The scent of freshly brewed coffee perked Emma's nose as she watched the brown liquid crack dribble into her Worlds Best Daughter mug. It was just shy of seven o'clock in the morning, and she felt like she had already taken on the world. It was nearly the end of November, and she had just walked in the door from a very brisk, cold run around town. She was exercising to build back her stamina for when she started her job at the police department come January. That meant working out more often to regain her core strength that she lost from just under a year of not being active. Now, she stood patiently waiting in super tight spandex running leggings and a long sleeve top for an extra caffeine boost to get her through a day full of family-filled shenanigans since it was Thanksgiving.
"That smells good," Regina announced her presence as she walked over to the fridge and pulled out an apple from the produce drawer. Emma watched as she sat it on a cutting board, going about with her own routine. It was nice and familiar, but never dull. Just being able to watch Regina going about, seeing her quirks, was something Emma cherished. There were so many things she lived for and funny enough, she loved simple things like this. It was comfortable, and it was hers.
Emma turned away briefly, to grab her mug full of coffee that had her salivating in anticipation. No matter how many studies made the claim, working out never gave her an adequate energy boost. She needed coffee to keep her going like an Energizer bunny, especially for today. Her body jumped a little in surprise as she felt two arms wrap around her waist, but then relaxed back as always.
"You scared me," Emma admitted as she turned into Regina's grasp and kissed her in a sideways pose.
"I didn't mean to. Did you have a good morning run?" Regina asked.
Enjoying their closeness, Emma nodded in response. She sipped her drink and looked at Regina as she spoke to her, "I could feel a difference in the temperatures already, and it kind of hurt to breathe. I ran down the Riverwalk instead of the regular trails I've been doing. It was a nice change of pace. I was the, uh, only runner out and about."
Emma licked her lips, "Most people are probably busy preparing for Thanksgiving already," she reasoned. Or maybe she was the crazy dedicated person working out, while most took the holiday to prepared their bellies for dinner.
She then looked at Regina a little more closely and had to state the obvious. "By the way, you look beautiful." Emma then stuttered, backpedaling a bit. "Na..not that you don't normally but you look really good in those jeans."
She eyeballed Regina's curves with a dazzled grin. Regina had already dressed for the occasion, which Emma was nowhere near ready for since she was still in sweat-drenched workout clothing that clung tightly to her fit body.
"You look good, all nice and sweaty." Regina winked and leaned forward just a little closer and pushed a loose strand of hair away from Emma's face before turning back to her neglected apple. That action alone reminded Emma of the night before when they had to sneak around in their own home.
Emma's parents plus her psuedo-brother's flight landed in Portland the day before. Emma's mother had practically doused herself in wine and was a blabbering fool for most of the evening. And when night came they didn't exactly have the leisure to unwind as they had been doing nearly every single day since Emma was cleared to have sex. They were honestly too afraid of having someone walk in on them, which Emma didn't need to happen again, for the sake of her sanity. So there was a lot of teasing and heated making out that essentially tortured Emma and Regina both. There was no telling if she could last another day without indulging in her biggest pie craving... and it wasn't the pecan pie.
Later in the afternoon, Cora would be arriving, boyfriendless per Regina's request, and their good friends Jeff and Graham were dropping by too. And at some point, to Emma's dismay, so would Kat. Kat had visited twice since she lived in Maine with Regina, and it wasn't terrible like the first time she met her, but still all sorts of awkward tension existed between the two of them. They were slowly getting there though, for the sake of Regina.
Despite Kat being at their Thanksgiving, Emma was still excited for their big announcement day. It nearly killed her to keep their engagement a secret locked tight for the last month. They wanted to make it a big surprise for everyone and tell them all at once.
Emma leaned against the granite countertop as she watched Regina chop her apple into wedges for her breakfast. Emma scrunched her face and asked, "Do you remember a year ago?"
