Mother paced back and forth across the room, biting her lip and wringing her hands nervously. "I'm not sure about this, Regina," she said.
"Come on, Mother, you can't back out now," I said. "Eleanor is going to be here soon."
We were in the room I was letting my mother use until she could find her own place. My mother didn't like that plan at all, having grown accustomed to living with a large family in one large castle since she married my father. Although it had only been a couple weeks since she drank the memory potion, she had already settled in my home. I reminded her, however, that we didn't live in a castle, and it wasn't necissary for a woman of my age to be living with her mother. She still wasn't convinced, but eventually she realized that she didn't have much choice in the matter, and if she didn't agree to look for other living arangements, I could always kick her out of the house.
"I know, but that's just the point," she said. "I haven't seen her in years...what if..."
"Mother, you literally saw her yesterday."
"You know what I mean."
"I know, but believe me, it's better to run the risk of rejection than to give up. Also, remember that she asked you to go on this date," I reminded her.
"I know, but I'm so tired and I worked so hard today, I must be disgusting!" she protested.
I sighed in exasperation. "Okay, first of all, you took a shower, so you're fine. Second, it's your fault you have to do community service, since you came into town and immediately tried to get rid of our sherrif. And third, your community service is working at the hospital and the library, so stop using that as an excuse. Trust me, you could have gotten a lot worse."
She glared at me for a moment, then sighed. "You're right. You're right!" she allowed, flinging her arms in the air. "I'm not really that tired, I'm just..." She trailed off.
"Nervous?"
Mother smiled, looking at me in appreciation. "Yes."
"Don't be," I said. "Everything is going to be fine. She's still crazy about you, you know."
"How can you be so sure?" she asked, her voice sounding anxious and strained.
"It's not that hard to tell," I assured her. "Also, because she asked you out."
My mother chuckled. "I suppose that's true, but there is still one problem."
"What's that?"
Mother looked at me, her brow furrowed in worry. "What on earth am I going to wear?"
I laughed. "Don't you worry about that. I will make sure that by the time you leave, you are looking nothing short of your best." I took her hand and gently lead her out the door, down the hall, and into my room. Finally, I brought her to my closet and stopped her in front of my full-length mirror. "Now, let's see what we've got here..." I said, opening the door and thumbing through my assortment of dresses.
"Can't I just wear what I have on?" she asked.
"Definitely not," I replied. "First of all, pantsuits are for work, not for a date. Second, she's already seen you in that outfit."
She looked down at her favorite black pantsuit, playing with the corner of her jacket. "I...I guess so."
I smiled in understanding. "Don't worry, mother: you're in good hands." Then I turned to the closet and debated what to try.
"Aha!" I cried triumphantly and pulled out the winner. I held it up and displayed it to my mother.
She took one look and shook her head, her eyes widening in shock. "No. No, Regina, no."
"Trust me, Mother, this will look fantastic on you."
"Regina, no. I am not wearing that." She crossed her arms in defiance and turned away from me.
"Oh, yes, you are!" I said. With a flick of my wrist the dress disappeared from the hanger and my mother was enveloped in a cloud of purple smoke. After a few seconds she emerged, and I was amazed at what I saw.
"Regina, honestly? I can't believe..."
"Mother," I interupted, "look at yourself in the mirror."
"Honestly, I don't know what you're expecting, because-" She stopped midsentence as she turned to face her reflection. "Oh," she breathed.
"Exactly," I said, smiling smugly.
My mother was in a crimson off-the-shoulder dress with a sweetheart neckline that hugged her figure down to the belt line just above the hip, where the circle skirt flowed freely down below her knees. Her hair was off to one side, a waterfall of soft curls cascading down over her shoulder. A small rose clip held her hair flat over her other ear, and she wore strappy red heels on her feet. Light gold and brown eyes and a bold red lip finished the look.
Mother took a step forward, examining her reflection further. "I'm..."
"You're beautiful, Mother," I said, stepping forward and gently putting my hand on her shoulder. I was stunned at how much younger she looked, but I couldn't tell if it was the dress, the hair, or the hope dancing in her eyes. This wasn't the woman who raised me: she was happy.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
"Oh no!" Mother exclaimed. "Oh no no no no no! I'm not ready, Regina. I had no idea she was coming so soon! I still have so much to do..."
"Mother, don't worry," I said soothingly. "You don't have that much left. I'll go let her in, you grab your bag and everything else. Other than that, you're ready to go."
She sighed and nodded her head. "Alright. I'll...I'll be right down." Then she turned and disappeared into the closet.
As I walked down the stairs, the doorbell rang again. "Just a moment!" I called down. I started moving more quickly, almost running down the stairs in my stocking feet. Right as I got to the last few steps I slipped and almost hit my head on the stairs. However, before I conneted with the floor, my hand shot out and grasped the banister, and my feet hit the floor below the stairs. I hung an inch above the stairs for a split second before I straightened myself back up. I took a moment to gather my thoughts and calm down after my near-death experience. Finally, I brushed it off and went to open the door. There Eleanor stood, in a tight royal-blue dress that accented her curvy figure, with a moderate v-neck and three-quarter sleeves. Her hair was in perfect curls that framed her face nicely, and her makeup was soft, with light pink lips and gold and brown shadow that brought out her baby-blue eyes.
She smiled at me with the softness of motherly affection. "Hello, Regina," she said.
