Regina Mills
Five long years and this woman shows up out of the blue and pretends like everything is okay. I will not allow her to come and disrupt my life once more. Especially with my son involved.
I still cannot understand how quickly Henry took to his birth mother. Henry has always been a shy little boy who never speaks to strangers, but the moment their eyes connected, it was like their souls connected as well. I was stunned watching the way he interacted with Emma. Maybe he senses some bond with her. She is his birth mother after all and she was around for a little over a month.
This is ludicrous, there's no way after one month he still feels a bond with her.
The scorching hot sun from our July weather was a bit much today. So, I decided to keep Henry inside in the air conditioning and watch some movies instead of facing that treacherous heat.
"I'm going to make us some sandwiches, you pick out what movie you want to watch okay honey?"
"Mommy, if I eat my sandwich and my side, can I have some ice cream?"
His green eyes dance with his adorable pout, knowing all too well that I could never truly say no to his face. I pull his little body into my lap and attack his ribs with playful tickles.
"Are you going to eat all your apple slices?"
His giggles burst from his lips as he squirms in my lap to free himself from my torturing fingertips.
"Mommy! Stop!" He gasps for air but I don't quit. The sweet sound of his laughter is music to my ears. It's always the highlight of my day.
"Never! Tell me, will you eat all your fruit?"
"I promise mommy!" He squeals, and my fingers desist.
I pull my son up onto my lap and kiss the top of his head. Henry breathes heavily into my chest as he tries to calm down from his fit of giggles.
"So, I get ice cream?" My son questions again while wiggling his eyebrows. I bark out an uncontrolled laugh from how adorable he is.
"Of course, sweetie." I kiss his forehead one last time before I gently maneuver him to sit down beside me. A soft knock echoed through my house causing my brows to pinch together in confusion. I wasn't expecting Robin until later. "Henry, stay here while I answer the door."
"Okay mommy."
I brush his shaggy hair to one side before I stand from the couch to answer the door. I didn't bother checking to see who was standing on the other side. I jerked open the door to find her behind it.
Long golden locks were pulled back into a high ponytail out of convince from the heat. My eyes drift a little lower to take in the tight white tank top, contrasting beautifully against her sun kissed skin. She is sporting dark jean shorts that expose way too much of her long, toned legs, forcing my feet to stayed glued to the ground.
"Hi," she mumbles as she shifts nervously between her feet.
"What do you want? I told you specifically to stay away!" I attempt to slam the door in her face because that's what she deserves, but she quickly wedges her foot in the doorway.
"Please can we talk?"
"There's nothing to discuss. You have no rights to Henry and I don't want you around my son!"
I push on my front door again, but her foot remains glued to the floor, clearly, she won't be caving anytime soon. No matter how many times I slam this door against her foot.
"Regina please talk to me," she pleads with those sorrowful green eyes, that remind me so much of my son.
I always did have a hard time denying those green orbs anything. Those eyes always shined bright like an open flame and I am the idiot moth that seems to get sucked in every time.
I open up the door just enough for me to squeeze through and step out onto the front porch. I shut the door behind me in hopes Henry won't over hear anything we are about to discuss.
"You abandoned us, Miss Swan. I could understand if it was just me but your child? The one you gave birth to? No! From the day he started growing inside of you, I was there. I watched him come into this world. I rocked him hours upon hours when he was colicky. I watched him grow from terrible twos to treacherous threes to the young boy I have now. He is my everything and if you think I'm going to let you walk back into our lives to hurt him once more than you aren't as smart as you think!"
"Please Regina, I had to do what was best for him. He was too young to know that I left. He knows you are his mother and that will never change. I made the best decision I could for him. I knew he would be better off without me. Look how amazing he is and that's because of you. Not me. I would just like a chance to get to know him."
We both fall quiet for a moment. The silence is unbearable as the tension builds between us. There's far too much history and things that were left unspoken, for either of us to really know what to say or do next.
"Did you get the money I sent for him?" She nervously breaks through the deafening silence, trying desperately to find a common ground where we won't argue.
"Yes. It's put aside for his future," I reply in a stern manner.
"Good, that's what I was hoping for."
More silence consumes us once again. The tension between us is like a thick fog, slowly swallowing us whole and suffocating us.
"You have no legal right to him. I have no obligation to let you see him. Five years Miss Swan, you have been away and then you show up and expect a relationship with him? While you were off being free and single, doing god knows what, instead of being here with your son."
"I was getting my masters! That's what I was off doing. You know that," she hastily snaps back looking somewhat annoyed of my accusations.
"Do I?"
