Illusions

Chapter Twenty-Six

"No," she firmly demands into the phone, pinching the bridge of her nose the relieve the stress headache starting to form. "I'm sure I don't want to go to the funeral," she exasperates for what feels like the millionth time in twenty-four hours to every person she knows.

"Swan, I think you need to for closure, I think it will help-"

"Nolan, listen to me, I've already said my goodbyes and had my closure at the hospital. I don't need to relive it, I'm good," she vows, knowing in her heart this is the best move for her.

In all her life, she has never attended a funeral or wake before, not even her parents', because there wasn't anybody to coordinate one. She's slightly terrified of how she would feel or react at a funeral and she thinks it's best to avoid that situation. Besides, she made her peace with Remy's passing as she held the woman close in the last moments of her life. She doesn't need to pick at the fresh scab, just to make it bleed again. 

"Fine, be a stubborn ass," David growls into the phone, provoking her eyes to roll again. "You're there, right? You have one job, then pack your stuff and come home. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Captain. I'm here now, I will call you when I'm on my way back to New York," she reiterates, sounding as annoyed as a teenager being reprimanded by her father for using the car without his permission.

"Good, goodbye."

"Bye," she grumpily replies and ends the call.

She sits back in her seat and observes the patrons inside Granny's diner on a slow Monday afternoon. There's a few customers, like the short, stocky man fighting his way through a burger on his lunch break (she's come to learn that his name is Leroy), along with the depressed man picking at his BLT club (Ruby calls him Marco), but luckily there aren't too many people around. She truly only needs Ruby to spread the word anyways, so she waits a few minutes more to double check that the waitress is in for the day before she begins.

She allowed herself all of Sunday to wallow in her grief, but as soon as the sun was up on Monday morning, she forced herself to push on. She needs to close this last chapter in her life and there's just a few more things to accomplish before her fresh start in life. A fresh start, starting with a new relationship with the most amazing woman to ever grace the planet. Regina had left at four in the morning, on Sunday, so she could pick up Henry and spend the day with him before school on Monday. Emma called her, just to inform her that she will be heading back into town and that rumors will be spreading, but not to worry and luckily Regina understood.

Green eyes spot a flash of red streaks and tight red, booty-shorts, motivating Emma to exit her car in a haste. She quickly shoots a text to Jones as she walks the path up to Granny's diner.

"Hey Ally," a voice calls out, persuading her to peek up from her phone.

"Hey Robin. How are you?" She asks through a genuine smile while finishing up her text and pocketing her phone.

"Good. How are you? My Aunt Regina had mentioned a family emergency?" She kindly inquires, as they stop right in front of the door to the diner.

"Yeah, I came back into town to grab a few things from home, but then I have to head back," she claims with a sympathetic pout that has Robin mimicking the same frown.

"I'm sorry. I hope your dad recovers soon."

"Thanks. Hey, tell the kid I say hi and I miss him."

"Sure thing. See you later."

"See ya," Emma calls out, watching as Robin heads down the path toward her parked car.

She sighs, wondering if all these people in Regina's life will forgive her just as easily as her girlfriend has. She quickly shoves those thoughts aside, because she has a job to do and she just wants all this madness to end. She yanks open the door, a grin stretching into her cheeks as the familiar bell above the door rings through the restaurant. She really hasn't thought about how much this town has become a part of her life, but now that she's back after a few days away, she's realizing just how much it has seeped into her heart and has become a comfort in her life.