"Chapman!" The prison guard, Fischer, called from the entrance of Piper's cubicle. Piper rose her head, emerging from the memory of Alex grinding against her nearly three years ago. That's all she ever did in this place. Lay on her cot and think. About Alex, Larry, Nicky, and sometimes her life prior to meeting any of them. She thought about her younger years in college when things were so much simpler. All she had to do was wake up and sometimes sit in a class long enough to be marked down as having been in attendance. She would go back to her dorm and ready herself for the night's biggest party, sometimes parties, and pre-game with her other slacking college student friends. Their majors all differed in subjects none of them truly had any passion for whatsoever. Psychology, biology, cultural studies, nothing any of them would ever actually apply themselves to. They were all living off their parents' money and on time that didn't seem to have a ticking clock.
She missed it. The easier days when her only problems in the morning revolved around finding the best hangover cure. Presently, she had an array of issues that met her the moment her eyes opened. Getting up early enough to get to the "good" showers before the Latin girls flooded in to kick her out. Figuring out if she should save her Ramen Noodles to barter or resort to eating them because she never got enough to satisfy her hunger until dinner. Reminding herself to keep her mouth shut rather than say what was really on her mind in the dayroom because it risked the possibility of being jumped by multiple women who came from far rougher backgrounds than she could ever imagine. Biting her tongue when she felt disrespected to avoid an unspecified amount of time in solitary confinement.
This morning, the first dilemma she was tasked with was a meeting with her lawyer. She swung her legs over the edge of her bed, jumping down from the top bunk. Her cellmates, rather cubicle mates, were already up and beginning their day. No matter how early she attempted to wake up, Piper was always the last to make it to breakfast. It frightened her the first week she arrived as it had made her feel vulnerable. Now, she appreciated it because it meant the floor was quiet.
"Let's go." Fischer stepped back, motioning for Piper to head towards the hallway to the visitation room.
"I don't get breakfast first?" She asked.
"You'll get lunch in a few hours. It won't be too long." Fischer answered.
Piper followed as she was instructed and slowly walked beside the prison guard. They walked through the halls, passing other inmates on their way to do whatever it was they could to pass the time of the oncoming day. The walk to the visitation room was painstakingly long. It gave Piper time to observe her surroundings. This was how she often distracted herself from the thoughts battling inside her mind. She watched the women who were already in line for the phones. Some were speaking with guards. Many were standing in small groups, their "families", gossiping or arguing about things Piper didn't have enough seniority to know about.
Susan Fischer led Piper into the vacant room that led to visitation. Piper held her arms out to the side, knowing what came next. The guard pulled on a pair of latex gloves and ran them under the inmate's shirt. She ran her fingers over her bra line then under, feeling for any hidden items. She ran her hands under Piper's armpits, down her ribs to her hips, then around the lining of her pants. She flowed down towards her ankles, checking the cuffs. Piper removed her shoes, allowing Fischer to shake them out.
"You're clean." She stated.
"I like it better when you're the one checking me." Piper said quietly. "You're a lot nicer about it than McCoullough is."
"Yeah, she's got a chip on her shoulder." Susan shrugged. Piper truly did prefer Susan to most of the other guards. She had a way about her that felt friendlier and more approachable. She had an energy that felt as though she truly cared about her and the other women currently serving their sentences. She guessed it was because she wasn't yet as jaded as some of the other employees at Litchfield.
"Alright, arms out." Susan grabbed a pair of handcuffs off her belt. Piper put her wrists together and allowed Susan to snap them on. Handcuffs were definitely Fischer's worst specialty. She always put them on way too tight. Another result that came from being a newly hired guard.
Piper walked into the visitation room scanning over the people sitting at the small card tables. It was quite obvious to tell the separation between inmates and visiting family members as most of them wore tan scrubs. A few of them still matched Piper in her vibrant orange, signifying they were somewhat new to Litchfield. For as long as Piper had already been incarcerated, nearing a month, she should've been provided with a set of beige scrubs already. Unfortunately, according to her counselor, Sam Healy, they were waiting on size small to come back in stock. The only other options for her were 2X or a set of badly stained used ones. Piper opted to stick with her orange.
