Going Mad (Once Upon a Time)

Chapter II - Arriving

Chapter II

 "Do you know where you're going?" I ask Simon as he swirves confidently down the winding roads.  He hasn't even turned the GPS on yet. 

"Nah, just vibing," he answers. 

"What if we get lost?" I ask.

"Lost on our way to where?" he counters with a smile.  He got me there didn't he.  "If you don't know where you want to go, any road works, right?"  I nod.  I guess he's not wrong.  "Why did you want to leave anyway?" 

"Maybe it sounds crazy, but I just don't feel like I belong there.  Anywhere really.  I guess I'm trying to find a place that I do feel like I can fit in and not feel like I'm faking it."  Simon nods.  "Why were you so willing to come with me?  You didn't even need time to think."

"I guess I feel the same way," he admits.  "Hungry?" he asks, smiling.

"Yeah, a little I guess," I answer.

"Well, it looks like there's a town up ahead, we can see if there's a Micky-D's," he suggests. 

I'm really not in the mood for fast food, but after all the help Simon is giving me the least I can do is let him choose the first meal.  I lift my head to see a sign welcoming us to a town called Storybrooke.  The sign is a little crooked though, as if it got crashed into from behind.  We drive another minute or so until we can see what looks like the downtown area.  Thankfully, there aren't any golden arches around that we can see.  "Look, there!" I exclaim, pointing to what looks like a small diner on the side of the road.

"Granny's Diner?" Simon said chuckling a little.

"Grannies make the best food," I remind him.

"You've got that right," he agrees, parallel parking in front of the restaurant.  We hop out of the car and Simon immediately runs to the back and grabs his pet carrier.

"No you are not taking your cat into a diner!" I scold.

"Cici wants food too," he pouts, "Especially since you took his seat before."

"They aren't going to give food to any of us if we bring a cat in there!"

He grabs the fluff-ball from the carrier and circles her around my face until he boops our noses together, keeping his pouty face on.

"Fine!" I give in, "But if you get kicked out I'm not leaving."

He smiles and nods.  Sometimes I don't know how this guy graduated into adulthood.

We go inside and sit down in one of the red, 50s style booths next to a small window.  We wait a few minutes until I see a smiling waitress making her way over to our table.  She has on red short-shorts with a white blouse tied up and showing a little of her stomach.  There are streaks of red in her glossy dark brown hair, and she's wearing a ton more makeup than I would ever be comfortable wearing myself, yet she pulls it off flawlessly.  She's very pretty.  "Hi, I'm Ruby, can I start you two off with some drinks?" she asks cheerfully.

"I'll just take some water," I tell her.  I look over at Simon's extra cheesy smile as he requests some root beer and some milk for Cici.

"Okay, I'll be right back with those," Ruby says, glancing amusingly at Simon bouncing Cici in his arms like a baby.  That cat really does melt into him at all times.

"She's hot," Simon says after she is out of range.

"Of course you think so," I smirk at his boyishness.  Simon smiles and continues petting his fur baby.

Ruby returns a minute later with our drinks.  "Do you like my cat?" Simon asks, holding Cici up.

"I'm more of a dog person," Ruby says without even glancing up from her notebook.  "You know cats really aren't supposed to be in here anyways," she says.

"But it's Granny's Diner!" he says, "Aren't grannies supposed to love cats?"

"Ha!" Ruby laughs, "Sorry honey but Granny isn't even in today, but I can tell you that she is not the sweet old cat lady you're thinking of," she says.  "What would you like to eat?"

I get a chicken Caesar wrap while Simon gets a cheeseburger with fries. "Much better than McDonald's," he concludes as he dips his last fry into some ketchup.  We get done eating and pay, with Simon leaving quite a generous tip for Ruby.  We head back to the car and start to make our way through and back out the other end of town when the car starts making some weird gurgling noises.  "What's going on?" I ask Simon.  I really don't want to be stuck out here in the middle of the forest.

"Not sure, everything should be fine," he says, studying the meters.  Then the car starts slowing down until we are completely stopped in front of the green "Leaving Storybrooke" sign.  Simon sighs and hits his head on the steering wheel a few times before he gets out of the car and pops the hood.  I get out also, watching him stare at the machinery in the car with a blank look on his face.

"Too bad Patrick from room four isn't here, right?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Yeah," he says, taking his phone out of his pocket.  "Hi, My name is Simon Tabbin and I'm having some car problems by the southern town border."  I head back to sit and wait in the car for him to finish talking.  I stare off out the window until I'm startled by the sound of Simon shutting the hood.  He walks around to his door and climbs in the car, resting his head on the back of the seat and closing his eyes.  After a few minutes he looks like he's asleep.  I'm pretty close to falling asleep myself but I suddenly see some red and blue lights flashing in the rear-view mirror. 

"Simon, wake up!" I whisper, shaking him a little.  He rubs his hands over his eyes and notices the lights.

"Come on," he says, getting out of the car.  I follow him out to see a woman with wavy blonde hair holding a notepad.  She is standing outside of the police car.

"Hello, I'm Sheriff Swan," she says shaking our hands.  "What seems to be the problem?"

"I don't know; we were on our way out of town when my car just quit on us.  I can't figure out what's wrong." Simon explains to her.

"Do you guys live in town?" she asks.

"No, we were just driving through and were on our way out," I tell her.

"Well, the auto shop is closed right now, but I can take you back to Granny's Bed and Breakfast for the night if you're interested," she suggests.  "Someone will be able to take a look at your car in the morning. 

Granny's Bed and Breakfast?  You have got to be kidding me.  I look at Simon, who's already staring at me with wide eyes.  "Will Ruby be there?" he just has to ask.

"Uh, yes I believe so," the sheriff says, taking some notes.

"We're in!" he says awkwardly loud.  It doesn't seem to phase the sheriff as much as it made me jump.

"Okay then, hop in and I'll take you," she says, helping us with our luggage.  

Simon and his cat snatch shotgun in his anticipation to possibly see Ruby again while I settle into the back seat like a criminal, bars dividing me from Simon and the sheriff up front.   Thankfully the drive back into town goes a lot quicker this time.  Sheriff Swan drives us into Granny's and sets up our reservation with the woman who must be Granny.  

"Well," she says, "I'll put in a call to the auto shop in the morning and hopefully we can get your car fixed soon."

"Okay, thank you for all of your help," I tell her.

"No problem," she smiles, heading out to her car.

Then a girl in red walks out of the back room holding a couple old-fashioned room keys.  She glances over to Simon, who is, of course, smiling like an idiot with his cat in hand.  "I can show you to your rooms," she says, turning towards the stairs.  Simon starts following like a puppy as Ruby unlocks the doors of our adjacent rooms for us and lists off the rules of the place.  I'm not really paying attention, I'm just standing there taking in my room and how it looks a lot cozier that even some of the big name hotels I've seen.  I figure that Simon will probably inscribe everything Ruby says onto a stone tablet anyways so I'll have him catch me up later.  Ruby eventually leaves us on our own to Simon's dismay and I start my bedtime routine.  After about twenty minutes I flop myself down onto one of the soft, ginger smelling beds and fall asleep instantly.