A knock on the varnished, ebony door.
A few holly berries fell off the Christmas wreath and onto the ground; bursting beneath Emma's boots . The door opened abruptly, and there appeared Ruby, in all her crimson glory. Her face was a mask of exasperation that soon disappeared when she saw that it was Emma knocking at the door and not her pumpkin ale-fueled ex boyfriend Peter. She welcomed Emma in with open arms, extending the door so that she could get in. As Emma entered, again, she was thrown off guard by how different Ruby's apartment was compared to hers. Despite it being situated right in the midst of Mattapan, it was at once more pleasant than Emma's home had ever been. Perhaps this was the grandmotherly touch it had gained over the years.
"Fruit cake, for your grandmother" Emma said, handing the slightly burnt loaf over. Emma preceded to take of her coat and hung it on the rack by the door. Ruby had gone to the kitchen to cut up the cake and make some tea. Looking around, Emma couldn't help but smile at the floral wallpaper, crotchet doilies and china tea pot collections. On her first visit to Ruby's apartment since moving in with her grandmother, she'd almost fallen back in surprise at the comeliness of her home. Emma was still surprised Ruby didn't give it her own spirited modern twist. Then again, Ruby was living off her grandmothers wealthy pension, and Emma knew the old woman would fight tooth and nail for everything to remain the way it was.
Ruby and Emma met at Granny's Diner, about seven years ago. Ruby had been arguing with a customer about the quality of the hamburger meat, as it was well known that Granny's would do anything for a good bargain. Emma had just started working there, and Ruby took her under her wing after seeing how terrible Emma was at taking orders without snapping back at the customers. One cloudless summer's evening, a bedraggled looking woman sat down in Emma's section. A stream of coins fell onto the table, and using her meagre change the woman ordered a steak; raw. When Ruby saw who it was, she was visibly shocked and ran out the door. Emma had ran after her, checking she was okay. That's when Ruby first told her something about herself: that was her hapless, drug-addicted mother, Anita. Ruby's father had died when she was six; and it destroyed her mother's heart. One day, Ruby had been playing in the pine woods near her house when she became hungry and traveled back to her home. Except the door wouldn't open, Ruby had been locked outside. She had lived on a remote farm in northern Minnesota, where her parents had bred Arabian horses. A family of gray wolves had taken refuge in one of the barns days before and Ruby ran to the barn when it started to rain. Instead of hurting her, though, the wolves recognised the lost soul and cared for her. A year later social services, after hearing reports of strange little girl living in the woods; discovered the truth. Her mother went to prison for child neglect and she was raised solely by her grandmother.
When Emma saw the look of anguish in Ruby's eyes, the same look she often saw growing up in care, Emma stepped forward and hugged her. She told Ruby that she had never had any parents, that they left her at the side of the road when she was born. From that moment onward, they were close friends; connected by their shared pain.
"What kind of tea do you want?" Ruby inquired. "We have green, chai, jasmine, oolong-"
"My god what is it with your grandmother and teas? I remember the days when she could eat a chocolate milkshake and triple cheese hamburger and still have room for a slice of pie. Now all she eats is that expensive organic produce" Emma sighed.
"I think that heart-attack she had two years ago had something to do with it" Ruby retorted sarcastically.
"Yeah, I know I mean, its just... oolong?" Emma laughed.
"Its actually not that bad you know. I mean, I'm more of a coffee kind girl, but its still pretty good stuff" Ruby replied. She placed two porcelain teacups on the table and started to pour hot water into them. Then, she grabbed two earl grey teabags from the cupboard and dunked them in the tea cups. Looking up, she noticed there was another tea cup in the glass cabinet, with a small chip in it. Emma remembered Ruby telling her the story of 'The Chipped Cup'.
