It was just another day after school for Doug. He was at Storybrooke General Hospital once again and was visiting his mother like he did almost always after school if he didn't have to meet the others in marching band.
"How about a little more, Kitten, or has this old lady had enough for one night?" Ebony smiled innocently at her son.
"Oh, Mom, you know I always have more pudding for you!" Doug insisted as he took out some pudding to feed his mother with as she rested in her bed.
"Oh, that looks simply delightful!" Ebony beamed at her visiting son.
"You once told me that this was your favorite flavor growing up as a child." Doug nodded as he brought out the pudding cup.
"Ration?" Ebony then asked.
"Uh, no, vanilla," Doug said as he let his mother have some pudding, going to feed her since she had a rather interesting way to eat the pudding. "Open up! You can let go of the spoon now, Mom."
Ebony then held onto the spoon in her mouth, hissing and glaring slightly like a distressed cat.
"Take it easy, Mom... Easy..." Doug said before he moved the spoon out of her mouth before sighing. "...There. Oops, looks like you've got a little on your face," he then said before he wiped off the pudding for his mother as she was rather fussy nowadays. "Here, let me. There you are. There you are, Mom." he then said once he cleaned up the pudding.
"Oh, Dougie!" Ebony smiled warmly at her son. "You always were my favorite kitten!"
Doug smiled bashfully in response.
"Dr. Whale will be here soon with your mother's medicine, Douglas." The nurse spoke up as she poked her head into the room as the mother and son bonded.
"Okay. Thank you, Nurse," Doug said to the woman before looking back. "Now, where were we?" he then sweetly asked his mother.
"Just remember not to give me any chocolate... That might be dangerous..." Ebony smiled innocently.
"Right... Because you're a cat..." Doug whispered to himself. "I think vanilla is lethal for cats too."
"I just love our visits, Dougie," Ebony smiled warmly. "How's your father back home?"
"Oh, he's quite as always," Doug replied as he adjusted his glasses. "You know Dad, he doesn't talk much."
"Yes, he was always like that, but I always know what he would say if he could talk," Ebony nodded. "And how is that girl Evie?"
"Evie...?" Doug asked as he blushed suddenly. "What about Evie?"
"I just wanted to know how she is," Ebony smiled. "I know that she's a perfect match for you even though she's the daughter of The Evil Queen and you're the son of a dwarf."
"Um... Right..." Doug blinked before nodding. "Because we're all under a curse from Mayor Mills."
"Mm-hmm..." Ebony nodded. "I know that it's true and I'm trying to go along with it so I don't get into trouble with her like she did to Snow White."
"...Okay, Mom," Doug said with a small smile, though he sounded doubtful about the curse being true and played along so that he wouldn't upset his mother. "Whatever you say."
Ebony smiled back before she began to eat up her pudding, enjoying it a lot, though she lapped her tongue through it like a cat getting milk from a saucer.
"...Feel better, Mom?" Doug smiled.
"Mm-hmm..." Ebony beamed and nodded. "It's the best pudding ever especially since it was served by you."
Doug gave his mother a small smile as he looked bashful at her cat-like behavior, though he wasn't that embarrassed about it. He just hated it when certain people in school would try to pick on him about it, but he didn't care too much about what they thought. He loved his mother just the way she was, even if her talks about magic curses sounded a bit unusal, not to mention him being the Romeo Montague to Evie's Juliet Capulet since he was the son of a dwarf and she was the daughter of The Evil Queen. At least in Ebony's eyes.
"Good evening," Dr. Whale said as he came in with the medicine. "Your mother has to take her medication now."
"Thank you, Dr. Whale," Doug replied. "She's enjoying her pudding very much."
"Good," Dr. Whale nodded. "Remember to take your medicine, Ebony. Sometimes we're not so sure about that sometimes."
"Oh, I will, I will... You are a very handsome man..." Ebony smiled as she rubbed her head against his waist, making him flinch and step back. "If I didn't already have Doug's father, I'd be happy to go back home with you once I'm all better~"
"Um... Thanks..." Dr. Whale blinked as he backed away. "I'm going to go now."
"See you around then, Dr. Whale." Ebony said as she soon looked like she was going to be taking her pills.
Dr. Whale nodded as he soon went out the door, but decided to come back after Doug would leave. Ebony then slid the pills out onto her tongue and began to hide them.
"Mom... You have to take your pills..." Doug reminded with a sigh.
"I know, dear, but they're not good for me." Ebony replied.
"Yes, they are... Don't you wanna get better?" Doug asked his mother.
"The pills are preventing me from remembering Misthaven, our home in The Enchanted Forest, Henry Mills is right that we're all fairy tale characters and that you and your friends are the descendants," Ebony told her son with a small smile. "You should understand that, you're a very smart boy."
Doug sighed and shook his head.
"You'll thank me later," Ebony told her son. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? It looks like it's about time for you to go to bed."
"Yeah, I think you're right, Mom," Doug nodded as he stood up before he reached out to hug her, gently patting her on the back. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"See you later, dear," Ebony replied. "Also Evie's really cute, so ask her out already!" she then advised.
"MOM." Doug grunted and blushed a little.
"Maybe it'll help you experience the true magic of Storybrooke," Ebony said after the hug. "Oh, and if you go to the festival coming up, don't have too much fun without me."
"Festival?" Doug asked, confused at first until he then realized what she was talking about. "Oh, right... Miner's Day."
"Oh, yes," Ebony smiled and nodded. "Your father and six uncles were all miners in The Enchanted Forest, you know. They had another one too."
"But wouldn't the story then be Snow White & The Eight Dwarves if my dad and 'uncles' are seven and they had another brother?" Doug asked out of confusion.
"They were the eight dwarves until Stealthy was killed during a mission," Ebony insisted to Doug. "Your father and the others just don't remember him right now."
"Oh... A-All right, Mom... I'll try to have a nice Miner's Day," Doug then said as he grabbed his backpack and went to head out the door. "Have a good night now."
"Good night, Kitten." Ebony smiled sweetly.
Doug smiled back and soon went to head off back home. Dr. Whale was looking over his own forms before looking over as Doug left after yet another visit. Doug looked wide-eyed as he looked into one room on his way out the front doors, seeing that Ben was talking with Mr. French who was in a wheelchair right now. The two were talking about something and Ben nodded at the older man, feeling concerned and bad for the older man that his father of all people was responsible for the handicap crime, but at least it wasn't permanent.
Eventually, it was time for a very important Storybrooke tradition as it was just another typical day, aside from the tradition. At the diner, Doug was going over there for his own breakfast and was going with his father.
"Hey, Dad, what's up?" Doug smiled at his father.
Doug's father responded with a smile back before hugging his son. He couldn't speak for himself, no one ever knew how or why, but Doug always knew what his father would say if he could speak.
"Good morning to you too," Doug then said. "How about we get some breakfast at Granny's Diner?"
