Escort Services: Chapter 24
Author's Note: Hi all! I am so very deeply sorry that it has taken me forever to do an update. Put it this way, I had it all good to go by June 8th, but then guess who spills hot chocolate on their MacBook? (this idiot) so I pretty much lost everything including this chapter which I had to re-write. I went out and bought another MacBook and had to get it set up etc. And school has been pretty tough lately. Anyway I hope you haven't forgotten about this story! :( Enjoy!
"Exactly, what questions should I be expecting to answer?" Regina murmured to Emma, her eyes still trained on the older woman before her who was rummaging through her purse in search of her set of questions to ask the mayor.
Emma seemed unsure, "She generally changes them all the time, to be honest."
The brunette's eyebrows bunched together, "I don't understand. Aren't they mostly generic anyway? If so, the questions should be almost identical each time."
"Yeah, well my mother is a little different and extremely annoying, she's like those apps that turn sideways when you lay down."
Regina gave her girlfriend a glare.
Emma rolled her eyes, "Oh lighten up, babe." She quickly kissed her temple.
The brunette had a raised eyebrow, "Babe?" A small smile tugged at her lips.
"Yep, it was either that or snookums. But I knew you'd lose your shit if I dare called you snookums instead." She sniggered.
"Damn right I would."
Meagan purposefully cleared her throat to make herself known to the pair, as they were once again engrossed in their own conversation. Much to her dismay she couldn't find her usual set of questions to ask any of her daughter's potential suitors so she quickly jotted down a few questions specifically tailored to the politician. Hopefully she won't be too offended. It wasn't that she disliked the mayor, she just didn't know her well and her mom alarms immediately rang crazily when she discovered her daughter and the woman were now lovers. After all, a mother knows best. She quickly glanced at Regina and watched in curiosity how she looked at Emma…well more like gazed at her. Even she had to admit that her mom alarms were sometimes faulty. A small smirk pulled at her lips. These two are obviously sickly in love.
She snapped her fingers to grab their attention.
"Hello? Geez, you guys are like in your own little world."
Emma blushed slightly, "Sorry, mom."
"My apologies, Miss Swan."
Meagan grinned, "Ehh it's okay. I know what its like to be so obsessed with someone that you forget about everyone and everything in the world." She sighed happily. "Anyway, I think it's time we began the questioning, as I'd like to find out a bit more about you, Regina, as well as see if your good enough for my daughter."
"She is, mom" Emma huffed.
"I will be the judge of that, my darling."
Meagan locked onto brown eyes across from her, "Are you ready madam mayor?"
Regina put on a smile, "As ready as I'll ever be."
Meagan nodded before sliding her glasses back up her nose, "Okie dokie then, first question."
Emma looked up at the ceiling and whispered, "Oh dear god, please let this go well."
"Are you currently practicing polygamy?"
Emma glanced at the ceiling again and snarled, "Are you serious?"
Regina's eyes widened at the unexpected question, with her lips parting slightly.
"Well?" Meagan pressed.
"No! I am not."
"Mm-hhmm." She wrote on her pad.
"Do you wish to practice polygamy?"
Emma spoke up, "Mom, these questions are actually ridiculous!"
Meagan rolled her eyes, "No, they are not. In this day and age people are becoming more…noncommittal, like Cameron Diaz." She explained.
Her daughter gave her a dull expression that said it all. "Just ask the next question mother."
Regina watched the exchange and decided to remain quiet.
"I suspect that you would have said 'no', correct?" Meagan assumed, her line of questioning directed towards the brunette, who nodded fervently.
The older woman cleared her throat, "Are you a materialistic person?" She gestured with the pen in her hand to her surroundings.
"No, I am not."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
Meagan grinned, "Let's test that out shall we?"
"Mom…" Emma warned as she watched her mother move around the living room, obviously in search of something…
The older blonde spotted a pleasant looking vase that appeared empty and expensive. She took hold of it and let it slide out of her grasp, splattering into pieces on the tiles.
"MOM!"
Regina didn't move a muscle. I didn't like that vase anyway. She almost smirked.
