This chapter for Inspired by OQ 2019 was inspired by GlindaLovesShoes's maze, found here
Robin couldn't get Roland to stop talking about the color by numbers he had made of Roni. On the rare occasions when they talked on the phone before Roland fell asleep, he would ask his godfather when they would get to play with the queen again.
Meanwhile, Robin was still visiting Regina every day at the library. He saw how much she loved her patrons, especially the children, and how much she disliked her boss, Ms. Blue; so much so that at times he wondered if she feared her. But the Regina he knew would never admit to being afraid of anything or anyone, so he knew he'd just have to wait until she opened up further to discover the answer to that question.
The assistant manager, Marco, however, was a different story. Robin always heard him call her different nicknames as she cruised through the library, forever on a mission to please her boss. Often, she was the weeder as she pulled unused materials from the library's collection, other days she was the shelver when she put materials that had just been checked in back in their proper place. In those moments, she seemed so focused on her task that Robin didn't dare interrupt her, instead waiting patiently until she was done to approach the raven-haired beauty.
However, Robin's personal favorite (and surely, the favorite of anyone who observed her) was when Marco would call her the Sticker Queen. Whenever she would get out sheets of stickers, the children, well-dressed and ragged appearance alike, would flock to her, each group given two sheets of stickers to choose from. She would smile and validate each child's choice, helping them get the sticker from the larger sheet, place it where they wanted it, and send them on their way.
The best part of these interactions by far, in Robin's opinion, was not the excited chatter of the children and their joyous faces, but watching and listening to Regina herself. Her interactions with the children were the one time Robin witnessed her walls come crashing down, and the effect was like the sun coming out after an eclipse. Her face would light up with the most beautiful smile Robin had ever seen. Her voice would soften, her love for each child clearly evident in how she would gently speak to them, her tone assuring them that even if they weren't loved at home, they had a home in the library with her.
The whole scene was mesmerizing, and left Robin spellbound. Afterwards, she would sometimes come up to him, and make some witty remark, but unlike their initial interaction, in those moments he was never able to reply with a suitable comeback, instead stammering through a response. After a moment she would leave him, shaking her head at his inability to form a coherent sentence.
One day, a few days before Roland was due to visit him again, he entered the library with a spring in his step as he always did, he asked Tink, one of the people that he had discovered knew Regina best and always seemed to like that he was trying to earn her trust, where she was. He couldn't automatically spot her, and that worried him.
"Now might not be the best time, Robin," she cautioned. "Ms. Blue called her into her office, and Regina looked upset when she came out. You don't want to upset her more, do you?"
"Of course not!" Robin denied adamantly. "But if she needs a shoulder to lean on, I want to be there for her."
"And I love that you want to do that for her, just be prepared if she doesn't receive you well," Tink warned.
Robin grinned. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. She can't scare me away that easily."
Tink smiled at him warmly. "Good. Go to her. She might be in one of the conference rooms or back in our staff area. I would come with you, but you know I can't leave the reference desk for another half an hour. And Robin?"
"Yes?" he inquired, curious what her request was at such a critical moment.
"Don't let her send you away. We both know she'll try, but don't let her do it. You're one of the best things that's happened to her in a long time, let her lean on you instead of pushing you away."
"Of course," Robin said over his shoulder as he set out to look for her.
After searching every corner of the staff room (Marco assured him he could go in, while Ms. Blue glared at him as he passed her office), each conference room, and the shelves, he finally found her sitting on the floor with her arms around her knees, head tucked into her chest, in the very back corner of the adult nonfiction section.
All he wanted to do was sit on the floor with her and put his arms around her, but he didn't want to frighten her and make her feel that she had to lash out at him even more than she likely was going to, so he settled for saying her name softly to get her attention.
She glanced up. "What are you doing here? Go away, Robin. Can't you see I don't want to talk to anyone?"
Instead of respecting her wishes, Robin sat next to her, waiting for her to speak.
She glanced over at him, shaking her head. "What are you still doing here?"
"I think you know," he replied gently. "I just want to be here for you. Maybe it'll help to have someone to talk to who doesn't work here."
Defeated, she seemed to melt into the shelves, leaning her head on the shelves behind her. "Maybe you're right."
"What was that?" he teased. "Did you just say I'm right?"
"Don't get used to it," she warned. "The only reason we're having this conversation is because I'm too tired to argue with you."
"I wouldn't dream of it," he replied with a fond chuckle. "So what happened with Ms. Blue?"
