#garter tab cast on

[ub-sessed]

Garter tab breakthrough: knitting JMCO from the purl side

Tl;dr: After about 10 attempts at knitting the garter tab cast on, I finally discovered that if I use Judy's Magic Cast On and then start my garter stitch on the purl side, I end up with garter ridges that are actually tidy and alternate purl/knit properly.

Blah blah and more photos below the cut:

So I've never knit a shawl before because I don't wear shawls, but I wanted a bandana to wear at work in the winter, and I was way more attracted to the shawl patterns than the bandana patterns I found, so I figured it wouldn't be hard to just make a mini shawl and call it a bandana.

I knit a few swatches and figured out what adjustments I wanted for the bandana, but I just could not get the garter tab to look right. I tried the long tail cast on, the Turkish CO, Judy's Magic CO, all sorts of things. With a regular cast on, the picked up row would always be a mess, and with the provisional cast ons, there would always be a gap where there were two knit rows or two purl rows next to each other. I watched so many videos and read so many articles, and I couldn't figure out what I was missing. I began to suspect that it was not me who was missing something.

Stephen West, in his garter tab tutorial, says of picking up stitches from the CO: "There's no rules for this. Just get any three strands of yarn." And it occurred to me: Most shawls are quite large, knit with relatively fine yarn, and the garter tab is a tiny thing that gets lost behind your neck. Maybe people just don't care that much how it looks.

But I am knitting my bandana with DK, and the garter tab is going to be smack dab in the middle of my forehead. Any irregularities will be glaring.

Now, the yarn I'm working with is Bernat Softee Baby, which while it's very soft and pretty, is awful to work with: it splits like crazy, and is such a messy yarn that it can be hard to see what's happening. On top of that I'm knitting at a fairly tight gauge because I want a relatively stiff fabric. So when I looked at my many garter tab swatches, it was hard to see what was actually going on. So I decided to do a few experiments using a familiar aran yarn and much larger needles.

SWATCH #1: Long tail cast on

Immediately after doing my LTCO, I ran my Clover Circular Stitch Holder through the stitches so that I could be sure that I was picking up the right stitches. As you can see, this cast on creates a gap that has a couple random stitches in it.

SWATCH #2: Needle and hook crochet provisional CO

I followed instructions from Tin Can Knits, but even on my second attempt I had a really hard time picking up my provisional stitches. So I don't know if I did it right, but I ended up with what looks like a gap created by two knit rows next to each other, which is not what we want in garter stitch.

SWATCH #3: Judy's Magic Cast On (traditional)

Laura Nelkin has a great video on how to do this. But as is only logical, it results in two purl rows next to each other.

SWATCH #4: JMCO knit from the purl side

With JMCO, after you've cast on your stitches, you rotate your needles around soon that they're pointing to the right and start knitting. But what if you also flipped the whole thing over so that the purl stitches are facing you?

In the photo above, it looks like I have ended up with the same problem of two purl rows next to each other, but when I looked more carefully, I saw that there was a knit row between them, it was just tiny. I realized: Traditionally, when you start knitting into your JMCO, you're knitting into the stitch that was just cast on. But the way I was flipping things, that stitch was sitting on the needle cable, with nothing to keep it at the right size.

SWATCH #5: JMCO knit from the purl side more carefully

This time I carefully crossed my tail over the working yarn to hold the stitch at the right size before pulling my working needle out of the cast on stitches.

I found this much easier using a grippy needle and knitting Norwegian. I'm knitting the actual bandana on metal needles, but to get this cast on to work with the Softee Baby, I had to do the cast on with wooden needles.

I have no idea if this would work with other provisional cast ons. I'm just thrilled that I managed to puzzle it out, and that after months of swatching, I have finally started on the actual bandana!

[kikiknits]

Project 10/? for 2023, made as a gift for a loved one.

Pattern is Miramis by Nim Teasdale.

[sarahdawnsdesigns]

If you've ever knit a shawl with a garter stitch border, you've probably come across the Garter Tab Cast On. . . and I, at least, was very confused the first time I saw these instructions.

Enter Knotions Magazine to the rescue, with a tutorial that explains this cast on step by step!

[dofnup]

Was at a knitting meetup, ran out of project, panicked, cast on and started to do a garter tab, figured I'd worry about what shawl I was gonna do later. Obviously the garter tab took me like 2 minutes so I just opened my patterns folder and started the first shawl I saw: Haruni. Dunno if the leaves will really show up with this colorway but I guess this is my project now 🤷🏻‍♀️

[teawitch]

Sigh. Okay. time to tackle that garter tab cast on.

[365knitsocks]

Welcome

I am a Lutheran woman, wife, and mother. I enjoy fiber and textile arts such as knitting, crochet, yarn dyeing, cross stitch, embroidery, sewing.

LINKS:

RAVELRY

MY OTHER CRAFT BLOG

GOODREADS

FAMILY RECIPES

MY TUTORIALS:

BABY SOCKS

Pendent Bunting

Dyeing Yarn With Easter Egg Dyes

Dyeing Yarn With Kool Aid

Helpful info:

2 strands lace = fingering

1 strand lace and fingering = sport 

2 strands fingering = dk 

2 strands sport = worsted 

2 strands dk = bulky

HELPFUL HINTS

Left and Right Twist Without Cable Needle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCcvRu-_Ttk

Changing Colors in Socks, Avoiding Jogs in Stripes and Knitting in Ends https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJfR92jgiqY&t=14s

Knitting Jogless Stripes in the Round https://www.lavisch.com/site/tutorial-knitting-jogless-stripes-in-the-round/

Marly Bird’s Jogless Stripes Technique https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqoIawPmvos

Cable Cast On in the Round https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMNrgUpFJQQ

Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcriIufuVcQ

How To Start a New Strand of Yarn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYmOkgwHegU

Improving the Transition Where Ribbing Meets Sweater:: https://techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/03/where-ribbing-ends-improving-transition.html

Closing the Gap When Joining in the Round https://www.yarn.com/blog_entries/how-to-avoid-a-gap-when-joining-in-the-round

Provisional Cast On Over a Stitch Saver https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olAZk2tkTus

Turkish Cast On https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgGPuHPDfWs

Double Start Cast On https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yttLLydTTB0

I-Cord Tab with Provisional Cast On https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TStTK-F6D04

2 Ways to Do a Cable Cast On Plus 2 Pro Tips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9h7XHXnDDw

Decorative Non-Rolling Bind Off https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-0q1I1tS88

No Stair Step Sloped Bind Off https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3rD1v4NbKQ

A Less Stressful Knit 3 Together http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/less-stressful-k3tog.shtm

Jennifer Steingass’ Inv-L increase https://www.instagram.com/p/BbfO30SFbDi/?hl=en

Inv-L increase (invisible left increase) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fscKtwjn7Vw

False Grafting at Underarm https://cocoknits.com/blogs/knit-tutorials/how-to-false-graft

Refined Cable Cast On https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijtOvT3unBs

Alternating Long Tail Cast On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPaUE8Dqb2Q

Fixing Brioche Mistakes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZenFu1lxcw

Purling at the Beginning of a Row in Circular Knitting-No Ladders  https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=LuqIaWbD6d0

Closing the Gap on Top Down Raglan Sleeves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euTp37dlhlM

Preventing DPNs From Falling Out When Storing a Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjzFV4DgArk

Stephen West’s “Weavin’ Stephen” (weaving in ends) Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz292NAjH2M

Stephen West’s Garter Stitch Short Row method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp7gRnnxtiQ&feature=youtu.be

Avoiding Heel Flap Gap With Cable Needles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ItE7ZS3Ik8

No “Dog Ears” for Top Down Sock Toes https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=sWQo8xJtHRU

Strong Heel for Top Down Socks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIfmMaYuW5k

Preventing Gusset Gaps on Heel Flap Socks with Locking Stitch Markers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFbAHCjlq7k

Preventing Holes When Transitioning From Rows to Rounds on Sock Heels (toe up or top down, short row or heel flap and gusset) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnXcNHbaL7w

Garter Stitch Short Row Heel (knit purl hunter) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ShOMttGs3Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUlM3_YlsMU

Finchley Graft https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3sD_RU720c&t=318s

