The Road to Forever ~ The Sequel to Modern Fairytale

So What Now?

The end of the week arrived in the blink of an eye as the family returned to their luxurious Manhattan apartment that they called home. The weekend was spent catching up on much needed sleep and when Monday morning came, Regina was back at work.

It felt good to sit behind her desk, allowing the busy day to unravel before her. There were no worries in the office, aside from the occasional mistake made by the interns, so she was free to do what she did best in the comfort of her quiet space. That was until her office phone rang and she was interrupted by what she believed to be a disgruntled client or a publisher wishing to further negotiate a contract.

"Regina Mills," she announced into the receiver with a sigh.

But when she heard the voice on the other end, her heart nearly exploded from her chest. She'd rather it be a client or publisher because she certainly hadn't prepared herself for what really happened, "Hello Regina, this is Doctor Whale."

She remained silent, unable to respond and unsure if she really had to. The man continued to speak, "We received the results from the ultrasound and your biopsy. Would you be willing to come by this evening on your way home from the office?"

He wanted her there that day. It was urgent. It had to be. She cleared her throat and tried her best to cover the way her voice shook with nerves, "I won't be leaving here until five and I thought that's when your office closes as well."

"It does, but my wife won't be too disheartened if I'm a few minutes late for dinner," he joked, trying to lighten the mood, but Regina was not amused. He coughed, "Anyway, it's important that we discuss the results in person. And please, tell Robin to come along as well."

"We'll see you then," she replied before hanging up the phone. She immediately reached into her purse for her cell phone and clicked Robin's name from her speed dial.

"Hello, my sweet," he said pleasantly.

"They're in."

It was all she had to say for him to understand what she meant. He said, "When do we have to go back?"

"Tonight. Meet me here at 5. I'll have a pizza delivered for the boys or something," she thought ahead to all the arrangements she had to make for their children for the evening.

"Henry, can you come in here please?" She heard Robin shout before he returned his attention to her, "I'll tell him we have a date or something. Don't worry about the children. I'll be sure to take care of everything before I leave."

"Thank you," she whispered, resting her forehead in the palm of her free hand.

"I love you, Regina," he said.

There was a fairly long pause as she was hit with a wave of emotion. She took a deep breath before ending the conversation with, "I love you too."

***********************************

"Thank you for coming by on such short notice," Doctor Whale said as he gestured for the couple to sit in the seats across from his desk. He sat down, opening her file to the results. That agitated Regina greatly; surely he knew what was wrong with her off the top of his head and was opening the file to waste time.

"Of course," Robin began as he took Regina's hand in his, "We'd like to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible so we can fix the problem in a timely manner."