"You can't just go around breaking things that are not yours! Regina, I'm so sorry, she will replace that for you I promise." Emma spoke sympathetically while evil-eyeing her mother across the room, who simply shrugged like an innocent child.
"Emma, it's fine." The brunette smiled, completely unfazed by the event.
"Look, I was just making sure she was telling the truth, I don't exactly own a lie detector, you know." Meagan tried reasoning her actions as she once again took her place on the sofa.
Emma put her face in her hands, "I am going to kill you." She grumbled, to which only her mother replied with…
'Next question!"
"Have you ever been involved in any criminal activities?"
Regina paused for a moment, her mind retracing her 'activities' while in the Enchanted Forest. Mass-murder. Execution. Treason. "Of course not! I'm the Mayor for god sakes." She answered confidently and almost believed herself.
Meagan raised an eyebrow, "So? Doesn't mean that you were a goody-two-shoes before your life as mayor. Geez." She scribbled on her notepad.
"What is your most negative trait?"
"Being a perfectionist."
Meagan tilted her head towards her chest and looked at Regina, "You don't say." She mumbled.
Emma snorted, "I think I knew that from almost the moment I met you." She was met with a glare from the brunette. "Sorry." She whispered.
"How old are you?"
Emma cut-in, "Regina you don't have to answer that question. My mom is just being extremely insensitive and annoying at the moment!" She death-glared the older blonde.
"Emma it's fine, really. I'm 32." She simply answered. Well more like 60.
"Gosh, honey. It's not like someone's age is a secret code for a nuclear weapon or something." She spoke to her daughter who simply shook her head in disapproval.
"Anyway, moving on. Are you the driver or the passenger?"
Emma answered once again.
"Now that is just a plain stupid question. What does her being the driver or passenger have anything to do with her being good enough for me? Which I have already stated like a gazillion times she is!" Emma exclaimed angrily, her mother was now officially getting on her nerves.
Meagan rolled her eyes, "I am just curious okay? Jesus Christ." Her gaze shifted from her daughter to Regina, awaiting an answer.
Even Regina was confused by the relevance of such a question, yet answered anyway. "The driver."
If Emma and Regina were able to view the notes Meagan was taking down, under this question they would have seen 'dominant' written in bold capital letters with multiple underlining of the word. Obviously, the way the Meagan interpreted the question was evidently different to that of her daughter's and Regina's. She chuckled lightly at the fact that they thought she meant the question literally.
"Okay, we are onto the last question." Meagan chirped.
"Oh thank the fucking lord." Emma exhaled, quite relieved that this nonsense of an interrogation that was soon to be over.
"Have you ever been married before?"
Regina froze. Oh shit. In a mere matter of milliseconds she was facing inner turmoil. She had in fact been married before to Leopold, yet somewhat 30 years ago when she was in the Enchanted Forest, but she couldn't exactly say that without Emma and her mother thinking that she may belong in a loony bin. She considered her arranged marriage to be a part of her old life and therefore wasn't relevant to her life here and now. Then again if the curse were to break, which it would in only a matter of time, all would be revealed which would definitely hurt Emma, the woman who had surprisingly beat down the ice cold walls surrounding her heart.
Emma rolled her eyes again, another stupid question to top it off. "No, mom. Regina has not been mar-"
"Yes."
As though she had been slapped in the face, Emma turned to face her girlfriend. Regina met her gaze and cringed at the wounded expression that fluttered across her features. "What?" Emma whispered. Her heart raced as she was only met with silence. "I can't believe this." She shifted her gaze to her feet and shrugged off Regina's hand that came to rest on her forearm.
"Emma-" Regina began.
"I need some air." The woman left off the sofa and immediately darted out of the mansion. The front door slamming on her way out, causing Regina to flinch at the abrupt sound. Dread filled her bones, but she knew it had to be done. She lifted her line of sight to Meagan who was simply sitting still, and looking right back at her with an unreadable expression. She watched as the older woman sighed and tore the piece of paper from her notepad. She held it up to Regina before ripping it, curling the pieces into one ball before stuffing it into her purse.
