A/N: Happy Sunday peeps. My Italian neighbour translated some of my conversation for this chapter. I added in the English in brackets afterwards so everyone can understand!
The drive to the restaurant was pleasantly passed with small talk as the two women filled one another in on how their weekends were. Emma didn't have a typical weekend break from her work but she had enjoyed her free Monday before getting ready for her date with Regina. The brunette, on the other hand, talked about the trip she and Henry had taken to the zoo that Saturday afternoon. The small boy was obsessed with the tigers.
"Where are you taking me?" Regina asked when Emma parked the car on the side of a street. She knew the city well but the area she found herself in was unfamiliar.
"To the best Italian restaurant in Maine," Emma replied with confidence.
Regina peered through the window of the car and frowned at the dark street. It didn't look like the ideal location for a popular restaurant. Before she knew it, Emma had appeared outside her door and was opening it for her. Taking the offered hand, Regina climbed out of the car and smiled softly at her date.
"Very chivalrous of you," she commented.
"I try," Emma grinned, locking Ruby's car and offering Regina the crux of her arm. At once, Regina slid her hand through the gap and rested her fingers lightly on Emma's forearm. Together, they set off down the street.
After barely fifty yards, they stopped outside a bright red door.
"Seriously, where are we?" Regina asked, looking around for some sign that they were indeed outside of a restaurant. The only clue that they were about to enter a commercial dwelling was delicate calligraphy on the bricks to the right of the door, announcing the name: Scarlet's.
"You'll see," Emma said as she turned the door handle and led the way inside.
In contrast to the quiet, empty street, the busy room which greeted the couple felt like a wall of sound. Regina gaped at the bustling space. There were full tables everywhere she looked, waiters moving effortlessly between them with plates balanced on their hands. Music with a distinctly European flair was playing in the background but it was muted by the chatter of the other patrons. Deep red drapes adorned the windows and scarlet lampshades cast a warm glow over the space. Candles on each table added to the romantic air.
"Ciao, Emma."
Regina turned in the direction of the Italian accept and saw a slender black haired woman strolling towards them with a wide smile on her face.
"Ciao, Sabi," Emma said as the woman reached them, leaning forwards to place a kiss on either cheek. "Come stai?" [How are you?]
"Adesso che ti vedo, bene," Sabi replied. [After seeing you, better.]
"Effettivamente, è passato troppo. [Same, it's been too long.] This is Regina, by the way," Emma added, switching to English for the last statement so her date could understand.
"Nice to meet you," Sabi said, in a thick Italian accent but otherwise perfect English. "Come, your table's this way."
Emma and Regina followed the woman who led them across the restaurant towards a small, secluded table near the rear.
"You speak Italian?" Regina asked as they weaved their way between the tables.
"A bit," Emma replied as they reached their table. "Thanks, Sabi. Say hi to Will for me."
"Of course. I'll be back in a few minutes to take your orders. The specials are written on the board over there," she said, handing over a short menu to each woman before pointing to a chalk board.
Regina cast her eye over the menu. Every item made her mouth water. She loved Italian food and she could tell the restaurant was going to be quite the experience.
"It all looks so good," Regina remarked. "What would you recommend?"
"Well, I know I didn't give you the chance to order your own meal on our first date and I know some women don't like it when someone else orders for them but would you permit me the honour of doing just that?"
Regina offered a soft smile. "Why not? I think I can trust you to choose something I like."
"Every dish they make here is incredible. Will is the best Italian chef in the city."
"How do you know Will? And Sabi? And Italian, come to that?"
"I spent a semester in Rome as part of my culinary training," Emma explained. "Will and I were in the same intake and he met Sabi in Italy. She was the head waitress at the restaurant where we worked. They fell in love, got married and she moved back here with him. As soon as he finished his schooling, they opened this place. It's word of mouth. Most of the people in here are Italian. I keep telling them to expand but Will doesn't want to compromise the quality of his cooking."
"It's that good?"
"The best," Emma nodded sincerely just as Sabi returned to their table.