Doug's father smiled and nodded as that sounded like a good idea.
"I'll bring my own money, don't worry," Doug then offered. "Maybe a little later since there's no school today we can go see Mom together?"
Doug's father nodded as that sounded like a good idea too as he put on his favorite purple cap.
"Glad we understand each other." Doug said to his mute father before he went to get some money and came to meet his father at the door after getting his money. Once he was settled, he soon stepped out the door with his father to go and get some breakfast.
The father and son then stepped out together and locked their door before they went to go and head over to Granny's Diner which was probably the most popular restaurant in all of Storybrooke.
Doug smiled at his father as they walked off together to get some breakfast. "We'll pick up something for Mom too." he then suggested.
Doug's father nodded in agreement as that sounded very nice. The two soon continued to walk off before they soon made it to Granny's Diner and decided to have a special breakfast together with eggs, bacon, and toast.
"Uh-oh..." Doug whispered as he looked at the bar counter of the diner. "Look out, Dad. There's Grumpy Leroy."
Doug's father nodded before looking over and pointed at a nearby booth that was open.
"Sure, we can sit there," Doug smiled. "That sounds like a better idea anyway."
Leroy rolled his eyes at the nickname of "Grumpy Leroy" as he began to eat his own breakfast.
"Hungry, guys?" Kiara asked as she came by and gave them both glasses of water to start off with.
"Yes, of course," Doug nodded. "We'll have our usual breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast."
"Sounds good," Kiara replied. "What would you like to drink?"
"You want your usual, Dad?" Doug then asked his father.
Doug's father nodded as he was silent as usual.
"He'll have some coffee with two sugars and I'll have a glass of apple juice." Doug then said to Kiara.
"All right! Be right back with you soon." Kiara nodded as she wrote down their orders and walked off to the back.
"She's a nice girl." Doug smiled warmly about Kiara.
Doug's father smiled back as he seemed to agree. However, two men weren't as lucky as them as they decided to go to Leroy which was usually not a good idea, especially while he was eating.
"Uh, excuse me, Leroy," Mr. Clark spoke up as he sniffled a little. "Uh, do you mind scooting over a seat so Walter and I could sit together?"
Leroy looked annoyed. "If I wanted to sit there, I would've sat there. You want this seat? Try dragging your sorry asses out of bed a little earlier." he then scoffed.
Mr. Clark pouted. "You're a real ray of sunshine as-" he started to say only to suddenly sneeze, accidentally all over Leroy's breakfast plate.
That just made Leroy even grumpier. "Congrats... Just lost my appetite. Seat's all yours." he then said as he wiped his mouth with his napkin and decided to get up and go.
"Man, he's a real friendly guy, huh?" Doug sarcastically asked his father.
Doug's father seemed to roll his eyes and shake his head. However, just as Leroy was about to leave, two new faces came into the diner. Though not very new as everybody in Storybrooke knew each other like one big happy family. Though maybe "Happy" is far-fetched, especially with Leroy around. Except for maybe Walter, he was almost always happy about anything.
"Excuse me?" Evie's voice piped up.
"Evie...?" Doug whispered as his heart pounded in his chest as he caught a glimpse of, in his opinion, the most beautiful girl in school.
"Can we have everyone's attention, please?" Ms. Blanchard added as she stood next to Evie.
The diner soon went silent as all eyes were on the elementary school teacher and the high school student.
"We're sorry to interrupt your morning, but we just wanted to remind everyone that a very special occasion is upon us: Miner's Day." Ms. Blanchard told the people in the diner.
"As you all know, the nuns of Storybrooke are hoping that everyone will get involved, and will help sell their exquisite candles," Evie added. "All we need are a few energetic volunteers. So, who wants to join us?"
Doug's father patted his son's shoulder.
Doug then looked over and his father seemed to use his hands to talk as though to suggest something. "I should volunteer for Miner's Day?" he then asked.
"Oh, would you, Doug?" Evie asked, suddenly right behind the boy as he gasped and flinched before grinning nervously at her. "That would be super helpful if you did. I'm sure Jane would appreciate it too since she lives with the nuns."
"Oh... Uh... Erm..." Doug stammered before smiling nervously. "Sure, Evie... I'll gladly help out."
"That sounds very nice." Evie smiled at his support.
"Thank you, Doug," Ms. Blanchard added. "It's so nice to see you young people helping us older people out too."
Doug just blushed in response, especially since Evie was giving him proper attention after that Valentine's Day Dance Massacre. However, no one else seemed to be that interested in volunteering as they went back to doing what they were doing as Leroy got up and headed for the door where Ms. Blanchard was.
"Leroy, you wanna volunteer?" Ms. Blanchard asked the grumpy short man.
"I wanna leave, sister," Leroy scoffed at her. "You're blocking the door."
Ms. Blanchard pouted before she nodded at him. "Of course. Uh, you know, if you wanted to help, it could really be a-" she then started to say.
"Oh, yeah. Right. Quite a team we'd make: town harlot, town drunk. The only person in this town that people like less than me, is you," Leroy scoffed at her in response. "If you're coming to me, you're screwed." he then added before leaving.
"Oh, Mr. Leroy, you don't have to be such a grump." Evie firmly pouted.
"You shouldn't get involved with Ms. Blanchard... Besides, people will do whatever YOU tell them to since you're The Mayor's brat." Leroy told Evie with a scoff.
Evie flinched a little at how Leroy spoke to her even though she was only a teenage girl.
"H-Hey! Don't talk to Evie like that!" Doug spoke up as bravely as he could.
"Whatever..." Leroy scoffed and rolled his eyes as he then left the diner.
"...Don't listen to him, Evie," Doug then said softly. "You're a lot better than he says you are, whether you're the daughter of The Evil Queen or not."
Evie then glanced at him.
"I-I mean, The Mayor!" Doug then corrected before looking bashful. "The Mayor's daughter... N-Not The Evil... I'll... I'll shut up..." he then turned away in embarrassment.
"Thank you for sticking up for me, Doug," Evie said before giving him a friendly hug. "You're such a sweet boy."
Doug's eyes widened as he blushed.
"Enjoy the rest of your day," Evie said softly. "I'll see you later and if you go to see your mother today, tell her that I said hi. Even if I'm the daughter of The Evil Queen and you're the son of a dwarf. We're like Romeo & Juliet."
"Heh... I hope not too much like Romeo & Juliet..." Doug said sheepishly in response. "L-L-Like with that poison."
"Let's hope not." Evie smiled at him before she soon followed Ms. Blanchard out of the diner.
Doug then sighed as he clutched his fluttering heart. He then came to sit back down and he saw his father smirking at him. "...Oh, be quiet," he then pouted. "It wouldn't work out between us anyway. I gave her a Valentine in school and I never got anything back in return."
Evie seemed to overhear that before she looked thoughtful as she left the diner with Ms. Blanchard and soon, Emma came to join them.
