Chapter 6

Thanks to When-A-Sprite-Meet-Unicorn and Ms S for your sweet reviews. Hopefully your summer starts as so good as possible. In the last chapter, we were in a Saturday morning, with Piper explaining to Red what happened with Alex. Now, here we are.

XXX

a day earlier

One Friday a month, Piper runs a book club with Taystee in the elementary school. Her favorite moment is to prepear the room. They install paper and pencils on the tables or do some cleaning, after the Casual thursday which takes place the day before. Taystee hums, or makes jokes. Her braids move around her face as she talks and bustles. For a few minutes life seems simple and perfect.

This Friday, they talked about "Mathilda", for so long, that the sky had already lost its colors when they came out. A group of tired but happy parents waited for them in front of the grey building.

When she gets home, it's completely dark. Piper suddenly feels tired. She puts her keys on the small round table at the entrance, takes off her converses, hangs her coat. She suddenly pays attention to the noises coming from the bathroom.

"Alex?"

"Upstairs.", she hears the weariness in her girlfriend's voice. She knows something is wrong lately. But what?

XXX

Piper climbs the staircase, this small spiral staircase which turns on itself to bring her upstairs. She walks past the heavy curtains closing their bedroom, heads into the bathroom. Alex is there, moving in front of the sink, as if she was dancing to the sound of a both sensual and fast music.

Piper slides up behind her, pressing her whole body against hers. She feels the desire rising in her, even before knowing what her girlfriend is doing. She puts her hands under Alex's sweater. But she remains stiff, preoccupied with the plumbing problems.

"What are you doing?" Piper asks.

"The sink is clogged." she replies, showing a strange tool that she holds tightly with her left hand.

"I'm almost done." Alex Adds.

Piper takes a few steps, sits on the edge of the tub. Her excitement gives way to anger.

"What's a matter?"

Alex turns around.

"Calm down, piper. Don't scream."

Piper sighs. Then, she continues: "You want me to stop screaming, tell me what's wrong. Since last week, you've been here, but you're not here. You don't want to be with me anymore?"

Alex lets go of the thing she was using to unclog the sink. The water flows, in a sinister gurgling.

"Why do you think something like that?" she asks calmly.

"Because you have secrets, Alex. It's never good."

"It's true, there is something. But, if I tell you, everything will be different, Piper. And I don't want it would be different. Things have been going so well between us lately."

"Everything is already different." Piper's tone is pleading, but she doesn't care. She wants all this to end.

"Okay. Alex is now sitting with her back to the sink. They look at each other. This may be the last time, thinks Piper , the last time before things change. She moves her feet only covered with her socks. She has a little cold.

"Do you remember the Sunday when Lorna came for coffee?" Alex begins .

Piper nods.

"She announced us her pregnancy. And, since that day..."

"Are you having an affair with Lorna? or Nicky having a new affair with Lorna?"

This time, it's Alex who sighs. "Stop Piper. No one is having an affair with Lorna except Vinny. Well, I think."

"Excuse me."

"In short, since that day, I have thought a lot. And, I believe, I believe that me too, I would like to have a child."

"No."

Piper muttered the word but her girlfriend heard clearly. Immediately she is ashamed of it, but she can't withdraw it. She had taken that fear away, since they last talked about it, a long time ago.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I always believed that if the question had to be asked, it would come from me, and..."

"Because you are the hetero in the couple?"

"Maybe, maybe not. You never told me before.."

"Because I didn't know." Alex gets up. "It's new to me Piper. I didn't tell you about it because I knew your opinion on it. But I also wanted to take time to understand why, since two weeks I keep thinking about this."

Piper puts a hand on the tub. The metal is cold. She newly sticks her whole body against Alex's. Alex hugs her, strongly, so strongly.

"Exactly, can we take a little time to understand, instead of arguing?" Asks Piper.

Alex finds her lips, kisses her for a long time. Piper can't ignore the fear inside her, but she figures that this moment is a little thing she can steal from this changing life.