"Do you know what you want?" she asked in English, not wanting to shut Emma's date out of the exchange.
"Yes," Emma replied before continuing in Italian. She missed speaking the beautiful language and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to speak it once more. Plus, she also wanted their meal to be a surprise for Regina. "Possiamo ordinare per favore una porzione di gnocchi alla zucca, ravioli, e tagliatelle ai fruitti di mare? Ah e una bottglia di Prosecco?" [Please can we order a portion of the gnocchi and pumpkin, the ravioliand the seafood tagliatelle? Oh and a bottle of Prosecco?]
"Certo," [Sure] Sabi smiled before heading in the direction of the kitchen to put in her order.
"Prosecco, huh?" Regina asked, picking up on the brand in amongst the unknown language. "What are we celebrating?"
"Life?" Emma shrugged. "Our second date?"
"Sounds like something to celebrate to me," Regina replied.
"I think so. I've been looking forward to seeing you again since you left the restaurant last week."
"Me too," Regina admitted. "I, um, I'd not actually been on a date in years before last week. Sorry if I'm a little rusty."
"You're doing just fine," Emma said, reaching across the table and resting her hand atop Regina's.
"You make it easy," Regina replied. "I feel comfortable with you."
"Comfortable enough to tell me a little about your marriage?" Beneath Emma's gentle fingers, she felt the brunette's body tense slightly. "Sorry, you don't have to. I just thought it was a conversation we should have sooner rather than later and then we don't have to speak about it again. I just, yeah, I'd like to know a little about your history, if you don't mind?"
"Here we are," Sabi announced, interrupting the slightly awkward moment as she appeared with two slender flutes and a bottle of Prosecco balanced in an ice bucket. The two women stayed silent as the Italian opened the carbonated drink with barely a pop, the mark of a well-practiced hand. Once their two glasses were filled, she shot Emma a curious look before disappearing to serve another table.
Emma waited until her friend was out of earshot before curling her fingers around Regina's hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to push you. We don't have to talk about anything you're not ready for."
"No, I am ready," Regina replied. "But I'm afraid this won't be the only conversation we have about my ex." Frowning, Emma prompted Regina to continue. "Henry's eating disorder, his eating habits, they changed in the weeks after Mal left. Whatever is going on with him, it has its roots in my divorce. So if you're going to be the person I talk to about my son, I'm afraid you're also going to have to hear about my marriage. If … if you're not ok with that, if that makes you uncomfortable or -"
"Regina, stop," Emma said, firm but gentle. "You can talk to me about anything you want. I told you, I'm here for you and Henry. And yes, there's something between us and I want more than anything to explore it. But I said I would be here for you to talk to about what was going on with your son. I'm not backing away from that. If you need to talk about your ex so I understand what's going on with Henry, that's fine by me. She's your past, right?"
"Yes," Regina said, her hand turning over so she could lace her fingers together with Emma's. "She's very definitely in my past. I haven't seen or spoken to her in over two years."
"Ok then," Emma smiled, her thumb now rubbing backwards and forwards against Regina's hand. "So, how long were you two married?"
"Six years but we were together for nine in total."
"And Henry?"
"I carried him," Regina replied. "I'd always wanted children and after two years of marriage, Mal agreed that we could try to get pregnant through IVF. We used an anonymous sperm donor. My egg took the first time round. I felt like it was a sign, that I was destined to be a mother."
A soft smile graced Regina's face as she thought back to her pregnancy. They had been the most magical nine months of her life, although her journey into motherhood was equally incredible. She missed the flash of pain which crossed Emma's features, distracted by memories of her son.
"Mal left when Henry was four," Regina said. "She just walked out. Henry and I returned to the house one afternoon and she'd disappeared. She left a note saying she wasn't ready to settle down and be a mother. I tried to call her, to contact her through mutual friends but she just vanished. No one knows where she is. Divorce papers arrived two months after she left but the lawyer claimed to have no knowledge of where she was when I called their office."
Emma's fingers, which were still threaded through Regina's, tightened slightly. "I'm so sorry. That's a horrible way to end a relationship."