"Hey. Mind if I join you?" Emma asked the two.
"You just wanna know what Miner's Day is." Evie guessed.
Emma blinked. "...Well, yeah," she then admitted. "And I also wanna know why are you beating yourselves up over it?" she then asked the two.
"It's an annual holiday celebrating an old tradition," Ms. Blanchard explained the holiday to Emma. "The nuns used to make candles and trade them with the miners for coal."
"Coal? In Maine?" Emma asked out of slight confusion. "If they were mining for lobster, I'd understand."
Evie chuckled a little as that was funny to her.
"Look, I don't know. Now, they use it as a fundraiser," Ms. Blanchard then said to Emma. "It's an amazing party; everyone loves it."
Emma frowned a bit. "It doesn't seem like everyone loves it."
"They just need the Miner's Day spirit, that's all." Evie replied.
"No, Evie... It's not Miner's Day; it's me," Ms. Blanchard sighed. "Last week, I had 10 volunteers. This week, they all dropped out."
"Oh, Ms. Blanchard..." Evie frowned a little.
"You think this is about what happened with David?" Emma then guessed.
"Oh, I know it is. A few of them told me as much," Ms. Blanchard insisted. "I've never... Been a homewrecker before."
"Ms. Blanchard, it's going to be okay," Evie said. "I know you wouldn't do anything wrong. You've always been so sweet to everybody, especially us kids."
"Evie's right. It's gonna blow over," Emma agreed. "You made a mistake with David; it happens, but, you don't have to do charity to try to win people's hearts back."
"I have to do something, and this is the best I can do," Ms. Blanchard merely sighed. "Love ruined my life."
"Don't say that." Evie pouted.
Emma's phone soon rang, so she answered it. "Sheriff Swan... Yeah. I'll be right down," she then said on the phone before hanging up as she looked at the two beside her. "Well, apparently, duty calls. Hang in there. And, if there's anything I can do to help, I will." she then said.
Evie smiled warmly as she was glad that Emma was warming up to Storybrooke.
"I know. Thank you." Ms. Blanchard smiled at Emma, feeling a little bit better.
"I'll go and see if any of my friends can volunteer." Evie suggested.
"Thank you, Evie," Ms. Blanchard nodded. "And thank you so much for helping out, though I don't think your mother would like you helping me out too much."
"Well, I'm not helping with Miner's Day for Mom, I'm doing it for you and everyone in Storybrooke," Evie reassured. "I promise, we'll all get through this together."
"You're such a good girl," Ms. Blanchard replied. "Though I'm not sure how Doug's mother would think of you as the daughter of an Evil Queen when you don't have a mean bone in your body."
"Life is strange that way," Evie said. "I'll see you around then."
"Okay, see you soon, Evie." Ms. Blanchard nodded before they split up into town together.
Doug looked out the window as he watched Evie going. He then sighed as he really was the Romeo Montague to her Juliet Capulet. He just hoped somehow, someday, someway... He would be able to impress Evie enough and give her the boyfriend she deserves and not a shallow, vain, and pretty boy like Chad. He didn't know how he was going to do it yet, but he would find a way and march on through if he ever got the chance.
Meanwhile, the other citizens of Storybrooke were getting ready for Miner's Day. Leroy was walking into town before he flinched and grabbed his chest as he was suddenly given a jumpscare.
"Wanna sign up and help out for Miner's Day?!" Dee Dee asked as she jumped out to see the man.
"Jesus! Kid!" Leroy cried out and looked over. "Pigtails, you just scared the sh-"
Dee Dee looked at him, cutely and innocently.
"Erm... The heck out of me..." Leroy then covered up since she was just a little girl.
"My name's not Pigtails, it's Dee Dee," Dee Dee corrected. "I'm helping out with Sister Astrid for Miner's Day."
"Hooray for you..." Leroy said as he tried to step away from her by the ladder. "Listen, Pigtails-"
"Dee Dee." Dee Dee corrected.
"Whatever," Leroy said before continuing. "I gotta go."
"Oh..." Dee Dee pouted. "Too bad."
Leroy then grumbled as he shook his head. "Kids these days..." he then muttered before walking past the ladder and something soon fell on him suddenly before he looked up to see the woman at the top of the ladder.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Astrid said once she saw what happened. "It just slipped out of my hand. I-"
"No problem at all." Leroy reassured as Astrid climbed down the ladder.
Dee Dee then quickly hid behind Astrid for protection from "Grumpy Leroy".
"I really am so sorry. I-I was so busy trying to get the lights to work, that I didn't realize I was about to knock it off the ladder." Astrid said softly and nervously.
"Let me take a look at those lights for you." Leroy said softly before he climbed up the ladder.
Dee Dee poked her head out.
"Dee Dee, don't be scared. He won't bite." Astrid told the girl.
"But he's mean~" Dee Dee pouted.
Astrid frowned a little before she looked up as Leroy spoke to her again.
"Here's your problem; you're overloading the transformer," Leroy advised Astrid. "You kept messing around with these lights, the whole thing could've blown up on you."
Dee Dee gasped as that scared her a little.
"But it won't anymore!" Leroy then quickly added since he saw that had scared Dee Dee.
Astrid soon looked relieved. "Oh. Then I guess that makes you our hero." she then said to him.
"I'm nobody's hero, sister." Leroy replied.
"Oh. You can just call me Astrid." Astrid suggested with a small smile.
"I call everybody sister. I'm Leroy." Leroy replied as he tinkered with the lights before they soon came on.
Astrid looked even more amazed while Dee Dee continued to hide away from Leroy, clinging to Astrid like a surrogate mother. "How did you do that? Are you an electrician?" she then asked out of amazement.
"I'm in the custodial services game." Leroy explained before he climbed back down from the ladder.
"That's... Wonderful." Astrid said softly.
Leroy shook his head. "No, it's not. What I really wanted to do, was sail. I even bought a boat," he then said. "It's a real clunker. I was going to fix it up, sail around the world, say goodbye to this hellhole." he then added.
"You swore." Dee Dee pouted.
Leroy flinched, looking quickly apologetic for what he just said "I'm... I'm sorry, ladies."
"It's okay," Astrid reassured softly, admiring his dream of leaving Storybrooke and she soon looked supportive. "You know, someone once told me, you can do anything as long as you can dream it."
"You really think so?" Leroy then asked her.
"Sure. Look how easily you fixed those lights," Astrid smiled. "I bet you could do anything."
Leroy gave a small smile back. Dee Dee still hid away from Leroy, feeling scared and unsure about him.
Astrid looked concerned about that. "We should, uh, get back to the Volunteer Center. Nice to meet you, Leroy." she then said before she decided to take Dee Dee back inside and away from Leroy, seeing as the man had frightened poor Dee Dee.
"Can we have hot cocoa?" Dee Dee asked softly.