Her grandmother used to be a cleaner at a New York townhouse, owned by a very wealthy and important man. The 'beastly' Mr Lucas was hardly ever seen, he instead chose to spend his time cooped up in his office. The rumours were that he had been disfigured in a car accident caused by his malicious first wife Fae. The poor man was so ashamed of his appearance that he hid from the rest of the world and conducted all his business in his office, and that in a fit of rage he had smashed all the mirrors in his home but one. That resplendent, hand-gilded and jewel-encrusted hand mirror was a family heirloom, and so he kept it. One day, she had been cleaning in his bedroom when she found the mirror lying on his bedside table. Unable to help herself, she gently picked up the mirror. Suddenly, the bedroom door was thrust open and she dropped the mirror on the floor, shattering the antique. Mr Lucas, however, stared at her until finally; quietly telling her to leave. Several days later, she was cleaning in his en suite when she noticed a crystal amphora of roses. The strange thing was that all but one of the ruby red roses had withered and decayed. She plucked that single rose and, in doing so, pricked her finger on its sharp thorns. A single drop of blood fell onto the ivory flagstone floor. Mr Lucas emerged, and, after staring at her again, asked her to leave. A week later, she was cleaning a timeworn tea set before going to bed. As she picked up one of the teacups, Mr Lucas burst through the door and the cup fell from her hands. Amazingly, it did not shatter, but instead had a small chip in one side. Mr Lucas looked at the cup, then fell to her knees and wept. He had been so lonely, and had been trying to work up the courage to talk to her; he said. She, in turn, granted him a smile, and kissed his hand. That night, they made love to each other, and the next day they were wed. However, the night they had shared had been a transformation, not just of him but of her. She became pregnant, and had a baby called Anita. He, however, had transformed for the worst, and, overcome with confidence and power, changed into a monstrous beast. She was trapped in a marriage with a man she did not know. Fearing what would become of her baby, she fled to her home of Minnesota, and raised her there. Only when her granddaughter Ruby was born did she work up the courage to return to New York. She was intent on returning the chipped cup to her husband, but when she got there she found that he had died. She, instead, carried on until she got to Boston, where she has resided since.
Emma sighed inwardly. It was such a beautifully sad story. It made her wonder how her parents had met and fallen in love. Or maybe that was the problem, they hadn't fallen in love. "You know, this place is incredible but it's like a gingerbread house in the middle of forest. Tempting. I mean, no wonder you can't afford to move out with these portraits of dead people and this oolong tea stuff?"
"I don't want to move. I've got all the essentials here and if we moved then I wouldn't have as much money for my caramel macchiato's" Ruby chuckled. She had finished with the tea and pushed Emma a cup, sitting down at the table. Emma grabbed a chair and slid into place, wrapping her hands around the cup to warm her cold, November hands. "A coffee girl? Well know I know what I'm getting you for Christmas. Well, if I can afford it" Emma said. She took a sip and smiled.
"I don't care if you get me anything for Christmas, I just want you to be there on the day to help me celebrate. I can't have another Christmas with just me and the old bag in there. She'll drive me crazy!" Ruby said jokingly, though Emma could hear a hint of desperation in her voice.
"I'll think about it Ruby, but I honestly I don't know where I'm living at the moment let alone what I'm doing Christmas day, so you'll have to hang on there." she said. Ruby looked at Emma.
"What do you mean, not knowing where your living. what's going on Emma?" Ruby asked perturbed. Emma was hesitant. She hadn't come there to lumber all her problems on Ruby. It was just her usual cake and tea meeting. But the look on Ruby's face meant she wouldn't let it go, and Emma knew better than to argue with Ruby. She'd been the head of her high school debate team. "We're being kicked out" Emma stated. Ruby almost dropped her tea cup on the walnut dining table. Emma looked down at her hands. It had been a week since she'd found out the news and she still didn't know what to do. "You're being kicked out... at Christmas?" Ruby struggled to say. Emma nodded. "Well, I could still live there, its just that Mr Mills has raised the rent and I simply can't afford to pay it. So, yeah, I guess we're moving" she let out a sigh of regret, tired. Apartment searching was getting her nowhere. "You know, you could always stay here. We have enough room, though you and Henry might have to share a bedroom. Henry could help me with my grandmother at the weekend and with all of us paying the rent, it'll be cheaper. Plus, the landlord, Mr Gold, just got married and he's super happy now. If there was ever an opportune moment to ask him it would be now." Ruby said hopefully, glancing back at her grandmother asleep on the couch. An uncontrollable smile spread across Emma's face. She needed a place for Christmas, and she knew this apartment would do just fine. "Really? You'll really let us stay?" Emma asked, feeling a little giddy.
