Chapter Two: Neighbors

On Saturday, Henry woke up bright and early, excited for his first job. Regina was already awake sitting on the bar stools at the island drinking her first cup of coffee for the day. Her dark hair was pulled back in a loose bun at the top of her head and she was still wearing her matching blue, satin pajamas. When she heard her son go into the bathroom to get ready for his busy day, she stood up to start cooking him breakfast.

She placed the skillet on the stove and turned on the flame to heat it up while she opened the refrigerator for the turkey bacon. She spread coconut oil (much healthier than vegetable or olive oil) onto the pan and placed the bacon on the side with the lower flame. Next she pulled out the box of pancake mix and a bowl, adding water to the powdery substance. Normally she'd be against the boxed mixes, but for whatever reason, Henry had a fondness for the Cracker Barrel mix that she could only ever find online (her mistake for taking him there on their ski trip to the Poconos a few years ago). She filled the ladle with the batter and poured it into the skillet in perfect silver dollar circles. She grabbed the chocolate chips from the baking cabinet and added them to a few of the pancakes, a special surprise for her not-so-little working boy.

She timed it perfectly, for when she flipped the last of his pancakes onto a plate with his extra crispy bacon, Henry was walking down the hall toward the kitchen. She put his plate in front of his seat which was already set with utensils, maple syrup, and a glass of chocolate milk (the only proper breakfast beverage when one eats chocolate chip pancakes, according to him). She set her breakfast next to his: two pancakes topped with banana, one slice of turkey bacon, and a small bowl of vanilla Greek yogurt with strawberries.

"This is perfect, mom. Thank you," Henry said with a bright smile, not hesitating to pour an excessive amount of syrup onto his plate.

"Anything for you, my Prince," she smiled back, watching him dig in before starting on her own breakfast. Unlike her growing son, she took her time eating; her glasses resting at the edge of her nose as she scanned through the morning paper and sipped her coffee.

"What time will the UHaul be arriving?" She asked, still speed reading an article about the upcoming Presidential election while scooping some yogurt into her mouth.

"Robin said they'd be getting here around ten, but I wanted to give myself enough time to eat something and maybe even pack myself a lunch. I'm not sure how long it's going to take so I want to be prepared," he said, pausing every so often between words to take a bite and swallow knowing his mother would scold him for talking with his mouth full.

"I packed you a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich on wheat with an apple. There are a few water bottles packed too. I don't want you to get dehydrated from all that heavy lifting," she said, flipping the page of the paper before adding, "It's in the orange lunchbox in the fridge."

"You're a superhero," he said with a laugh, dipping a slice of bacon into the puddle of syrup on his plate and shoving it in his mouth. Regina looked over the top of her glasses at him, admiring how much her son had grown and feeling an overwhelming sense of pride and appreciation that he was starting to become a respectable young man. "What are your plans today?"

"I have some cleaning to do around the house. The perks of raising a teenage boy," she joked and took a bite of her pancakes, making sure to get a piece of banana for every forkful. "I'd like to try and make it to my yoga class later on. Then I have a few things to look over for work, but overall it's not as busy a day as you'll be having, that's for sure. Are you excited?"

Henry nodded through the last big bite of his pancake and took a big gulp of chocolate milk as he stood up to rinse off his plate. He placed it and his silverware into the dishwasher as he said, "I can't wait. I know it's gonna be hard work, but it'll be worth it when I see how happy Grace is when I can finally afford a place fancier than Granny's Diner for our next date."

Regina felt her heart flutter at his words. He was a gentleman at 14 years old. She couldn't imagine what a hopeless romantic he would grow to become, but she knew that whatever girl was in his life would be very lucky to have him.

"Have you gotten any other calls for your 'odd jobs?'"

"Emma called and said her and Graham's squad car could use a wash one of these days, but we didn't discuss anything permanent yet," he opened the fridge and pulled out his lunchbox to place it on the counter with the rest of his things.

"Who knows, if you do a good job, maybe the whole station will be coming to you to wash their cars," she chuckled, growing full from the heaviness of her breakfast. She couldn't remember the last time she made pancakes and actually ate them herself. She was always running out so quickly that coffee ended up being her breakfast most days, unless she stopped at Starbucks for a pastry on her way into the office.

"That would be nice," Henry chuckled, leaning across the counter to clear his mother's plate for her. He'd always been responsible for discarding his own, but this was the first time he ever did it for her. Regina smiled, slightly impressed by his actions. She looked at the clock on the wall: 9:45. She turned her attention back to her son who was putting the rest of the dishes into the dishwasher as she stood from her seat.

