Modern Fairytale ~ #Wattys2015

Intermission

The Mills women sat comfortably on the veranda in their silk pajamas, sipping their wine as they swung on the patio swing her mother added to the yard. They were more alike than they ever realized, especially as they aged. They sat close, snuggling up to one another for comfort and affection that they refused to admit they needed out loud. But it was true. They missed one another.

"So will you be living here permanently?" Regina asked.

"I don't plan on it. I just haven't been able to find the will to leave just yet," Cora responded with a sigh.

"It's like he's here," she stated, wanting her mother to know she understood. "I wouldn't want to leave either."

"He'd be very proud of you, Regina. I hope you know that," the older woman said. There wasn't much emotion in her voice. She merely stated a fact. A fact that meant the world to her daughter.

"I do," she replied.

"I am too, you know," Cora said, her daughter turning to face her then. "Especially with everything you've been through. Henry is an exceptional young man."

"Thank you," Regina smiled, happy to hear the sincerity in her mother's voice.

"He seems to have taken quite a liking to this Robin fellow. Are things serious between you two?"

"Quite serious," she replied honestly. "He's wonderful with Henry and I just adore Roland; he's like my own son."

"So this is something you expect to be long term then," it was a statement, an observation, to which Regina nodded. "And you love him?"

"Do you know what I remember most about you and Daddy?" She watched her mother sip her wine, not answering to allow her to finish her thought. "The way he looked at you. Every time, that I ever saw, he was happy. Even if you had a disagreement, he never looked at you like he wanted you to leave or that he was tired of being near you. Of course there was love in his eyes; he looked at me that way too. But with you, there was more. There was respect, mutual respect, and a comprehension of who you are. And acceptance of that."

"I was a difficult person. Your father was the only one who actually enjoyed putting up with me," the women shared a soft laugh of remembrance and appreciation before Regina continued.

"I wanted that. I searched for it and I thought I had it with Daniel. But when he--" she paused and her mother placed a comforting hand on the younger woman's knee. "I stopped believing it was possible for me. And then I met Robin and--"

"You found it."

"He looks at me like I'm worth something, even when I am so frustrating it would be easier for him to just walk out," she explained and Cora nodded.

"You're not just something; you're everything," she added, knowing full well what that feeling was like for her with Henry Sr.

The women looked at one another and smiled, their hands touching. They understood one another and in a way, they always did. It just took a long time for them to open their eyes to it.

"It's good to see you're finally smiling again," her mother said after a few moments of silence. "I'm glad he makes you happy; you and Henry."

"We're a family," Regina put her head on her mother's shoulder and added, "I'd like you to be apart of it."

Cora tapped her daughter's knee affectionately. She let her head rest against hers and smiled to herself as she seriously considered Regina's request.