A/N: Thank you all for the love you seem to quickly be giving this story! :) It feels great being back and writing again for you all. More shall be posted as long as comments keep coming. As you all know, I will be changing a lot compared to the book, and I will be adding my own dialogue as well to fit the story. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter equally. Happy reading and stay tuned for more.
Regina's fingertips rested along her temple, her elbow rested along the arm of the chair, while her eyes busied themselves reading along the pages of a book. One leg regally crossed over the other as it slowly bounced up and down.
"Mom," Henry whispered, shaking his mother's bare arm. "I'm bored."
"So am I, but we'll be out of here soon." She whispered back all while looking down at her watch. Appointments were never on time. Even in small towns.
"Can we get ice cream later?" Henry's eyes looked hopefully up at his mother.
"Maybe. Depends on how busy work is today." Said Regina, her eyes never leaving the pages of her book.
"Can I have chocolate and strawberry ice cream?" He grinned.
Regina shook her head, "Just one flavor. I don't want you spoiling your dinner."
"Aw, mom," Henry rolls his eyes, sitting as far back in his chair as he is able, with a grunt to capture his mother's attention.
Regina sighs, and searches inside of her purse, pulling out her cell phone before handing it to her son. "Here. Play a game while we wait. But keep the volume low."
Henry takes his mother's phone without a second thought, already clicking on the app to his favorite game.
"Henry Mills," a young MA, fresh out of school would be Regina's best guess, calls out to them, holding the door open.
Regina reaches for Henry's hand and leads him through the already familiar building. Henry stands still along the scale by the door until it beeps and the young nurse is able to write down his new weight for the day. They are soon directed into a room with blue walls and colorful cartoon characters adorning the walls. Pretty much the same as when Regina used to come to this pediatrics office as a child herself.
With a grunt- evidence of how heavy Henry was becoming- Regina scooped him up and sat him along the examining table to save time while more waiting was done. She stood next to him, eyeing the familiar walls of the examining room. It seemed like only yesterday she was here, running a fever, her mother frantic to get her better.
At least Henry seemed far more engraved in his mobile game to care about the waiting.
Five minutes passed before the door to the room swung open and they were both greeted by Dr. Whale's teeth bearing grin. "Henry! My favorite patient!" He greets, shutting the door behind him.
Regina was quick to take her phone back, just until Dr. Whale left, tucking it safely inside of her purse.
"And how are we today? How's the breathing?" Whale crouches down, his hands planted along his knees to meet at Henry's eye level. His father had the same mannerisms before he retired.
"Fine," Henry shrugged.
"No problems?"
"Nope!" Henry shook his head.
"That's what I like to hear," Whale grinned, and Regina couldn't help but smile along. Henry has been doing great lately with his condition. She was happy about that. Whale reached for his stethoscope, adjusting the earpieces along his ears and tapping once along the diaphragm, "Alright, let's have a listen, shall we?" He places the diaphragm along Henry's chest first, humming in what Regina wishes is a hum of approval. Next, he moves it along Henry's back, moving it around to different areas.
Regina reached for her snowflake pendant that hung along her silver necklace, along her neck. She always played with it when nervous about a diagnosis.
"Mhm," Dr. Whale smiled, "Very good. You are so brave." He adjusted his stethoscope to hang along his neck before turning to Regina. "His lungs sound good. His heart has a faint murmur, but it's… faint. For now, we'll just make sure to keep his inhaler and prescriptions filled up." He smiled at Henry, ruffling his hair.
He needed a haircut. Regina has been meaning to take him.
"Henry, how about you wait outside in the waiting room while I talk to Dr. Whale for a moment?" She reaches for her phone again inside of her purse and hands it over to her son. "Don't drop it." She warns with a single glare.
"I won't." Henry reaches for the cold handle of the door.
"Don't run," Regina reminds him, even though there is no need to remind him of what he already knows. But kids tend to not listen, don't they?
"I won't, mom."
"Oh, Henry, hang on," Dr. Whale kneels down, searching within his coat pockets until he stumbles upon the right one. "Ah!" The crinkling of a wrapper sounds as he pulls out a bright red lollipop and hands it over.
"Thank you!" Henry's eyes shine bright as he snatches the lollipop away before his mother could protest against it.
Once the door closes, and they are alone, Regina's smile and hopeful demeanor has vanished. "So? I'm not nine years old, you can give it to me straight."
Whale slightly frowns, but just slightly. "Why don't you sit down, Regina?" He motioned back to the seat she had occupied before.
"No, I don't want to sit down. I want you to tell me what's really going on with my son." Regina crossed her arms along her chest.
"Alright," the doctor breathed. "Well, I didn't lie. His heart is sounding fine. Apart from that small murmur. Now, I can keep doing x-ray's but I would feel better if we had a CT scan done, to look a little further."
"I don't have that kind of money," Regina shook her head. "I-"
Whale holds up a single hand, "I'm well aware. Now, I didn't lie, his heart sounds fine, and his lungs sound good. But this is me thinking ahead as a doctor and a friend. Regina, he's fine now but somewhere down the road, we are going to have to operate."