"Yes, we can have hot cocoa," Astrid told Dee Dee. "Just remember to ask Mother Superior first. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am." Dee Dee nodded.
"Very good," Astrid said with a small smile. "And if you say 'please and thank you', then maybe she'll let you have marshmallows too."
"Oh, cool!" Dee Dee beamed as she went to leave with Astrid then.
"This kid yours?" Leroy then asked Astrid.
"Oh, no, I'm just looking after her," Astrid explained. "But I guess in a way, I am her mama... Now if she could only have a papa." she then smiled.
Dee Dee blushed a little as she continued to hike around Astrid as the woman then decided to get going with the plucky girl beside her. Leroy looked at her, giving a small smile before he suddenly looked determined and decided to go and find Ms. Blanchard or Evie right away.
"He's grumpy all the time." Dee Dee said.
"Yes, Dee Dee, but you can't let people like him get to you," Astrid told the blonde girl. "But it was at least nice of him to help us out."
"Should we thank him when we see him again?" Dee Dee asked.
"Yes, that might be a good idea," Astrid smiled warmly. "It might help him be not so grumpy anymore."
"Then I will thank Mr. Leroy whenever I see him again." Dee Dee then beamed.
"You're such a good girl," Astrid smiled as she gently patted Dee Dee on her head. "Such a little angel."
Dee Dee smiled back as she hugged Astrid.
At the Volunteer Center, Ms. Blanchard was soon filling out forms at a table.
"Where can I sign up?" Leroy asked as he rushed to the woman.
Ms. Blanchard glanced at him and decided to ignore him because of how rude he was to her earlier.
"What? I wanna volunteer to sell candles." Leroy frowned at her.
"No, you don't," Ms. Blanchard shook her head. "You made that very clear this morning at Granny's."
"Well... Maybe, I saw the light. I mean, maybe somebody showed it to me," Leroy replied. "What difference does it make, sister? It looks like you can use all the help you can get."
Ms. Blanchard looked at him before giving in. "Okay, I need help manning the candle booth. No swearing, no drinking, and I get to call all the shots." she then arranged with him, sounding gentle still, but had a hint of firmness in her voice to show how serious she was about this.
Leroy nodded as he would try to follow those rules and on the other side of the room, Astrid could be seen talking with Mother Superior as Jane was arranging some things in the room with Dee Dee's help.
"You ordered how many tanks of helium?" Mother Superior asked Astrid a bit firmly.
"I-I meant to order 12." Astrid said nervously.
"You ordered 12 dozen. Return them." Mother Superior clarified and retorted.
Astrid pouted in dismay. "There are no refunds." she then said.
"We needed that money; you knew that. You know how he feels about us," Mother Superior replied strictly. "You fix this, Sister Astrid. You fix it now," she then added before leaving. "Jane, have any of your school friends volunteered to help out?"
"So far, Ginger Braeburn is going to make treats for everybody and everybody else either said 'Maybe' or 'Go away, it's the weekend'." Jane informed.
"Fantastic..." Mother Superior rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Well, at least we'll have some baked goods, right?"
"Yes, Ginger Braeburn is a great baker," Jane nodded. "Evie made sure of it too."
"Excellent... I don't know if Mr. Gold will have any treats, but at least that keeps us out of trouble for a while." Mother Superior said to the teenage girl.
"Yes, Mother Superior," Jane replied. "Evie and I will keep trying."
"See that you do, we don't have much time left." Mother Superior nodded before she left.
Leroy had overheard the exchange between Astrid and Mother Superior and decided to talk with the younger woman. "Hey. What's the problem?" he then asked.
Astrid sighed as she looked a bit depressed and defeated. "The problem is, I'm an idiot. We get a stipend each year for expenses, and it's all carefully budgeted except for the part where I spent it all. On helium. And now we can't pay our rent." she then explained to him.
Leroy frowned before suggesting something. "So, you'll make it up when you get your next stipend."
"Which isn't 'til next month," Astrid replied. "The rent is due next week and the only income we have are these candles."
"Well, so how many do you need to sell?" Leroy then asked.
"Like, a thousand." Astrid said.
"How many did you sell last year?" Leroy asked.
"42." Astrid said.
Leroy frowned before he had another suggestion. "Ask your landlord to cut you a break." he then suggested.
"Mr. Gold doesn't offer much leeway." Astrid sighed and shook her head.
"Mr. Gold's your landlord?" Leroy asked then.
"If we miss a payment, we're out," Astrid explained. "And then they'll reassign us, and we'll have to leave Storybrooke and I would hate to imagine what would probably happen to Dee Dee. She'll probably have to go to a foster home."
"...Pigtails doesn't have any parents?" Leroy asked softly. He almost sounded like he felt sorry for Dee Dee and he didn't make her life any easier by being a rather rude and grumpy grown-up when she was just trying to live her carefree and young life.
"No one's ever seen or heard from them and she's been all on her own in a cabin for who knows how long," Astrid replied. "That's why I'm acting as her mother so no one takes her away from Storybrooke like those Zimmer twins until Sheriff Swan found their father. We might be separated."
Leroy looked soft before he frowned in determination and he looked strong. "No, you won't. You know why you only sold 42 last year? Because you didn't have me," he then said to her. "This year, we're going to sell all of them."
"Wow! Leroy, I guess you really are mine and Dee Dee's hero." Astrid beamed in excitement.
Leroy gave a small smile since he had impressed Astrid.
"Oh, Evie... I really wish I could help you with Miner's Day..." Doug sighed to himself. "Especially... Helping with you closely... Just you and me... If only I had the courage to tell you how I feel."
"You wanna tell me something, Doug?" Evie suddenly asked from right behind the bespectacled boy.
Doug's eyes widened before he jumped back and gasped once he saw that the girl he was talking about was right behind him. "E-Evie! What a surprise!" he then greeted nervously.
"Hi, Doug..." Evie smiled.
"Hi, Evie," Doug smiled back sheepishly. "Funny running into you here... In the middle of the street."
"Uh, yeah... That tends to happen in a small town." Evie chuckled lightly.
"Heh... Yeah... Just a place of coincidences, huh?" Doug smiled bashfully.
"So, you wanted to help me with something?" Evie prompted him as Doug flinched as he couldn't dodge what he said about her when he thought he was alone. "Are you having trouble in Chemistry or some other subject?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that," Doug said bashfully. "Erm... Well... I thought I'd help you out more in Miner's Day and... Well-"
"Oh, that's very sweet, Doug, I'm looking forward to working with you," Evie said as she beamed a little bit. "You'll definitely be a lot more help than Chad. I wish I could ask Jane for help, but Mother Superior says she needs her to help more at The Volunteer Center. I guess it's a bit hectic being a teenager among the nuns."
"Heh... Yeah... Maybe..." Doug shrugged before smiling. "So... I wanted to ask if there was anything we could probably do... One-on-one?"
