new curves in a good way. It was an amazing piece, but the problem was the zipper could not go all the way up on the back.
"If you want, Grandma can loosen it a bit at the back to help the zipper go up," Ruby says.
"Can she do it by next week?" Emma asks.
"I think she can,"
"Then say yes to this dress," Anna squeals. "It's so beautiful."
"Put the hair up, add some earrings and shoes and you've got a true beauty queen," Regina says, happy the dress was not just a waste of money from an impulsive buy in Italy.
"More like a lady of royalty," Anna comments.
"How about a swan?" Mary Margret suggests, smiling at her friend widely.
Emma smiles back, loving the way she looked in the mirror, but the grin masked the fear she felt inside and the wondering what would come next.
A/N: Hey guys, I'm back, hope you didn't think that I'd forgotten about this story did you? This chapter is a lot of girl talk and some fun. Hope you enjoy it and please review.