Baker's Apprentice Who Lives In A Shoe

The Price of Gold

Once again my alarm clock woke me up. My dream was of nothing but me flying. I was searching for something, no someone. I continue with my usual schedule. It took a little longer to get everything baked for Granny, but I was able to get to the diner before the lunch rush. I put the order on the counter and Granny looked it over. The bell on the door rang again and I looked over to see the Mayor, Regina. I was always uncomfortable around her. I always felt like she hated me. Regina sits down at the table next to the door where I see Emma sitting with a paper open to the jobs section.

"All set, my dear. Thank you for the extra." I smiled at her as she gave me the money for the order.

"It's no problem. I think I am going to get something to eat before I head back." I sit at the counter and Ruby comes over.

"I already put in your usual order." She knows me so well. She sets a glass of orange juice in front of me as Regina gets up and leaves the diner. Emma gets up from the table soon after, but ends up spilling her hot cocoa on herself. Ruby rushes over with a washcloth to help. Ruby ends up pointing her in the direction of the laundry room where that poor pregnant girl works. She is one example of why people do not like Mr. Gold too much. The only reason I know about the deal that Ashley made with him is because she came into my shop one day craving brownies and fudge. I had fudge brownies, so I gave her some for free. She was on her own.

Ashley told me about the deal she made with Mr. Gold; that she would give her baby to him and she would get some money. I may not agree with selling off your own baby, but I have started to think about it a different way. Mr. Gold is trying to help her. Ashley has seen it as such a burden since she found out that she had a bun in the oven. Mr. Gold is just paying her to take the burden from her. I do have a feeling that Ashley does not want to give the baby to Mr. Gold. She wants to prove that she can be a good mother to her child. As I was thinking about this Ruby brought me my pancakes and I ate them in a hurry. I got back to the shop and continue with my boring day. Archie comes by and we go out for a bit of a late lunch and a walk through the park.

Archie had been really great. The date that we went on last night made me realize that there are good men in the world. He was romantic, and I felt like I could just talk to him forever. I guess, as a psychiatrist, he should be easy to talk to. Anyways, I went back to work after our lunch date and the walk. I closed up pretty early, but I waited outside Archie's office until he was done for the day. As I am sitting there I see Mr. Gold close up his shop. He looks around as if he senses someone.

"Have a good night, Mr. Gold." I say. He turns and spots me as I wave at him. He looks concerned still, but waves back before walking home. It is getting pretty late, so I get up and open the door to the stairwell. Before I step in I hear the shattering of a window. I look towards Mr. Gold's shop and I see a figure opening the door and entering. I get nervous so I slowly walk towards the shop to see who it might be. Then, I see Mr. Gold coming back, and I breathe a slight sigh of relief. He sees me and holds up a hand to say that he knows and is in no need of help. I go back to Archie's office and tell him that I was just going to go home by myself. I kissed him on the cheek before I went back outside. I had a bad feeling, so I went by Mr. Gold's shop to check and see what was going on.

"Mr. Gold?" I called out by the door. The door was still unlocked so I head inside. "Mr. Gold?" There was no answer. I walk in to see Mr. Gold lying on the floor with a cut on his forehead. "Oh my God, Mr. Gold." I ran over and knelt next to him. It looked like he had been pepper sprayed by whoever had broken in. I looked around for something to wipe the blood off his forehead. In the process of doing that he starts to stir on the ground. I try to wipe the pepper spray off his face with the sleeve of my jacket so he can open his eyes. "So much for not needing my help, huh, Mr. Gold." He was finally able to open his eyes. "There you go. Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" He shakes his head. "You sure? You got a pretty big gash on your forehead, and I am pretty sure you might have a concussion." He was finally able to sit up.