Monday, February 16th, 1998

     It took me until today to confront Mr. Gold. I couldn’t just ask him to have the baby. He’d refuse. I had to be careful. All he had to do was say one word and it would be done. I needed to be clever if I wanted to be a mother. I was intruding in someone else’s part of the curse. Everyone here wants something that they’ll never get. The curse I cast has created a very specific picture, and I walked into Mr. Gold’s shop with the goal to alter it.

     The bells on the door jingled as it closed behind me. The light shined through the windows and cast shadowy shapes across his counter. A mug of coffee sat on top of a fresh and open copy of the Boston Globe. Behind the counter, a curtain hung in a doorway. Behind that, I assumed was a stockroom that must have been empty, because the shop was full of strange items from floor to ceiling. I stood beside some shriveled marionettes that sat on their perch and stared on at the curtain. I looked away and followed their gaze. The sound of tapping on the floor grew closer and closer. The curtain wafted forward before Mr. Gold’s hand grabbed it and pulled it out of the way. He stepped forward.

     “Good morning, Madam Mayor.” He smiled and stepped up to the counter. “What brings you into my shop today?”

     “Good morning, Gold. I’m here today with an offer.”

     “Well, I’m all ears.”

     “What if I told you I was interested in adopting a child?”

     “I would congratulate you.” He grabbed his coffee mug off the counter. “That’s quite a noble thing to do. I believe you would be a good mother, despite a previous attempt.”

     “You know about that?”

     “Word does get around.” He took a sip of his coffee before carrying the mug and setting it on a table or something right behind the curtain. “Even still, I believe few people in Storybrooke would be a better candidate than you.”

     “Thank you.” I got to the point. “I would like to adopt Ashley’s baby.”

     The smile Gold had since greeting me left his face.

     “And what do you want to offer me?”

     “How about the right to increase your rent fees to all of your properties in Storybrooke?”

     “I already have that right, thanks.” Mr. Gold came around from behind the counter, his cane tapping loudly on the wooden floor. “The child is worth more than that.”

     “I will help you adopt any other child in Storybrooke.” I started to walk up to him, but he walked right past me. He reached up with one hand and began to untangle a mobile of glass unicorns that looked vaguely familiar. I went to help.

     “There are no other children to adopt in Storybrooke.” He waved my hands away from his as politely as he could and went back to the mobile. “None who are safe to adopt, anyway.”

     “Then what would you like? You can have anything you want.” How do you convince him to break a deal? You offer him a better one.

     “That is the most dangerous question to ask, as well as the most dangerous thing to offer.” He had three of the five strands untangled already, but one twist of the fourth strand reattached it to one of the three untangled strands. “To answer your first, there is nothing more valuable than the life of a child. To the second, I want Ashley’s baby, and I have it already.” He gave up on the mobile with a sigh and sat down, but now the mobile was bothering me. I reached up and worked on it.

     “Did you know I was close friends with Ashley’s stepmother?” I got the whole thing untangled faster than I thought. “I even paid for her grave and funeral.”

     “I did know that.” He nodded in thanks for my effort. “But it seems you weren’t close enough for her to tell you about Miss Boyd’s pregnancy.”

     That didn’t sting as much as he meant it to, but I decided to switch tactics anyway.

     “I’ve heard that Ashley was coerced into signing her contract with you.” I leaned against his display counter and placed my hands behind me on the cold glass. “If I wanted to, I could visit Mr. Spencer’s firm and build a case against you.”

     “You can if you like, but I can just as easily get all of those involved together and prove your case invalid.”

     “I spoke with Ashley two days ago and she wants to give her baby to me.”

     “What Miss Boyd wants now is irrelevant. All that matters is the contract she signed then.” Mr. Gold rose from his chair and made his way back behind the counter. “You are the most powerful woman in Storybrooke.” He reached beneath the counter and pulled out a spray bottle with blue liquid and a rag. “You can have any child you want. Except this one.”

     “But this one is perfect!”

     “I’m sure he will be, but this one is mine.” He came over to the display case I was leaning against and motioned with his cane for me to move. I stepped aside for him to spray and wipe away the smudges my hands had left.

     “I can give her things so she can get on with her life. Can you promise that?” I think I was more offended by his wiping clean where my backside had leaned against the case than anything he’d said.

     “I don’t promise anything unless I’m certain I can deliver. Can you?”

     “Do you even care about her well-being?”

     “Truthfully, no,” he turned to me before walking the cleaning supplies back to where they belonged. “But she is healthy and has everything she needs. What she does with her life after the child’s born is not my concern.”

     “Do you think you’ll be able to take care of the infant yourself?”

     “Not alone, no. Not that it’s any of your business, but I may have to hire some help. I know of at least one woman who might be able.” He came around from the counter one more time and made his way slowly to the door.

     My mouth actually fell open. “You don’t mean Ashley?” It was so cruel, I wish I’d thought of it.

     “I plan on offering her the job. Of course, per our contract, she won’t be allowed to ever reveal to the child she’s his mother. The consequences if she does are dire.” He held the door open for me. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a business to run. You know where I stand on this, so I’ll wish you good day.”

     But I wasn’t finished. “Mr. Gold, please, this is my last chance!”

     “Madam Mayor, please stop going on about this! I’m not breaking my contract with Ashley.”

     My mouth closed. I opened it again and tried to say the name “Ashley”, but my voice wouldn’t come forth. I was able to say “Mr. Gold—“ but I tried to press the subject of Ashley’s baby and nothing would come out. I started again.

     “We have known each other for a very long time.” I could get that out, but anything about Ashley or adopting her baby cut off in my throat. I was so angry I could cry. I didn’t want to cry in front of Mr. Gold. I could feel the tears coming, but they never came because they were over Ashley’s baby. I wanted to scream. I tried to scream! But I couldn’t even do that! I was done, whether I wanted to be or not.

     “I’ll leave you alone now.” Before I could walk out the door, Mr. Gold held up a hand.

     “Mayor Mills,” he sighed and lowered his head. “I am not unsympathetic to your plight. There’s nothing in this world I’ve wanted more than to be a parent, and I’d recognized that in you long before you came to me today. I may be able to help you.” He closed the door, preventing more cold air from coming in and walked back to his counter.

     “How?” I followed him. “There are no other available children to adopt in Storybrooke.”

     “True, but there are many adoptable children outside of Storybrooke.” He held up his issue of the Boston Globe as though it was a piece of magic.

     “What’s your price?” I took a step back, as I’d already offered him anything.

     “Let’s not worry about my price just now, dearie.” He sat the newspaper down. “This may take some time. When I’m able to find you a child, then we’ll discuss the cost.”