"I went in for my annual evaluation," she told him. "We all had to evaluate ourselves, then compare our evaluations to hers. And…" A frustrated sigh escaped her as her head came to rest on Robin's shoulder.
"Your assessments didn't match up," he finished for her, certain she wouldn't want to finish that sentence. He tentatively put his arm around her.
She nodded, the motion sending a decadent fragrance of apples wafting up to his nose. "I work so hard, and thought I was doing so well that she'd finally give me a promotion since Marco's retiring soon, and his position is the one I want the most. People call me heartless, but I disagree. She's the heartless one.
"You are far from heartless," he quickly assured her. "Anyone who can call you heartless has clearly never seen the Sticker Queen at work. Everything about you when you're around those kids…" he paused before admitting softly, "it's stunning, in every way."
He felt her shoulders relax at his words, and her head briefly abandoned the shelter of his arms to look up at him. But instead of verbally acknowledging her appreciation, she said, "I love them. They're why I continue to work here. Otherwise I'd find a job as a school librarian and never look back."
"It shows, I promise," Robin swore. He knew that he shouldn't ask this question, but he had to know. More importantly, he had to help her realize that she was more that she made herself out to be. "Why does she think that your evaluations didn't match? I don't mean to pry or make things worse," he added hurriedly when she tensed and moved away from him upon hearing his words. "I just want to erase every lie she's put in your head so that you see your worth to your coworkers, to the children and all of your patrons- including me."
"It's none of your business," Regina said sharply, standing up to face him. "I have a lot to do, so I really need to get back to work. Have a good night, Robin."
She walked away briskly, and once he couldn't see her anymore, Robin put his head in his hands. He thought that he was doing well, earning her trust. But one false move, and her walls had shot back up as if they had been built overnight.
Then his thoughts turned from her to Roland, and he had an idea. He thought he might have a way to entertain his godson with the adventures of Roni and comfort Regina at the same time. All he needed was some paper and something to draw with…
A few days later, Robin picked up Roland from school as he always did when they spent time together.
He had told his godson that he had a surprise for him on the phone the night before. So of course, the first words out of Roland's mouth were, "I want to know what my surprise is! Please?!"
Robin smiled conspiratorily and shook his head. "I can't yet, Roland. We have to get home and have dinner first, all right?"
"Okay," Roland agreed dejectedly.
Unlike the previous weekend that Roland had joined them, Roni was able to join them for less of the time that Roland was there. She had insisted on cooking spaghetti and meatballs, Roland's favorite, for his first night with them, and wouldn't take no for an answer when Robin had told her that they usually had pizza and other unhealthy foods when his godson visited.
Robin had finally acquiesced under the condition that he helped Roni in the kitchen- he knew cooking and cleaning up the mess afterward were time-consuming tasks. In the end, he and Roland watched a cartoon while Roni did the dishes, and while Robin felt guilty about it, he had to admit that the time with the kindergartener was something he wouldn't trade for anything, so he was grateful that Roni had allowed him to have the opportunity to have more quality time with his favorite child.
"Uncle Robin, can I see the surprise now?" Roland pleaded.
Robin smiled. Someday, he would have to come up with a way to gently suggest to his friends that they needed to teach Roland to have patience. For now, he decided to indulge his godson's eagerness.
He led him to his studio, to the same small easel that had previously held the color by numbers he had created of Roni for Roland. In its place was a maze for Roland to work his way through with a pencil, with Robin and Roni, dressed as explorers, at the edge of the maze and a castle at its center.
"I LOVE IT!" Roland yelled, his eyes wide with excitement. He frowned. "But that might not take long, what else are we going to do?"
"Turn it over," Robin instructed.
Roland followed his instructions, and when he did, he found a larger version of the castle that Robin intended for him to color. He had created two copies of the maze, one for his godson and one for Regina, to encourage her, and he hoped that the maze would give her hope that she could find her place in the world, and that he wanted to help her get there. But the castle he had created for his godson alone.
"When are we going to do it, Uncle Robin?" Roland asked eagerly.
He knelt to look his godson in the eye. "I was thinking we could do this in the courtyard of the library tomorrow."
"Yes!" Roland readily agreed.
"If we do," Robin cautioned, not breaking eye contact with the boy, "We have to be careful. The lady who inspired me to create Roni works at the library, and we can't tell her about Roni, because it would scare her. All right?"
"Okay- but why would it scare her?" Roland asked.