She made her way to a table and sat down, facing her lawyer.
"Good morning Piper." He grumbled.
"Hey Howard." She sighed.
Although Piper was constantly craving new information in terms of her court case at hand, having Larry's father as her lawyer gave her a deep sense of both anxiety and guilt. She'd always felt intimidated in his presence, even when she was engaged to his son. Now that all her dirty laundry was being aired and Howard was aware of her wrong doings both legally and morally, she couldn't escape the judgment in his eyes with each meeting they held.
"How are you today?" He asked. She couldn't tell whether he was being sincere or just polite.
"Would you like the truth or would you like me to keep it simple?" She smiled.
"Piper, I've told you this before." Howard straightened his glasses. "I am not your therapist. I am not your friend. I am your lawyer."
"Right." Piper sighed. "I'm fine. Thanks."
"Anyways," Howard reached for his briefcase where he pulled out a newspaper. He set it on the table in front of her. Piper grabbed it, her handcuffs clinking loudly. She read the headline.
Former Vause Funeral Home Employee On Trial for Murder
She sucked her teeth and continued reading onto the next line.
During court on Thursday morning, former Vause Funeral Home employee tells attorneys of wild and scandalous lesbian affair with funeral home owner, Alex Vause. In her statement, Piper Chapman (28), recalls her motives for her crimes as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde story. She states that she fell in love with Vause, causing a lapse in judgment leading to a string of crimes over the duration of the last three years. Both women are now on trial on suspicion of committing the murder of NYPD officer, Matthew Bennett.
"This is a really shitty picture of me." Piper commented, looking at the black and white photo that showed her sitting in the witness stand.
"Could you please show a bit of seriousness about this?" Howard said sternly.
"What do you want me to say?" Piper set the paper down.
"You're not going to get anywhere near a not guilty verdict if you keep spewing this garbage of a lesbian love affair pushing you to commit murder, Piper."
"We did have a lesbian affair. We didn't commit murder."
"You may not have done it, Piper." Howard said quietly. "But, the more you play into being twisted up with Alex Vause, who has already been positively convicted on drug trafficking charges, the more the media will push the narrative that you two went on a Thelma and Louise-esque killing spree. You need to start giving the impression that you had the least amount of contact with Alex Vause as possible during the time her crimes were being committed."
Piper sat forward in her chair. "So what? You want me to lie?"
"I'm not…" Howard looked over his shoulder. "I'm not telling you to lie, Piper. Quite frankly I don't give a shit what you decide to do. I have no personal investment in this. I am doing this for my son who for some reason, still feels this completely idiotic sense of duty to make sure you end up with the best result possible when it comes to your prison sentence."
"He said that?" Piper asked.
"No. He said a lot of things, many of which I won't repeat. But, he's my son. I can see when he's hurting. Somehow, after all the shit you've put him through, that kid still has the tiniest sliver of love for you. I'll never understand it but he doesn't listen to a word his mother or I say to him so…" Howard shrugged. "If you want to avoid a life sentence, you'd be wise to listen to my advice."
"I'll think about it." Piper nodded. "Could you tell Larry I said hello?"
"I can't." Howard stood from his chair. "If you call him and he answers the phone, that's his decision. I won't put him through any more heartache than what he's already experienced." Howard grabbed his briefcase and gave Piper a wave goodbye. "I'll see you next week to prepare the paperwork for the next day of trial."
Piper exited the visitation room where she was searched once again by Susan before being let free to wander the halls. She paused, looking at the line of women waiting to use the phone. She briefly considered joining the line to give Larry a call. She didn't know what she would even say to him. They hadn't spoken to each other since a few days prior to her arrest. She milled over what she could possibly say that would make him even stay on the phone long enough to hear her before hanging up. Maybe she would start with apologizing. She was sorry for what she'd inadvertently put him through. That was certain. She was sorry for causing him heartbreak and bringing her giant mountain of garbage to his doorstep. Was she sorry for what she'd done with Alex? No. Never.