"God Regina, I haven't even looked at another person since the day I left. The night we made love and said I love you was the last time I've been with someone," she confesses but I just roll my eyes in response. "I focused on my masters, worked my ass off, got help for my postpartum and thought about you two every day! That's what I've been doing the past five years!" She snaps just as the front door begins to open. Henry's messy hair pops out around the door as he peers up at me.
"Mom? I'm hungry, is lunch almost ready?"
"I'm sorry Henry, I'm coming in now to make it. Peanut butter and jelly?" He smiles and nods until his eyes land on her.
"Emma!" He opens the door wider and steps outside, "did you come to take me for ice cream? I have to eat my sandwich first and then I can have dessert," he confidently informs the woman standing before him.
I gauge the blonde's reaction intently. A hopeful, loving, smile spreads wide across her face ultimately conflicting my feelings toward her.
God, I miss her bright smile.
"I'm sorry Henry, Emma was just leaving," I state not allowing myself to look in her direction any longer.
"Aw come on, that's what you guys said last time. Please can we go get some ice cream!" Henry implores with his bottom lip poking out in a full pout.
"Henry," I warn in my most authoritative tone.
"But Mom!" He whines as he stomps his foot hard against the ground.
"Henry, don't argue with your mother. Ice cream can wait for another day," Emma strictly retorts, causing my son and I to both snap our heads toward her.
I don't think she even realized what she was doing until our eyes were glaring at her in shock.
"Fine!"
Henry slams his tiny body against his birth mother's and hugs the woman tightly around her waist. I've never seen Henry so open with a stranger before. He must be sensing some sort of bond with the woman for him to be reacting this way. Watching this scene unfold before me is leaving me rather confused. Love is the first thing that's filling my heart but then jealousy is slowly taking over.
"Promise me you'll take me soon?" He asks gazing up at the blonde as he rests his chin upon her abdomen.
With one arm firmly locked around his back, she runs her free fingers through his hair and smiles.
"That depends, if you listen to your mom and promise to be a good little prince."
"I promise!" He vows before he turns around and runs back inside the house without another word.
I stare at my former friend, dumbfounded by what just occurred. I cannot believe how natural they are with one another and this is only their second time meeting.
Those sparkling green eyes timidly meet mine with a faint smile still gracing her face. I twist my lips as I contemplate my next choice of words. This moment is too overwhelming for me, so instead, I turn on my heel and walk back inside without another word, making sure to slam the door behind me.
I lean my back against the door and take a deep breath. It's too hard for me to be around Emma. She was once the love of my life. I truly believed that we were going to work everything out all those years ago and raise Henry together as a family. Now she's back and apologizing and pleading to see the little boy that should have been our son. She's saying exactly what I had always hoped for but I can't risk my feelings again and I certainly will not allow Henry to be caught in the middle as well.
"Mommy?"
I flick my eyes up to meets my son's worried eyes. He's nervously chewing on his bottom lip as he tries to find the right words.
"Yes baby?"
I push off the door and sweep his hair to one side. His little freckled nose crinkles as he peers up at me in confusion.
"I like Emma, she's really nice."
Whenever Henry wants to ask a question but isn't quite sure how to ask or he's feeling shy, he makes a very obvious statement instead. That's exactly what he's doing now. His curious green eyes are peering up at me waiting for my next move. A hot burning sensation ignites in my chest and rapidly creeps up toward my cheeks. Those eyes are still locked onto mine waiting for an explanation.
"She's...nice," I acknowledge and finally break the intense staring contest.
I step to the side and walk passed my son into the kitchen to prepare our lunch.
"Now that she's living here again, you are friends again." This sounds like he is trying to ask but it's coming off more of a statement.
I sigh as I open the refrigerator and pull out the jelly. The ear-piercing sound of metal scraping grabs my full attention. I whip around to find my son pulling a chair up next to me. He climbs on the chair, pulls the loaf of bread closer to himself and begins untwisting the tie.
"Henry," I sigh heavily dreading this topic of conversation. "Why do you like Emma so much?" I open the cabinet and pull out the jar of peanut butter trying not to seem too interested in his answer.
"I don't know?" He shrugs his little shoulders and offers me a few slices of bread. My lips curl into a frown when I notice the confusion on his face. "She's really nice to me. She like wants to talk to me."
"I want to talk to you," I defend while proceeding to make his sandwich.
"But you're my mom, you have to," he giggles before dipping his finger into the peanut butter jar.
"I don't have to, but I love you and I think you are the most interesting person I know." My beautiful son laughs again around his finger that he's licking clean. "You know you're my best friend, right?"
Henry's eyes light up just like Emma's whenever she became very excited about something. He nods enthusiastically and pops his tiny finger out of his mouth.
"You know you're my best friend, right mommy?"
A carefree laugh bursts from my lips while I nod along as well. I lean down and kiss his temple before handing over his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
"I know my sweet boy."