"You better get going in case they get here early," she walked toward him as he dried his hands. He nodded and turned to gather his things when she pulled him into a hug. At first, he kept his hands at his sides, embarrassed by her gesture. But he gave in with a smile and hugged her back, wrapping his arms gently around her waist. Regina rested her cheek against the side of his head and closed her eyes, appreciating the rare moment of affection with her son. She pulled back, keeping her hands on his shoulders, "Don't work too hard, you hear me? And make sure you keep in touch with me about when you'll be home so I can plan for dinner."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he joked and she smacked his arm.

"You better watch it or I'll take that lunch back for myself," she laughed. "You have your keys?"

"Yeah. I found one of those belt clips for them," he reached down and jingled the keys that were hanging on his hip.

"Alright. I'll be home most of the day if you need anything, but I'll let you know if I leave," she walked him to the door as she spoke. "Have a good day, sweetie. I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks, mom," Henry stood taller, feeling a sense of his own pride and happy that his mother always saw the best in him. He started to leave, but turned just before she shut the door to say, "I love you."

Regina's heart felt heavy in her chest. She always knew her son loved her. Of course she knew that. And she loved him more than anything. But the vocal expression of his feelings was a rarity that always took her by surprise.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Have fun."

Regina changed from her silk pajamas into a pair of Capri length yoga pants and a fitted exercise tank. Her hair was still in a bun, but she had fixed it, a headband holding in any loose strands that were out during breakfast.

She'd started the dishwasher after Henry left and looked through the refrigerator and the cabinets to make a grocery list for herself for her Sunday trip to the market the next day. She used a magnet to hold the list against the door of the metal fridge before making her way into the bathroom she shared with her son to clean it.

They lived in a two bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; on the corner of Madison Avenue and 81st Street, to be exact. It was one of the nicer apartment buildings in the city that was still affordable to someone like Regina. Sure, she was a successful attorney, but she was still a single parent, which weighed down her wallet immensely.

The master bedroom had a balcony that faced Central Park and gave her the perfect view of her favorite museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Henry's room was half the size of hers and was decorated with various comic book and video game posters.

The walls were kept white, a stipulation written into their lease by the landlord, Mr. Gold. It was rather plain when they moved in, but Regina did the best with what she had. For the most part, she stuck to a modern design as a theme for their humble abode. The furniture followed a black, gray, and white palette with splashes of color here and there. For example, the couch in the living room was a black leather sofa with a matching arm chair in a catty corner off to the side. Hanging over the back of it was a white, decretive throw blanket and there were small, red pillows to add a touch of color to the room.

Hung along the walls were picture frames in various shades of red to match the pillows, but the photos inside were black and white to go along with the theme. Her bedroom followed suit only with more earth tones accenting the white walls rather than red. Even the bathroom followed the black and white design only there were subtle touches of blue and beige, somewhat reflecting a beach. Henry's room was the only one in the apartment that steered away from her color scheme, but he was a 14 year old boy so who could blame him?

After the bathroom was clean, Regina decided against a shower and gathered her things to go to her yoga class. She hadn't been able to make it for a few weeks since she'd been overwhelmed with negotiations for August Booth. Now that things were finally starting to settle down, she could find the time to focus her energy.

Regina loved to exercise. She never openly admitted to it because she secretly enjoyed making people think she was just naturally that fit. But the truth is, she's a fitness junkie. She invested in a treadmill for her office at the law firm so she could exercise while taking phone calls or reading through contracts whenever she couldn't make it to yoga.

She has always been set on keeping a healthy home, teaching Henry about nutrition and portion control. He was still a boy and she was still a woman so there would always be some type of chocolate in the house. That was written into law in their apartment rulebook. But for the most part, they were a healthy family.

Regina grabbed her yoga mat and gym bag from her closet after pulling on her sneakers, hanging them around her shoulders as she made her way into the kitchen. She pulled out her cell phone to text Henry: Going to yoga. Be back in an hour. How's it going? She pressed send and put her phone in her pocket as she took her keys from her purse. She exited her home, locking the door behind her before putting the keys into her gym bag as her phone chimed signaling a response from her son.

It's a lot of work, but I'm having fun. Robin is a professor of English at Columbia so we've been talking a lot about literature. He's a really cool dude.