Kay/Crazy Sock Lady’s 2 At A Time Socks in Magic Loop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CleJ41FH7AQ

Heel Turn Calculator for Socks https://www.dotsdabblesdesigns.com/heelturn-calculator/

Simple Stretchy Bind Off: https://verypink.com/2015/03/04/simple-stretchy-bind-off/

Lori’s Twisty Bind Off https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=31nfF5pG-8I

Jeny’s Stretchy Bind Off https://cocoknits.com/blogs/knit-tutorials/how-to-work-jenys-stretchy-bind-off

A Better Cable Cast On: https://yarnsub.com/articles/techniques/better-cable-cast-on/

Using a Wrapped Provisional Cast On For Picking Up Underarm Stitches on a Top Down Sweater https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi3IaTRSR9Q

Alternating Cable Cast On https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xphGoutbgq4&app=desktop

Ladderback Jacquard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVW57RwXjTM

Kitchener Stitch on the Purl Side of the work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YfBF5E7Lzc&feature=em-lsp

How To Kitchener Stitch In Pattern https://www.susannawinter.net/post/how-to-kitchener-stitch-in-pattern-tutorial

Weaving in Ends Using Duplicate Stitch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U13isp2fLmw

False Grafting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsnXOu9Gy3g

Nupps with a Crochet Hook https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=155&v=GSIzYLbasHY&feature=emb_title

Avoiding Bump on KFB: https://yarnsub.com/articles/techniques/kfsb/

A Neater Left Leaning Decrease: https://yarnsub.com/articles/techniques/k2togl/

Purling On-A Better Cast-On For Thumb Gussets https://www.susannawinter.net/post/2017/04/04/purling-on-unventing-a-better-cast-on-for-gusseted-thumbs

How To Knit Jogless Garter Stitch In The Round https://www.susannawinter.net/post/2018/11/16/how-to-knit-jogless-garter-stitch-in-the-round-tutorial

Tubular Cast On Methods: https://www.mybluprint.com/project/the-tubular-cast-on-is-our-fave-for-stretchy-edges

Tubular Bind Off In The Round: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jPMLIE7ac8

Easy Way to Knit Stranded Colorwork In The Round or Flat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac4Tx_Rnf1U

Stretchy Cast On from Knit Fish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kWxuYgAHPw

Chinese Waitress Cast On: https://verypink.com/2014/06/25/chinese-waitress-cast-on/

German Twisted/Old Norwegian Cast On: https://verypink.com/2012/01/04/german-twistedold-norwegian-cast-on/

Continuous I-cord Cast on (Suzanne Nielsen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUu3gpdmsU4

Knitting Calculators https://www.worldknits.com/knitting-calculators https://www.knitgrammer.com/blog/increase-evenly-calculator/ https://www.knitgrammer.com/blog/decrease-evenly-calculator/

Tips for Backwards Loop Cast On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMKfwZe1CR8

Extra Stretchy Cast On (Lorraine L) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KJSwdxdrgw

Aggie’s Simple Cast-on for Toe Up Socks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH-8SGUnFXE

Provisional Cast on directly onto knitting needle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wkQRG4Tmv4

Wrap and Turn In The Round https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfwF_soskjo

Russian Grafting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ookWaFxPSqw

Jogless Join-Especially When Doing Stranded Knitting https://icelandicknitter.com/tips-techniques-jogless-join/

Alternating Skeins/Jogless Join https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sanXdZT981k

Jogless Stripes in the Round https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWtBteWlHtM

Jogless Stripes in the Round with Yarn Overs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXMq1f_Ya24

Jogless Stripes Done With Loose Ends https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsITfUgaYwA

Random Stripe Generator http://www.biscuitsandjam.com/stripe_maker.php

Project Notes:

Project Started –

Project Completed – 

Project Duration-

Pattern –

Designer –

Needles –

Method – magic loop

Yarn – Bare Knit Picks Stroll Fingering Weight

Dyed with – Jaquard Acid Dyes

Amount of Yarn Used –

Recipient –

Size –

Notes/Modifications –

Ravelry Link

[littorinaobtusata]

I just cast on my first shawl ever!  I’ll see how this goes...

The pattern is Tortoiseshell by Tin Can Knits.

[iplaywithstring]

Set up chart and first repeat of body chart

It's doing that little bloop at the garter tab cast on that I hate, but I'm telling myself it will block out and it doesn't matter. It's fine.

Really love the beads, it's a nice pop of sparkle

The yarn is heavier than the pattern calls for, but I am happy with the look. I was tempted to go up another needle size, but I'm happy with it as is. This will be a very cozy shawl.

[rannadylin]

So...you know you’ve been playing a lot of WOTR when you see a shawl pattern described as having a butterfly motif and immediately think of knitting it in Arueshalae-appropriate colors, right?

[honeygirlfarms]

Mad Bee Kits

These are kits for Afifa Sayeed’s Mad Bee Shawl.

This oversized shawl starts with a slightly different garter tab cast-on technique to give you a beautiful seamless start. Alternating wedges of garter eyelets and stockinette chain stitches add interest and texture to a cozy knit. Pick 4 of your favorite colors in DK or fingering weight yarn for this stash- busting accessory.

Fingering or DK weight yarn - C1: 800 yards, C2: 410 yards, C3: 250 yards, C4: 120 yards.

Ravelry Link: Click Here

Kit #1: Outlander; C1- Jamie Fraser, C2 - Hot Chocolate, C3 - Sassenach, C4 - Brianna Mackenzie

Kit #2: Skeksis; C1 - Skeksis, C2 - Deep Space, C3 - The Gelflings, C4 - UrRu

Kit #3: Glacier Brights: C1 - Glacier, C2 - Sailing the Sea, C3 - Ginger, C4 - Bubblegum

Kit #4: Deep Jewels: C1 - Deep Raspberry, C2 - Sandy Beaches, C3 - Mountain Lake, C4 - British Racing Green

Kit #5: Raspberry Brights: C1 - Raspberry Delight, C2 - Ginger, C3 - Fantasy, C4 - Sunshine in a Bag

All Yarns are hand painted and kettle dyed. This means that every yarn can vary. If you need multiple yarns for a project, it is highly recommended that you purchase them at the same time so that they can come from the same dye lot. Some of the brighter colors can bleed, even though they have been rinsed multiple times, if you notice this run under cold water until water is clear.

Care: Hand wash in cold water and lay flat to dry

All products are created in a smoke free and pet friendly environment. 

All photographs are used as inspiration for the yarn and are not owned by myself and belong to the franchise/character in which they represent. None of the yarns belong to or are affiliated with any of the fandoms, franchises, or characters for which it is inspired from.

[ub-sessed]

I haven't had the energy to post about my own knitting lately, so here's an experiment I completed a couple months ago:

I wanted to see if I could adapt a shawl pattern as a bandana (because I don't wear shawls but I wear bandanas all the time). The original pattern was Flowers of Winter by Janina Kallio. I made a bunch of changes to the increases and decreases to make it more symmetrical and gave it a frilly edge and ties, and changed the set-up section to stockinette because I thought it looked better. Yarn is Bernat Softee Baby, which I HATED working with: very splitty and no stretch at all, but it is very soft! Colours were Little Red Wagon and Soft Peach.

Turns out it looks utterly dorky as a bandana:

But it makes a decent little scarf:

It's not that cold here yet, so I've only worn it once to protect my neck from the wool of my peacoat, which function it performed admirably.

But even if I never wear it I learned a buttload: about garter-tab cast-ons (awful), eyelet lace (symmetry, people!) and knitting ruffles, and got lots of practice with increases and decreases (again, symmetry! It's like people just don't care!) and knitting with metal needles (still yuck).

