The Road to Forever ~ The Sequel to Modern Fairytale

Keep It Down

As February came to a close, the early days of March were met with a particularly happy family on the top floor of the Enchanted Plaza apartments. They were officially moved in and completely unpacked; Robin worked together with his brother to sell the furniture that lingered in Apartment 8. John was able to salvage the couch and convince the bartender at The Luck O' The Irish Pub to buy it for extra seating in the bar. He took a few pieces of furniture for his own apartment and offered to pay for them, but Robin declined, knowing it was favor enough that he was taking them off his hands.

The rest of the pieces were sold to various neighbors: Emma took Regina's old night stand, the Nolans were happy to purchase Robin's small kitchen table since the one they previously owned was standing on its last leg (quite literally). Robin was reluctant to sell his desk, but it couldn't fit in the guest room so he'd had no other choice. He was able to sell it to Belle for a reasonable price since he knew she was looking for one for her apartment downtown and at least he knew it was in good hands.

By the second week of March, they were settled into the apartment and finally living comfortably. Henry still walked with Roland to school each morning while Robin escorted Regina to the subway on the days he had his early lectures. Spring Break came early for the university and Robin took it upon himself to plan a romantic Friday evening for the two of them; it had been much too long since their last date and he was not pleased with that in the slightest. Henry agreed to babysit Roland that night, which Robin was incredibly grateful for. He ran to the florist around the corner for some nice flowers and a card and had them delivered to her at the office as a formal invitation to dinner.

Truth be told, Robin was a hopeless romantic. He believed that, deep down, Regina was as well. He couldn't wait for her to tell him how surprised she was or that she couldn't stop looking at them all afternoon. He had to pick the right flowers; ones that stood out and made a statement. She needed to know how important she was to him, not that she didn't already, but he wanted to show his appreciation for her in a way he often didn't. Flowers were the perfect gesture and when he entered the florist that Friday morning, he knew he'd found the right ones the moment he spotted them.

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"Delivery for Ms. Regina Mills?" She overheard the young man tell the desk clerk at the front of Blanchard and Mills law firm.

"I'm Regina Mills," she stepped forward and signed for the package before the secretary could utter a word. She was lucky she happened to be passing on her way back to her office from the bathroom so she could pick up the delivery herself.

The boy handed her the flowers and she tipped him just before he made his way to the elevator. She placed them on the desk and pulled the card from its place within the beautiful bouquet of purple freesias. She always found them to be beautiful flowers, but couldn't remember ever mentioning that to Robin. She liked them for what they stood for: trust. Knowing him, especially after their first date, he looked that up before making his purchase that morning. She opened the card and smiled happily at what she found inside:

I made reservations for us at Bella Notte tonight at 7. Until then, my sweet. I love you. - R

"Regina, these are beautiful," the woman seated behind the desk said as she fawned over the gift her boss had just received.

Regina lifted them into her arms and began walking back to her office with a grin, "Beautiful doesn't even begin to describe them."