May 25, 2011

More than ten years had passed by since Emma's first ventured in the past. She was pretty much used to her time. Life was simple and her job was stable. The events of the past became a distant memory as she continued to work her busy job and got lost in the culture of the 21st century. Raising her son by herself was taxing, but she wouldn't trade the experience or the memories as long as he was happy. Looking at the clock she stood up with a start. She needed to take off early from work to spend the rest of the day with her son. Her eyes darted to her boss's glass office when she realized what she needed to do. Pushing her chair in, she made her way in his direction. His door was open and she waltzed in but stopped when her boss angrily yelled in the telephone receiver.

Her face burned bright red when he glared at her, slightly irritated. She wished he closed his door so she wouldn't have barged in.

"What?" He asked Emma, holding the receiver away from his ear to listen to her.

"I'm taking off," she said.

"Hold on a second, Emma," he acknowledged her by holding his index finger up.

"I don't care what she says. Tell her that you want a prenup or you won't marry her."

Emma raised an eyebrow at the conversation. Whatever her boss was going through was none of her business. It didn't sound pleasant, but she knew he was going to tell her anyway.

"Sorry, my son is getting married to some girl he met at a bar. She has a reputation of marrying guys and divorcing them for money," he said, covering the mouthpiece to prevent his son from hearing his gossip.

Her boss had a compelling need to share too much personal information to all his employees. Some of the information was best to remain private, but she gave up trying to understand her boss years ago.

"What was it you needed? " He asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"I'm taking the rest of the day off. I'm not taking any calls for new cases for the rest of the day," she informed politely.

This day was important for her. She wasn't going to allow work to ruin it.

"That's fine, have a good day," he replied tersely, slightly irritated, bringing the receiver back to his ear.

When she saw him gesture her out with his hand, she hoped that he paid attention to what she said. Only time will tell whether he heard her.

"No, alimony is out of the question. See, you aren't even married and she's already bringing up alimony!"

Emma heard him yell as she walked out of the office.

Emma was leaning against a tree, waiting for Henry to get out of school. She made record time beating traffic to get to their designated meeting spot. Her mouth upturned into a small smile as she pictured his happy face once she showed him the contents of the box she was holding. The school bell rang and all the children of the elementary school flooded out of the building. Some went to their parents and others boarded the school bus to go home.

She could see her son walk out of the building. Her mood soured a little when she saw his form. His nose was buried in the horrible storybook that was mailed to her doorstep one evening a few years ago. At first, she didn't think anything of it but gave it to him because it looked like a children's fairytale book. She regretted it because he said that Emma was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming since there was baby wrapped in a blanket with the name Emma engraved on it. The idea was absurd and there was no possible way that she was the daughter of some fairytale character. Her parents abandoned her on the side of the road. If they were fairytale characters, then her life wouldn't be normal. Normal was good and safe. One day out of sick curiosity she looked at it, and she saw a picture that had uncanny resemblance to Rumpelstiltskin. To her horror, it told the story of him and Milah, but thankfully, it didn't mention anything about Killian Jones. Emma tried hiding the book for a while, trying to get her son to forget about it and stop his belief of her parentage. Her resolve only lasted a week because she couldn't stand to see her son mope around, trying to look for the book he thought he misplaced.

"Hey, Kid," she greeted.

Her son looked up from the book and smiled at her. At his acknowledgement, she strode forward to meet him, stopping right in front of him.

"Look what I got." She lifted the white box in her hand.

His eyes furrowed in thought before they brightened. "Cupcakes?!"

"Yes, sir," she confirmed, ruffling his hair.

He followed her lead as she began to walk. She listened as he talked about his day. Henry could talk for hours if he could. Eventually, they reached the local park across from his school. She gestured to a bench that wasn't covered in pigeon poop and they both sat down.

Emma opened the box to begin sorting the contents.

"Mom, are you happy?" Henry asked, concern laced in his tone.

His question caused Emma to pause. She looked at him and saw the frown on his face. He was supposed to be happy. Really, he was the most selfless kid in the world, worrying for her well-being at his age. She wanted to know what brought this question on his special day.

"Of course, I'm with my most favorite person in the world," she deflected with a smile. "Why do you ask?" She asked seriously, holding his cupcake.

Her response caused him to look at his shoes in contemplation. "It's just that most moms date or remarry when they are alone, but there's no one special for you."

Her kid was too observant for his own good. She felt uncomfortable at his statement. What was with his sudden interest with her relationship status? She didn't want to try dating. Dating led to marriage. She could mark marriage off her checklist. It was an experience that she never wanted to attempt again.

"I haven't really thought about it- being busy and all," she dismissed with a shrug. The incredulous look on her son's face told her that he didn't buy it. It was time for a new tactic to distract him. "It's not every day you turn ten." She stated, putting the number ten candle on the cupcake and placing the cupcake in his hand. Bringing out the lighter, she lit the candle.

Her actions didn't change her son's sullen mood. He stared at the cupcake intently before blowing out the candle.

"So, what did you wish for?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"If I tell you, it won't come true," he answered with a cheeky smile.

Suddenly, her phone started to ring. Sighing in irritation, she pulled out her phone from her pants pocket. She specifically told the office not to call her on her son's birthday. Her finger was getting ready to push the ignore button until the display screen caught her interest.

"Huh."

"Is everything alright, Mom?" Her son asked, concern laced in his tone.

She frowned when she saw the location on the Caller ID.

"I don't know anyone in Maine," she admitted.

She was very tempted to let the call go to voicemail. It would be easier to deal with the caller once she knew the person's identity. Her son was more important than dealing with the stranger. Once the ringer died, she turned her attention to her son.

When she opened her mouth to talk, the phone rang again with the same caller. Of course, she had to get one of those callers who repeatedly called without leaving a voicemail. She let out a frustrated sigh. Peace was going to elude her if she didn't answer.

"Hello, " she greeted, slightly annoyed.

She hoped she wasn't dealing with a telemarketer. If she was, she was going to hang up.

"Is this, Emma Swan?" The accented voice asked. The caller sounded vaguely familiar.

"Yes…" Emma answered confused. Where had she heard that voice before? Her pride wanted to ask the identity but her stubbornness wanted to recall the name.

"You're a very hard person to find. I tried calling you months ago," the voice drawled, slightly irritated.

Emma's eyes widened when she recognized the voice, her hand gripping the phone hard. Her free hand went through her hair as realized why she got the phone call. Her chance at normal was about to end, and she was going to miss every moment of it.

Next: Welcome to Storybrooke