She reminisced back to their first holiday together, a year ago today. The thought warmed her heart because that was a special day for them both. All those months ago felt like another life. She was afraid Regina wouldn't have loved her and she proved her wrong. Emma was worthy of love. And now here they were, embarking on a new beginning; marriage.
Emma sipped from her warm coffee mug that was nestled between the palms of her hands. Coming in from the freezing cold, she needed not only her morning pick me up, but the warmth too. The news even called for snow already, which Emma supposed she wasn't too shocked about. It was Maine, and not sunny Florida. What was she to expect? She just had to remind herself, at least, their honeymoon was coming up and somewhere tropical was in their very near future. Thank God.
"Yeah, how could I forget?" Regina turned and started to munch on the apple slice as she looked at Emma, leaning against the kitchen island opposite of her.
"I was just thinking, it was a year ago today that we were first together. Don't you think it's kind of romantic how we're telling everyone that we're engaged on the same day?" Emma said looking towards her fiance with a sweet smile. Emma was almost positive the honeymoon stage would never end between her and Regina. Only because every new day was better than the last.
Regina took a step forward, an apple slice in between her fingers, and with a sultry voice said, "I think it's pretty opportune."
Emma could feel her breath against her face causing her to shiver with desire. Regina's lips brushed against her own and just as Emma was about to lock their lips into a searing kiss, Regina took a big juicy bite of her apple slice instead.
"Oh, you tease." Emma cut her eyes and playfully yanked Regina into her arms not caring her mouth was full of apple and kissed her sloppily. Her fingers then ravished Regina's sides in a tickling, but loving manner. It was Emma's personal brand of torture. Of course, Regina struggled and laughed from Emma's playfulness.
"Give me that apple." Emma's grabby hands reached out for Regina's hand that held the piece of apple and brought it to her mouth, eating the last bite.
"Well, aren't the two of you just precious." Mary Margaret walked into the kitchen wearing a robe straight from the nineties. Her gray hair stood in positions Emma never thought possible and she watched as her mother groggily shuffled over to the coffee pot. It was clear someone was feeling the wonderful after effects of too much wine from the night before.
Emma and Regina were still locked in one another's arms smiling like fools in love. "This one isn't precious, she's a tease." Emma pointedly looked at her fiance as she spoke to her mother.
Regina backed away to pick up another piece of her apple and bit into it slowly, causing a crisp snap between her pearly white teeth.
Emma shook her head trying to hide her blushing cheeks away from her mother. She mouthed to her love, "You're evil."
Regina knew it, too. Instead she ate another apple slice and cleaned up her mess. She then grabbed a list that was on the fridge and handed it to Emma.
"You should go up and shower. I need you and August to run to the store to get some last minute things that I forgot." Regina told her with a grin that could make Emma melt into the floor it was so sexy. That look would get Emma to do just about anything she ever asked of her, rob a bank, why not?
Mary Margaret positioned herself on a barstool at the kitchen island, slowly inhaling the fresh tendrils of her coffee. "Regina, when will your mom be here? I just can't wait to meet her! Emma here tells me she's somethin' else. I'm sure we'll find a lot to bond over, over wine tonight."
Emma loved her mother, but Lord Jesus help them all. She hadn't exactly told her mother the kind of person Cora was, so it was bound to be an interesting evening.
"I think I'll take that shower now." Emma said, then finished off the rest of her coffee before placing her mug in the sink. She winked at her love before leaving her alone with her mother. It wasn't like Regina didn't like her mother, it was a kind of personality clash.
After her mother had lived with them for a little while after her surgery, Regina was practically shoving her out the door. Emma couldn't lie, her southern mother was quite opinionated and rather vocal at times she shouldn't have been. That and she personally saw to it that she tasted more wine than she should have. She sufficiently put a dent in their wine supply that wasn't exactly tiny.
On the day of Thanksgiving, one would think everyone is home enjoying the Macy's Day Parade on TV. Even this morning, Emma assumed people were home enjoying family when she was running, except she was wrong. Apparently she and Regina weren't the only residents of Westbrook to have not prepared fully for Thanksgiving. The parking lot was full of cars jammed trying to come and go and all those last minute shoppers flooded the one store still open until noon.