"Hmm..." Evie paused thoughtfully. "Well, Ms. Blanchard says someone needs to watch over a booth to sell the candles to people in time for the festival. Rumor has it that Mother Superior and the other nuns totally have their hands full with them since Sister Astrid ordered quite a lot of stuff for them to move."
"Well, uh... Maybe we could run a booth together then?" Doug suggested bashfully. Sure, they wouldn't be alone together for long, but they would at least be sitting together and maybe having a chance to talk with each other.
"I'll have to ask, but I'm sure it'll be okay," Evie smiled warmly at his help. "I'm so glad that you wanna help out, you know how some kids our age can get sometimes."
"Oh, yeah, totally," Doug nodded as he adjusted his glasses. "I-I-I really look forward to our time together then."
"Then let's go and tell Ms. Blanchard," Evie smiled. "I think she's still at The Volunteer Center."
"Erm... Uh... S-Sounds good..." Doug nodded.
"You can tell your mother all about it the next time you see her," Evie smiled as she took Doug's hand and began to walk with him. "I really like her company a lot."
Doug could only grunt and squeak as he blushed since Evie was holding his hand. Evie smiled at him as she then brought him over to The Volunteer Center to have a word with Ms. Blanchard and soon told her everything.
"So you two wanna run the booth at the festival?" Ms. Blanchard asked the two teenagers. "Are you sure?"
"We're totally sure," Evie nodded. "Nothing's better than helping out with your best friend by your side."
Doug's eyes widened. "I-I'm your best friend?" he then asked Evie shyly.
"Sure, of course you are," Evie smiled. "You're probably the bestest best friend I've had in a long time."
"Heh..." Doug chuckled and blushed a little.
"Well... Okay, you two can work the booth," Ms. Blanchard soon said to them. "You can play some games too, but remember not to stray from the booth too long, and if you need anything, just tell me."
"Thanks, Ms. Blanchard," Evie nodded. "I think this is going to be a Miner's Day to remember."
"Oh, well, I hope so, and not for the wrong reasons," Ms. Blanchard sighed and pouted. "I just wish I could get out of this trouble that I've gotten into with Kathryn."
"Well, no matter what happens or what my mother says, I will stay by your side, even if others view it as wrong," Evie promised. "You were my favorite teacher at Storybrooke Elementary and to this day, you still are."
"Oh, Evie... If only more kids could be like you these days..." Ms. Blanchard smiled warmly before she hugged the girl with one arm.
"It's going to be okay," Evie promised. "Let's sell some candles."
"Let's go sell some candles," Ms. Blanchard smiled and nodded in agreement before sighing. "By the way, wish me luck... I'm gonna be selling candles too, but with Mr. Leroy."
"Grumpy Leroy?" Evie then asked before clenching her teeth. "Phew... I wish you a lot of luck there, Ms. Blanchard."
"Me too... Try not to let him get to you." Doug added.
"Thank you both so much," Ms. Blanchard replied. "I'm not sure what could've changed his mind, but he at least seemed sincere and serious about helping out."
"That doesn't sound like him to me, but it's better than nothing." Evie then said.
"I have to agree," Ms. Blanchard nodded to Evie. "Good luck to you two and I'll see you at Miner's Day."
"Good luck to you too, Ms. Blanchard." Doug smiled a little.
"And you have a good time too, no matter what other people say." Evie added as she also smiled.
Ms. Blanchard smiled back at them and soon walked off to go and get ready to sell some candles with Leroy's help.
"I do wonder what possibly could've gotten Grumpy Leroy to change and wanna help out for a good cause?" Evie remarked.
"Erm... Uh... I dunno... People do crazy things when they're in love?" Doug shrugged before face-palming himself.
"Love?" Evie blinked. "Who could love Grumpy Leroy or who could he have possibly been in love with?"
"Well, erm... I-I dunno..." Doug shrugged and shuffled his feet. "I'm sorry, Evie... It was a stupid idea."
"No, no, don't say that... Don't be dopey..." Evie cooed as she put her arm around him to comfort the boy. "It was an interesting idea at least. I don't know who Grumpy Leroy could be doing for love, but at least it shows that he has feelings other than perpetual grumpiness."
"Yeah, I guess." Doug shrugged.
"Nobody's heartless anyway," Evie then said with a small smile. "Like my mom... Some people think she's scary, mean, and a bully... But I know that deep down she does love and care about me and Henry. She just has a different way of showing it."
"I can believe that." Doug remarked with a shrug.
"Let's get set up to sell some candles," Evie suggested. "Does your dad know that you'll be here?"
"Y-Yeah... He suggested I help out anyway..." Doug nodded. "I thought it sounded like a great idea."
"Your dad sure sounds very sweet and wise." Evie smiled thoughtfully.
"Let's just say sometimes he leaves me speechless." Doug chuckled weakly, making a small inside joke.
Evie cracked a small smile at him. Doug then sighed at himself, wondering if that was a dumb joke as he soon got ready with Evie for the festival. Soon, the booth was ready as the festival was starting as people walked on by either to get snacks or check out something more worthwhile or exciting with their time.
"Buy your Miner's Day candles here!" Evie called out to the passing-by people. "Handmade by Storybrooke's very own nuns! Light your way to a good cause! By buying a candle-" she then pouted as she decided to just give it a rest. "This isn't working." she then said out of defeat.
"Maybe we should've gone with Ms. Blanchard and Mr. Leroy to sell candles door-to-door." Doug pouted with a shrug.
"What a scoop!" Jordan smirked as she stepped over. "Jordan Glass from the-"
"Seriously, Jor? You're gonna keep that up?" Evie rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Uh... Sorry... I guess that's kind of annoying?" Jordan replied with a small shrug.
"Try excruciating..." Doug grumbled.
"Anyway... I'll try not to take up too much of your time, but you seem busy with this... This... I don't know... Kissing booth?" Jordan said to them as she brought out her notepad and pencil.
"What?!" Doug squeaked and blushed even more.
"Uh... It's a candle booth, Jordan," Evie explained. "We're selling candles to help Ms. Blanchard and the nuns of Storybrooke."
"I see... And how's that going so far?" Jordan asked then.
"Erm... Not too well..." Doug said before sighing. "It's like no one even needs or uses candles anymore."
"Well, yeah... Candles are kinda ancient... Like in the time of the pioneers or 1980 or something," Jordan shrugged in response. "That's a bit of tough luck though."
"Thanks for your concern, Jordan..." Evie rolled her eyes. "You just wanna rub it in?"
"Nah, I just need to write something about Miner's Day for my deadline back in school," Jordan replied. "People are gonna wanna know about this festival, ya know?"
"Are they?" Doug asked.
"Well, you never know, I just gotta keep with the times once a week," Jordan reminded them. "You guys got any quotes I can use?"
"Just say that this Miner's Day should be special... Especially with Sheriff Swan here to experience it." Evie said with a small hopeful smile.