She thought about Howard's words. She could lie if she needed to, yes. That's all she'd done for the past three years. But, could she go back on her words to Alex that very first night they'd spent in her bed? Sit up in that witness stand and tell everyone in that room that what she and Alex had was simply a one time mistake. Piper took one more look towards the phones before deciding against it and heading back towards her cubicle.
Both women managed to clean themselves up and become seemingly presentable before their coworkers arrived to begin the day. Alex had traded her corset and heels for a short sleeved black button up and a pair of cream slacks she kept in the bottom drawer of her desk.
"I like that look on you." Piper commented as she watched Alex fix her hair in the mirror of the employee restroom.
"Yeah?" Alex smiled, not looking away from her reflection. "It's my backup outfit I keep here in case I manage to get something gross on me during the day." Her rose tattoo peeked from under her sleeve, dancing as her toned arms pushed through her thick hair.
"Why'd you choose a rose?" Piper asked, running her finger over the pink petals.
"They were Diane's favorite." Alex looked at the tattoo on her arm. "Growing up she was always stealing the flowers off the caskets after funerals and bringing them home. There used to be a Florist Shop in town called Miss Rosa's and mom swore that was the only place in the city we could get the nicest roses from for the cheapest price. When she died Miss Rosa sent the biggest spray of red roses I've ever seen in my life." She laughed.
"Can I…" Piper hesitated. "Can I ask what happened to your mom?" Alex took a deep breath in and looked back at herself in the mirror.
"Do you wanna go get a coffee? Before Nicky and Lorna show up?"
The women found themselves at a coffee shop down the street. A place named Millie's that smelled of cinnamon and freshly brewed coffee. They took a seat at a booth and settled in, looking between each other and their drinks. Alex had ordered a caffe mocha and wasted no time drinking half of it down. Piper smiled at her.
"Isn't that just a fancy hot chocolate?"
"I mean, yeah I guess." Alex shrugged. "I don't like regular coffee."
Piper took a sip from her cappuccino.
"Diane used to get it for me when we had early morning removals because she said I was too young for giant amounts of caffeine. Her logic was weird though because we'd also smoke cigarettes together every time we went for coffee since I was fifteen so, I don't know." She laughed.
"I didn't mean to upset you when I asked about her earlier."
"You didn't." Alex interjected. "I love my mom. I love talking about her. I love telling people about her and all the cool shit she's done. I just didn't want to tell you the story in that grimy ass bathroom."
"So can I ask again what exactly happened with your mom?" Piper already knew it was a drug overdose that had caused the death of Diane Vause. She knew Nicky and the anonymous Trisha had done the removal of her body. She wanted to let Alex be the one who told her the details.
"Well, the business was going really well." Alex shrugged. "She finally got the funeral home to a point in which she was bringing in a really good amount of money. She had a pretty good crew of employees, about three times what we have now, if we still had Taystee and Poussey."
That number shocked Piper. She couldn't imagine the pace at which the business was going to where there were nearly twenty employees. When she thought about it now, she realized with the amount of employees they had, the funeral home almost always felt empty.
"Her and I hadn't seen each other in about a year. I'd gotten myself into something…" She breathed. "Something that was the biggest mistake of my life. Diane and I had a falling out over it and one day I got a call from Taystee saying mom hadn't come to work in two days and nobody could get ahold of her. So I went to her house and found her dead in her bed. She overdosed."
"Oh Alex." Piper said sadly. It wasn't new information, but she reacted as if it were.
"I called Nicky who was doing part time removals for mom and she and Trisha came and picked her up and took her to the funeral home and that was that. Suddenly, overnight, the business became mine and I was so fucked up I asked Taystee to help me take over so that's when we divided it up. She took over all the important stuff and I was more so the face of the company."
"So what happened after? Where did all the employees go?" Piper asked.