"Yes, I didn't take it well."
"Understandable," Emma said. "I mean, it's not like you had any closure. She never even gave you the opportunity to ask what had gone wrong."
"I know but my reaction, it seems, may have led to Henry's eating problems."
"How so?"
"Doctor Hopper thinks Henry started controlling what he ate because he felt like he had no control over other areas of his life. One of his mothers disappeared with no explanation and he was confused and hurt. In order to regain some sort of control or power, he stopped eating certain foods."
"That makes sense," Emma said. "Feeling like I lacked control over my life was definitely something which contributed to my own problems with food."
"What did you not have control over?"
Emma bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she was ready to share her darkest triggers with Regina just yet. She wanted to be open and honest with the brunette, just as she had been allowed access into the challenges faced by the woman and her son. But was it too much? Was Regina ready to deal with what Emma had suffered through?
"You don't have to tell me," Regina offered after a few seconds of silence, correctly reading Emma's hesitance.
"I want to," Emma said. "One day. Just, not today. Is that ok?"
"Of course," Regina nodded. "Whenever you're ready."
"I feel bad," Emma sighed. "I'm asking you to talk about your divorce, to talk about Henry's eating disorders but I'm not sharing any of my past with you."
"I'm not going to push you to tell me anything you're not ready to share," Regina said. "I just hope we have many more dates in the future and maybe one day you will be ready."
"I'm sure I will be," Emma said. "To future dates." She raised her full Prosecco glass and clinked it against Regina's.
The two women shared a smile before both taking a sip of the light bubbles. The refreshing drink slid easily down, reminding Emma of hot days spend outside cafes in Rome and the late night strolls she, Will and Sabi had taken through the winding city streets.
"So, I guess that's all you need to know about my failed marriage," Regina said. "Mal left, she's never made any attempt to contact me or Henry, she's out of her lives and I'm left to clean up her mess."
"Henry's not a mess."
"No, I didn't mean that," Regina clarified. "But Mal's behaviour has led to his eating disorder. My life is a mess, I guess. And it's affected my son. Now Henry and I have to find a way of dealing with our heartbreak in a way that's healthy."
"Did you talk to Henry about what was happening after Mal left?"
"No," Regina said. "And I think in hindsight that was a mistake. I just shut down. I disappeared into a ball of depression and comfort eating and crying for a month. Of course my son was going to pick up on how upset I was. One of his mothers had disappeared and the other one didn't get out of bed for weeks. He was so young and I thought he wouldn't understand. But I think keeping him in the dark contributed to his need to find something in his life which he could control. The fact that he found that control over his diet is now becoming obvious."
"Identifying the cause goes a long way towards helping Henry overcome his problems," Emma said.
"Is that what helped you?"
"Yes," Emma said shortly.
"And you're … cured?" Regina wasn't sure what the correct terminology was when it came to anorexia. It wasn't a disease or virus. Could you be cured?
"An eating disorder is like an addiction in many ways. You're never completely cured. It's psychological, it's in your mind. You have to learn how to overcome it. I guess you have to retrain your brain to think about food in a different way. For almost two years, I convinced myself that putting anything more than the bare minimum I needed to survive into my body was a failure."
"How did you overcome that?"
"One of my therapists helped me to learn all about nutrition and how our bodies need different vitamins and food groups to be strong and healthy. But by that time I was already at the point where I had damaged my body. I had had an epiphany. None of my other therapists had any success because I wasn't ready to get help. By the time I started to get better, I was in a different mind-set. I'd had the wake up call I needed to kick-start my recovery. And it's an ongoing recovery. I was sick for so long. I'll always be recovering."
Just as Emma finished, their meals arrived. Almost reluctantly, the two women's hands slid apart as Sabi placed three plates in the centre of their table, and two side plates in front of either woman so they could share their feast. "Here we are," she announced. "We've got the gnocchi with pumpkin, the seafood tagliatelle and the ravioli special. Can I get either of you anything else?"
"Can we have some water please?" Regina asked.
"Of course," Sabi nodded. "Buon appetito."