"Shame she just had to come probably on one of the worst ones." Jordan muttered as she wrote something down in her notepad.
"And how about your father?" Evie soon asked Jordan. "He still doing grunt work for Mom?"
"Oh, you know it," Jordan said with a nod. "Especially with what's going on with Mrs. Nolan and Ms. Blanchard."
Evie scoffed and sighed a bit, hating how everybody was egging on poor Ms. Blanchard when she knew deep down that the woman could do no wrong.
"Any claim to defend Ms. Blanchard anymore when facts are facts?" Jordan asked with a sly smirk.
"No comment." Evie decided to say so that she could shoo Jordan away.
"Well then, how about a picture?" Jordan then suggested as she soon took out her camera hopefully.
"No pictures either!" Evie then said as she put her hand over Jordan's lens so that she couldn't take a picture for her newspaper. "Ya know, Jordan, you really need to get some nice and decent stories and not just naughty or filthy gossip."
"But that's what the school newspaper is." Jordan replied.
"Doesn't sound like a very good idea," Doug said to her. "You should report on the important stuff, like, I dunno... Field trips or school dances?"
"Those aren't juicy stories though and juicy stories is what makes good news and I should know since my dad's an ace reporter." Jordan grinned greedily.
Evie and Doug glared at Jordan slightly for her behavior.
"Sheesh... Tough crowd..." Jordan shrugged at herself. "I guess this interview is over then?"
"That's probably a good idea," Evie replied. "Sorry, Jordan, but we're not going to let you bug us like your dad bugs Sheriff Swan or anyone else."
"And here I thought we could be good friends since our parents are so tight," Jordan shrugged as she walked away. "Whatever. I don't need this anyway."
"Bye, Jordan..." Evie sighed and rolled her eyes at the melodrama. "We'll see you in school."
"Will you though? I mean, how much of a reputation will I still have if no one reads my stories for the juicy gossip," Jordan replied as she pouted. "Sometimes I wish I could have some real friends. I only ever took the school newspaper job cuz Dad talked me into it to follow in his footsteps after he retires from The Daily Mirror."
Evie looked a little soft and sad as, though very dramatic that story was, she felt a little bad for Jordan. She wanted to stop the girl and catch up with her, but found herself unable to do so as she had a job to do with Doug right now.
"...You wanna go talk to Jordan?" Doug asked Evie.
"I... Uh... I should stay here," Evie said softly. "Besides, I'm not really sure what I could say if Jordan and I ever talked."
"Were you guys good friends too like you were with Ben Gold?" Doug then asked.
"Eh... Not too much," Evie shrugged. "I mean, her dad's very close with my mom, but I wouldn't call us best friends or like sisters or anything. I just know that she's better than being a mean little weasel about her precious school paper. Not to mention that Sidney's making her do it when she doesn't seem to have much fun in doing it." she then added assertively.
"You're very sweet, Evie," Doug said with a small smile. "I like how you think of other people."
"Other people come first most of the time," Evie said as she gave him a smile back. "Being a big sister to Henry taught me that. Sometimes it's very difficult, but other times you gotta push through and try to make others happy rather than just yourself."
"That's a really interesting way to look at it," Doug nodded. "I wish I had someone to look out for me like you do to Henry."
"I do my best with him, but he's made me a very proud big sister," Evie said with a small smile. "You're good too, Doug." she then reached out and patted his hand.
Doug flinched and twitched nervously. He then gave a small smile and then nodded. "Thank you, Evie. I'm so glad that you think so." he then said to her.
"I don't just think, Doug; I know." Evie smiled back.
Doug blushed a bit from the smiling before someone called out to them.
"Hey, guys!"
Doug and Evie then looked over and smiled once they saw who was there.
"Hey, Ben. What's up?" Doug greeted.
"Aw, nuthin' much," Ben replied. "Checking out the festival. Thought I'd see what you guys were doing."
"Trying and failing to sell candles for the nuns," Evie sighed as she rested her hands under her cheeks. "Guess with a bunch of lights coming on later tonight, there's no need for them."
"Yeah, not unless there's a power outage or something." Doug added with a shrug.
"Not having a lot of luck, huh?" Ben asked with a small frown.
"No, not in particular," Evie shook her head. "I just feel bad for the nuns and even Jane! I mean... If your dad relocates the nuns, does that mean that Jane goes with them?" she then wondered.
"Hmm... How many do you have to sell?" Ben began to wonder.
"A lot." Evie replied.
"How much is a lot?" Ben then asked.
"I think the goal was 1,000?" Doug replied as Evie nodded as that was more or less true.
"Hmm... Well, Dad said to spend this wisely and you guys are my friends, so... I wanna help you out." Ben said before he took out his wallet and took out a 50 dollar bill.
Doug and Evie then suddenly looked wide-eyed at the sight of the money.
"B-Ben! Where on Earth did you get that money?" Evie asked in shock.
"From my dad, of course," Ben said like it was normal and obvious. "I get my allowance at the end of the week and I can spend it any way I like as long as it's a responsible purchase."
Doug and Evie just continued to look agape at the money that Ben had, not to mention it was his allowance of all things.
"...What? Don't you guys get $50 a week?" Ben asked them before shrugging. "I thought that everybody did."
"Uh... No..." Evie blinked. "Not even my mom gives up that much even if I'm watching Henry all night until he goes to sleep."
"Are you sure you wanna spend all of that on us?" Doug asked.
"It might not be enough for all of the candles, but it should be at least plenty, right?" Ben smiled warmly. "I insist that you guys take it. I'll always get another one next week anyway."
"Well... Thanks, Ben... Thanks a lot," Evie said softly as she accepted his money. "Now if only we could get a little extra."
"I hope that you guys do," Ben said with a small smile. "I believe in you not to give up though."
Evie and Doug smiled back before Ben walked away before they soon frowned together in defeat.
"Even with Ben's help, we're still a little short..." Evie sighed. "I just hope that Ms. Blanchard and Mr. Leroy are having better luck going door-to-door like one of our school fundraisers."
"Let's hope so." Doug said as they continued to wait around for other customers before they would head back inside, feeling pretty cold as it was awfully chilly outside.
Later on, Doug and Evie gave up and decided to come inside.
"You guys want some hot cocoa?" Jane offered.
"That sounds really good," Evie said with a small smile. "Thank you, Jane."
"Of course," Jane nodded. "You can also add marshmallows, cinnamon, whipped cream, or anything else you want. Kiara suggested it."
Kiara beamed with a small smile.
"You kids have much luck with the booth?" Ms. Blanchard asked as Doug and Evie came to get some hot cocoa together.
"Not too much, Ms. Blanchard." Doug sighed and shook his head as he got his cup ready.
"The best we got was $50 from Ben." Evie added.
"$50? Well, that was very generous of him." Ms. Blanchard remarked.
"Yeah, it's incredible of him to do that for us," Evie nodded. "Did you guys have much luck going door-to-door?"