[kikiknits]

Garter tab cast ons are OUT, alternate cast ons are IN

This has been a PSA

[rodentmancy]

So let's make a little shawl thing! And in case I wasn't clear enough before, this pattern is good for those occasions when you're not sure if you've got enough yarn or not; since it's designed from the rounded bottom up, it's completely scalable in size - make it small if you've only got 300 yards, or bigger with more. No matter how much yarn you've got, however, you'll begin by casting on 3 stitches loosely, and then working 8 rows in garter stitch to create a tab of sorts. Then, without turning work, yarn over (yo) twice, pick up 1 stitch about 1/3rd of the way down along the edge of the tab, (yo) twice again, pick up 1 stitch roughly 2/3rds of the way down the edge of the tab, and (yo) twice again. Complete tab by picking up 3 stitches along cast-on edge; you should now have stitches coming from 3 sides of the tab - 3 along original working edge - 8 along the side (counting each double yo as 2 stitches), and 3 along the cast-on edge. Then, work a few set-up rows as follows:

I want to start knitting this thing, but this fucking solid block of the for the start of it makes no sense to me. i need visuals, i can’t picture this out mentally.

[i-write-fanfics-to-procrastinate]

21 and 22 for Gruvia! (If ya wanna change the pairing you can) :)

            First off, as an after note: holy god this was amazing and I had so much freaking fun writing it. I’m dead, send help. Second, I intended to include the thigh-high stockings more but the whole tortured past thing kind of took over and I went with it. 

Anyways! Ihope you like this– it’s kind of an AUish thing I came up with based on both of these prompts. Iguess it’s kind of a modernish-urban-fantasy-ish AU. Kind of like a… dark CityHero? Ahhh… whatever it is… it happened. :P

Gruvia – #21 + # 22: Thigh-high stockings and garter belts + Neon lights at 1:30am 

    As per usual, he couldn’t sleep. Outsideit was pouring rain. He could see itthrough his wide apartment windows, coming down in sheets. Somewhere theceiling was leaking. He could hear the constant dripping. It was faster thanusual—a testament to the downpour outside. It had been a long week, he was sotired he felt like he might be hallucinating. His eyes strained to see throughthe sheet of rain, his head was pounding with a nasty headache, but every timehe fell asleep, he could see it all over again. The blood. Her shallow breathing.

           His eyes snapped open. It was stillraining. Urging himself out of bed he stumbled towards the door to grab hisboots and coat. Fine. If I can’t sleep Imight as well be doing something useful. The job they had been working onwas to track down and underground dark guild in the city. They had beenconnected to several recent murders. Gray’s team, which included himself, Lucy,Natsu, and Erza, had been put on the task. Juvia had been disappointed. But shewas still limping from their last bit of trouble with one of the dark guilds.No way in hell was he, or anyone else on the force, letting her go out on fieldlike that. He would head over to HQ and look over the files… no, better yet: he’dtake the files to a bar. The music and neon lights would keep him from driftingoff, and maybe a drink would calm his nerves.

           He moved through the dingy hallwayof his apartment building, paused at the bottom of the stairs, facing the terribledownpour outside, flipped up the collar of his coat, and stepped out into citylights. Somewhere in the distance he could hear sirens. The passing and honkingof cars invaded his senses, even about the roaring of the rain. He was out,walking for only a few moments before his shoulders were soaked, but he had neverbeen bothered by the rain.

           One quick stop at HQ. Not many of theteam was there so late at night. Mira was still there. She managed the frontdesk. She was just putting on her coat to head home.

           “Oh! Gray, what are you doing back?”

           “I’d get a taxi,” Gray warned, as hepassed by into the main office. He didn’t wait to hear Mira’s response. He wentstraight to his desk, across the room. He knew the case files were in thelowest drawer.

           “Hey, ice-brain!” Gajeel?

           “Gajeel, what are you still doinghere?” Gray narrowed his eyes. The broad-shouldered detective was leaning back inhis chair, his feet propped up on his desk, bouncing a snow globe back andforth in his big hands. He chuckled.

           “Waiting for something to happen.Took the late-night shift this week. What the hell are you doing here?”

           “Couldn’t sleep.” Gray replied,yanking open the bottom drawer of his desk and pulling out the files. “I’mgoing for a drink. Gonna mull this over.”

           “Whatever blows your skirt up,” Gajeelshrugged, returning his attention to the snow globe in the palm of his hand. Grayrolled his eyes and exited the building, holding the files close to his chestas he moved through the rain once more. He knew a late-night bar not far from HQ.He and the others had gathered there before. The owner knew them all. Maybe he’dget a discount.

           The bar was dimly lit. There were afew patrons here and there, but no large crowds. The neon sign above the barcast flickering shadows on the barstools. Gray took a seat at his usual one,and spread the files out over the counter. Alright.Where to start?

           “What can I get ya, detective?” Theowner and bartender leaned against the counter, his eyes flickering over thefiles, but he was used to it.

           “Whatever’s strongest,” Grayreplied, and then flipped over the first manila folder. Pictures. Blood. Bodies. He shut the folder. You’dthink I’d be used to it by now. A small glass filled with amber liquid and icewas set down with a light tap in front of him and he downed it in one go. Bloodmade him think of her. He hated that. He glanced back at thefiles, noting that he had grabbed one more than he should have—than he wantedto. Scribbled on the little title tab were the words: Lockser Case—shooting—Jan 21st X791.

           “I’ll have another one,” Gray said,setting his glass down with a shaking hand. He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t sure he’dever be.

***

           “There you are,” A firm hand graspedGray’s shoulder, “Juvia has been worried sick! Looking everywhere for you.” Afamiliar face… blurry… Gray let out a groan. He certainly had slept, but his head hurt even worse now.It was still dark outside. Was it really that early? Above them the neon lightflickered. Juvia was dressed in her everyday clothes. It had been a while sincehe’d seen her in his uniform. Tonight, she was wearing a short light blue dress… or maybe it was light green? God, whycouldn’t he tell? The lighting was weird. And stockings. She was wearing araincoat. In one pocket he could see the handle of an umbrella sticking out. Hewondered if in her civilian clothes she still wore a pistol at her thigh. He hadseen the holster once before, and for some reason he was really itching to seeit now, just above the hem of her skirt…

           “Gray!” Juvia snapped, her grip onhis shoulder tightening. “Let’s go home.” Sheleaned over his lap to gather up the case files, and then pulled him up byhis arm. He always forgot how strong she was. Even in his somewhat-still-drunkstate, he could tell she was still limping, and supporting him as well.

           “I’m fine,” he groaned, stopping inthe middle of the rain, “I’m fine. I can walk, Juvia.”

           Juvia turned to face him, the casefiles wrapped tightly in her rain coat, “What were you doing out so late?Gajeel told me you came in after midnight.” For the first time he realized thatit wasn’t anger written in her eyes. It was concern.

           “I couldn’t sleep,” he said shortly,trying to avoid a full-on conversation. I’mnot ready.

           “Why? Did you drink coffee thisafternoon, again?”

           “Hell no,” Gray groaned, “Neverrepeating that mistake.”

           “Then what’s wrong?” a soft hand, reachedout and touched his cheek. Blood. Hejerked away, stumbling backwards and landing in an enormous puddle just on theedge of the street. “Gray!” Juvia reached out to help him up, but Gray scrambledto his feet on his own. He couldn’t do this. “Hey! Stop!” Juvia screamed, andher voice brought him to a shuddering halt. He hated that. “You’ve been acting weird since January! For a whileyou wouldn’t even look at Juvia! What’swrong?!” There were tears in hereyes, even through all the rain, even through the water dripping from his hairand into his eyes, he could see that.

           His head was still pounding. He droppedit into his hands, and groaned, and then looked up with a renewed energy. “There’sa case file in your hands, Juvia. It wouldn’t be there… it wouldn’t exist… if it wasn’t for me.” He let out a shuddering breath, andthen said the words he had been so afraid of admitting before, the volume ofhis voice rising with each syllable: “It’s myfault! You should never have beenhurt! And here we are! Everything that happened, I should have seen it coming.It never should have happened at all! It’s all…my… fault…” And then he burst into uncontrollable sobs, which he knew waspartly due to the alcohol. Juvia was staring at him, her eyes wide, her knuckleswhite from holding onto those stupid casefiles. The case files…

           The case files hit the soakingpavement with a splatter of water, and suddenly he was in her arms, sobbing againsther neck, clinging to her rain coat like it was everything. “It’s not anyone’s fault,” she whispered. “Juviajoined the force knowing that one day something like this was likely to happen.Gray, you were there when it did. For that, Juvia is so grateful.” She was shivering, soaked to the skin in the downpour.