Regina sighs, running a single hand along her hair. "Well… at least that day isn't today. It gives me time to get my affairs in order." She nods after a moment, "Thank you for everything, Whale." She leans in, placing a quick kiss along his cheek.
"You know," Whale spoke, watching as Regina turned back. "Perhaps if you spoke to your brother, he could help you. I know he wouldn't want anything happening to Henry."
"August has enough on his plate right now," she shakes her head. "Didn't you hear? He's across the country, fighting for what others can't." With that little wisecrack at Victor, she leaves, reaching for Henry's hand from where they had previously sat and walked out.
"Mom, you're going the wrong way! The store is that way!" Henry points behind his shoulder.
"I know, I just have to check something first." She opens the door to the passenger side, "Come on, get in."
Henry climbs in, strapping himself in even if his mother instructs him to.
Regina moves to the driver's side door, and drives into the direction of a stop sign, turns right, drives straight ahead until she reaches her home. She hurries over to her mailbox, opening the flap, and pulls out the mail, flipping through her correspondence.
"What are you looking for, mom?" Henry asks curiously once his mother climbs back into the car.
Regina flips through the last remaining envelopes. Bills, bills, bills… junk mail… "Shit," she murmurs.
"Swear jar!" Henry announces.
Regina's eyes flicker over to her son's in a quick apologetic manner before they turn back to the mail, flipping through the last three letters. Nothing. Honestly, she was okay with not having any type of correspondence back. As much as she hoped there would be one, not having one at all simply meant that this friend of August didn't want to communicate and was as reserved as August said she was. Better for her. There was no time for anymore friends in her life, except for the people in this town.
It's been six days and no correspondence, so, why waste time in looking for something that won't ever come?
With that, Regina, tossed the rest of the mail along her backseat, flashes her son a smile and turns her key into the ignition of her mother's old Mercedes. "Alright, let's go. You can help Ruby and I with sorting out the new merchandise."
Henry waited for the car to drive a little ways into town to say, "You owe the swear jar a dollar for swearing."
"Right," Regina murmured. She swore never to swear in front of her son, but sometimes… life challenged her otherwise.
"Ruby!" Henry excitedly announced his presence as they entered the store.
"Hey, Henry!" Ruby, a tall, slim brunette with a single red streak to her hair grinned from behind the white counter. She tucked her phone, which she had been previously texting on inside of her jeans pocket. "You want to come help me put all of these new jars out in the back for me?"
"Yeah!" He beamed, turning to his mother. "Can I, mom?"
"Sure," Regina nods. "But don't overwork yourself. Low shelves only, Henry." She warned.
"Okay," Henry moved behind the counter and accepted a few jars from Ruby, as many as his little arms could carry.
"You got 'em?" Ruby grinned, ruffling his hair- Henry really needed a haircut- before giving him a light shove along his back. She turned to Regina, "So? What's the verdict?"
Regina looks over to the backroom, hearing the rattling of the jars as she knows Henry sets them along the floor, where he will sit and happily line them up along the storage shelf. "Whale said there's a little murmur there. He says it sounds fine and he didn't order another x-ray for today, but he would much rather have a CT scan to take a deeper look. Lungs sound fine."
"Are you going to do it?" Ruby asks.
"With what money? I barely have enough to keep this place afloat."
"Business has been picking up," said Ruby. "Sort of it. I mean, people have to eat, right? Women buy baked goods all the time. And two have already been ordered online today."
Regina places a hand on her hip, her brow lifting into a perfect arch. "Are you sure that wasn't you?"
Ruby rolls her eyes, "Okay, it was me- but so what?" She leans onto the counter as Regina moves behind it. "Tourists come in here all the time, it's not like they won't buy anything. Eventually. It's the middle of October, so I'm sure things will start picking up." She reaches for Regina's hand. "Don't worry. Besides, didn't Whale say he was fine? And Henry seems fine. No fainting spells, or swelling, right?"
"None yet." Regina murmured under her breath. "It's not just CT that has me like this Ruby. Sales have to go up, if not…"
"I know. The alternative." Ruby frowns. "Look, give me a couple of jars to take over to the diner. My grandmother will gladly start serving customers and they will have no choice but to buy some off of here."
Regina smiled, "We've already tried that, Ruby. Our only chance is to attempt to sell some at the town fair that's coming in December."
"The town fair's always good. Tourists eat that up." Ruby grins. "Speaking of which, doesn't your brother come back around that time?"
Regina always forgot how charming August was around this town. Not just with Ruby, but with anyone. She missed having him here. "Last I heard, yeah. He was supposed to come home sooner, but things changed, I guess."
"No letter from him?" Ruby's brow lifts. "I saw your car drive by. I know you went home to check the mail."
"Yes, I went to check the mail but not for anything in particular." Regina glared.
"Uh-huh," Ruby's hand sneaks behind her back, pulling out a white envelope with her name written across it in chicken scratch letters. "Then what's this Dave brought over from the mail this morning?" She teases.