Chaotic didn't even begin to cover it. Emma could swear she was having a nightmare, or something close to it, because it was like a zombie apocalypse with people running rabid trying to get their last minute items.
Despite the chaos that surrounded her and August, Emma was focused on her list of things they needed. Mindlessly, she leaned against the buggie as they walked through the crowded grocery store. Her attention was immediately distracted from the list when another buggie slammed into hers.
"Hey watch it. Can't ya pay attention to where you're going?" A grouchy man snapped.
Emma's eyes popped out of her head, utterly shocked by the man's rudeness. She had no idea what even happened, let alone why he had to snap at her like that. Unable to even concoct words, she stood there wordlessly as if a cat had caught her tongue.
August stepped in trying to defuse the uncomfortable situation. "Whoa, hey now that's not how you talk to someone."
"Look, kid, I see that you're tryin' to protect your girl here, but she should wake up and smell the roses and watch where she's pushin' that carriage!" He scoffed, and then walked off shaking his head.
"Jesus, Happy fucking Thanksgiving." Emma muttered shaking her head. She paused and looked at her list some more. She'd thought Regina only forgot a few things, but they were practically buying half of the things needed for dinner. And then there were things like ham? It was Thanksgiving. Why they needed a ham was beyond her.
"Okay, let's split up. Can you get two things of chicken broth, five cans of green beans, cream of mushroom soup, yams, the ham, a bag of pecans, and a carton of eggs?" Emma looked at her friend to see if he got all of that and he nodded. "Do you need me to text you all of that, or are you good?"
"Nah, I got it." August pointed to his head with a smirk. "Let me go grab a buggie. Did she put marshmallows on there? I heard your mom mention you guys didn't have any for the yams."
Emma's eyes scanned down the list and nodded, "Yup, they're on here. Text me if you can't find something." She said to her friend as she started to navigate the crowded store. People were rushing by her, kids were crying, and God help her... she just needed to get home.
Emma was eager to make the big announcement with Regina to everyone. They had a lot of planning left to do. So far, they had already confirmed the reservation at Ski Esta and Regina, in passing, mentioned that she found a dress. Emma hadn't gotten that far. She was still torn because she hated dresses, but then again it was her wedding day and her mother would have an adult version of a tantrum if she didn't wear one. Emma could just see her old, wrinkly face fall with a deep-set scowl. It would be too terrifying to challenge, so a wedding dress would have to do.
The one other thing set in stone was their honeymoon. They really splurged on their getaway, not like they couldn't afford it. Emma still had a hard time wrapping her head around how wealthy Regina was from the acquisition. So, booking tickets to Bora Bora was painless for her. Emma was all about Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic until Regina showed her pictures of Bora Bora. Never in a million years did she think she would be as lucky as she is now, marrying the woman of her dreams and going on a steamy honeymoon. Despite the long flight, a private resort villa waited for them in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. And all Emma could think of was how amazing it was going to be.
They spent the last weekend in dressing rooms trying on bikinis, which was a huge first for her. She never got to wear that kind of stuff in public, but now she could. It felt amazing and Emma fell madly, deeply, in love with the cutest red bikini that hugged her in all the right places.
Emma was pretty sure that Regina may have even loved it more on her because they got a little carried away in the dressing room after she tried it on. That memory caused Emma to smirk to herself as she picked out fresh broccoli. Regina had a wild side that was daring, and no one would think she had it since she was such a polished businesswoman.
It was bridging closer to eleven and Emma knew that she needed to hurry up and bag the remainder of the vegetables she needed. When she finished, she went in the direction of where she figured August would be. When she rounded the corner, she couldn't believe she was bearing witness to a standoff between August and another last-minute Thanksgiving day shopper.