She smiled at his response, happy he was enjoying himself at his new 'job.' A professor at an Ivy League university, Regina thought to herself, impressed. She responded to her son: Glad you're having a good time. Did you eat your lunch?

His response came back almost immediately. It always amazed her how quickly he could type: We're taking a break in a few minutes for a bite. And before you ask, yes, I've been keeping myself hydrated. :p

Regina pressed the button on the elevator to take it down to the lobby. She typed her response as she waited: You know me so well. I'll check in with you again after yoga. Keep up the good work! Xoxo.

The elevator arrived with a ding and she walked inside, pressing the button for the lobby as she put her phone into her gym bag for safe keeping during her walk to the studio. She smiled again as she spotted her son's flier, very proud that his dedication was on display for all their neighbors to see. The doors opened and she stepped out onto the marble floors across from the row of mailboxes.

As she made her way toward the revolving doors across the lobby, she saw the UHaul truck parked out front, the hazard lights blinking to allow other cars to go around as it was being unloaded. Her curiosity peaked as she scanned her surroundings for this Ivy League professor Henry was working for. To her dismay, the trunk of the moving van was being slammed shut and locked before the driver pulled out into the busy, city traffic. She shrugged it off, assuming she'd run into her new neighbor sooner or later.

What Regina didn't realize was that as she was exiting the elevator into the lobby, Robin had stepped into the one next to it just seconds before with the last of the boxes for his apartment on the third floor.

"That should do it with the boxes and the furniture. I can't believe we're done loading everything in so soon," Robin said to Henry, wiping sweat from his forehead after placing the last of the boxes on the living room floor. The apartment had the same basic layout as Regina and Henry's only it was reversed because it was located on the opposite side of the hallway.

"The perks of having an extra hand around," Henry shrugged with a smirk before finishing off his water bottle and putting the empty plastic back into his lunchbox.

"Dad! My room is HUGE! There's so much space to do all sorts of things I couldn't do in the old apartment," Roland stated excitedly as he ran into the room. His father chuckled, Henry smiling to himself as well, at the hyperactive seven year old in front of them.

"It's much nicer too so we have to be careful not to do anything that will cost me my security deposit," the man joked, mostly to himself as he realized his son, and possibly Henry, had no idea what that meant.

"Mr. Gold is pretty serious about things being kept as you found them. I bet he took pictures of the place this morning before we started unloading your stuff," the older boy laughed softly.

"That doesn't surprise me. He seemed that way from the moment I met him," he shook his head and walked into the kitchen, opening various boxes to find some plates for the pizza that would be arriving any minute. "Roland, why don't you show Henry into the bathroom so you boys can wash up before the pizza gets here? I hope you don't mind or find it too pretentious: I ordered gluten free veggie pizza. As I've gotten older I've found that gluten and myself no longer get along the way we used to."

"Oh, I appreciate the offer, but I actually packed myself a sandwich. Thank you though," Henry nodded with a smile as he started to follow Roland who was dragging him by the hand.

"You're a growing boy who has been working hard all morning. I bet you could eat your sandwich and a slice of pizza in your sleep," Robin's voice grew louder as the boys disappeared from sight. He was right. Henry was working especially hard all day and a sandwich and a measly apple wouldn't be enough to hold him over until dinner with his mother.

"You do have a point, Mr. Locksley," he called out from the bathroom. He noticed Roland was rather small for a boy of his age as he observed the way he reached for the handles of the faucet to wash his hands. There was no step stool unpacked for him and none of the nearest boxes were heavy enough to hold his weight. "Here, let me give you a hand, buddy."

Henry lifted Roland up with one arm wrapped around his waist and leaned forward to turn on the cold water. He'd unpacked the dollar store liquid soap from the box labeled 'Today's Necessities' earlier that morning so Roland was able to squirt the soap into his own hands and rinse them thoroughly under the water.

"All clean?" Henry asked.

"Yup!" Roland nodded with a grin, holding his wet hands out in front of him as the older boy gently put him down. He ripped off a paper towel and handed it to the smaller boy with a smile so he could dry his hands. "Thanks, Henry."

"Sure thing, pal," he smiled and leaned forward to wash his own hands.

"Henry," Roland hid his hands behind his back and stood sheepishly in the doorway. "Are you my friend?"

"Do you want me to be your friend?"

Roland nodded, avoiding Henry's gaze out of fear that he'd be denied a new comrade. He was adorable and what harm would it do to give a little kid some attention every once in a while?

