Thursday, June 14th, 1984

Twenty-eight years is a long time to look at the same dress

There will be those who see a hole and think it is a sleeve

Rid the room of those who would rip the fabric

The tailor will stitch it back

The greater the tear, the greater the repair

The sleeves may not be even, but the dress will fit

     I was searching through the book this morning looking for a rule that fit this particular issue. This was the closest I could find to anything that made sense.

     Speaking of dresses, my clothes are fitting so much better. Aerobics class is crucial to maintaining my sanity—that and Hibiscus Hollow. If I could have put my plan into action by now, I would have. But everyone is aware that elections don’t happen until November. It’s not like I’m incapable of patience; I waited over nine months to enact the curse and I waited years before finding the right man to murder Snow’s father. But the wait for November is killing me. Fortunately Ruby’s aerobics classes calm my anxieties. I am out-shining Mary Margaret as the best student. No one will say as much, but the fact that Ruby doesn’t point to Miss Blanchard as the prime example tells me as much.

     Having until November just gives me more time to make sure everything’s just right. What it also does is give more people the chance to visit the literature section. Just to make sure I haven’t been too rash, I’ve visited the bookshop where I bought my cookbook my first day here. There were some stark differences between the two places. For one, the bookshop sold no fiction. Even the children’s books were instructional. But the people who shopped there knew what they were going in for. No one was milling about discovering new topics that might interest them.

     “The library is not the problem.” Sidney and I were taking a break at Granny’s. I wasn’t fully sure of my plan yet, but I knew I needed ballots printed. The printing press at the Daily Mirror is the perfect place to do that, especially when the other people who work for Sidney do whatever he tells them, like not to go near the printing press under any circumstances. The curse simply wasn’t going to allow government officials to gather our votes, even though it allowed the people of Storybrooke to get magazine subscriptions. I don’t really understand why that is. “The issue is television,” he continued. “The news is so up to date on T.V. that less people are buying newspapers. I can put whatever you want in the paper, Regina. You know that and your father knew it. But as long as everyone has a television, they’ll know there’s more out there.”

     “We can’t get rid of televisions.” Was I never supposed to watch Hibiscus Hollow again? “And even if we did, there’s still the radio and magazines. Outside information will always come into Storybrooke. I’m telling you, the problem is the library.” I looked down at my hands. My fingernails still had newspaper ink under them. That stuff is persistent.

     “Well you can’t just close down the library. Not without a good reason. Do you want to be mayor again?”

     He was right. I threw my napkin onto my empty plate. Granny’s was packed today. Everyone in town was there, it seemed. People were standing by the door, waiting for a booth or a seat at the counter. Deputy Sanchez was two tables away on his lunch break. Mr. Gold was leaning on his cane, perturbed that he couldn’t buy himself a seat. Ruby was blowing her hair out of her face as she scrambled to serve everyone their food. Granny stood behind the register with her eye on everyone, ready to tackle anyone if a riot broke out. Leroy was just getting up from the counter with a lunch to go when he saw me. He puffed his chest up and walked over to our table. Sidney tried to shoo him off, but Leroy ignored him.

     “I want to volunteer to work the polls for our precinct.” He stared directly into my eyes; sure I’d turn him down.

     I decided to call his bluff. “Leroy, right? Sidney, you remember Leroy from career day at Miss Blanchard’s class.” Sidney looked the janitor up and down, but said nothing. It didn’t matter—I had an idea. “You clearly have a passion for how our electoral system works. I’d like you to be in charge of organizing the volunteer poll-workers.”

     Leroy immediately began to fidget. “I’ve never been in charge of anything before.” He reached with a stubby finger to pull his collar away from his neck. “I just thought I’d help in the background.”

      “Well, that’s what makes Election Day so special.” I loved this. He hadn’t expected this from the woman who almost couldn’t remember how she got into office just a couple months ago. “You should be in charge of this. It’s a great responsibility and the whole town will be counting on you. And then when the polls are closed, we can take our ballots to the federal officials in Portland.”

     “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

     “That’s how it’s going to work this year. The government is trying something new. I received a call from our governor just last week.” I knew he wasn’t going to question me on this. Leroy was sweating, probably hoping that I’d change my mind. “You won’t let your town down, will you, Leroy?”

     “Yes—I mean no!”

     “Thank you. I knew I could count on you.” Oh, how I loved piling the praise on him as he squirmed. “I’ll gather a couple other people to help you. Sidney will call you tomorrow.”

     Sidney glared at me, less than thrilled that I’d just volunteered him. Leroy squeezed out a sort of thank you and took his lunch out of there. My lunch with Sidney had ended as well. I left the payment on the table and made my way out, but was stopped by Deputy Sanchez as soon as I’d walked out the door.

     “I just heard your conversation with Leroy.” He’s a scrawny many who might not own a comb. “Could I volunteer to work the election too?”

     “How nice of you, deputy. I’d say you could ask Leroy, but I’m sure you’ll need to work that day.” I smiled and he gave me a little nod before walking off.

     I need a good reason to close the library? How about death by dragon? Would that be a good enough reason?

     The best way to prevent people from ever going in there again is by proving that it’s too dangerous to do so. I’m going to send Leroy down to see Maleficent. And then when everyone sees his charred corpse they’ll shut down the library and forget about voting at the same time.