           “But… the nightmares…”

           “Juvia will come with you. Juviawill stay with you, until you’re asleep.” Her hand brushed against his cheek. For a moment they were frozen in time, and then Gray lunged forward,closing the distance between them at last, pulling her closer by her rain coat.Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and he practically lifted her off herfeet. Below them, on the sidewalk, the case files quickly soaked up water,turning into mush. They were ruined. He didn’t give a damn.

[emospritelet]

Back in Business - Chapter 2/3

Part 2 of my RCIJ gift for @winterswanderlust

Rating: whole fic E, this chapter T

Word count: whole fic 20,067, this chapter 7,763

[Chapter 1]

AO3 link

The storm had passed by the time the next morning dawned, but the skies were still grey and dull, and the air had grown colder. Snow was coming, according to the too-cheerful weatherman on the local news, and Belle shuddered as she ate toast and peanut butter. She felt good, though. There was a spring in her step and a flutter of excitement in her belly at the thought of getting one step closer to opening her very own library. Assuming the Mayor would agree, of course, but now that she had Mr Gold’s permission to use the building, she hoped that would be forthcoming.

Ms Gale looked surprised when Belle told her the news, but smiled warmly.

“I can’t believe he agreed,” she said. “You’re not the first to try, but you’re certainly the first to succeed. Did you like - agree to give him your first born, or something?”

“Nothing that drastic,” said Belle, with a grin. “He definitely wasn’t keen on the idea, but I managed to talk him around. Maybe I played on his sense of community spirit.”

“If he has one, that’s the first I’ve heard of it,” said Ms Gale dryly. “Still, I guess the ‘why’ isn’t important. I’ll get this before Mayor Mills today. If we’re lucky, she could make an initial decision without waiting for the Council meeting. It’s not a huge expense, after all.”

“I - did want to get some funds to buy more books, though,” said Belle, and Ms Gale nodded.

“Yeah, that part might have to wait until the Council meeting, but at least if you get her agreement you can start getting the place ready, right?”

Belle beamed at her, feeling confident.

“Right.”

Belle had to wait most of the day to hear the Mayor’s decision, and the waiting was torture. She helped her father in the shop to take her mind off things, setting up the racks of aluminium shelving he had bought, making up bunches of bright flowers for sale, and watering and feeding the plants that he was growing. It was after four when Ms Gale called to tell her that her proposal had been approved and that she would hold the position of librarian, starting the following Monday. After thanking her politely, putting down the phone and letting out the squeal of excitement she had been desperately holding in, Belle bounced on her toes, glancing around and snatching up her bag before bolting out to head over to Mr Gold’s shop to give him the news.

She entered the pawn shop at a rush, the little bell tinkling above her as she stepped inside. Mr Gold was standing behind the counter, hands poised on the tips of his fingers, as though he had been waiting for her. His suit jacket was off, and she noticed that gold sleeve garters had pushed up the sleeves of his blue silk shirt. A gold chain hung from one of the buttons of his waistcoat and looped down before disappearing into the pocket, and she suspected that it was attached to a watch. Because of course it would be. For a brief moment she entertained the fantasy that he was a time-traveller, a man from the nineteen-hundreds, trapped in the present day and trying to preserve of much of his old existence as he could. The thought made her want to giggle. He had a tiny smile on his face, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Miss French,” he said pleasantly. “From the absurdly cheerful look on your face I take it the Mayor has agreed to your proposal?”

“Yes!” said Belle, a little breathlessly. “At least - she’s agreed to pay my salary. I haven’t had a decision on whether she’ll give me any funds to restock yet.”

“In that case, it seems congratulations are in order.” He reached to the side, opening up a drawer and holding out a key with a round tag. “Here. I believe this belongs to you.”

She stepped forward, holding out her hand, and he placed the key in her palm. She turned the tab over with her thumb. Library was written on it in a thin, slanting script. A wide grin spread across her face, and she met his eyes.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

“The pleasure was all mine."

He was watching her intently, and she could feel herself blushing. She wondered whether he found her as attractive as she found him. Perhaps he had thought about her when he lay in bed the previous night, wondering how it would feel to kiss her, to touch her. To pull her by the hand into that back room and lay her down on the bench, and—

“Was there something else, Miss French?”

His voice made her jump, pulling her out of her brief daydream, and her blush deepened.

“Oh!  Oh, yes…” She reached into her bag for the shawl he had lent her, holding it out to him. “Thank you for this.”

“Ah. And I have your coat.”

He turned and pushed the curtain aside, emerging moments later with her coat in his hand, now dry. Belle took it from him with a nod, and he folded his hands over the cane, flicking back his hair.

“Will you be exploring your new dominion, then?” he asked.

“I’ll be cleaning it,” she said, a little ruefully. “Lot of dust on everything.”

“I could always get one of my teams in to do that, you know.”

“You have - teams?” she said neutrally.

“I have people I employ to take care of the more unpleasant aspects of my businesses, yes.”

His voice was soft, almost a caress, but the way he phrased the sentence made him sound as though he ran an organised crime network, and for the first time Belle understood why the rest of the townsfolk seemed leery of him. There was an air of menace about him, steel beneath the silk. She wasn’t afraid, and she didn’t feel that he meant her any ill will, but she could still sense it. A darkness swirling within the seething intensity that he seemed to keep a tight grip on. Passion and rage, buried deep and almost forgotten until he let it burst forth. She wondered how spectacular it was when he lost his temper, and decided that she probably didn’t want to find out.

“That - that won’t be necessary, thank you,” she said. “I’d quite like to go through everything. It’ll feel more like my place then, you know?”

“As you wish.”

“It can wait until tomorrow,” she added. “I’ll look over the apartment as well, see what needs doing.”

“Let me know if there’s anything that requires the services of a tradesman,” he said. “I keep the place as well-maintained as I can, but I daresay they may be some small repairs to be made that I’ve overlooked. I can get someone out to fix them straight away.”

“Another one of your ‘team’?” she asked, amused.

Mr Gold showed his teeth.

“Precisely.”

“Can I paint the walls?” she asked suddenly, and he inclined his head.

“Of course.”

“Great.” She clutched the key in her hand. “Well, in that case, I guess I’ll get out of your hair. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome,” he said. “I look forward to seeing what you do with the place.”

Belle grinned, but shifted from foot to foot, feeling a little awkward.

“You want to ask me a question,” he said, and she nodded.

“You - you didn’t want to open it, did you?” she said.

Mr Gold eyed her steadily.

“No.”

“Ms Gale at the Town Hall told me that you turned down like six offers, or something.”

“Seventeen in total,” he said, “although I suspect most of them were before her time.”

“So…” Belle floundered a little. “So - I guess I’m wondering why you decided to say yes to me.”

He hesitated for a moment, and shrugged.

“Because you reminded me that the world turns and time moves on, and that perhaps it was time to move with it,” he said. “That perhaps it doesn’t help to hold onto the past.”

“Right.”  She didn’t understand what he meant, but she supposed it didn’t matter. “Well - I guess I’ll see you around.”

He smiled, a brief twist of his mouth.

“Good day, Miss French.”

She started early the next morning. Her father had gone to the shop, and she spent a little time collecting together a plastic bucket, all the cleaning materials she thought she’d need and a thick roll of garbage bags. The weather had grown colder, flecks of snow just starting to fall, and she shivered as she locked the house, hurrying into town as quickly as she could.

When she reached the library she dug into her pocket for the key that Mr Gold had given her and unlocked the doors. They opened with a faint squeak, and she pushed them wide, feeling a surge of pride as she entered the library: her library. She set down her bucket of cleaning materials and flicked on the lights, a broad smile spreading across her face as she watched the light gleam faintly on the dust-strewn wooden floor and cast shadows amongst the stacks of books. Her eyes turned towards the circulation desk, and she blinked. On top of the desk sat a large bunch of sunflowers, yellow bursts of colour bright against the dark wood, the blooms wrapped in purple paper and tied with gold ribbon. Belle stepped forward, reaching for the bundle of flowers, fingers stroking the velvet petals. She looked in vain for a card, but had a suspicion where the sunflowers had come from. There was only one other person who had a key to the library, after all. And who knew about her favourite flowers.