"They stayed long enough for Diane to be put in the ground and then they all left."
"Why?"
"Because nobody wanted to work for her heroin addict daughter." Alex shrugged.
"Heroin?" Piper asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Like I said, biggest mistake of my life." She sighed. "After that, I got sober and Taystee hired Poussey. Nicky went full time and her and I both went back to school. Then we hired Lorna. Trisha was already a full time employee but she stayed because she was friends with Nicky. Two years later and here we are."
"And Red?"
"Oh," Alex laughed. "She came with the building."
"Really?"
"Well practically, Diane hired her when she got the business back when I was three. So she's been with the business as long as I have."
Piper took in her words. She reached across the table and took Alex's hand in hers, looking over her long fingers. Alex rubbed her thumb over the back of her hand.
"And Taystee? Why'd she stay?"
"Tasytee's known us since… since forever, I guess. Her dad was the police chief and so he and Diane knew each other from working together on murder scenes and things like that. Her mom left when she was two so my mom kind of took her under her wing and showed her the ropes of the funeral business. Then her dad died after he was shot one day serving a warrant so after that she just never went away. She's lived with Diane since we were seventeen. I was already out of the house by then and was trying to break away from the whole dead people thing so Taystee was being trained to take over after Diane retired." Alex was staring down at their hands. She began playing with Piper's engagement ring, rotating it back and forth as she spoke.
"How did that make you feel? Taystee taking over?" Piper asked, looking over her face.
"I was pissed at first. Then I came to terms that when I was on heroin I only cared about two things. So I couldn't blame Diane and I definitely couldn't blame Taystee."
"What were those two things?"
"Heroin and Regina." Alex shrugged.
"Regina?" Piper looked behind Alex's head where she noticed Polly and Pete in the cafe window, entering through the front door. She tore her hand away quickly.
"Oh my god, Piper?" Polly smiled, waving her hand wildly in Piper's direction.
"Hey Pipes!" Pete called, carrying Polly's purse on his shoulder. Piper stood, enveloping Polly in a side hug to avoid squishing her stomach. She kissed Pete on the cheek and gave him a tight hug. Alex stayed in her seat.
"What're you doing here?" Polly asked, looking over to Alex. "Who's this?"
"Oh that-"
"Alex." Alex rose from her seat, using her professional tone of voice. "Alex Vause, it's nice to meet you." She shook hands with them both.
"Yeah, my boss. She's the owner of the funeral home. Alex, this is Polly, my best friend, and her husband Pete. This is Seth." Piper followed, pointing a finger to Polly's stomach.
"It's nice to meet you." Polly smiled. "I've heard a lot about you and what you guys do."
"Only good things I hope." Alex cocked one of her thin eyebrows up, smiling.
"Yeah. Good things and some… gross things." Polly laughed.
"That's the job, unfortunately." Alex shrugged, placing her hands in her pockets.
"Say, what's the nastiest thing you've had to pick up?" Pete asked.
"Pete!" Polly smacked his shoulder.
"What? It's a sensible question." He argued.
"I'm sorry." Polly apologized. "He doesn't think before he speaks about ninety percent of the time."
"It's really okay." Alex said. "I get that question a lot. I just don't think you want that answer before you order your breakfast."
Polly looked at Piper.
"So what're you two up to?"
"We were just discussing some funeral plans for this week and trying to get the schedule in line before-"
"Before your big trip to Vegas!" Pete said happily. Piper bit her lip, looking between Pete and Alex. Alex gave her a big smile.
"Vegas, huh? That sounds like fun, where's my invite?" She joked.
"I was actually just about to break the news to Alex when you guys walked in." Piper lied.
"Well I'm sad we won't be able to see you in a wedding dress and I'm sure Pete's disappointed he won't get to demolish a free bar but, we're really happy you guys aren't doing the whole extravagant wedding thing. Eloping is the more practical option anyway. It's gonna save a lot of money for the honeymoon." Polly nudged Piper's arm. "Are you guys gonna be okay without her for a week?" She asked Alex.