"I'm afraid we didn't have any while you at least got help from Ben," Ms. Blanchard said with a small pout. "This town hates me."
"Oh, Ms. Blanchard, don't say that." Evie said softly.
"It's true though," Ms. Blanchard said. "I just wish the people of this town could see me the way you kids do."
Doug and Evie frowned as they felt bad for Ms. Blanchard. They wished that they could help her too, but what could they do as just teenagers? That didn't seem to be the only trouble though about this year's Miner's Day.
"Sister Astrid?" Leroy spoke up as he came to see the woman he seemed rather fond of as she helped Dee Dee get her own hot cocoa ready.
"Hi." Astrid said to him.
"I have to talk to you," Leroy frowned. "See, I have some bad news."
"Oh, no. What is it?" Astrid frowned back in concern.
"The bad news is, that... That..." Leroy began to tell the woman, but looked at her as she seemed so sweet and wonderful to him, so he quickly thought up a lie. "You nuns are going to be real busy making candles, 'cuz me, those kids, and Mary Margaret just sold them all. You're not losing the convent. You're not going anywhere." he then said to her with a small smile.
Astrid gasped before she quickly hugged Leroy. Dee Dee smiled as that sounded nice and Astrid soon gave her some hot cocoa.
"Remember to blow on it and be patient." Astrid told Dee Dee.
Dee Dee nodded and began to blow on her cup, about to take a sip as Ms. Blanchard suddenly pulled Leroy aside.
"How could you tell Astrid that we sold all those candles?" Ms. Blanchard firmly asked the man as Dee Dee then looked over to the two adults. "That is $5,000, Leroy. $5,000 that we don't have."
"Don't worry about it, alright? I got a plan." Leroy reassured her.
"What plan?" Ms. Blanchard firmly pouted. "A plan like going door to door and having everyone in town laugh in our faces?"
"Just give me 'til the end of the day," Leroy told her. "I'll figure something out."
"And why is this so important to you?" Ms. Blanchard then demanded.
Leroy looked a little nervous before answering. "The nuns... They're gonna have to leave."
"Oh, my God. You like her!" Ms. Blanchard then said as she realized why Leroy was saying what he was saying. "She is a nun, Leroy. Could you possibly pick anyone any less available?"
"Says the girl who went after a married guy?" Leroy retorted. "At the end of the day, you're no better than I am. You got your reasons for being here, I got mine. And when I say I'm going to get that $5,000, I'm going to get that $5,000." he then added assertively.
Dee Dee looked thoughtful and determined before she suddenly ran off as the adults were talking.
Leroy soon tried and failed to sell his boat to Mr. Gold, who was of course being very stubborn. He did offer $3,000, but that was 2,000 less than what Leroy needed and he seemed to have a hatred for nuns for whatever personal reason and it seemed to get worse when Astrid came and found him after Mr. Gold left. He soon told Astrid what needed to be said and he was sitting at Granny's Diner and had a drink as Doug came to join him as he felt down in the dumps as well.
"I'll have what he's having." Doug said with a sulking groan.
"I think you'll have a root beer in place of actual beer." Granny said to the boy as he was under 21.
"Oh... Yeah... Sure..." Doug said with a nod before he sat down next to Leroy. "...I know I'm probably the last company you want right now, but I'm feeling sunk."
"Pfft," Leroy scoffed and rolled his eyes at him. "You're just a kid. What do you have to be stressed or low about?"
"I have a lot of stress too, Mr. Leroy," Doug defended as he faced the grumpy man. "I mean, I have tests up and down shoved down my throat, I have to take care of myself a lot since my mother is in the hospital and a lot of people think she's crazy by talking about other worlds or acting like a cat, and I was trying to impress a girl I happen to care a lot about, but she just looks right through me on a daily basis."
"Oh... Gosh..." Leroy said softly. "I guess I never thought about it like that before."
"I bet you haven't," Doug replied. "How about you? You're feeling down about a girl too?" he then guessed. "I know the heartbreak blues all too well since I'm in high school."
"It's complicated, kid, but... I think Ms. Blanchard was right," Leroy said as he sighed sharply while Granny brought them their drinks. "We were just dreaming if I thought the town harlot and the town drunk could accomplish anything."
Doug just sighed before they clinked their glasses together and took deep gulps of their drinks together.
"Your mom thinks she's a cat..." Leroy then said before looking over thoughtfully. "...You're Eddie and Ebony's boy, aren't you?"
"Yeah..." Doug nodded. "The only person I can talk to can't really talk back, but I know what my dad would say if he could talk. Mom's nice and all, but... She's really going down a slippery slope of no return. I'm starting to think she'll never get better."
"Aw, kid..." Leroy said softly.
"Plus I'm madly in love with Evie Mills, but she just sees me as a friend," Doug pouted. "A beautiful girl like her could never go for a geeky, awkward, and soft boy like me... I'd definitely treat her better than Chad Herman anyway though."
"Well, that's better than what happened to me," Leroy replied. "At least you didn't fall in love with a nun."
"So that's what happened to you," Doug said softly. "You fell in love with Sister Astrid."
"...I did." Leroy admitted with a nod as he sipped his beer.
"Mr. Leroy, you understand that a relationship between you and Sister Astrid can never happen?" Doug then reminded as he hated to tell the truth like that, but it had to be.
"Yeah, yeah. My whole life people made it their business to tell me what I can't do. She was the first person that said I could do anything," Leroy replied. "Who believed in me. I didn't wanna disappoint her."
"But there are consequences to following through when the world tells you not to," Doug replied before he pouted. "Like me asking Chad to deliver my Valentine for Evie because I was too scared to tell her how I felt about her, even if she's The Mayor's daughter and I'm just me."
Leroy looked soft. "What about your good memories?" he then asked.
"What do you mean?" Doug then asked.
"Didn't you have moments with her that you love?" Leroy asked. "Do you regret them?"
"No, of course not," Doug said before smiling a little bit. "We're lab partners in Mr. Deley's class anyway."
"Isn't that what life's about? Holding on to your good memories?" Leroy then advised, almost paternally. "All I wanted was a moment with Astrid. One moment to give me hope that any dream's possible. You've had all that, Dougie. So, stop feeling sorry for yourself and enjoy it. Because I haven't." he then added.
Doug sighed before looking a bit shy and soft again. "Well, if I had the dream, I'm sorry to say, it wasn't worth it." he then said softly.
"And sitting here drinking won't end this pain." Leroy suggested.
"What will?" Doug then asked.
"...I can only think of one thing." Leroy then said in determination after thinking about it as he suddenly had an idea.
Doug began to look curious and thoughtful before they soon finished their drinks.
"Hang tight, kid," Leroy smirked. "This is gonna be a Miner's Day to remember."
"You think so?" Doug asked.
"Yes, and for the right reasons," Leroy nodded. "If you trust me, you'll come out tonight and see what I mean."