She didn’t have a vase, and so she had to make do with a beer glass from the caretaker’s apartment, filled with water. The apartment was small, but looked as though it could be comfortable once it was thoroughly cleaned and the furniture replaced with something new. Not that she was thinking of leaving her father’s place that day, but it made sense to plan ahead. She wanted her independence, after all, and she suspected that rental prices in Storybrooke were somewhat lower than in Melbourne, where she had had no choice but to stay with her father. It had made dating almost impossible. Not that she was thinking about that either, of course. Not much, anyway.

She wrapped the glass with the purple paper, tying it securely with the gold ribbon, and placed the bunch of sunflowers back on the desk, smiling at their cheerful colours. Time to clean the place up.

By the end of the day she was exhausted, aching from head to toe and covered in grime, but the library and apartment were free from dust and empty of anything that was outdated, broken or too dirty to clean. Belle had seen more spiders than she was comfortable with, but they had scuttled out of her way through cracks in the floorboards and under the skirting, and as far as she was concerned they could stay there. Closing the last empty drawer of the circulation desk, she ran a tired hand over her face, grimacing as it came away smeared with dark grey. She badly needed to shower. She skirted the desk, taking a pile of books that she had already marked for removal and stacking them in a cardboard box. Turning, she caught a glimpse of the bunch of sunflowers out of the corner of her eye. She should thank Mr Gold for sending them. Just as soon as she was clean and looking less like a dust-covered goblin, anyway.

“The place is looking brighter by your presence already.”

His voice, unexpected in the silence, made her jump with a squeak of surprise, and she turned around, heart thumping, to see him standing just inside the door, leaning on his cane.

“Don’t you knock?” she said, aggrieved, and Mr Gold looked around himself, as though her question confused him.

“This is a public space now, is it not?”

“I - yes, of course,” said Belle, feeling awkward. “Sorry, I just - you startled me.”

She was well aware that she was dirty, covered in dust and cobwebs and sticky with sweat, and he was immaculate in his suit. His shirt was deep pink today, and it suited him, the colour warming his skin. He took a step forward.

“I just thought I’d see how you were getting along,” he said. “I see you’ve removed most of the things from the apartment. I can have someone collect and dispose of them.”

“Oh, would you?” She felt herself almost sag in relief. “Thank you! I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it all.”

“No matter.” He tilted his head to the side. “Are you thinking of living there? I could procure some furniture for you, if so.”

“Yeah, now I’ve looked at the place, I think I’d like to,” she said. “I love my dad, don’t get me wrong, but I really need my own place.”

“One’s privacy is something to be treasured,” he agreed.

“What about you?” she asked. “Do you live alone?”

“With only my own thoughts for company,” he confirmed, with the ghost of a smile. “Not always the most pleasant of roommates.”

“I get that,” she said quietly. “Maybe you should get a cat, or something.”

Mr Gold grinned at that, and took a step towards the stacks, running his eyes over them.

“You’ve removed some of the books, I see.”

“Only the ones that were too damaged, or reference books too out of date,” she said. “I want this to be a useful resource, after all, and it can’t be if people are reading the wrong information.”

“Very true,” he said. “I’d hate to have to chastise you over inaccurate reference texts, after all.”

Her brain took the not unwelcome mental image of what form such chastisement could take, filing it away for later use, and she raised her chin before she could start blushing.

“I’m guessing you’d be all over my history section, am I right?” she asked dryly.

“Well, it’s important to learn from the past,” he said. “I - may have a few books to donate, if you’ll have them.”

“Already learned everything you need from them?” she teased, and he met her eyes.

“I don’t make the same mistake twice,” he said quietly, and she felt her heart thump again, a heavy throb in her chest. She smiled, and took a step towards him.

“Do you want a library card, Mr Gold?”

He ran a long finger across the spines of the books on the shelf in front of him, and glanced around at her.

“Perhaps,” he said. “Have you decided on how you’ll fill the spaces left?”

“Almost,” she admitted. “I made a list of genres and titles off the top of my head, but I’m sure there are more I could think of. I guess it all depends on whether the Mayor will give me a budget for new stock and a computer system to keep the records on.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Belle shrugged.

“Then I’ll be thinking up fundraising ideas.”

“Such as?”

“I don’t know,” she said, a little awkwardly. “Maybe a bake sale or something.”

Mr Gold looked as though he was amused, but trying not to show it.

“Can you bake?”

“Kind of...” she said uncomfortably, and his grin widened.

“Sounds delicious.”

Belle sent him a very level look, and he bit his lip, glancing away before turning back.

“May I see the list?”

“Oh.” She ran a hand through her hair, grimacing as she felt how much dust was in there. “It’s on my laptop.”

“Would you email it to me?” he asked.

"You have email?" she said sceptically, and he showed his teeth.

"Is that so surprising?"

"Actually, yeah."

"I have email," he said, looking deeply amused. "A telephone, a computer. Even, dare I say it, a television."

"A thoroughly modern man."

"I didn't say I watched the thing."

She bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

"Why do you want to see the list?"

“I’m interested in the changes you plan on making here," he said, with a lazy wave of his hand.

Belle put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow.

“I hope you don’t plan on censoring any of my choices.”

He grinned again, eyes glinting wickedly.

“Now, why on earth would I do that?” he asked softly.

“I don’t know…” She folded her arms. “Sometimes people can be - too close-minded in their outlook, I guess.”

“Well, that’s certainly true,” he agreed. “Though it’s not a description I’ve ever had applied to me. I’m personally hoping that you choose to expand the minds of the town. In every area.”

He was still grinning, and she got the feeling he was being suggestive. It wasn’t helping her burgeoning crush on the man in the slightest.

“Increasing one’s knowledge is an important thing,” he added. “Not just history, or art, or science. Books are a way to explore the world without leaving home, don’t you think?”

“Yes!” she said eagerly. “Yes, that’s it exactly!”

Mr Gold walked slowly amongst the stacks, running his eyes over their contents, his fingertip slipping over the curved spines in a series of soft thumps.

“I remember spending hours in the library back home as a child,” he mused. “Sometimes it was the only place you could keep warm in the depths of winter. I read a great deal. Things I probably shouldn’t have, at times. Tales of far-off lands and bloody battles. Forbidden desires. Love. Lust. Sacrifice.”

“I think maybe we read the same books,” she remarked, and he glanced over at her, his eyes gleaming.

“Perhaps we did.”

“So what’s your favourite thing to read, Mr Gold?” she asked, and a smile flickered to life, sparks lighting up his eyes before dying.

“Happy endings,” he said quietly, and she smiled, wishing that he didn’t look so sad.

“Me too.”

“The list, then,” he said, his voice suddenly brisk, and reached into his pocket, drawing out a card and holding it out to her between the first two fingers of his hand. “You’ll find my email address there. And my number, should you need it.”

“Thank you.” Belle slipped it into her pocket, and hesitated. “And - and thank you for the flowers.”

His eyes flicked towards the desk.

“I thought they’d brighten the place up.”

“Well, they certainly do that,” she said. “I don’t know where you managed to find sunflowers in November. Not at my dad’s shop, that’s for sure.”

“You said they were your favourite,” he said, as though that explained things.

“Yeah.” She glanced behind her, where the flowers sat: bright, warm yellow petals and deep brown centres. “Well, they’re beautiful.”

“Yes.” His hands shifted on his cane. “A ray of sunshine, to chase away winter’s chill.”

Belle smiled.

“I think you have the soul of a poet when it comes to books and flowers, Mr Gold,” she teased.

He smirked.

“Must be why I’m such an utter bastard in every other area of my life.”

Belle giggled, and his grin widened.

“Good day to you, Miss French,” he said. “I look forward to seeing what you intend to grace the shelves of the library with.”

He inclined his head, turning away and heading for the door with a click of his cane against the wooden floor.

“Then you should come to the grand opening,” she called, and he turned slowly back, shoes squeaking faintly on the floor.

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m planning a big opening party,” she explained. “Interactive activities, dramatic readings, children’s games. There’ll be food. Maybe even some wine and cheese.”

“A social occasion?” he asked, in a very neutral tone. “Sandwiches and small talk?”