Regina turned her attention to the plates in front of her. It looked and smelled amazing.
"Dig in," Emma invited, eager to know what her date thought of the choices she had made for the two of them.
Regina diligently took a little of each dish, looking forward to experiencing the tantalising flavours wafting up from the plates. Emma stacked up her own portions as well before gesturing for Regina to start.
The taste exploded on her tongue at the first bite and she moaned at the sensations, both delicate and rich at the same time.
"Wow," she murmured. "This is phenomenal."
"Yeah, Will's an amazing chef," Emma nodded after swallowing her own first mouthful. "I'd forgotten how good, actually. I haven't been here for months."
"Then I'm honoured you chose our date to return," Regina said before taking another mouthful just as a jug of water and two glasses appeared on the table before Sabi whisked herself away to continue serving the busy restaurant. "God, I have to bring Kat here. She loves good food."
"How did you and Kat meet?" Emma asked, deciding to steer their conversation away from eating habits for once. After all, it was a date and there was far more to both women than the respective eating disorders which had affected their lives.
"Boarding school," Regina replied. "We were in the same dormitory at the age of eleven. I suppose we were forced to be friends under the circumstances but we actually get on really well. She's more like a sister than a friend in some ways."
"You went to boarding school?"
"Yes. All Mills children have been educated at Forest Hill School for over fifty years. Henry is the first child who won't be attending."
"You don't want him to board?"
"No," Regina said. "I appreciate that my parents thought they were giving me the best education available but the truth is I would rather have gone to a public school and been living with my family. I had friends at school but it was lonely. My older sister, Zelena, left after my first year and went off to college and I spent most of my teenage years with friends rather than family. I loved my friends but it wasn't the same. I was always counting down the days to the holidays so I could come home and see my parents. My father died when I was fifteen and I blamed myself for not being there. I felt like I'd missed out, I'd wasted the short time we had together. That's why I chose to go to Harvard. I didn't want to be far from my mother. Turns out that was a good decision too because she died young as well."
"I'm sorry to hear you lost both your parents," Emma offered.
"Thank you," Regina said, a sad smile on her lips. "At least I knew them though. You were in the foster system, right? Do you know who your birth parents are?"
"No," Emma replied. "I tried to look for them when I was eighteen but they didn't want to be found."
"I'm sorry," Regina said. "Did you at least have a good foster family?"
"The one I ended up in was fine, I guess," Emma shrugged. "I got passed around a lot when I was younger. I came to Mary Margaret and David when I was thirteen and stayed with them until I was eighteen. That was the longest I spent in any home. They were good people. They cared. But I think they overloaded themselves. Six foster kids at a time, all with our own issues, they didn't have enough time to dedicate to each of us and I guess that's where the troubles stemmed from."
"Are you still in touch with them?"
"Yes, I spend Christmas with them each year. They live in San Francisco and it's nice to go home and see my foster siblings."
"How many foster siblings do you have?"
"There was three kids who were there for several years with me," Emma said. "A few other children came and went. But only two of them go back for Christmas."
Regina wanted to ask about the third foster sibling but there was something about the way Emma suddenly became very interested in a piece of gnocchi which made her hold her tongue. She wasn't willing to push further if Emma wasn't ready to talk.
"So, San Francisco. You're from California then?"
"Yep," Emma nodded. "At least, I spent all of my childhood there. I moved to New York when I was eighteen and started working in professional kitchens but ended up back on the East coast when I decided to go to culinary school."
"Where did you attend?"
"The Culinary Institute of America," Emma replied. "It's in Napa Valley."
"Yeah I know where it is," Regina said. "That's an amazing school. My family used to holiday in that area. The highlight of our trip was eating in the restaurant."
"Really?" Emma asked. "Small world, huh?"
"Indeed," Regina nodded.