"Well, I do love having Piper around the office. She's very hands on when it comes to the grunt work, but I think we'll manage." Alex gave her a wink before checking her watch. "I actually have a meeting to attend to, Piper, feel free to just meet me back at the office when you're finished up here." She slid two twenty dollar bills from her wallet. "This is for our coffee and this," She handed one to Polly. "is for Seth's breakfast. It was so nice to meet you two."
"Wow, thank you, that's so sweet." Polly shook her head. "But, you don't have to do that."
"Please." Alex smiled. "Any friend of Piper's a friend of mine. I'll see you later, Piper?" Alex waved goodbye before exiting the cafe. Piper watched her leave.
"I can't stay, I've got a ton of stuff to take care of, uh, I'll see you guys though." Piper hurriedly broke away. Polly caught her by the wrist.
"Oh, Piper, could you stop by tonight? Pete's got soccer and I really wanna catch up with you."
"Yeah, yeah." She nodded. "I'll be by after work."
"And no Larry, I want a girls night."
"No Larry, got it. Bye guys!" Piper ran out of the cafe, chasing after Alex. She struggled to catch up to the taller woman, reaching for her hand.
"Alex! Alex, wait!" She called. Alex ignored her, continuing her fast pace down the sidewalk.
"Please stop!" Piper yelled. Alex turned around angrily.
"Are you fucking kidding me, Piper?" Alex asked. "You just weren't gonna tell me that you and Larry are eloping to Vegas?"
"I was going to tell you, Alex," Piper begged. "It just wasn't the right time."
"When was the right time? After I fuck you in my bed? After I'm done giving you a lap dance? After I finish telling you how my fucking mom died?" She shouted, earning some strange looks from passersby.
"No, Alex, please," Piper stepped closer. "I was going to tell you. I just," She shook her head. "I didn't know when. I'm not going okay? I'm not going to Vegas to marry Larry."
"Does Larry know that? Obviously, your best fucking friend doesn't know that." Alex scoffed.
"Alex…" Piper grabbed her hand. "This is insanely fucking difficult, okay?"
Alex pulled her hand away.
"Yeah difficult and fucking bullshit." Alex crossed her arms. "I am so fucking sick and tired of secrets, Piper. From you, from Nicky-" She put her hands over her ears and closed her eyes tight before letting out a frustrated grunt. "I-I'm not doing whatever this is anymore."
"What do you mean this?" Piper asked sadly.
"Us. You and me. Until you can make an adult decision about whether you want me or Larry, I cannot do this with you."
Piper stood in silence. She looked over the street beside them, thinking. She nodded her head
"Okay. I understand." She sniffled. "You deserve better."
Alex nodded her head back before turning around to continue her walk back to the office. Piper followed behind her at a distance, wishing she'd turn around and offer her hand. Alex did her best to fight the oncoming tears. She wished Piper would catch up with her, take her hand, and tell her she'd take care of it all.
The taller woman entered the funeral home. She held the door open for Piper, not meeting her eyes as she walked in. Piper headed towards the staircase to her office, waving good morning to an inattentive Red whose nose was buried in a book. Alex's phone buzzed. She read the text appearing on the screen, sent from an unknown number.
New delivery arriving in 10 minutes. Receive at garage door. Sign all documents. AB will arrive to pick up within the hour. Have the package cleaned and ready for transportation.
"Piper!" Alex called after her. Piper stopped mid step and turned her head, meeting Alex's eyes. "I need you in the garage with me."
Piper descended the staircase and followed Alex down the back hallway. She couldn't help the smile spreading across her face and the speed of her heart beating in her chest. She knew Alex hadn't meant what she said.
The women entered the garage silently. Alex clicked a button on the wall, opening the loading door. Piper stood next to her, staring into the parking lot. She waited, sneaking looks at her boss who was simply looking over the cobwebs on the walls.
"What are we doing?" She asked.
"I'm going to show you how to accept a delivery." Alex answered.
Piper looked around in confusion.
