Dreams of Stars (A Once Upon a Time/Jiminy Cricket fanfic)

Dreams of Stars Part 9

The morning after Bridget spoke with Mr. Gold, she went to Granny's Diner. It was Sunday. Stopping at the door, she took a deep breath and forced herself to step inside. What she was about to do was exactly the sort of thing she was terrible at, but she had to force herself to do it, if that was at all possible. For several minutes, she stood awkwardly beside the door, watching Granny bustling around behind the counter. Granny looked so busy. How could she interrupt her?

Finally, the waitress, Ruby, walked over to her. Ruby was a tall girl, not much older than Bridget, and she wore a white and red tank top that showed her belly button and a short, white skirt. Her lips were painted bright red, and there were red extensions in her dark hair. "Are you looking for somewhere to sit, or what?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip.

Sensing that Ruby was annoyed with her, Bridget became even more anxious. "I want to talk to Granny," she whispered.

"What?" Ruby said. The diner was already noisy with people stopping in for their morning coffee.

Bridget tried to raise her voice. "I want to talk to Granny," she repeated, sounding far too loud in her own ears.

"Well, then, go talk to Granny," Ruby snapped. She went back to work.

Bridget had kind of hoped Ruby would tell Granny she wanted to talk to her, but since Ruby hadn't offered to do so, she was too afraid to ask. Still, that short conversation had been enough for Bridget to feel introduced into the diner, so she was able to walk up to the counter.

"Excuse me," she mumbled, almost as if she was testing her voice. Granny would never hear that. Bridget watched Granny, trying to wait for an opportune moment to get her attention. Maybe if Granny happened to look over at her or...

"Excuse me!" Bridget called, then felt like she had probably spoken at exactly the wrong moment. Granny had just picked up a folder and was about to carry it into the kitchen.

Slamming down the folder again, Granny turned to her. "Yes?" she said briskly.

"I—I need a job," Bridget stammered.

"I'll get you an application," Granny said.

"No, I—need it right away. And I need to...um..." Bridget knew she had to ask if she could be paid this week, but it suddenly seemed so insolent that she couldn't get the words out.

"That's not how this place works," Granny replied shortly. She made to turn back to the folder.

"No—wait—I'm in trouble with Mr. Gold," Bridget blurted out.

Granny faced her again, frowning over her spectacles at her. "What, a sweet girl like you?"

"Please help me," Bridget begged.

With a sigh, Granny gestured for Bridget to follow her. "All right, let's go talk some place quiet," she said.

Bridget went with her into the office. Granny sat down behind the desk then nodded for Bridget to take a seat as well. Bridget sat abruptly.

"So what is it?" Granny asked.

"Mr. Gold needs one-hundred dollars by the end of this week," Bridget explained.

"From you?"

Bridget nodded. She hated lying, even with gestures, but she certainly couldn't explain that she was trying to pay Dr. Hopper's rent for him. Bridget felt that Dr. Hopper could very well not be able to scrape up enough money in the short time given him, so she wanted to have a backup plan for him. After everything she had done to rescue him from being evicted last night, she didn't want it to happen to him a week later anyway.