The girl was back. The one who had once been a quiet, sweet girl who sat in the back of the diner making cow eyes at the evil sorcerer. Oh, she couldn't figure out what the lovely young woman saw in the Dark One, but one thing Granny knew for sure was that there was definite fondness on both sides. Before the girl appeared, she had only seen the man she called Mr. Gold on rent days. After the curse broke, and she knew who their landlord was, she had started to see him a lot more. And almost always in the company of the young woman named Belle. It started with hamburgers one afternoon and had progressed to dates nearly every day. Two hamburgers, his with extra pickles, hers with no tomato, and two iced teas, hers with a lemon, his extra sweet. Sometimes they followed it with a slice of her famous blueberry pie, but more often than not, they left with their arms around each other, heads tucked in close together, mumbling something about having dessert at his shop. Oh yes, there was definitely something there.
So when the girl sauntered into her diner, dressed in a small blood red dress, something she was sure she'd seen on her own granddaughter before, she was surprised. She was even more surprised to see her without the sorcerer on her arm. She was almost never seen without Rumplestiltskin these days.
"Belle," Granny said warmly. "What can I do you for?"
The woman put a hand on one hip, balanced precariously on heels that had to have given her at least four or five inches of height, and gave Granny a scathing look out of the sides of her eyes. "It's Lacey, love." Her face tightened and her eyes narrowed. "I'm so tired of this damned Belle thing."
Granny's eyebrows shot up and she remembered Ruby whispering to her one day not so long ago. She doesn't know who she is…she thinks she's someone else…Gold said Regina got to her…
"I apologize…Lacey…what can I get you?"
Lacey pulled herself up onto one of the stools, her already short skirt riding high, revealing the edges of the stockings she was wearing. Lace, of course. Granny tried not to roll her eyes. She watched as the young women read through the menu quickly and scoffed.
"Something wrong, dear?" There was a slight edge to Granny's voice.
"Your lasagna," Lacey responded with, not bothering to look up at the older woman.
"It's the best in town."
"It's too expensive," Lacey pointed out. "This is just a diner, not some sort of fancy Italian restaurant."
Granny's eyebrows shot up. "It's the best in town," she repeated.
"Yeah a town of what? Three people? That hardly recommends it." She leaned across the counter toward the older woman and raised one eyebrow at her.
"There's an Italian restaurant across town. Perhaps you should try there?" She liked Belle. She really did. Granny had found the woman a breath of fresh air and anyone who could keep control of the Dark One had her respect. But this Lacey character? Only the fact that she inhabited Belle's body kept her from tossing her out on her ear.
Lacey stood, tossing the menu on the counter. "Perhaps I should. Maybe theirs won't be frozen."
"That's it! I've had just about enough of your lip, missy!" Granny stalked out from behind the counter, her eyes narrowing on the young woman. Belle or not, this sort of attitude wasn't something she would stand for. She grabbed her crossbow as she walked past the cash register, her only protection against the occasional hooligan that came into the diner. One look at the weapon and people immediately scattered. Even now, when it wasn't aimed at them, some of the customers in the diner hastily slapped down their money on the table and retreated. Others looked just a bit too hard at their food, refusing to look up for fear they might catch someone's attention. And yet others turned and stared at the escalating situation.
Only Lacey continued standing, a cocky smile on her face, one hand on the hip that jutted out.
"Is there a problem here ladies?"
Granny grimaced. She should have known he would not be far behind Lacey.
Lacey turned and her eyes slid half closed and she looked at him from underneath her lashes. She sucked her lower lip into her mouth, running her tongue over it before biting down. The look was sultry, mischievous. She stepped closer to him, turning away from Granny and her crossbow and ran her hand down the lapels of his suit. "Why hello there Mr. Gold."
He bared his teeth at her in a feral imitation of a smile. Granny noticed it didn't quite go all the way to his eyes. "Lacey," he said. His voice was tight, barely suppressed rage. Granny well remembered the soft looks, the touches, the way they flirted and made everyone in the diner so very uncomfortable because their joy in each other was apparent even to those who didn't want to see it. Now he seemed as uncomfortable as she felt around the young woman.
"Granny says we should go somewhere else for lasagna." Lacey's voice sounded bored and she shot a spiteful look at the older woman.
"Well, who am I to ignore such a good suggestion?" He put his hand on Lacey's back and steered her toward the door. She went willingly, her look triumphant.
Just as they were about to exit the door, Rumplestiltskin turned to look back at Granny, his eyes meeting hers for just a moment. She was shocked to see him look tired and almost sad. It seemed he missed Belle just as much as the rest of them did.