It was kind of like the movie, Christmas With The Kranks. August lunged for the last spiral-sliced smoked ham, and the smaller man jumped at the same time, pulling at the netted bag that the ham was ensconced in. Emma watched, as everyone around that vicinity was, as her friend dueled to get the ham. It was embarrassing, and Emma already was known around town as being the Mayor's girlfriend, which surprisingly wasn't scandalous, but rather celebrated. People were happy for them,and the last thing she needed was for her dufous-brained best friend to tarnish her reputation.
She pushed her buggie quickly over to where August was and tried to pull her friend away, "What do you think you're doing? Jesus Fuck!" She complained just loud enough for him to hear.
"What does it look like?" Her friend pulled at the prized ham from the man that she now recognized as Leroy, who worked at Westwood Christmas Tree Farm and who also beat her at the pumpkin pie eating contest on Halloween. That short man had mad skills with the way he packed away that pie.
"Would you two cut it out." Emma snapped at the two men who were behaving more like children.
"I saw it first." August said in a whiny voice he typically used when it came to Weezy.
Leroy looked up to see it was Emma who was snapping at the incorrigible man who battled him for the addition to his dinner table. "You know this guy?" His face was red as he struggled to hold onto the netting that was cutting into his calloused hands.
"Yeah, look I'm sorry," Emma told him. "August, let go of the ham!"
August did as he was told and straightened out his plaid lumberjack shirt, probably from The Bass Pro Shop. Casually he wiped his nose and put his hands on his hips, attempting to act cool.
Emma stared at him long enough for him to get the clue that he ought to apologize.
In a not very apologetic tone, August mumbled, "Sorry, man."
Tilting her head to the side, with the "crazy mom" eyes that one day would be used on her future kids, Emma stared him down again.
"You… you can have it." Begrudgingly, August admitted defeat over his prized pork.
Leroy looked between the two curiously, and so Emma introduced the two men, "Leroy, August, August, Leroy."
The two cordially nodded their heads at one another and Emma added, "This is my best friend from back home. He spends Thanksgiving with my family. He's like an honorary brother."
"Oh, okay. Are your parents in town then?" Leroy asked with a smile, forgiving the previous debacle.
Emma nodded, "They are and we have to actually get going because we had some last minute things to get."
Leroy looked down at the ham in his hands and then back to Emma, "Here you take it. I really don't need it."
Emma held up her hands and said, "No, seriously it's fine. I'm sure Regina planned for enough people with the turkey. I insist on you taking it. Besides, after I tell her what this knucklehead did..." Emma pointed to her idiot friend, "She'll probably bust a vein in her head," she laughed.
The man graciously nodded, and then put the ham into his small basket. "Well, Happy Thanksgiving Emma. I'll see you around town, perhaps the Westbrook's Winter West Festival. I hear Graham has a chance at winning the races!" Leroy chattered.
"I don't know, he's got some stiff competition with Mr. Gold still. Anyways, you have a great Thanksgiving. If I don't see you at the races, then for sure when we come by to get our tree!" Emma added before turning to walk away.
As she looked to her side, August walked with her, his head hanging and eyes mournful over losing a smoked slab of meat. Emma could barely believe her best friend, and she had no idea what he was thinking. God help her if she and Regina had a son someday who was anything like August.
Emma watched as her father held onto a picture frame in his age-spotted hands. She had just come up from the cellar with some wine and a fresh glass for him to savor. She assumed he heard her feet shuffling in from the other room because he started to speak, "Ya know, I've always loved this photo. Your mother and I have always been very blessed to have such a beautiful daughter."
He smiled as he placed the picture of Emma, from when she was a kid with a butterfly on her nose, back on the mantle above the fireplace. It was one of Regina's favorite photos.
Emma's eyes looked down the mantle and saw one of Regina about the same age sitting perched on her father's lap in her Sunday's best. She had perfect, dark ringlets all wild and free sprouting from her head like weeds. She was a doll, and Emma just found it adorable. Henry was pretty dapper back in those days, too.
"Regina looks cute there doesn't she?" Emma said, nodding to the photo. "That's her dad, Henry," she showed her father.