"Look Regina. I don't know you very well and you don't know me very well either. But let me tell you something, up until I adopted Emma I had a pretty rough life. I was with countless men, I partied non-stop and I was…" She paused for a moment, confirming that she had Regina's attention, which she had. "I was even married myself. The so-called 'love' between us definitely wasn't like Channing Tatum's and Rachael McAdams in the Vow. Anyway, once I divorced the twat and moved onto different relationships with other people I never-ended up telling any of them that I had been married before, and once they found out it caused a lot of unnecessary turbulence in the relationship with regards to trust and consequently the relationship ended." She gave the brunette a light smile.
"For me, after the divorce, I didn't want that marriage to be part of my life. It's not that I was ashamed of being a 21-year-old marrying a 37-year-old businessman; I mean I couldn't give a flying fuck. It was the marriage itself, it was a horrible 18 months for me, and being with an alcoholic wasn't easy at all. It was a terrifying experience."
Meagan leaned forward and rested her linked hands on her knees, "So I'm guessing that you were like me, you no longer wanted that marriage to be apart of your life because something terrible happened as a result of it, maybe he physically or emotionally abused you, or maybe it was arranged or both, I don't know the real reason but I'd assume that's why you didn't tell Emma that you were married." She finished. Her assumptions were confirmed by the glossy reflections from brown orbs and a small nod.
"You will need to explain that to her, and make sure she listens because she is as stubborn as a mule." The older woman laughed.
"Oh, I know. You don't need to tell me that." Regina softly chuckled.
"Do you mind if I ask you my real questions now?" Meagan smirked.
Amused, Regina shook her head, "I was going to tell you that your questions were quite unique-"
"And absolutely ridiculous?" Megan suggested.
"Precisely." Regina gave her a small smile.
Meagan placed her notepad and pen back in her purse, "It's only one question so there better be a kick-ass answer." She chuckled.
"I'll try my best."
"Do you love my daughter? If so, why?"
Regina could not contain the smile that consumed her features or the warmth and contentment that spread throughout her body as she thought about Emma and her love for the blonde. "I do love your daughter, very much. She always finds ways to make me smile or laugh, even when I am furious with her. Emma's bold, she's not afraid to say things despite the consequences that may occur. Every time I see her, my heart races and I am constantly surprised by how much and far I have fallen for her. She accepts me as I am and she makes me happy. Despite her being annoying, at times inappropriate and impulsive, I couldn't imagine not having her around." The mayor concluded, a large smile radiating off her face.
Meagan seemed heavily satisfied with the answer due to the wide grin and her teary eyes. She stood up and went over to the brunette who emulated the action, before embracing her in a tight hug. "I really wish both of you all the best. You are most definitely worthy of my daughter." She whispered. The older woman gave Regina a tight squeeze before releasing her from her arms.
Meagan stood across from Regina and smirked, "You know how I said I know my daughter really well?"
Somewhat perplexed Regina nodded, "Yes."
"Well the little rascal appears to have been EAVESDROPPING." She enunciated the last word with a louder tone.
Regina's eyes widened slightly as Meagan nodded over her left shoulder. A few seconds later, a tear-streaked face blonde emerged from the kitchen with a bright smile on her face.
"How much did you hear, Snoopy?" Meagan raised an eyebrow at her daughter.
"Just the question and Regina's response." She spoke softly, her eyes transfixed on the brunette only metres away from her. Only a couple of seconds passed before she quickly darted across the room and passionately kissed the woman she had come to unintentionally love over the past two months. Their lips moved in sync, the kiss was not rushed but was simply languid and soft as though they were attempting to capture this moment in their relationship. Emma's arm snaked around Regina's back and pulled her closer to her own with Regina's encasing around the blonde's neck.
They broke apart briefly; "I'll explain everything later in regards to…" Regina tried to hint that being her previous marriage and Emma quickly understood with a nod and a smile.
"I trust you." She breathed against plush red lips.
Regina delicately held her face and ran her thumb across her cheek before recapturing her lips again in a searing kiss. A few moments later the pair were interrupted by a shriek from the older woman behind them.
"Oh my god mom, what happened?!" Emma spoke urgently as though something were actually wrong.
Meagan had a massive grin on her face, her iPhone between her fingers. "I just bet my score in flappy bird!" She exclaimed.
