Chapter 4
They arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before 7. Cal had texted Piper to let her know everyone had already arrived.
Alex took Piper's hand in hers. "Here goes nothing kid." She started to open the door but Piper stopped her.
"Alex wait." Piper took a few deep breaths. "I just need a second."
"Pipes, everyone in there tonight is here because they love you. They support you. They all want to be here for you. Some may flip out once they realize who I am but they'll come around eventually" Alex smirked and adjusted her glasses. "I've been told I'm quite the charmer."
Piper smiled and pulled Alex into a soft kiss "You haven't met my mother. She's going to make this difficult. You're right though. They love me, it may be hard to accept but they will eventually. I want you to know that even if this goes badly. I'm not running from anything. I pick you."
Alex kissed Piper again and they walked into the restaurant.
"Good evening. Welcome to Salt. Could I have the reservation name please?" the hostess asked.
"Chapman" Piper spoke.
The hostess looked over the list before replying. "Please allow Valerie to show you to your table. The Vause-Chapman party is in our private section."
Piper's mouth stood open. Alex thanked the hostess and guided Piper to follow her.
"Vause-Champan" Piper whispered. "Cal… I love him. I bet my mom nearly had a coronary when she heard that." Alex quietly laughed as they reached the door to the private seating area.
"Enjoy your evening ladies" Valerie spoke as she opened the door.
Alex squeezed Piper's hand tighter as they stepped in. Immediately several people from the party excitedly greeted Piper standing and approaching to hug her. A few friends Piper had not seen since before being sent to prison greeted her first. They politely greeted Alex not knowing who she was. Eventually Piper saw a more familiar face.
"Cal" She playfully punched his shoulder "How did you pull this off? This is amazing! And Vause-Chapman? Really?" Piper laughed and hugged her brother "I'm surprised mom didn't kill you."
Cal laughed as he stepped back from the embrace "I'm glad you like it. To be honest though I didn't plan it. I was trying. Neri and I were going to have something at our place. A large feast and a spiritual rebirth for you under the moon. A bonfire. Our friend Willow has a folk band The Bluegrass Reefers who were going to play."
Alex had trouble containing her laughter at Piper's expression.
Cal continued "I called Alex to find out if she preferred kombucha or cold brewed coffee. Then I explained what we had planned. Next thing I know Polly is calling me and the party was already planned."
"Polly planned this?" Piper said surprised.
"I had some help" Polly stepped forward smiling and nodded to Alex.
Piper saw the look between the two. "Wait a second. You and Alex? You both planned this whole thing?"
"Well I definitely planned most of it but supercunt helped with the details and reservation." Polly smiled wider.
Piper turned to Alex her Bambie blues sparkling even brighter "You set this up?"
Alex laughed "This was important Pipes. I knew Polly could give you a proper celebration. I helped with what I could."
Piper pulled them both into a hug. "You two worked together. I never would have believed it."
"Supercunt isn't so bad" Polly joked. "Thanks Holly, you're not so bad yourself" Alex laughed.
Piper's mother and father approached. Alex stepped away with Polly to give them a moment with their daughter.
"Piper dear, you look beautiful. Positively glowing." Bill hugged his daughter tightly.
Carol rubbed her daughter's shoulder "Yes dear you look lovely. Your skin will probably take a while to recover from the horrible food that place provided." Piper looked at her mother Carol Chapman, compliment laced with insult. "Thank you mom" was all Piper could say.
Piper was then pulled with the group to more friends she'd not seen since before prison. Her eyes scanned the room for Alex. She finally spotted her a few tables away.
"You must be Alex" Bill Chapman introduced himself to Alex. Piper tried to listen but the room's many voices drowned anything out. She could see Alex smile and her father whispered something into her ear. Alex's smile grew wider.
"…I realized the Peace Corps just wasn't something I could do anymore so I know how you feel trying to readjust to the world right now." A nameless guest's voice interrupted Piper's concentration.
"Excuse me" Piper said as she headed towards her father and Alex.
Piper approached and placed her and on the small of Alex's back and leaned into her. "Daddy, I see you two have already met. I was hoping to introduce you..."
"No need dear, Alex and I have already said what needs to be said." Her father then smiled warmly and went to join Carol at their table.
"What did he say?" Piper asked nervously.
Alex laughed and kissed Piper's forehead "I'll tell you later, everything is fine. Let's go sit down."
They approached their table. Neri was sitting next to Cal. Two empty seats were between Cal and Polly. Just then Piper realized she hadn't actually said hello to Polly and walked over without a word hugging her tight.
"NO TOUCHING!" Cal joked.
Piper flipped him off without letting go of Polly and Neri slapped the back of Cal's head laughing while she did it.
"I never actually said hi Pol." Piper broke the hug and took a seat next to Polly. Alex sat down between Piper and Cal.
"I've missed seeing this smile. It's been years Piper" Polly grinned.
"What? I wasn't in there that long. You've seen me smile plenty." Piper responded back.
"Not this smile." Polly shook her head.
"I'm happy." Piper smiled wider.
"It's more than that. I've seen you happy. Now you're truly happy. You only light up like this when you're with supercunt" Polly laughed. "I'm joking. Hopefully the only remnants of supercunt that still exist are in the bedroom…I don't want to hear about it though"
Piper laughed and winked at Polly before turning to Alex and kissing her deeply. The whole room went quiet.