"Then I'd love to be your friend. That is, only if you'll be my friend too," he said as he shut the faucet and dried his own hands.

"Oh yeah! I think you're the coolest! Cooler than my dad," the little boy covered his mouth with a giggle. "Will you help me unpack my room after pizza? I want to show you all my cool stuff!"

"That sounds like loads of fun, kid. We'll ask your dad if it's okay and get to work once we fill our hungry bellies," he ruffled Roland's hair with a smile as they walked back toward the kitchen together. "Mine is so hungry, it's been talking to your belly. Did you know that?"

Robin heard the sound of giggles coming from his son and reacted immediately with a gentle smile. Henry was making silly noises that were supposed to be what their bellies were saying and Roland laughed, trying his best to participate in the fun. The pizza arrived while they were in the bathroom so he put a few slices on some plates and threw an old blanket on the floor for an indoor picnic until the table was set up.

The trio sat in a circle on the floor, scarfing down their pizza faster than they probably should have. The boys laughed and joked with one another about silly boy things like farts and comic books. Robin was astounded by the way his son embraced their moving help. He was holding an intelligent conversation about the Marvel Universe with a teenager and actually keeping up and enjoying himself. This was more of a blessing than he'd realized when he hired Henry for the day.

"Hey Dad," Roland said with his mouth full, but was quickly interrupted by Henry.

"Hey little man, it's not polite to talk with food in your mouth. We'll wait for you to finish, don't worry."

Oh yes. This was definitely a good thing. An older boy who was able to have fun and also politely discipline his son when appropriate; this was exactly what he was looking for.

"I'm sorry," Roland said after he swallowed. Henry nodded and gestured for him to continue what he was saying to his father. "So yeah. Dad. Could Henry help me unpack my room? I want to show him all my comics and my fairytale books."

"You like fairytales too? Those were my favorite when I was your age," the older boy said with a delighted smile, happy to humor the boy with a bit of over excitement about certain things.

"Please Dad?!" Roland exclaimed when he realized just how much cooler his new friend became in the last three seconds.

"I don't see why not. I can get a head start on the living room and kitchen. I may need his strong muscles when I'm ready to move the furniture, but otherwise, Henry is all yours," Robin said with a smile. "But go ahead and clear these plates like a big boy then head into your room. He'll meet you in there."

Roland jumped up and got right to work. When he left the room, Henry stretched his arms above his head and rubbed his stomach.

"Thanks again for the pizza, Mr. Locksley."

"Oh please. Call me Robin," he insisted.

"Sorry. My mom has always been strict about being proper and well-mannered. That's also why I told Roland not to talk with food in his mouth. It just came out. I hope I didn't overstep you, sir," Henry said, realizing he may have done something to offend his boss.

"Firstly, it would be Dr. Locksley if you were looking for my proper title. However, I'm not your teacher, so Robin is perfectly fine. I can assure your mother of my insistence if need be. Secondly, that's actually what I wanted to discuss with you."

Henry swallowed hard. Way to go, dummy. You had a good thing going here and you blew it, he thought to himself.

"On the contrary, I was quite the opposite of offended. Roland seems to have taken a liking to you and you to him. You can be his friend, but also a disciplinarian. A quality I assume you acquired from your mother from the way you've described her," he chuckled as he continued. "I need a babysitter of sorts for my son. Perhaps caretaker or paid confidant might be better terms, but be it as it may, I'd like to offer the position to you. I'd need you to take him to and from school and you'd only be needed for late nights on Mondays when I teach my evening lecture. Does something like this fall under the category of 'odd jobs?'"

"Wow! I'm honored you'd trust me to care for your son, thank you. He really is an awesome little kid. I just hope I'm not being too forward by asking what the pay rate is," he tried to be as professional as possible.

"I thought ten dollars per day on the days where you are only taking him to and from school. Mondays you'd receive the ten dollars with an additional 50 for your time with him in the evening. At least to start. With time, we can discuss a pay raise."

Henry calculated the total per week quickly in his head. 50 plus ten is 60, plus ten times the four other days is... That's a hundred bucks a week!

"That'd be awesome. Thank you, Robin," he said with a grin from ear to ear.

"When can you start?"

"Well, he has school Monday. How about then?" Henry said, excited to start making a steady income.

"I was hoping that would be your answer. Monday it is. Congratulations, Mr. Trotter. You're hired," Robin held out his hand with a laugh and Henry shook it firmly.