“You make it sound terrifying,” she said dryly.

“I very rarely socialise, Miss French.”

“Well, let this be one of the occasions, then.”

That tiny smile returned, lifting the corners of his mouth.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “But it’s kind of you to ask.”

“Well, I’m still going to send you an invitation,” she said archly, bouncing on her toes. “And if you don’t come, just imagine what the rest of the town will be saying about you behind your back.”

The smile became a grin.

“Oh, I don’t have to imagine that,” he said. “But perhaps I’ll consider attending. After I see the list of books.”

“It’s a date,” said Belle, and clapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes widening. “I mean - a deal! It’s a deal!”

His teeth were very white, his eyes glinting with amusement, and she could feel herself blushing again.

“The deal is struck.”

Belle spent the next day finishing the last few bits of cleaning and overseeing the clearing out of the old furniture and books. The men that Mr Gold sent were all short, stocky, and unfailingly polite, and she had little to do except hold open doors and tell them what was to be taken. The library looked different in the light of day, clean and with none of the clutter of its twenty years of closure. She had emailed Mr Gold the list of books she wanted to purchase, and he had replied to say that he had ordered some furniture for the apartment, and that if she wished to rent it, she would need to sign a tenancy agreement. She emailed him back to agree, thumb flickering over the screen of her phone as she walked to the diner. It was after six, and already dark, but Ruby had sent her a text inviting her to Granny’s for a couple of drinks with the plan of moving on to a bar, and after two days of hard physical work she was ready to let her hair down a little.

The rain was falling, a thin drizzle soaking her face as she crossed the street, and she ducked into the diner with relief, smiling as she spotted Ruby waving to her from one of the booths. Ruby was beaming, lips painted bright red to match the streaks in her hair, a tight red shirt above leather pants. Seated beside her was Ms Gale, in a blue and brown plaid shirt above dark jeans and heeled boots, one hand resting casually on Ruby’s thigh. A bag of chips sat open on the table in front of them, their glasses empty, and Belle slid into the seat opposite.

“Oh good, you came!” said Ruby. “Belle French, meet Dorothy Gale, my girlfriend.”

“We’ve met,” said Dorothy, raising her glass. “The woman who finally convinced Gold to re-open the library. What are you drinking?

“Oh - gin and tonic,” said Belle. “Thanks, I’ll get you one later.”

“Sounds good.” Dorothy patted Ruby’s leg. “Same again?”

“God, yes!” Ruby turned to kiss her, smiling as she did it, and handed over her empty glass. “Tell Granny not to be so mean with the rum this time!”

“You tell her,” said Dorothy dryly, and Ruby giggled as she walked off to the bar.

Belle shrugged off her coat, the heat of the diner seeping into her.

“Dorothy was really helpful,” she said. “I don’t think I’d have known how the hell to get the library open again if she hadn’t given me some pointers.”

“Yeah, she’s awesome,” said Ruby, looking over at the bar with a grin on her face. “You ever look at someone and think ‘Oh. So, it’s gonna be you, huh?’ before you even really talk?”

Belle bit back a smile.

“Maybe.”

“Yeah, that’s how it was for us,” said Ruby, with a sigh. “Valentine’s Day at The Rabbit Hole, both of us dateless and depressed…  I threw a drink over her by accident because I wasn’t looking where I was going, and when our eyes met… well.” She sat back with a satisfied smirk. “Guess it was fate.”

“How long have you been together?” asked Belle.

“Getting on for eighteen months,” said Ruby happily. “We’re saving up to get our own place. Not that there’s much free real estate around here, but we can still try.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to move out of my dad’s place,” said Belle wryly. “I love him, don’t get me wrong, but I miss having my own space. Since I moved back after being away at university, I realised how bloody stifling it is, and - yeah, I - I really need to move out.”

“Any thoughts on where?”

“There’s an apartment above the library, actually,” said Belle. “I’ve already talked to Mr Gold about renting it.”

Ruby grinned at her, leaning on the table on her elbows, eyebrows twitching suggestively.

“So, you managed to talk your way around Gold about the library, huh?” she said. “He make you sign away your soul, or was it something way dirtier?”

Belle gave her a level look, which made Ruby’s grin widen.

“He’s really not that bad, you know,” said Belle. “He was really interested in the library, and the books I was planning on buying. I mean - okay, he doesn’t strike me as the world’s most sociable person, but he seems fair, at least.”

“Hmm.” Ruby reached into the open bag of chips in front of her, watching Belle. “Give me your first impressions of him. I’m interested.”

“First impressions?” Belle tried not to blush as she remembered that one of her first impressions had been how much the sound of his voice and the glint in his eyes turned her on. “Uh - well, I guess he seemed polite? Good manners, very well dressed, like he spends a lot of time picking outfits so everything’s just so. Fastidious, I guess. Like everything he wears is perfect and his shop is spotless and he has these long fingers that he handles things really carefully with—”

Ruby was staring at her, but she couldn’t seem to stop talking.

“—and everything he does is so deliberate,” she went on, “like the movements he makes and the way he gestures, and he looks at you and it’s like he can see into your soul, or something.”

“Oh my God,” said Ruby, leaning forward, eyes wide. “You like him!”

“I didn’t say that!” protested Belle, blushing fiercely.

“Didn’t say what?” Dorothy set a glass in front of her, and she snatched it up hurriedly, stirring ice cubes with a straw.

“Belle wants to bang Mr Gold until he can’t walk even with that cane of his,” said Ruby offhandedly, and Dorothy giggled.

“Seriously?” she said, and pulled a face as she slid onto the seat next to Ruby. “Well, I’m probably not the best judge when it comes to guys, but you gotta admit the man can wear a suit.”

“Agreed,” said Ruby, passing over the bag of chips.

Dorothy took some, pushing them into her mouth and crunching on them.

“Probably into some kinky shit, though,” she said, licking salt from her fingers and reaching for her glass. “Looks like he has a sex dungeon and gets off on spanking.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” said Ruby, and they both snickered.

“Ooo-kay, so I’ll be getting so drunk I don’t remember any of this conversation, then,” said Belle lightly, poking at the ice in her gin and tonic, and the others chuckled.

“Sorry for teasing,” said Ruby, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “It’s just - well, as long as I’ve known him, Gold’s always been alone. Bitter, closed off, unsociable - that seems to be his thing. The idea of him actually attracting someone—”

“—a young, sweet - may we say it - hot someone—” added Dorothy.

“Yeah, it’s just a little weird to think about, that’s all,” said Ruby, wrinkling her nose. “Maybe you’ll understand why when you get to know him.”

Belle took a slurp of her gin.

“You know him well, then?” she said, and Ruby shrugged.

“I guess so. As well as anyone in this town, that is. He’s in the diner a lot.”

“Uh-huh.” Belle took another drink. “So, what’s his first name?”

Ruby opened and closed her mouth, and Belle gave her a knowing smile.

“Does he have family?“ she went on. “How did he end up moving over here from Scotland? What’s his favourite food to cook?”

“You know all that?” asked Ruby, round-eyed, and Belle shook her head.

“That was gonna be my next line of conversation,” she admitted. “Okay, he already told me he doesn’t have family, but everyone has someone, right?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” said Ruby. “Maybe he doesn’t talk to them anymore. He’s always on his own, I can tell you that. He comes into the diner most mornings for coffee. And he collects the rent, of course. Polite, like you say, but not exactly friendly.”

“Seems to be friendly enough with Belle,” said Dorothy, with a grin. “Agreeing to reopen the library, when he told everyone else to go fuck themselves…”

“Yeah, how did you get him to do that?” asked Ruby curiously, and Belle shrugged.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “He didn’t seem keen when I first mentioned it, but I talked about the things I wanted to do, the benefit it would bring to the town, and eventually he just seemed to come around.”

“Remind me to give you a call next time we’re struggling to make rent,” remarked Dorothy.

Belle giggled, and took another drink, setting down her glass and looking between the two of them.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, since he didn’t want to talk about it,” she said. “What was the reason the place was closed down?”

Ruby and Dorothy looked at one another, each pulling bemused faces.

“Before my time, I guess,” said Dorothy.