"Well... I'm not sure what you have in mind... But I trust you." Doug then said.
"That's the spirit," Leroy nodded as he paid for both of their drinks. "Keep your wallet, kid. Uncle Leroy will pay this time."
"Uncle Leroy?" Doug asked with a small smile.
"...Don't let nobody know about that and we'll get along just fine." Leroy then told Doug.
"Uh..." Doug blinked, feeling confused due to the double negative.
"Just come on," Leroy said before he left the diner. "I have a festival to save."
Doug looked over and shrugged before he decided to follow Leroy to see where the man was going with this.
It was soon getting dark as The Miner's Day Festival started. There were many adults and guests, though not a lot of teenagers as there was only a handful. Dee Dee was shown to be climbing up a ladder, coming to the roof of a building. However, as she climbed up, she gasped and yelped as the ladder caught onto her coat and she was now dangling and hanging on for dear life. She cried out for help, but no one seemed to see or hear her.
"All right... This is it..." Leroy said to himself as he came to go over to that ladder only to stop. "What?!"
"Help!" Dee Dee cried out.
"Pigtails! What the hell are you doing?!" Leroy cried out to the girl.
"M-M-Mr. Leroy!" Dee Dee gasped as she struggled. "I-I-I was just tryin' to help Mama Astrid and I got stuck! Now I can't get down!"
"Ugh... Kids..." Leroy groaned and rolled his eyes slightly. He then found the ladder before he began to climb up it and soon freed Dee Dee from her snagging so she wouldn't struggle and make herself fall to the ground. "Take it easy, Girly... I gotcha... I gotcha."
Dee Dee pouted and whimpered before latching onto him.
"Don't you ever try to do something stupid like that again," Leroy said as he climbed up the ladder with her safely and they soon came up on the rooftop. "Kid, what were you even thinking? You could've gotten hurt!"
"I-I-I'm sorry," Dee Dee pouted and sniffled. "I-I was gonna break that and make the lights go out so that Mama Astrid could sell candles for Mother Superior and the other nuns." she then said as she pointed to a box.
"You were gonna break that?" Leroy asked, looking over to the box.
"Yeah... That shiny box." Dee Dee nodded.
"That ain't no shiny box, that's a transformer." Leroy told her.
"...Like those robot cars in disguise that Henry told me about?" Dee Dee asked, tilting her head.
"...Uh, no, probably not," Leroy said as he looked at his pic-ax and the box before looking down at the crowd before smirking. "Say, Pigtails... You might've just given me an idea."
"I did?" Dee Dee asked in surprise.
"You might wanna duck." Leroy told her.
Dee Dee then ducked down, covering her eyes with her hands as Leroy soon hit the transformer with the ax. Soon, it broke as sparks began to fly and the lights suddenly went out at the festival.
"Mr. Leroy, what did you just do?" Dee Dee asked the man.
"I'm selling candles, Pigtails." Leroy told her with a small smile.
Dee Dee then looked over and gave him a small smile back. She then rushed over to him and hugged him, making him look wide-eyed and surprised. "You're not so bad, Mr. Leroy," she then said softly. "You saved the sisters!"
"Uh... Yeah... I guess I did..." Leroy said with a small smile before he came to bring her back down to the festival.
Ms. Blanchard and Evie soon looked surprised as the power had gone out and they both knew one thing now: it was time to sell some candles. Leroy soon decided to keep Dee Dee company for a little while to enjoy the festival once they were back down on the ground with everybody else.
"What a scoop!" Jordan beamed as she took pictures and jotted notes down in her notepad to share with the school newspaper.
Doug soon wandered around the festival in the dark until people began to light the candles that they bought before flinching.
"Oh, Doug, it's incredible!" Evie beamed as she hugged the boy instantly. "We sold out of the candles!"
"Oh? Great!" Doug smiled. "Happy Miner's Day, Evie."
"Happy Miner's Day, Doug." Evie smiled back.
Ms. Blanchard smiled warmly at them before seeing Astrid standing with the other nuns as Dee Dee practically clung onto Leroy like a new papa. "Well, go on; give her the news," she then told the man once they saw Astrid. "Have your moment."
Leroy nodded as he brought the box of money over to the group of nuns. "C'mon, Pigtails." he then told Dee Dee.
Dee Dee smiled and nodded as she came to follow him.
"Guess we got lucky that the power went out." Jane said to the older women.
"Very lucky indeed," Astrid nodded before seeing Leroy and Dee Dee coming over. "Excuse me."
Jane and the other nuns then started to leave.
"Dee Dee, there you are," Astrid then said in relief. "Where have you been?"
"I was helping Mr. Leroy." Dee Dee smiled innocently.
"Oh, were you now?" Astrid asked with a small smile back.
"5,000 bucks. Piece of cake." Leroy nodded as he showed Astrid the money box.
"You sold them all?" Astrid asked in surprise.
"Like the kid said, I had a little help." Leroy nodded.
"You made it happen." Astrid then said.
"You have no idea." Leroy replied as Dee Dee giggled.
Astrid began to look soft and very thankful. "I don't know what to say." she then said.
"You're welcome," Leroy decided to say as Astrid smiled warmly before he thought of something. "Listen, that boat of mine? I'm gonna fix it up. And, well, maybe you and the kid could be my first passengers?"
"Oh, can we, Mama Astrid? Please, please, please~" Dee Dee piped up.
"Well..." Astrid paused before smiling warmly at both, finding herself able to say no to either. "I'd like that."
"Yay!" Dee Dee then cheered in response.
"Well, then, that's what we'll do, sister." Leroy smiled at both of them.
Astrid smiled back before looking at the wonderful sights of this evening's events. "Oh. It's beautiful, isn't it?" she then said with a warm smile at both Leroy and Dee Dee.
Dee Dee smiled as she stood in between Leroy and Astrid, looking like their kid and they were her parents. They all smiled together as this seemed to be a very nice moment for them.
Doug smiled for Leroy and Astrid and he soon decided to run along back home as it was very late and he would definitely tell his parents what happened tonight. He just wished that since Leroy impressed Astrid, he could do something to somehow impress Evie. He sighed to himself as he still felt unsure about impressing Evie and was soon coming to the front door before seeing that something was in the mail and he decided to check it out. It was an envelope with a Valentine design similar to the one had meant to give to Evie only more sparkly, glittery, and flashy, but didn't have the courage to and decided to read it aloud.
"Rouge lipstick is red, Sapphire gemstones are blue, Chocolate ice cream cake is sweet, But not as sweet as you," Doug read aloud before looking around and blushed thankfully at the very lovely poem and card left for him, though it wasn't signed. "Who...? Oh..." he then blushed before hugging the card and headed back inside that night as it was getting very late. "I wonder..."
Evie came out from the bushes after Doug went back inside and she soon giggled to herself as she had secretly watched that and hugged herself.