Regina's heart stops. "Where did you get that?" She races around the counter, reaching for the letter that is quickly snatched away from her reach. "Give me the letter, Ruby!"
"Nuh-uh!" Ruby holds the letter up in the air. "Not until you tell me what's going on. So, are you two like… into each other?" She grins.
"Ruby-" Regina attempts to snatch it once more, seeing the letter clutched safely along Ruby's back. "I never should have told you about her. Now, give me the damn letter."
Telling Ruby that August had talked about his fellow soldier and best friend had been the biggest mistake she made. She honestly didn't hear the end of it. And Ruby always attempted to press her for information on this soldier she had written to, which came as a surprise because Regina had sent care packages out before but she was never eager to receive a correspondence in the mail until now.
"Swear jar!" Henry could be heard shouting from the back room.
Finally, Regina snatches her letter from Ruby's prying hands, reading her name engraved in that chicken scratch form along the front of the envelope a little closer. She couldn't understand why, but even though she didn't expect any type of correspondence from August's friend. She was glad she had one now to look forward to. As a matter of fact, if Regina was being honest with herself, this was the only thing to brighten her day today. Apart from Henry.
"Hey, I'm happy for you, Gina, really!" Ruby grins happily. "I mean, it's about time you have a little excitement in your life instead of living vicariously through my own love life."
"Your love life makes me nauseous," said Regina. "And this is nothing. It's not a love letter. We are just pen-pals."
"Please," Ruby snorts. "It's a love letter. I can smell those a mile off, okay? If she is taking time to tell you all about her in that letter- that's a love letter."
Regina rolls her eyes, tucking the letter safely behind her back pocket.
"Wha- aren't you going to read it?" Ruby asks. Her eyes danced wildly toward the letter as if they were ready to suck it up within her reach.
"No. I think I'll wait until we are done with the day to read it in the privacy of my own home, thank you." Regina grins, reaching for another box of other supplies and taking them over to the back to join Henry.
"Don't run, Henry! Please! Here," she hands him his backpack that he neglected to take out of her car. "Go put that way. Tomorrow you have school, remember that."
"Aw, mom!" Henry stops mid-stair.
"No, buts. I let you off today, because you had an appointment with Dr. Whale, but you have to go to school. Now, go wash up for dinner."
Henry grumbles but does as he's told, stomping his way up the stairs for good measure.
Regina doesn't enter further into her home, along the family room, until she hears the bathroom door slam shut. She reaches behind her pocket, pulling out the single letter while taking a seat along one of her mother's couches near the fireplace. Everything along the house remained the same, the photos, the rug in the middle of the room, the couches- everything. Regina never saw a reason to change anything about it.
She takes one of her manicured nails and tears into the flap until she is able to pull out the single lined notebook paper. She unfolds it only to discover more chicken scratch handwriting that was sure to be Swan's.
Regina,
You're right, your brother outright ate those apple-turnovers. But in his defense, I waited too long to open your letter. I figure if we actually do this, we should be honest, right?
So number one thing I should probably tell you about me, I'm not good with people. I could give you a million excuses, but really, I'm just not good with them. I can sometimes say the wrong thing, be too blunt, or just not see the need for a mindless conversation where there is no reason to have one. Needless to say, I've never written letters to… anyone, now that I think about it.
Secondly, I liked how blunt your letter seemed to be. It means that you don't censor yourself. You don't overthink, just write what you mean. I bet you're like that in person, too- saying what you think.
I don't know what to tell you about me that wouldn't get blacked out by censors, so how about this: I'm twenty-eight as of about five minutes ago, and other than my friends here, I have zero connections to the world around me. Most of the time I'm good with that, but tonight I'm wondering what it's like to be you. To have so much responsibility, and so many people depending on you. If I could ask you one question, that would be it: What's it like to be the center of someone's universe?
-Swan.
Regina caught herself smiling once she finished reading that letter. And after catching herself, she couldn't help but read that same letter three more times over. When her brother wrote to her suggesting that she write to Private Swan and become pen-pals with her, she thought he outright lost his mind. After all, judging from August's own letters, his friends out there all sounded about as open as a locked gun safe. Honestly, when no response came and relief had waved over Regina, that was fine. But now that she actually got a correspondence, she couldn't help but feel just how freeing it all was to write down your thoughts and feelings on a blank piece of paper to someone you never have to stress about meeting.
She wondered then, given private Swan's own letter, if she felt the same way, too.
How can anyone in service live to be twenty-eight and not have anyone to write to? When August talked about her in his letters, he had mentioned to Regina that the soldier was quiet and that her heart was as approachable as a brick wall, but Swan just seemed… lonely.
"All washed!" Henry announces, entering the family room and startling his mother out of her thoughts.
"Let me see," Regina sat aside the letter along the couch and took a whiff of Henry's hands once he placed them in front of her nostrils. "Mmm, delicious! Let's go, you can help me make dinner." She takes his hand and marches right into the kitchen with him.