"Well, I'll have to check with Grandma first, but I'm sure she won't mind" Ruby replied. Two years ago, her grandmother had suffered from a heart attack that left her very ill. Ruby quit her job at Granny's Diner to take care of her, moving back into her apartment and living off her money. Emma had left Granny's diner just a couple of months before after Blanchard's opened up. She had been trying to get Ruby a job there, as it paid much better.
"Oh Emma, this is going to be so cool. This place is, well... no offense or anything, but its so much nicer than your apartment. The four of us, we can have a proper Christmas dinner and presents and everything will be magical. There's a bowling alley next door, so Henry can hang out there. The shop's are just down the street-" Ruby gushed.
"Hey, Ruby, you are aware that there is a strip club next to the shops also, aren't you? And that this is a truly terrible neighbourhood. Everywhere is filthy and disgusting. There's drinking and smoking and fighting. That bowling alley is loud and cheap and open all hours of the day, I hate walking past it let alone live next to it. Don't even get me started on the stripping" Emma said.
Ruby rolled her eyes. "I'm not saying its perfect, and sure The Jolly Roger's is a little seedy but what better offer do you have?"
"Well I..." Emma started, unsure.
"Exactly. Don't knock it until you try, my Grandma says. It's not going to be for long anyway, because I know you Emma, and you do not back down from a fight. You a smart and resourceful and amazing. You will find a new place to live in no time." Ruby smiled.
"Thank you so much for the offer, I will gladly accept it. Look, I'm sorry, its just this place worries me. I want to escape Boston, go somewhere nicer but I just can't afford it. I'm just feeling sorry for myself, ignore me Ruby" Emma said. Ruby chuckled, replying;
"I always do".
After finishing her tea, Emma got up and hugged Ruby, then went on her way home. Her only day off work and she'd managed to find them somewhere to stay. A smile spread across her face as she closed the door, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. She couldn't wait to tell Henry. Outside of the apartment, Emma mentally fist pumped the air; Judd Nelson style. Suddenly, she was face to face with a bemused older man she recognised to be Mr Gold, Ruby's landlord. Hanging on his arm was a much younger and very pretty brunette with a bedazzling gold ring on her finger. His new bride. No wonder he was so happy. "Hello dearie, I don't believe we've officially met." He smiled, showing a mouth dusted with gold teeth. "Hello, sir, uh, my name is Emma Swan, actually, I would really like to speak to you" she said. The man looked quizzical. "And why would that be?" he inquired.
"Well, I happen to be friends with Ruby and her grandmother, and my son and I are being kicked out of our apartment. And... well, long story short, Ruby said it would be okay for us to stay with them over Christmas. I was just wondering on what the payment and paperwork would be for that?" Emma asked. Mr Gold looked her up and down. "You know what, Miss Swan, that would be fine. I'll leave the appropriate paperwork Miss Ruby and you can fill it out when you need to" he said. Emma beamed. "Really? Wow, thank you so much!" She looked at elevator, then back at them. "Are yo going out, perhaps to the bowling alley or someplace nice?" she asked politely. Mr Gold scoffed. "The Jolly Roger Bowling Alley? I detest that place. Everything around is filthy and tacky. That place is open all day long, people drinking outside at all hours. This area really has gone to hell since it opened. You must be desperate" he laughed, the led his bride to the elevator. Emma look taken aback. Despite this, she carried on happily down the stairs; anxiously anticipating the look on her son's face when he found out the great news.