The Shadowman and his Queen

99 Problems

ShadowQueen Ch. 5: 99 Problems

After showering, if you can actually call it a shower, Regina dresses herself and prepares to head home. "Do you have everything my dear?" Samdi asks walking with her as she heads toward the door, "everything but my panties" Regina jokes, this makes them both chuckle and Samdi shakes his head; he is hopelessly in love. Samdi takes her by the hands, stares into her chocolate brown orbs and says, "I really enjoyed our time together, beautiful" "as did I" she replies softly, all school girl blush and smiles. He is completely stricken by her beauty, she is gorgeous on any day but Regina in the early morning, makeup-less with shower tossed curls and an after-sex glow is absolutely stunning. He can't wait for the time that he can call her his own. "When will I get to see you again?" He asks with the pad of his thumb now caressing her cheek, "I don't know" she replies. Regina loves the care and affection Samdi shows, always has. He knows her body inside and out, knows how to please her and is conscious of the things she likes. Only if he wasn't a trickster and she could fully trust him, she knows he could make her truly happy... only if.

He moves in to kiss her looking deeply into her eyes, whispering "I hope it'll be soon" she returns the distance before sealing their lips replying "maybe". They kiss their goodbye for a minute or so, stopping before it can get too heated; she really has no more time to spare. Samdi opens the door for her and watches her leave "have a good day beautiful", she smiles in return before exiting his home then the building. She is still walking on trembling legs as she steps into the cold of the Seattle morning air, hopefully the cold will be a good cover for why she's actually trembling. Regina walks the five or so blocks it takes to reach the bar, which is doubly the entrance to her home, without being spotted by anyone she knows or that knows her. She is nearly home free when she hears a familiar voice "Roni...?" she looks up petrified to see Henry, of all people "... hey, how's it going?". Damn! So much for hoping not to get caught and by her SON, no less. Regina, cussing up a storm on the inside, still shook at the sight of him, looks at Henry in disbelief that the universe could be so cruel. She recovers soon enough and asks "...what...are you doing out here?".

Henry oblivious to the awkward nature of the situation answers her without care "(sighs) finishing up a really long night shift. Given the company is called swift, you'd think it'd go fast but... nope." They begin to walk together Henry having normal conversation and Regina internally reeling, thank goodness Henry's still cursed, she thinks, because if he weren't this would be so much worse. Then Henry asks the question of the century "...what are you doing out here? Because you're definitely not a morning person" and there it is... the awkwardness is there to beat her across the head full force. Regina steps into Roni mode to hopefully quell some of the embarrassment she feels having to explain herself to her son and to come up with a good lie if she can. "...I umm... actually had a meeting... with... one of my suppliers" she nods and thinks (and supply he did). Henry sees right through it and rebuts looking at her knowingly "...at 6 am... in that?", guess the lie wasn't as good as she'd hoped.

Feeling the piercing nature of his look and obviously being caught in her terrible lie she fesses up in exasperation "...ok fine! There wasn't a meeting ok? Now stop giving me that look... I was... catching up with an old boyfriend, ok?" Henry, unknowingly talking to his mother amid her chosen walk of shame, nods his head in understanding with a slight smile and gives a confession of his own "at least one of us had a good night." At his tone and the dejected look on his face she jumps from Roni to mommy mode immediately "oh, Henry if something's wrong, you can tell me." She looks at him with all the care only a true mother can exude. "I went over to Jacinda's last night..." he says, this comes as a shock to Regina and she answers in the same shock that she feels "oh?!" she looks at him with a stunned face that she must recover from quickly. She steels herself, fixes her face and apologizes "I'm sorry... I... just didn't realize that you two were back on" she must have really been tied up in herself lately she thinks, because she totally missed this. Henry continues "... um well, not anymore. Because all of a sudden Lucy broke it up... and then, and then she got super weird. It was like... suddenly... I wasn't good enough for her mom or something."