Emma rolled her eyes, "Mom, that game is so out." She smiled.
"Well excuse me for not being 'updated' sheesh." Meagan grumbled before putting her phone back in her purse. "Anyway I think I best be off, seems as though my work here is done. Oh, and I would like to sometime spend some time with my grandson." She grinned back and forth between the two women who nodded in acknowledgement.
Meagan clapped her hands together in an excited manner before embracing both women in a quick hug.
"I'll see you two soon, okay."
"It was a pleasure Meagan." Regina smiled warmly.
The older blonde smirked, "Oh, call me mom." She winked.
Emma groaned, "Mommmm."
Both her girlfriend and mother erupted into laughter, Regina going slightly red.
"See you, Lovelies!" She called over her shoulder as she made her way to the front door. "Oh and don't forget I want a few more grandchildren!" She glanced at the pair one last time as she opened the door, waved and then strode out the mansion with style. Classic Meagan Swan, Emma thought.
PRESENT
"Emma, your mom nearly cock-blocked you there for a second!" Ruby erupted into laughter as she poured herself another class of champagne.
"I know right!" Emma sent her mom a pair of evil eyes.
Meagan snorted, "Oh please, darling. If I were aiming for a cock-block, I would have made sure it was a successful cock-block."
Kyrah's face contorted into a mixture of confusion, "Wait?" She slurred and waved a hand in the brides' direction, "You guys are Lebanese's, so why are we talking bout cock?"
"Lesbian, honey. Not Lebanese." Snow corrected, taking a large gulp of water in the process – her sobriety mildly increasing by the minute.
"Regina, you must have been shitting bricks when Meagan asked you the marriage question." Kathryn chuckled, clearly amused.
"You have no idea. Given the previous irrelevant questions, I was definitely not expecting that one." Regina shivered at the memory.
"Did you ever replace the vase, Meagan?" Astrid questioned, mildly intrigued.
The older blonde had to think about it for a second, "Yes, I believe I did, surprisingly." She grinned, "Though I might have stole it on a drunken stupor." She was quite confused.
"Oh, you did steal it!" Emma laughed hard. "When we were going home from the engagement party, we decided to take a detour down the streets with really posh gardens and you just randomly took a vase, emptied it and gave it to Regina."
"That would explain the insects that were crawling along the bench top…" It was all making sense to Regina now.
"Whoops. Sorry." Megan apologized, with a giggle. "Anyway I'm just glad you two were able to get where you are now. I mean I always knew all of Emma's exes were bad seeds, and I knew Regina was different in the best way possible." She smiled warmly at her new daughter-in-law, who also reciprocated the gesture.
"What did I tell you, Emma? Mother knows best." Snow sent a warm smile over to Meagan who in turn returned the gesture. Their relationship had a rocky start, especially when Emma had to tell her foster mom, Meagan that she was the product of true love and her biological mother was Snow White. Consequently, both women were not exactly friendly to each other per se. In their eyes they were both Emma's mothers, which they were. Snow often used the 'I am her biological mother' card, while Meagan used the 'I'm the one who took her in when her parents left her on the side of the road' card. Things basically went downhill from then on, that is until they began planning Emma's wedding. Turns out both were control freaks with a freaky sense of design much to each others surprise. They had found a common ground and worked tirelessly to make sure their daughter and future daughter-in-law had a perfect wedding.
And now? They were almost the best of friends one could say, although they still have their differences they agreed on a lot more when it came to family. Their family.
"Guys I gotta tell ya, I loved the food today, that chicken Caesar salad was legit to die for." Ruby spoke hazily, the alcohol taking a slight effect on her now.
Emma's face crinkled much like a baby's, "Hah, I'll believe a salad is 'to die for' when a convict chooses one for their last meal."
"Excellent point." Belle nodded in agreement.
"So, what happened next? Do you guys go to the next celebration?" Ruby was eager to know.
Regina replied, "Yes we do, but this time anything that actually goes wrong is not our fault, surprisingly." She chuckled.
"But it is not a story for minors, as it has some very explicit content, right babe?" She kissed Regina's cheek.
"Most definitely. So, the next celebration was being held in Las Vegas…"
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