Better When I'm Dancing

Week 4--Spring Fever

Regina sat with her laptop, scrolling through all the comments on Twitter thanks to Emma. She had signed into her account and shown Regina how to find all the posts marked with the hashtag TeamOutlawQueen. Many of the posts were directed at her and Robin, offering both condolences and praises for their dance as well as their strength to go on after such tragedy. "They really do love you," Emma said, sitting next to her and reading over her shoulder.

"I thought they might think I was trying to steal his spotlight," Regina said, "but a lot of them are angry that I was forced to talk about it."

"People tend to hate emotional manipulation like that." Emma stretched. "You good? Or do you want to read more?"

Regina toyed her lower lip with her teeth. "I think I want to read a little more. If that's okay?"

"Sure. Just log out when you're done." Emma stood, smiling. "Good night, Regina. Get some rest. You're going to need it."

"Thank you," Regina told her. She knew her friend understood all the levels she meant those two words on.

Once Emma was gone, Regina leaned back against the couch and continued reading all the comments about her and Robin.

*****

"How are you?" Robin asked her the next morning. They had ended up arriving at the same time and he had waited for her by his car as she parked hers.

Regina smiled at him. "I'm fine. How are you?"

"Pretty good," he said, placing his hand on her back to guide her through the parking lot and toward the studio. "Did you read the comments online? We have a lot of support out there and not just because people feel sorry for us."

"I know. Emma showed them to me. They...They were really heartening to read," she admitted.

He nodded before asking: "How's Henry?"

"He's good," she replied. "You passed his test and he's okay with you being my partner, not that he had much say in the matter."

"He's protective of his mother. I certainly can respect and understand that," Robin said, holding the door open for her.

She thanked him as she stepped inside. "I figured you two would bond over that. I know how close you are with your mother."

"We're similar to you and Henry," he admitted. "It's was Mum and me for a long time. We took care of each other."

Regina paused, wondering if it was an opening for her to ask him about his father. Yet she decided not to take it and wait for him to bring it up himself. Instead, she asked: "How's Roland?"

He laughed. "He's good. You're his favorite person now. All this morning as I got him ready for preschool, he just kept going on about you."

"He's a sweetheart," she said, opening the door to their rehearsal space. "I'm glad he enjoyed his birthday."

"That he did. Thank you again, for all of that. You went over and beyond for him," he said.

She smiled, shrugging. "I'm a mom. What can I say?"

Robin laughed, nodding as he set down his bag. He picked up an envelope on the table, handing it to her. "I'm guessing that's our song for Spring Fever week?"

"Yes, it is," she said, pulling out a CD. "April in Paris, Jazz."

"That's a classic," he replied.

She nodded, her mind already working. Jazz was not one of the ten standard dances used in competitive ballroom dancing and so she had not continued her jazz lessons once she had decided to focus on ballroom. Daniel, though, had liked jazz and continued to take lessons in addition to their practices. It had helped when he started to dance at the casinos in Vegas and she recalled watching him practice his routines. She wondered though if she had picked up enough to choreograph one of her own.