“Mine too,” said Ruby. “I mean, I could ask Granny…”

“He said it was twenty years ago,” added Belle, and the two women shrugged in unison.

“Granny wasn’t even here then,” said Ruby. “She moved out here with me after my parents died. Pretty sure that was less than twenty years ago. I was pretty young.”

“Huh.” Belle took a sip of her drink. “Guess I’ll have to find out some other way.”

“You could check the Storybrooke Mirror,” suggested Dorothy, reaching for the chips again. “I worked there for six months or so before I got the Town Hall job. There’s old stuff on microfiche that no one’s looked at in years. Could be something there.”

“Right.” Belle pursed her lips, thinking it over. ”Maybe I’ll take a look.”

Ruby took a slurp of her drink, setting down the glass.

“So, what’s the apartment like?” she asked.

“It’s a one-bed, but I think it could be cosy with a little effort,” said Belle. “Mr Gold says he’ll get some furniture for the place.”

“Well, if you need some help with assembly or carrying shit, I can help out,” offered Ruby.

“Thanks,” said Belle, and reached for her drink again. “It’s gonna be so cool having my own place. Can’t wait to make it mine. Bookshelves, some cushions, maybe a few pictures...”

“Get some things from Gold’s shop,” suggested Dorothy. “It’ll make him feel more at home when you eventually get his pants off.”

Ruby giggled, and Belle blushed before joining in.

“Thanks for the encouragement,” she said dryly, and Ruby raised her glass.

“We fully support you in your plan to seduce the menacing, shady-as-hell, yet sharply-dressed pawnbroker twice your age,” she announced, and Dorothy clinked the glass with her own.

“Go get that skinny ass,” she added, and Belle groaned, covering her face with her hands.

“Look, I can’t even think about that right now,” she said. “I have a library opening to plan. Which means I need to use what little cash I have to buy cupcakes and wine and cheese and kids’ party food between now and the end of the month.”

“You’re opening then?” asked Ruby, with interest.

“If the Mayor agrees to fund the new stock of books, yes,” said Belle. “If not, I’m gonna be planning a fundraiser.”

“You should hear next Thursday at the meeting,” said Dorothy. “We’ll keep everything crossed for you, won’t we Rubes?”

“Damn straight,” said Ruby, with a nod. “And just in case you don’t get lucky, I have a few - interesting - ideas for the fundraiser.”

She grinned wickedly, waggling her eyebrows, and Belle groaned.

“Yeah, your expression doesn’t fill me with confidence,” she said.

“Please don’t tell me you’re gonna suggest a kissing booth again,” said Dorothy wearily, and Ruby’s eyes went wide with innocence.

“The thought never crossed my mind.”

Belle had to go back to Mr Gold’s shop to sign the rental contract and pay over the rent and a deposit, which she had borrowed from her father against her first month’s wages. Mr Gold watched her as she read over the contract, and produced a black and gold pen from inside his suit jacket so that she could sign her name. He wrote an entry in a heavy ledger to mark the payment of the deposit and first month’s rent. She watched his hand move across the page, and he glanced up as he set down the pen, giving her a tiny smile, his eyes dark with something like promise. It felt as though she had signed the most important contract of her life, as though she were somehow making a deal for her soul with the Devil himself. Whether she was saving it or giving it away was, as yet, unclear, but the glitter in his eyes made her heart pound. Mr Gold closed the ledger with a heavy thump, fingers shifting along its sides until it was perfectly aligned with the edge of the counter.

“The furniture I ordered should arrive tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll have some of my men take it up for you and assemble it.”

“Thank you,” she said, a little breathlessly, and his smile widened a little.

“And your own things?” he asked. “Will you need assistance with those?”

She shook her head.

“I don’t have much,” she said. “Ruby’s gonna help me move in.”

“Very well.”

He reached to the side, to a carved wooden cupboard, and opened it up, reaching inside and turning back to face her. A key dangled from a round fob held between finger and thumb.

“I replaced the locks on the apartment door,” he said. “Here.”

She reached out to take it, tucking the fob into her palm and feeling the warmth of him on the smooth plastic.

“Thank you,” she said. “I - uh - I should go.”

“Of course.”

He leaned on the counter, still smiling at her, and she could feel her abdomen pull and tighten. She turned away, clutching the key hard in her palm, feeling breathless as she made her way to the exit. His eyes were on her back as she left, and when the door closed behind her it was as though she had been swimming up from the dark depths of a warm lake, and could suddenly breathe again.

It was two days later that the furniture for her apartment arrived, and the same short, burly men that had gotten rid of the old items carried it up for her, whistling a tune as they did so. She had told her father she was moving out, and he had grunted at her, slumped in front of the TV with a glass of rum in his hand, as was his usual state in the evenings. It was the way he had dealt with things even before her mother had died, and if she was completely honest with herself, she wasn’t sorry to be going. She had packed her things: clothing, books, and the few pieces of personal furniture she wanted to take, and the next day Ruby bounced up on the doorstep with a beaming smile, red-streaked hair fluttering in the winter breeze.

“Thought I’d give you a hand,” she said, gesturing to the driveway, where a red car was parked.  “Wow, are all those books? Don’t you already have a library-full?”

She was grinning, and Belle gave her a level look, handing over the first of the boxes.

“Private collection and not for public use,” she said sternly, and Ruby giggled.

“You have the strict librarian thing down already,” she said. “Maybe think about getting some glasses so you can look over them when people are talking too loud.”

It didn’t take too long to fill the car with boxes, two suitcases of clothes and an old coat stand, and Belle decided to come back for the rest later that day. Getting the boxes of books up to the apartment left them out of breath, but maneuvering the coat stand through the door of the library was more awkward.

“I’m not sure we’ll get it up the staircase,” said Ruby, huffing a little under the strain. “How do you feel about hanging all your coats down here?”

“We just need to turn it,” said Belle impatiently, swinging her end around to the left with more force than she had aimed for.

There was a crunching noise, and she groaned, already fearing what she’d find. Glancing over her shoulder revealed one leg of the coat stand, stuck in the drywall. Belle swore under her breath, tugging the thing free with a shower of plaster and leaving a large hole.

“Oops,” said Ruby ominously.

“Yeah.”  Belle bit her lip, setting the coat stand down. “It’s not too much damage, right? I could fill this in, repaint…”

“It’s a hole three inches across,” remarked Ruby. “I think it’s gonna take more than a little filler and a lick of paint.”

“You wouldn’t have thought it would have gone that deep,” grumbled Belle. “Isn’t this supposed to be a wall?”

Ruby stepped forward, bending to gaze at the hole.

“That’s hollow,” she said curiously.

“What?”

“Behind the drywall. There’s a space back there. Here.”

She dug in her pocket for her phone, bringing up the flashlight app and shining it on the gap.

“There’s something back there,” she said excitedly.

“Let me see.”

Belle crouched down to peer through the gap. The light from Ruby’s phone gleamed on something; reddish-brown wood with what looked like brass fittings.

“I - I don’t know if it’s a door, or something,” she said vaguely. “I can’t see.”

“Let me look a second.”

Belle leaned back, and Ruby glanced around the room before shoving her entire fist into the hole, opening it up.

“Ruby!”

“Oh, come on, you wanted to know just as much as I did!”

“I’m probably gonna have to pay for that!”

“Yeah, maybe Gold’ll give you a tongue-lashing,” said Ruby dismissively. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t enjoy it.”

“Oh my God…”

“Just have a look, would you?” said Ruby impatiently, brushing streaks of plaster from her hand.

Belle sighed, but held up the phone. The hole made by Ruby’s fist was large enough to see through. A wooden door, set with brass fittings and a series of large cogs.

“It - it looks like a door,” said Belle. “Works with some kind of mechanism, like cogs and pulleys, or something.”

“Let me see.” Ruby took her place, peering through the hole. “Huh. Kind of steampunk. Hey, do you think it’s an elevator?”

“If it is, it doesn’t go up to my apartment,” said Belle, and Ruby shook her head.

“Not going up,” she said. “Going down.”

“A basement?” Belle pulled a face. “Mr Gold didn’t mention one, and I didn’t see a door to it, or anything.”

“So ask him.”

“What, before or after I tell him I busted a hole in his wall?”

