Chapter Nine

"But what if I fail of my purpose here? It is but to keep the nerves at strain,
to dry one's eyes and laugh at a fall, and baffled, get up and begin again."

~ Robert Browning

Belle French stared at Granny's Diner from her place across the street, taking a series of deep breaths and mentally preparing herself for the task at hand. She was going to tell Ruby about the engagement today, and she really wasn't sure at all how her friend would take it.

Really, to say she was nervous would be an understatement. While Belle had managed to finally convince Ruby (after many long months) that Nicholas Gold wasn't an evil person who was only out to use her for his own pleasure (said pleasure was equally divided between them, thank you very much) and then toss her aside, her friend still wasn't her fiancé's biggest fan. It had become standard practice to leave out any sordid details of her love life during their regular girl nights, and she knew Nick rather preferred it that way actually, with the way he valued his privacy – she was sure it had something to do with wanting to keep his reputation as a coldhearted businessman, as anything less would likely be bad for business, but he would never admit it.

Belle laughed quietly to herself at the memory of his Nick's tough guy exterior had completely melted away the night before when they'd had dinner with the Hua family. Eastern Garden had been closed for the occasion to allow the whole family to sit down and enjoy a meal together; it had been a perfect evening. She was certain that Professor Hua had given Nick the talk when the women had gone off to the kitchen together, but her fiancé was tight-lipped about whatever had been said between them, and things had been downright jolly the rest of the evening. It had been a real relief, honestly.

Without giving herself further time to think about what she was doing, the young woman marched herself across the street and straight into the diner, weaving her way through the early breakfast crowd to get to the only empty place at the counter. She waved at her friend as Ruby dropped off a stack of orders with the kitchen, her bright red outfit standing out in the dim little diner in a way that was almost comforting. "Hey, Belle! You're not usually here in the mornings," the waitress commented as she set a large blue mug in front of her friend. "Coffee?" She didn't even wait for an answer before beginning to pour, already knowing Belle never passed up coffee before noon.

"Thanks," Belle responded. "Actually, I came in because there's something I wanted to talk to you about…"

"Ruby, I could use a refill down here!" called a voice from the other end of the counter, belonging to a bleary-eyed Dr. Whale who looked to have had a little too much to drink the night before, which certainly wasn't anything new. Ruby rolled her eyes before moving to comply with the request, which was quickly followed by more refills and checks that needed settling and orders that needed filling. In the midst of all the chaos were repeated attempts of Belle trying to steal away her friend's attention for just a minute to deliver the news, but every time she tried to start the conversation, something interrupted them. The whole ordeal was taking so long, her meager courage was beginning to wane and the front door was beginning to be a real temptation. She could always tell Ruby later, there really wasn't any rush—

No. No no no. She was telling her, and she was telling her now.

"Ruby!" she called as the woman passed to give another round of coffee refills to those sitting at the counter. "Ruby! Nick proposed yesterday!"

The young woman behind the counter froze mid-pour, her eyes wide and fixed on Belle as the chatter around them hushed, everyone in the crowded diner invested in this new bit of information about the man who owned the town and the woman he loved. Ruby managed to shake herself out of the stupor half a second before the good doctor's mug could overflow, though she nearly splashed him with the steaming liquid anyway as she swung around to hurriedly crash the carafe back into the coffee station. "He what!" she screeched, brown and bright red hair flying as she grabbed the edge of the counter in front of Belle, who simply held up her left hand in response, the glittering stone on her finger catching the light beautifully.

"And you said yes," Ruby breathed, her jaw hanging loose and her knuckles whitening where she clutched the counter. "You said yes."

Chewing nervously on her lower lip, the woman in question could only nod in confirmation as she waited for what she assumed was an inevitable lecture on how she was making a mistake, one she would undoubtedly hear when her father finally caught wind of the engagement as well. And then Ruby let out a long breath, deflating like a leaky balloon. "You're getting married."

Well, it wasn't a lecture or screaming outrage, and she wasn't marching out the door toward the pawnshop, so all in all, things could be a lot worse. "I'm getting married," Belle repeated, a bit in awe of it herself. Wrapping her hands around the oversized mug full of warm coffee, she hesitantly asked, "Are we okay?" She would never ask permission from anyone to marry the man she loved, but she knew that there was bound to be someone who would sever ties because of the relationship, and she felt it much better to have things out in the open than have friendships crumble later on. Of course, that was her brave outlook on things, when really she was terrified of losing even more people she cared about simply because they refused to try to understand.

The smile that graced Ruby's lips was like the first glimpse of the sun at dawn, bringing hope of a new day with new possibilities. "Only if I get to help plan this party," the red woman informed Belle before turning to grab an omelet that needed delivering. "And we're going dress shopping next weekend!"

III

Note: So sorry it's been ages since the last chapter! More should be coming much sooner, because we've finally reached Emma's grand entrance.