Green eyes locked with brown, both women marvelling at how they had found one another. It seemed so serendipitous that their lives had collided at the time they had. If Emma hadn't gone to speak to Regina in the restaurant about Henry's requested order. If she hadn't overstepped and made that vegetable and hummus platter. If the two of them hadn't met in the parking lot. If Henry hadn't forgotten his favourite toy car. If Emma hadn't bribed her way into Regina's office. If they hadn't met in the doorway of Zelena's bar opening. Was it meant to be? Were all these moments, these choices leading to this connection which fizzled between them?
"I'm glad we met," Emma said softly.
"Me too," Regina said. "I'll be honest, I wasn't exactly looking to meet someone. Since Mal left, I haven't been interested in dating again."
"I was the opposite," Emma admitted. "I'd been working through my own breakup in the months before we met and I was just thinking that I missed being in a relationship, that I missed having that one person I could share everything with. And then I met you."
"I haven't had that connection with one other person in a long time," Regina murmured. "And after what happened, I didn't think I would ever have it again."
"And now?"
Emma's slender fingers crept across the table and interlaced with Regina's which were laid beside her now empty plate.
"I know we haven't known each other long," Regina began, looking up and catching Emma's gaze, "but I already feel close to you. I can talk to you in a way I can't with Kat or Zelena. You make me feel safe. Like I can tell you anything and you won't judge me."
"I won't," Emma said. "Never, Regina."
"But you won't share your past with me," the brunette said, her eyes giving away the hurt she felt at the imbalance. She didn't want to push Emma but she was aware that so far their relationship had been more about her than the younger woman.
Emma withdrew her hands, fingers coming to knot together in her own lap, under the table and out of sight of her date. "I will. I want to," Emma said after a few moments of silence. "Just, be patient with me? I don't talk about my past much. Even Ruby doesn't know some of what happened. I want to share my history with you, Regina, but I don't want to scare you off."
Reaching out her hand towards the blonde, Regina waggled her fingers, encouraging Emma to take hold once more. After a few seconds, she did.
"Emma, I'm not going anywhere. Whatever's between us, however new it is, it's special. I can tell. And if you're not ready yet, I'm not going to push you. But I need you to know that I am here and whenever you are ready, I'd love to hear your story."
"I want to tell you," Emma said, fingers squeezing Regina's palm. "I will tell you. I just need a little time, ok?"
"Take as long as you need," Regina nodded.
An hour later, after they had shared a divine tiramisu and finished off the bottle of Prosecco (Regina had one more glass than Emma who had stopped so she could safely and legally drive them home), Sabi brought them the cheque.
"How was everything?" she asked as Emma slid her card onto the bill.
"Delicious, thank you so much," Regina smiled.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. And it was lovely to meet you, Regina," Sabi added as she typed the details of the payment into the portable card machine. "Emma hasn't brought anyone here in years. This is her special little secret corner of Portland. I can tell she likes you."
Regina shot a dopey look at the blonde who was blushing. "Thanks, Sabi," she scowled as she punched in her pin number. "Say goodbye to Will for me. Tell him I'll be in touch soon to arrange a coffee or something."
"How about we all have dinner one day?" Sabi suggested. "Do you still have every other Wednesday off?"
"Yep," Emma nodded.
"We're closed on Wednesdays," Sabi explained, handing Emma her receipt. "I'll text you and we'll arrange something."
"Perfect," Emma said, standing up and moving around the table to pull Regina's chair out. "It was great to see you, Sabi."
The two women kissed on each cheek and then Sabi turned to do the same to Regina. The brunette followed suit and offered the only word of Italian she knew. With ciaos exchanged, Emma placed her hand gently in the small of Regina's back and steered her towards the door.
Despite it being almost May, the air was cool as the pair stepped out into the street. Regina pulled her coat a little closer around her and Emma took the opportunity to slide her arm around the shorter woman's shoulders. Regina nestled close to the blonde at once as the two of them set off down the street towards Ruby's car.
It wasn't a long drive back to Regina's house and the conversation flowed as easily as it had done all night. Emma didn't want the evening to end as she pulled up outside the large family home. It was a big house, she realised. Bigger than two or even three people would require.