He picked up the frame and smiled down at the older man who had a cigar hanging from the side of his mouth, classic Henry. Emma watched as he rubbed the pad of his thumb over his face and sat the frame back in it's place where some dust had collected.
"Looks like a nice man." Her father nodded.
And that he was. He had been like a second father to Emma. She loved him and someday, when she had kids, she'd be damned if they didn't know how truly valued he was to her.
She watched as her father's hand picked up another frame that was a new addition to the collection of photos. Soon there would be no more space for more.
He raised one of his thin eyebrows up and posed, "So Super Girl and Wonder Woman?" David laughed. "You two really are perfect for one another."
Emma smiled as she handed her father a glass of red wine. "We are. I really love her."
She looked at the picture of them from less than a month ago and chuckled, they ended up winning best costumes in the adults contest, which apparently Jeff had helped himself to enter them into. He has a sick sense of humor, trying to humiliate her for sheer pleasure. Of course, the two of them had a similar idea and dressed as Batman and Robin, Jeff being Robin. He was a little too excited about his big yellow cap. Graham wasn't thrilled to be wearing tights, but did it for Jeff because despite Jeff's nutty behavior, he was loved deeply by the police officer.
Her father sighed and, as he sat the frame back down, added, "Your mother thinks Regina hates her." He sheepishly looked at Emma. "Said she felt like her and Regina clashed a little when she was here last."
Emma rolled her eyes, "I think it's just hard having a house full of people when you're used to being alone. Besides, she adores mom, in small doses of course," she smiled.
Regina really didn't hate her mother. She just found her, at times, hard to be around. Thus, small doses, which is why when they booked her parents flights for Thanksgiving, it was only for the long weekend and not a day longer.
Besides, the wedding was coming up in a month, and they'd be back to booking flights again soon.
Her wise, old father nodded, "I like her. She's been nothin' but good for you. Her mother is a trip!" He laughed into his clear, stemless glass and sipped the blood-red liquid. "She was hittin' on August. You shouda seen his face. I thought he was gonna shit his britches."
David laughed. "She goes, 'How many times do you think thirty can get into sixty?'" He sipped his drink again, and then continued, "That poor boy's face when he realized what she said... I figured he was 'bout to pass out dead."
"Oh God." Emma looked at her dad. "I've gotta go save him. She holds back nothing."
"He's fine Emma, seems he's taking a liking to Regina's friend, Kat." Her father's words caused her to pause a few feet away.
"No." Emma shook her head in denial. "I was in the wine cellar for like ten minutes fishing out some dusty bottles, how did I miss this? It's impossible, he can't like her!" She whined.
Kat was …. Kat. August knew she was terrible, and the last thing she needed was for him to have a one-night stand with the devil and sell his soul to her. She shuddered at the thought alone.
"Why's that so shocking, August is a good-looking guy." Her father questioned her. Of course August was good-looking. He was a ladies man and one that got into more trouble than he should. Kat was the last person he needed to set his sights on.
"It's not him, it's her. She's like Satan and he knows it. She like hated me." Emma confided in her father. They hadn't had a chance in a long time to bond like this. "She like, really hated me."
"Oh, I see." He looked and nodded his head, "Maybe he likes his women like that. And it doesn't seem like she still hates you."
Emma shook her head and added, "Doubtful."
"Emma!" They heard her mother yell. "Quick!"
Emma looked at her father to see what could possibly have her mother's tone sound so frantic and rushed.
"Hurry!" Mary Margaret yelled again.
In her head, Emma pictured the stove on fire, or August in some sort of compromising position.
But when Emma turned and entered the kitchen what she found wasn't what she expected. Regina was crying, staring down at the perfectly baked green bean casserole. She had both hands on either side of the pyrex dish, arms fully extended as she literally sobbed.
Emma barely ever saw her fiance cry, ever. So seeing her completely undone like this, in front of her mother, well, that was a clear sign that something was really wrong.
