"How do you know Regina?" Emma asked.

"I don't. I met her yesterday sitting right as a matter of fact. She was looking as sad as you look now over a woman named Emma. Seemed like when she left, she had her head on straight about the situation. Was planning on heading home to talk it out, but since you are sitting here, I am guessing that didn't happen."

"I came here to find her actually."

"And?"

"And I managed to end things between us before they even got started. Now she won't even speak to me and I am sitting here on a bench talking with a stranger because I am an idiot."

"I am sure you aren't an idiot."

"Oh yeah? Let me tell you what I did."

She proceeded to tell him everything from the beginning, her feelings for Regina, the plot with Henry, the attempts at jealousy, leaving her son with her parents so she could chase after Regina only to end up mucking it all up by admitting to Regina that she had in fact done all of these things.

"I take it back, you are an idiot Emma."

"Jeez thanks Frank."

"No problem. But lucky for you, your problem isn't unfixable. Now Regina loves you, that much is plain to see, and you love her, so you two are already part way where you need to be. The funny thing about love is that lots of people claim to have it – and maybe they do, but the ones that last they know it's not enough just to love a person, you have to show them that no matter how many years pass the love won't fade and you will never stop showing that person how much you love them. That's what's wrong with couples today. They blame their busy lives for why they only say I love you on their anniversary or holidays. There wasn't a day that went buy that I didn't tell my Karen that I loved her. You want to know why I did that? I did because one it was true, and two, I never wanted the day to come when she doubted that love."

"But lip service isn't enough either. I smoked for a good part of my young life. Karen couldn't stand it. She asked, more like insisted I quit. I told her I would, but I kept sneaking around behind her back to smoke. Lord, the day that woman caught me we got into this huge blow. She stood her ground, and I stood mine. She wouldn't talk to me, she wouldn't look at me. Three days passed and even though I kept saying I love you, she ignored me. That's when I realized I was risking something beautiful over something stupid. It was the last day I ever smoked.

"So my question to you is are you ready to stop being an idiot and get your girl back?"

"Yes, but …"

"Patience, young one. You don't get to be my age without knowing a few things. Let me ask you this, do you have any idea why Regina didn't take to your original plot with the essay?"

"I don't know. I thought at first it was because she just didn't see me that way, but now that I know that she does I am not sure."

"And the jealousy routine, why didn't she fall for that?"

Emma shrugged, "again, I thought at first it was because she wasn't interested or I was reading the signs wrong."

Frank sighed. "It's because you weren't being honest. That is why it didn't work and why she is upset now. Because if you couldn't be up front and honest with her over something this important, how can she expect you are being honest when you say you want to be with her?"

Emma looked down, knowing that Frank was right.

"I was scared," she said finally. "I was scared of this being some one-sided thing. All I have ever wanted in life was to have a family of my own. I have parents, but I didn't meet them until a few years ago because they had um given me up and I was raised in the foster system. We have a great relationship now, but I knew something was missing. I got a piece of it when I met Henry and started to get to know him. Then out of blue, one day I am over at Regina's and I am eating dinner with her and Henry and I just knew. I knew that there was where I wanted to be and this amazingly, beautiful woman who was also mother to my son was who I wanted to be with. But, I got scared because I just didn't know if she could see me that way. I had to know before …"

"Before you took that final leap into love?"

"Yeah," Emma said.

"I think you are ready then," Frank said. "Now let me tell you what you are going to do to get your girl back."