“Come on, what harm can it do?”

“Fine,” sighed Belle. “At least let’s get the rest of my stuff. That way if he murders me you guys can build a shrine in my honour in the classics section.”

Ruby chuckled, and picked up a suitcase.

“Hey, is there gonna be an erotica section?” she asked, with interest.

“Planning on one,” said Belle. “Depends if I can get funding for the new books.”

“There’s always my kissing booth idea…”

“Yeah,” said Belle, in a very dry tone. “I’m - probably not gonna be doing that.”

“Suit yourself,” said Ruby airily. “Just saying that there’s someone in town you wanna kiss, and rumour has it he has a rather large - checking account.”

Belle sighed, rolling her eyes and stomping off in the direction of the stairs, and Ruby’s cackle followed her up.

She knew that she had to own up to Mr Gold about the damage, and she figured sooner was better than later. The man had a habit of turning up when he wasn’t expected, and she didn’t want the hole in the wall to be a surprise. She waited until Ruby had gone to work her shift at the diner before heading to his shop, and Mr Gold looked up from the counter, his rent ledger open in front of him.

“Miss French,” he said, with a tiny smile. “Are you all settled in?”

“Pretty much,” she said. “I have to unpack, but - yeah.  I’m an independent woman. How about that?”

“Well, I hope you’ll be very happy there,” he said, turning his attention back to his ledger. “Let me know if there’s anything else you need."

“Thanks.”

There was a moment of silence, and she stepped a little closer, watching the light gleam on his hair.

“So - there’s an elevator in the library,” she said.

Mr Gold stilled, pen hovering above the ledger.

“What?”

“An elevator,” she said. “At least, I think that’s what it looks like. I’m sorry to say I had a bit of an accident. Knocked a hole in the drywall. I’ll pay for the damage, I swear.”

Mr Gold set down his pen, not looking at her. He turned away, shoulders stiff, and pushed at the curtain separating the back room from the shop. Brow crinkling, Belle followed him.

“So, am I right?” she asked. “There’s an elevator there? Where does it go? How come it’s walled off.”

He was standing stock still, his back to her, and she bounced on her toes as she waited for him to answer.

“Apologies, Miss French,” he said quietly. “I just remembered something very urgent that I have to do. I’m afraid I’m closing up early today.”

“I - what?” She was perplexed. “But - the elevator? I’m right, aren’t I? How come it’s not working? I don’t understand.”

“That’s not something I care to discuss,” he said sharply. “Now, if you don’t mind?”

“Mr Gold, I—”

“Please!” he snapped. “Miss French, I’d like you to leave!”

She took a step back, snapping her mouth shut, feeling hurt and awkward.

“Right,” she said softly. “Right. Okay. I’ll - I guess I’ll see you.”

She backed away, letting the curtain fall across and hide him from her sight. The shop was silent but for the low ticking of clocks, a reminder of the passing of time, of the years that had passed since the elevator was walled up and hidden from view. She wondered what secrets had been buried with it, and recalled Dorothy’s suggestion that she visit the local paper. Perhaps there would be answers there.

The newspaper did indeed have old microfiche available to view, just as Dorothy had said, but the young man who showed her to the small, windowless room to look through them merely shrugged when Belle asked why the library had come to be closed. She sat down with microfiche from 1998, flicking through stories of town festivals, cookouts and Little League games, and as the articles moved from September into October, reports of storm damage to the Town Hall. The storm had been a large one, it seemed, but she couldn’t find anything to say that the library had suffered any damage. She flicked to the next page, and flicked on again before going back, something familiar tickling at her mind.

Belle frowned, looking over the picture in front of her, its sign reading Pawnbroker and Antiquities Dealer.  Mr Gold’s shop looked much as it did now, albeit with a lighter hue of paint on the clapboard frontage, the blinds drawn and a sign in the window saying Out of Business. Her mouth flattened at that; what had happened to cause him to close the shop?  Perhaps it wasn’t the most profitable area of his business, but even so… She concentrated on the text below the picture. Local property developer and antiquities dealer, Mr Gold, closed his business without warning yesterday, following the reports of a tragic accident at the Storybrooke Public Library. Your Storybrooke Mirror reporter tried to reach the businessman for comment, but was told by his softly-spoken yet intimidating assistant that he was unavailable until further notice. Anyone wishing to redeem pawned items should submit their claims in writing to the shop and their queries will be addressed.

Curious, Belle turned the page backwards, trying to find an earlier edition, and her mouth fell open as she saw a picture of the library on what would have been the front page of the newspaper. Children’s Outing Ends in Tragedy it proclaimed. Belle leaned closer, eyes running over the words in front of her. A group of children left Storybrooke Library in tears yesterday as one of their own suffered a tragic accident. Baeden Gold, aged 3…

Belle straightened up, breath catching. Baeden Gold.  

She shook her head, bending closer to read the rest of the article. The elevator had been out of use, down in the deep basement awaiting repairs, and the doors had been closed. Unfortunately, the elevator was not electric, and the doors could be opened by anyone who knew how to work the mechanism. It wasn’t known who had opened them - the Sheriff was said to be investigating - but the result was an open elevator shaft down which a small boy had tumbled to his death. Belle bit her lip. So. The reason for the library’s closure, and Mr Gold’s refusal to open it since. She wondered what had made him finally agree to her proposal.

She sat back in her chair, chewing her lip, her mind troubled. It had happened twenty years ago, and yet no one spoke of it, least of all Mr Gold. She wondered if he had wanted it that way, if he had walled off his pain with plaster and paint and tried to forget it had ever happened. As if he ever could.

[crossstitchclub]

New Post has been published on https://knittingpatern.com/tablet-cushion-knitting-pattern/

Tablet cushion-knitting pattern

Tablet cushion-knitting pattern

Tablet cushion-knitting pattern

EASY TO KNIT!

YOU WILL NEED 1. King Cole Majestic DK (50% wool, 30% acrylic, 20% polyamide, 50g/121m) 1 ball of each: Amber (2658) Burnt Orange (2656) Cerise (2659) Violet (2653) Sky Blue (2655) Pale Petrol (2657) 2.A pair of 3.25mm needles 3. Beanbag beans

TENSION 26 sts and 34 rows to measure 10x10cm (4x4in) over st st using 3.25mm needles 22 sts and 40 rows to measure 10x10cm (4x4in) over garter stitch using 3.25mm needles

MEASUREMENTS Height 17cm (6¾in) Width at widest point 31cm (12¼in)

  TABLET CUSHION BEANBAG BASE Cast on 16 sts using 3.25mm needles and your chosen shade from the six balls. Next row Knit. Work increases as follows: Next row (RS) Kfb, K to last st, kfb. [18 sts] Next row Knit. Rep these 2 rows until there are 36 sts, ending with a WS row. Work decreases as follows: Next row (RS) Ssk, K to last 2 sts, k2tog. [34 sts] Next row Knit. Rep these 2 rows until there are 16 sts left, ending with a WS row. Cast off

SEGMENTS Make six segments, one in each shade. Cast on 19 sts using 3.25mm needles. Work increases as follows: Row 1 (RS) Knit. Row 2 Purl. Row 3 K2, M1, K to last 2 sts, M1, K2. [21 sts] Row 4 Purl. Rep these 4 rows 3 more times, ending with Row 4. [27 sts]

Work decreases as follows: Row 1 (RS) Knit. Row 2 Purl. Row 3 K2, ssk, K to last 4 sts, k2tog, K2. [25 sts] Row 4 Purl. Row 5 Knit. Row 6 Purl. Rep these 6 rows until 7 sts remain, ending with Row 6. Next row (RS) Ssk, s2kpo, k2tog. [3 sts] Next row Purl. Next row S2kpo and fasten off this stitch. TAB Cast on 16 sts using 3.25mm needles and your chosen shade from the six balls. Work in st st until work measures 7cm. Cast off. MAKING UP Sew the segments together along their side edges. Attach tab by sewing the long edges of the tab together, then folding it in half. Sew into the top of the bean bag leaving no gaps. Sew the base to segments, with each side attached to the bottom of a segment, leaving one segment/base side left open. Fill with beanbag beads. Sew up final base side/segment.