"I guess it's time to give my speech" Polly said as she stood up from the table.
"Piper's finally out." Polly began and the room started cheering. "15 months ago our sweet Piper went to prison. Many of you probably couldn't believe that this innocent petite thing was capable of doing something to end up in prison. As her best friend I know that Piper is capable of anything. She's stronger than anyone I've ever known." Polly placed her hand on Piper's shoulder as she spoke. "Most of you read Larry's article and listened to his interview on Piper's sentence. From the comments I've heard tonight some of you feel like you know exactly what she went through at Litchfield. Well I'll say it. Larry's article sucked." Half of the room broke out in laughter. "A lot of you are going to say prison changed Piper. I will say prison brought back the real Piper." Polly moved to stand behind Piper and Alex, she smiled at the couple. "Prison and this woman, Alex Vause." Quiet whispering could be heard throughout the room. "Yes, the reservation was for Vause-Chapman. If you don't already know. Alex is the love of Piper's life. They met shortly after Piper graduated from Smith. Piper wouldn't shut up about this woman and I knew. I knew then Alex was it for Piper. I didn't want her to be though. I didn't approve. Alex was involved in the illegal activity that caused Piper to go to prison. Piper broke up with Alex shortly after that and I haven't seen her since. I'm talking about Piper. The Piper that came back wasn't whole but it was for the best. They loved each other yes but their relationship was terrible. A couple of years later Piper met Larry and convinced herself she was happy. Alex got arrested and took a plea deal giving up a lot of names including Piper's. Piper went to prison. Ran into Alex. They fought. They fell back in love… no they never stopped loving each other. They stopped fighting their love. They're both out of prison now. Alex has been out for a while and…" Polly and Alex shared a knowing smile "We've become really good friends." Piper's jaw dropped as she looked between the two completely stunned. Polly smiled at Piper and continued. "I hope that's sufficient enough for those of you thinking Alex isn't good enough for Piper. They belong together. When the time is right we'll all be here celebrating their wedding." Polly grinned at her best friend. "So raise your glasses. Piper Chapman we love you, we support you, and we missed you like crazy. Cheers!"
After taking a drink Piper stood with tears in her eyes and pulled Polly into a tight embrace. Some of the crowd applauded and cheered while the others were still digesting the information.
"I love you Pol" Piper whispered into Polly's ear.
"I love you too you stupid lesbian" Piper laughed back.
"Both of you have some explaining to do. Friends? Like what the actual fuck? When did this happen?" Piper said to both Alex and Polly.
Before either could respond Carol approached. "Polly dear that was a lovely toast. However we could have done without divulging all of that very private information could we not?" Carol's tone was cold.
Piper fired back "Mom I have nothing to hide, especially among friends and family."
"Piper, your father may approve of your recent choices…" Carole gave a cold look to Alex. "…but this is not what you need right now."
"Don't start mom" Piper replied coldly.
Alex laced her fingers with Piper's. "Mrs. Chapman I know that I have hurt not only Piper but those that love her. I was lost when she left me. I made a lot of terrible choices. Reconnecting with Piper saved my life. I love your daughter more than anything. I will never hurt her again. I'm going to spend the rest of my life making it up to her."
"What is the job market like for ex-cons with no professional skills Alex? What kind of future can you provide for my daughter? What about children? What of the enemies you've made? Can you keep my daughter safe from them as well?" Carole's tone was venomous.
Before Piper could respond a loud disturbance from the room's entrance grabbed her attention. Piper spotted Polly and Cal at the door trying to push someone out of the room. Piper went towards the disturbance with Carole and Alex trailing behind. Polly lost her temper and yelled her voice filling the room "Get the fuck out of here Larry! I explicitly told you that you were NOT welcome! Do NOT fuck this evening up!" Larry tried spinning out of Cal and Polly's grasps muttering something Piper couldn't make out.
"Cal that is enough. You too Polly." Carole Chapman scolded. The pair immediately let go of Larry and stared stunned at Mrs. Chapman. "I invited him." Carole simply stated.
"You what!" Polly said more accusing than asking. Carole's face was blank. She didn't need to defend herself to Polly.
Carole turned to her daughter "You at least owe him a chance Piper. He can provide a life for you. He loves you. Just talk to him."
Larry approached Piper not looking anywhere but directly in her eyes. Piper's lips were slightly parted. She didn't know what to say. When he was a few steps away Piper pulled her hand from Alex's. Alex's face went from being pissed at Larry for intruding on a special evening to panic at Piper's sudden behavior.
"Larry..." It came out as a whisper.
"Piper" Larry smiled "You look beautiful." Alex tensed at his words and felt Neri place her arms around her and rubbed her shoulders. "It's so good to see you. I'm sorry for interrupting your evening. I thought you knew. I really need to speak to you." Larry searched Piper's face for any sign of hope.
"Okay" Piper said still a bit shocked. Larry grabbed Piper by the hand and started to lead her away.
"Piper" Alex's voice trembled. Piper turned her head to look at Alex.
"Don't go" Alex begged.
Piper kept her eyes locked with Alex as Larry pulled her from the room. The door shut loudly and Alex felt the air be sucked from her lungs. She couldn't stop the tears from falling and Polly wrapped her arms around Alex hugging her tightly.
A/N - Sorry for the delay and short chapter. I promise I'll have more time this week and make it up to you. Thank you so much for the great reviews and favs/follows.