You and Tequila

Chapter Fifty-Three

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Emma chuckles softly as she watches her four-year-old slide across the kitchen floor in his socks with her phone held high in the air.

"Slow down, bud. I don't want you to fall," she laughs lightly and snatches up her phone that she had left in the living room this evening while she prepares dinner.

"It's Regina! Mommy! It's Regina!" He squeals in pure delight just as her eyes land upon the screen flashing the woman's name.

"H-How-" she stutters like a fool as her mind tries to comprehend how her preschooler knows Regina is calling when there's no picture attached.

"I've been teaching him to read, honey," her mother casually drops a bomb like it's perfectly normal for this little boy to be able to read. "You better answer that," she slyly adds on and swiftly takes control over the stove.

Emma swipes her finger across the screen and scurries out of the room for privacy, but her son is right on her heels.

"H-hello?"

"Mommy! I talk! Please! Please!"

"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you..." Regina trails off and Emma can already hear the strain and apprehension in her tone.

"No, no," she rushes out as she presses the phone more firmly against her ear, because of her son's insistent whining. "Henry, please," she pleads, but he proceeds to jump up and down, reaching for the phone and failing miserably.

"Please, mommy! I wanna talk with Regina! My turn! My turn!"

"Jeez, Henry please give me a minute."

"No fair." He folds his arms across his chest and pouts with his bottom lip excessively hanging down.

"I'm sorry," Regina whispers into the line. "I know I'm not supposed to call when he's awake, I just..."

"No, it's alright." Emma spins around, granting her son a clear view of her back. "I told you how much he's been missing you," she murmurs into the phone to avoid her son's prying ears. "What's wrong? You sound...far away."

The loud exhale that bristles through the phone, somehow reaches into Emma's chest and squeezes all her functioning organs deep inside the cavity. "Yeah...I'm just..."

"Having a bad day?"

"Yes."

There's a long pause of silence, but Emma's distracted because of her son's abusive finger jabbing into her thigh. "What Henry?" She whips around abruptly, but this doesn't even phase him. He just holds out his little palm open and smiles.

"My turn."

Her eyes flutter closed as she listens to Regina's soft breathing on the other end. She swore she would keep Henry away from Regina until they are both healthy and stable in their relationship. She's been out of the facility for eight weeks now, but Emma's still not ready to involve her son and thankfully, her girlfriend never pushes or even mentions the sore subject.

"Mommy! I want to talk to Regina!" He demands, stomping his right foot aggressively against the hardwood floors.

"I can call back later," Regina softly whispers, but there's something in her tone that just isn't sitting right with her, so she reluctantly hands over her phone.

"Regina!" There's a heavy, guarded pause as the brunette tries to catch her bearings, because hearing Henry's little voice firsthand was the last thing she ever could have expected. "Regina?" He innocently questions, peeling back the phone from his ear to stare at the screen to make sure she's still on the other end.