Robin paused for a moment, unsure of exactly how to explain an adult's thinking to his young godson. Finally, he decided that a lesson in empathy was the best approach. "How would you feel if you suddenly found out that you had a twin that Papa and Mama hadn't told you about?"
"Happy!" Roland exclaimed. "I'd like having another friend to play with!"
Robin laughed and shook his head. Of course the child's logic would present the situation in that way. "Well, I know that Ms. Regina, the lady who looks just like Ms. Roni, would just be scared. It's not every day that someone finds out that someone looks just like them, and aren't even their sibling, but something created by someone else. So we need to not tell Ms. Regina about Ms. Roni, all right? She likes being alone because she doesn't make friends easily, and I've worked really hard to earn her trust and might finally be getting somewhere- so I really don't think that telling Ms. Regina about Ms. Roni is a good idea, all right?"
"Okay Uncle Robin," Roland agreed.
Once they were at the library the next day, Robin immediately started looking for Regina to give her the copy of the maze that he had made for her.
They finally found her with Henry in the children's section. Roland's face lit up. "Uncle Robin, look! I can make a new friend!"
"Indeed, you can," Robin confirmed, lamenting the fact that he hadn't made three copies of the maze. But if he had to guess, Regina would likely give the maze to her son anyway, so his worries were unnecessary.
Roland, being the outgoing boy Marian had raised him to be, walked straight up to Henry and asked, "Hi, I'm Roland. What's your name?"
"Henry," the older boy responded.
"My uncle and I have a gift for your mama," Roland blurted out brightly.
"You do?" Regina inquired, her eyebrows raising. "Your uncle's told you about me?"
"Yup!" was the cheery answer the child gave. Robin knelt down and told Roland, "Why don't you go out to the courtyard with Henry and show him the different colors you brought to color the castle?"
"Okay!" the oblivious Roland agreed as he took Henry's hand and the two of them walked quickly toward the doors of the courtyard a few feet away.
Once they were out of earshot, Robin held out the maze, hoping that the distraction would deter any further questioning Regina wanted to subject him to.
"What's this?" she asked with a puzzled frown.
"Do you remember the other day?" was his hesitant response. He didn't like reminding her of a time she was vulnerable because he knew she wouldn't appreciate it, but he knew that just this once, it was the right thing to do.
She frowned, and her eyes narrowed. "Of course. What does," she looked down at the sheet of paper now held in her hands, "a maze have to do with that?"
"It's symbolic," Robin explained. "It's supposed to encourage you that even though you might think it's difficult at times, you can find a place you belong, a place where you're happy." He hesitated before adding, "And if you'll let me, I'll gladly do anything I can to help you find it."
"That's…" Regina's voice trailed off as she continued to stare down at the maze in her hand, and Robin held his breath, waiting for her verdict. Would she be angry with him for reminding him of that day, or would she thank him for trying to help in this small, seemingly insignificant way? "I don't appreciate being reminded of this incident-"
"I know, and I'm sorry, but-" Robin began, only to have Regina cut him off.
"I don't appreciate it, but I think I do see what you were trying to do, and it's… surprisingly sweet, actually."
"What was that?" Robin teased, grinning down at her smaller frame.
"You heard me, don't make me say it again." Regina warned. "Now, let's go rejoin the boys, shall we?"
He nodded, and together they walked out to the courtyard, where the boys were happily sorting through the different colors in Roland's crayon box, hoping to find the perfect colors for the maze and castle.
As Robin listened, he could tell that they were disagreeing on what colors to use. Looking toward Regina, he could tell that she knew the children were in disagreement as well, and from the look on her face, he thought he knew what she was about to do.
Sure enough, she held out the maze Robin had given her to Henry. "Here, Henry, you can color this one for me. That way, you don't have to agree on what colors to use, you both can each create your own masterpieces."
"But Mom, what about you?" Henry asked. "He made it just for you, don't you want it?"
Regina smiled. "I do, but it's not complete yet. You know I'm terrible at doing mazes, and you're the best pathfinder I know. So I'm positive that you can help me do that maze. And when you do, it'll go on the fridge so we can share it."
"Okay!" Henry acquiesced.
For the rest of the afternoon, Robin and Regina watched Henry and Roland laugh and chat as they completed the maze. For a moment, Robin looked at the scene and knew that a casual passerby would assume they were a family- and he suspected that this fascinating woman would challenge him every day, but that a relationship with her, a life with her, would be worth it.
Another pair of brown eyes came to his mind's eye, and he was jolted back to reality as an important question put an immediate halt to his daydream…
What about Roni?