The Divorce

Chapter 1

"I know you don't like it. You've made that perfectly clear, but it's just the way it is. At least for now," Emma said and looked at her eleven year old daughter.

Hope grimaced and stroked the back of a red cat that reminded Emma of Garfield, given its love for food and its appearance.

The girl hadn't said a word to her mother the entire day, and Emma was becoming quite frustrated. Things weren't perfect, she knew that, but she had no solution to make them better.

"Let's just go, Hope. I miss mom and I know she misses us, too," Henry interfered. He seemed to be the only one able to get through to Hope and the girl looked up at her older brother.

She sighed softly and nodded. "Can I at least take Mrs. Whiskerson?" the girl inquired, but Henry shook his head. He was but two years older than his sister, but when it came to the divorce, he'd been incredibly mature.

Emma knew Henry was still having a hard time with it as well, but he kept a brave face for his sister's sake. What his moms thought, couldn't interest him less.

"You know mom will kill us if we bring a cat into her house," Henry said and pet the white cat that was purring on Hope's bed, beside the girl.

Emma looked proud at her son. She knew that her ex-wife would get mad at her children if they brought a cat to her house, and she didn't want to know what would happen if the woman found out she'd bought five cats after their divorce, simply because she'd been in a foul mood one day.

"We're not even staying over at her place. Grandma and grandpa are going to pick us up," Hope said and stood up, with the cat still in her arms.

"Yes, but we're going to the beach for the weekend. Mrs. Whiskerson won't like it there. Just come on and let's go," Henry said.

Hope let out a loud sigh, but released the cat from her embrace and left her bedroom, followed by her mother and brother.

Before they left, Emma put all the five cats in her bedroom. She was scared they might destroy her house and she'd stalled their food and water in her room.

The drive to the mayor's mansion was uncomfortably silent, but Emma was glad that it hadn't taken her more than an hour to get both her children in the car, unlike last times.

Emma stopped the car and smiled at her kids. "Have a nice day at mom's. And enjoy your weekend with grandma and grandpa," Emma said and kissed her children's cheeks. "You sure you got everything packed?"

"Yep," Henry and Hope replied in sync and Henry offered his mother a weak smile, whereas Hope left the car without saying anything more.

Emma watched as her children took off and rang their other mother's doorbell. A brunette woman appeared and smiled broadly when she saw her son and daughter.

She hugged both her children and Emma was glad to see Hope smiling as well. Regina looked up and noticed Emma's car, so Emma quickly started her engine and drove off.

Though she knew it was a good decision she and Regina got a divorce, she hated this moment. The moment that she had to drop her kids off at their mom's place and being alone in her tiny apartment.

Sadly, she'd been the one to move to a smaller place, though Emma blamed the divorce solely on Regina. Well, not completely, but she did consider most of it Regina's fault.

She often wondered how it was possible - their divorce. They'd been married for over twelve years and she'd known Regina most of her life. The woman had always been her best friend, her soulmate, and in the blink of an eye all of that was just gone.