"Babe?" Emma slowly approached her, unsure of what the hell was going on. "You okay?" Emma said, not knowing what to say really. Of course, now it was a spectacle since her mother hollered across the house. Kat, August, Graham, Jeff, and all parents were staring at the two women. Emma gulped and looked at Regina and carefully walked closer. She asked again, "Babe, what's wrong?"
Emma looked back and forth between Regina and her intense glare at the still steaming dish fresh from the oven. It smelled sinful and Emma's stomach didn't help in the slightest when it grumbled. The turkey was filling the house with the most toe-curling smells and Emma's mind slowly started dreaming of cartoon food.
Her mother interrupted her trance-like thoughts. She could always count on her. "Maybe she just needs a glass of wine? Thanksgiving can be stressful. Whatchu want honey, red or white wine?" Mary Margaret tried, but failed.
Regina instead shook her head and looked at Emma with sadden eyes and murmured, "I think, it's in the casserole." Emma's heart plummeted to the pit of her stomach. There was no way. She licked her dry lips and felt fourteen, four-freaking-teen, beady little eyes on her, not including Regina's. So make it sixteen.
"You think what's in the casserole?" Cora piped in from next to August. She was blushing red from her over-consumption of wine. At least their mother's had something to bond over.
Emma turned her attention back to Regina trying to not give away the surprise. "Uhm." She stepped a little closer and brought her hand up to comfortingly rub circles on the small of Regina's back. "It's okay we just need to, well, look for it. It's not gone. We'll find it." She cryptically spoke. She hoped the lack of descriptive words would have helped her.
"Find what?" Emma's mother now questioned. Clearly, no one was going to let it go, especially her mother.
Not looking over to where everyone was standing, Emma replied, "Nothing. You guys can all just give us a minute. Everything is fine." Everything really was going to be fine. The ring was just in the casserole. They just needed to fish it out. How it got in the dish in the first place was beyond Emma. Though, as she's come to learn, she can't ever expect anything when it came to her beautiful love.
Emma grabbed some wax paper from inside a drawer and started to lay it out in sheets on the counter, ignoring the peanut gallery that still stood waiting an answer.
"Looks like we won't be having green bean casserole, that's all." Emma tried to say to dismiss people in hopes they'd just carry on with what they were doing.
In Emma's mind, Jeff and Graham would go back to their mini-conversation in between stealing kisses, Cora would go back to hitting on August, who was doing God knows what with Kat. Her father would return to the office to look at more pictures and well, her mother would continue to attempt to find the answers to all her life's questions at the bottom of her wine glass. While that's what Emma wanted, it wasn't what happened.
Instead, August pushed, "Something's lost in there, isn't it?" Emma tried to ignore him and all of them really. She was doing her best to help Regina calm down and was picking apart the still hot dish that burned her fingers.
"What is it?" Kat said, "Regina?" She leaned forward and started to walk closer to where Emma and Regina were standing at the kitchen island where hours earlier they were playing around eating apple slices before the chaos unfolded.
Suddenly there were just too many people and too many questions. It wasn't how they planned on telling everyone. They had a big announcement planned for dinner with a planned out toast. They would go on about the importance of family and the love Emma and Regina both shared over the past year. There were so many things they wanted to say, wanted to share with their loved ones. They wanted to thank them all for being apart of their new beginning together. They wanted them all to know how much this day meant to of them, the sentiment behind it really. Inviting them all to their wedding at once just kind of seemed perfect. Of course, nothing ever went as Emma planned. So she rolled her eyes and looked sympathetically into Regina's eyes that had tears threatening to fall again. It was a wonder how her makeup still looked impeccable.
"I don't think we can wait any longer now." Emma cooed. She hated to tell Regina that since she was looking forward to the grand toast.
Regina solemnly nodded, "I believe you're right."
But before they could say anything else they heard, "Oh my god. You're getting married aren'tchu?" Emma's mother was the first to blurt it out. She clearly had too much liquid courage.