"We rattle around in there," Regina said, as if she had read Emma's mind. "We don't even use the upstairs rooms. After Mal left, I moved down into the old guest bedroom on the ground floor. Henry wanted to be near me so we converted the office into his bedroom. I should probably move house. It's too big for just the two of us and there are so many memories. It might be healthy for us both to have a fresh start."
"It's a beautiful home," Emma said.
"It is," Regina agreed. "And I loved the house when we first moved in. I guess that's why I haven't moved before now. I don't quite feel ready to let go."
"I understand," Emma said, her tone a little despondent.
"I'm not talking about Mal," Regina added hastily. "I've moved on from Mal. Please don't think I want to get back with her in any way. She … she walked out on our son. I'll never forgive her for that."
"Ok," Emma said. "But you still have memories of her here. Happy memories."
"Tainted but yes," Regina said. "We had some good times. But maybe the dark times that followed are unhealthy. Maybe moving would help Henry get better."
"Perhaps," Emma nodded. "Talk to Doctor Hopper about it."
"I think I will," Regina said. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for bringing Mal up again. Ex-wives aren't great discussion points for dates."
"She's a part of your past," Emma said. "And a part of Henry's present problems. You can talk about her as much as you need to. Don't worry, I'm not the jealous type."
"You have nothing to be jealous of," Regina assured her.
"Good," Emma said. "And neither do you, for the record."
"What does that mean?"
"Just that I'm not seeing anyone else at the moment," Emma shrugged. "And I have no intention of seeing anyone else."
Regina nodded slowly. "Good. Because I am the jealous type and I don't like the thought of you dating anyone but me."
Emma felt the heat coil low in her stomach at the sultry tone her date had used. No, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that she was going to date anyone else. Not when she had a chance with Regina.
"It's late," Regina said after a pause. "I should get inside and relieve Kat."
"Ok," Emma said, opening her door and hurrying around to help Regina out. The woman was perfectly capable of standing up on her own but Emma was happy to take the opportunity to be both chivalrous and to clasp Regina's dainty hand in her own.
Together, fingers interlaced once more, they walked up the wide garden path to the grand black front door.
"Well, thank you for dinner," Regina said, turning to face her date at the top of the steps. "I had a wonderful evening."
"Me too," Emma smiled.
"When can I see you again?" Regina asked.
"I have Wednesday off this week," Emma offered. "Or is that too soon?"
"Not soon enough," Regina replied at once.
Emma's heart melted just a little at the tender smile the brunette gave her. "I can't wait," she said, stepping a little closer.
"Me neither," Regina murmured, her fingers squeezing Emma's.
Their eyes locked once more, green orbs trying to read the expression in rich chocolate. Emma desperately wanted to kiss Regina, to feel those plump lips against her own. But she was hesitant. She didn't want to push too far, too soon. Both women liked one another, of that she knew. But they also needed to take it slowly. Their lives were complicated enough without them rushing into whatever was between them.
"Goodnight, Emma," came the eventual whisper from the perfectly painted lips.
"Goodnight," Emma replied.
Regina hesitated for a moment before rocking up onto her toes and placing a kiss on Emma's cheek, just as the blonde had done at the end of their first date. Emma's skin tingled at the touch and Regina ducked her head shyly as she fished in her bag for her house keys. Locating them all too quickly, she turned to slot the sliver of metal into the lock.
"Well, goodnight. Thank you again for dinner. I had an amazing evening," Regina said, key twisting in her fingers.
"Me too," Emma replied. "I can't wait until Wednesday."
"I'll text you the details once I've planned something," Regina said.
"Ok," Emma said. "Goodnight again."
"Goodnight," Regina said for a third time, the door now ajar and light spilling from the hallway onto the porch.
"Night," Emma said a final time before turning and walking back down the garden path, knowing if she didn't leave in that moment, she wouldn't be able to resist kissing the beautiful brunette.
Regina watched until Emma had climbed into the car, pausing only to wave before she sank into her seat and started the engine. As the vehicle pulled away from the curb, Regina finally stepped into the warmth of her house and closed the door against one of the best dates of her life.
A/N: we're getting there. We will learn more about Emma's past soon, I promise!