"Eleanor," I said, returning her smile. "Please, come in." She walked in the doorway, and as soon as the door shut behind her we embraced. In that moment, I remembered every embrace we shared when I used to help her in her bakery as a girl. Those moments had been so special to me; I almost felt like Eleanor was more my mother than Cora. But that was years ago, and things were different now. Even still, the familiar smell of her floral perfume still filled me with a sense of calm and security.
Finally, we pulled apart, still smiling. "Eleanor?"
"Yes?" she asked.
I hesitated, debating whether or not I should tell her what was on my mind. "I'm so happy you're back in my life again," I finally said. "I've missed you."
Her smile widened, her eyes dancing with joy. "Oh, I've missed you too, Regina." Then her gaze shifted over my shoulder, and her eyes widened. I turned to see what had caught her attention. My mother was walking down the stairs elegantly, one hand on the banister, the other holding a red clutch with gold clasps. As her gaze fell to the woman at the bottom of the stairs, her face lit up, and her pace quickened. She walked too quickly, stumbling on the stair just as I had earlier. She fell forward, straight into Eleanor's waiting arms. They merely sat there, gazing into each other's eyes for a moment. Then Eleanor cleared her throat, pulling my mother up on her feet.
"Um..." Eleanor said, struggling to find the words. "You...you look amazing."
Mother blushed. "Thank you. So do you." They stood there for another moment awkwardly. Finally, mother spoke. "I suppose...we should be going now..."
Eleanor snapped back into her senses. "Yes, yes we should. Let's go." She extended an arm out to Mother, who took it with a wide grin. They started walking out the door towards Eleanor's car.
"Have fun kids," I said, chuckling. This earned a small laugh from the both of them, and they waved at me. I closed the door as they drove out of sight.
I spent almost an hour busying myself, finding meaningless tasks to do around the house. However, I quickly ran out of things to do. Finally, I caved and stood in front of my mirror in the hall. I waved my hand, and an image appeared: Eleanor and my mother were sitting across from each other at one of the only fancy restaurants in Storybrooke. It seemed like they were working on their entree while they talked. I couldn't discern what it was they were eating, but knowing where they were, it had to have been delicious. There was a small lantern on the table to set the mood, and no other people in their immediate vicinity. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but someone must have said something funny, because they both suddenly doubled over with laughter. My mother put a hand over her mouth to stop from sending whatever food was in it sailing across the restaurant. It took them a few moments to compose themselves, but the laughter of the moment still danced in their eyes.
Suddenly I heard the door open to my left, and the sound of someone kicking off their shoes. "Regina!" I heard Emma call out. I turned to look at her just as she closed the door. She turned around, her eyes finally finding me, and smiled. Then she looked closer, and looked at me from the corner of her eye with suspicion. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," I said. I tried to subtly clear the mirrror of the image, but Emma saw my hand move.
"Are you spying on someone?" she asked.
"No," I said, but my tone sounded unconvincing, even to me.
Emma didn't buy it. "You were spying on your mother, weren't you?" she guessed.
"No?"
She raised an eyebrow at me, walking towards me. When she finally reached me, her face softened, and she put a hand on my shoulder. "She'll be alright," she assured me. "She's a grown-up, she can take care of herself."
"I know," I retorted, overly defensive. "I wasn't spying on her...just checking in."
Emma nodded. Then she smiled mischeviously. "I think..." she said in a low voice, "that there are much more enjoyable things to do when we have the house to ourselves." She stepped closer and started running her fingers along my back. I shivered, my back arching at her touch. She took a step forward, pressing herself against my body and resting her chin on my shoulder. Her cheek brushed against mine, and her lips tickled my ear as she whispered to me. "I could...distract you for a while," she purred. My breathing quickened, my stomach fluttering. I heard a ragged sigh escape my lips.
"And..." I asked, struggling to find the words, "and how long...is a while?"
"It can be all night, if you wanted," she whispered. "Henry is with my parents tonight, so the house is ours."
"The whole house?"
Emma chuckled. "Yes, Regina, the whole house." Then I felt her hand move across my body, pulling me closer and closer to her. Her lips glided down my cheek, below my chin, until they reached my neck. She started gentl, planting small kisses in the more sensitive areas of my neck. Then she grew hungrier, wilder, sucking and biting on my collar, but not too hard. I moaned in pleasure, pressing my body against hers, trying to somehow get even closer. Then she whipped me around to face her, and before I had time to think her lips were against mine. We devoured each other, never separating even as we made our way upstairs. As we moved, we began to remove our clothing, only separating to lift our shirts above our heads. I was impatient, so I began undoing the button on Emma's pants. She didn't object, however, and continued leading me into the bedroom.
By the time we made it there, we were only in our underwear. I threw Emma on the bed, and quickly scrambled to join her. I straddled her, and immediately leaned down to kiss her more. She was still wearing the apple-flavored lip balm I loved so much. God, it drove me crazy. It was difficult to break contact with her, but eventually I did, and I paused to gaze at the glorious creature beneath me, breathing heavily, her heart racing in her chest.
"What's wrong?" Emma asked, concerned.
I shook my head. "Nothing, I just...I'm just so happy. I'm still not sure if it's real."
Emma smiled lovingly, rubbing my thigh with her soft hand. Then her eye glinted mischeviously. "Why don't you get back down here so I can show you how real this is?" she said in a low voice. I giggled obliged, giving myself up to my gorgeous wife.
The End