Emma, with Regina, turned and said with a raised eyebrow, "Well, you guys caught us. We, uh, didn't plan on you all figuring out this way. We had this big toast we were going to do over dinner." She started off saying, "A little under a month ago, I asked Regina to marry me. We wanted to bring you all together because we consider each and every one of you family."
Regina squeezed Emma's hand and then added to that, "Next month we are going to share our wedding vows at Ski Esta. It's a place both Emma and I cherish for multiple reasons and we want you all to be there on New Year's with us."
When Regina paused, a swarm of questions filled the air.
"'How did you propose? What's the ring look like?'"
Then those questions were followed by, "'Oh god, the ring!'"
A year ago, the biggest chaos was playing a damn card game at a table in the middle of Emma's small, one bedroom apartment in Orlando. Seeing how far their lives had come caused the whole ordeal to be kind of perfect. It wasn't what they planned, but that's the thing, Emma was starting to trust the unpredictability of her life. Having Regina was all she needed because everything else would just fall into place. Sometimes in the strangest of ways, but that was okay.
A coalition of them practically dissected the gooey casserole in a search that perfect teardrop ring that belonged on Regina's ring finger. It was Cora that dug it free, and her eyes practically fell out of her head. Emma took that as a sign that she did a damn good job picking it out.
"Oh Emma!" Mary Margaret exclaimed when she saw the ring. "Mercy me! It's gorgeous." The funny thing was, they were all heart eyes over a ring that had food all over it. So yeah, it was as magnificent as she hoped it would be when she first purchased it from Mr. Gold.
Emma quickly washed it clean, later they would have to probably take it in to get cleaned professionally so that it sparkled like new. Everyone watched as Emma pulled Regina's hand into her own and slide the ring where it belonged.
A thickness in the air surrounded them, parents were in awe as they watched. To them it was as if the proposal was just happening, but the first time it happened, well it was too perfect to ever recreate, not like they would want to in front of all these people. It was too intimate.
"I love you," Emma promised her, "Don't do that again, though." She kissed Regina's cheek, affectionately. "I love that ring on your finger, not in an oven inside a Thanksgiving casserole."
At least it wasn't dropped down a drain, in the turkey stuffing, or in the ocean. Emma would have to remember to make her take if off when they were in Bora Bora. Losing the priceless ring inside a Thanksgiving dish was one thing, it was another to actually lose it where they'd never find it. Like most things, it was replaceable, but Emma would never forget when she bought that ring and the way it looked on Regina's finger the first moment she saw it on her. So losing it was never an option.
Now they were officially down one casserole and the day was still young. Emma was in the midst of cleaning up the mess, enjoying the energy in their home. And of course, when Emma walked the messy wax paper over to the trash can it split open from the weight, gooey everything splattered all over the clean floor.
Somehow, by an act of God, Emma slipped into it. Her feet flew over her head and she hit the ground like dead weight. Laughter filled the air and the smell of food pulled Weezy from the depths of his hiding places.
She felt his rough tongue lick her soft face. Pushing the fluff off of her she looked up at Regina who walked up beside her to help her up. Emma grabbed her offered hand and deviously pulled her down with her, rubbing cream of mushroom all over her face along with some smashed green beans in her hair.
Regina laughed, and of course, 'fools in love' is exactly what they were. Despite the onlookers, they rolled around together not caring that an oven was going off, or that a pot was boiling over because nothing else mattered, but Regina and Emma.
Later in the evening, everyone enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving dinner with dry turkey and pretty much burnt or overcooked everything else. That's what happens when you roll around on the floor, ignoring the timers and alarms going off, playing with food.
August of course had the final say, "Should have kept the ham!"
As soon as Regina heard what happened in the grocery store she slapped him in the back of the head in hopes of finally knocking some sense into him. Only time would tell if it really worked.
Thanksgiving was always meant to be a time celebrated with friends and family, to give thanks. This was exactly that. In their own twisted way, with dry turkey and burnt food, and it was perfect.