"There's no one here."
"They'll be here in about sixty seconds." Alex checked her watch.
Without a second to spare, a black flower delivery van rolled into the parking lot. It did a half circle before backing into the garage, stopping only a foot away from the women. Alex wasted no time in opening the large back doors of the vehicle and looking over the large freight container inside.
A tall, fat, Native American man with a waist length braid stepped out of the driver's seat. He closed the door loudly and approached Piper. Without a word he extended the clipboard in his hand to her.
"What…What do you want me to do?" Piper asked him. He said nothing in reply. Alex had disappeared to the side of the garage to receive a casket cart.
"Sir?" Piper pressed. He remained silent.
"Alex?" Piper looked towards her boss who was now loading the large container onto the cart.
"Just sign your name at the bottom of the paper." Alex demanded.
Piper took the clipboard and signed her name at the bottom of the document. She handed it back to the man. He snatched the clipboard away and ripped a carbon copy of the paper, giving it back to her. Piper looked at him in fear.
"Are you…" She whispered. "Are you okay?"
The man took a step forward, towering over Piper. He leaned closer, making her flinch.
"The package is inside…of the package." He stated simply.
Alex closed the van doors and stood back, watching the man drive away. She pressed the button on the wall, enveloping them back inside the dusty garage.
"I feel like he just put some kind of ancient curse on me." Piper said in fear.
"I don't know why he did that, he's usually super talkative." Alex shrugged. Piper looked at her in disbelief. She followed Alex as she rolled the large container into the prep room. The women entered to find Nicky smoking a cigarette in the corner of the room. Lorna was hunched over a body, applying concealer. She was wearing a velvet red wig that curled at the bottoms. It bobbed awkwardly as she moved.
"Who's the new girl?" Piper joked. Lorna shot her an angry look before throwing her makeup brush to the ground and storming out passed them.
"Way to go, Blondie." Nicky chuckled.
"I thought I told you to stop smoking in here." Alex scolded her without looking up from the crate.
"If you want one, all you have to do is ask, Vause." Nicky snubbed out her cigarette and joined the two women.
"I didn't-" Piper stuttered. "I didn't mean to upset her. I really was just kidding."
"Don't worry about it." Nicky shrugged. "She got a bad haircut and now she's all touchy about it."
"I'm gonna go apologize."
"No." Alex held a finger up. "If you're gonna own a fourth of my business, you need to watch everything I'm doing. There's no room for mistakes. Here." Alex grabbed a hammer off the counter top, handing it to Piper. Piper took it, looking at Alex quizzically.
"Open it." Alex motioned towards the large container.
Piper began prying the dozens of tiny nails out of the sides of the wooden box. As she opened it, she realized its contents. Inside of the crate was a deceased man wrapped in see through plastic tarp. Under quite a few blue sacks was an older, heavier, tattoo'd black man. She noticed his stomach was bulging big enough he seemingly looked pregnant.
"Woah." She turned away as his odor hit her nostrils. Alex began tossing the blue pouches to the ground.
"They always put these stupid fucking cooling pouches on them. I've told them so many times that when they aren't embalmed, it does absolutely jack shit to help." She huffed.
"Again," Nicky piped up. "If you want a cigarette just ask." Alex held out her hand. Nicky gave her one. She motioned the pack to Piper, offering her one. Piper shook her head, looking down at the man.
"Is he just…fat?" She asked. Alex lit her cigarette, not answering. She walked over to the embalming table and picked up a scalpel. Without a word she sliced straight down the man's stomach. His stomach skin spread open, worsening the smell. Inside his gut were dozens of large white bricks wrapped tightly in what appeared to be saran wrap. The bricks were each covered in droplets of thick, red and yellow liquid. Piper looked at Nicky.
"Yeah, I'll take that cigarette now."
After emptying the man of the contents inside, Alex began cleaning the bricks with paper towels and peroxide. Nicky went to work embalming the man. Piper stood in the corner of the room and smoked her cigarette. She'd quit smoking once she'd met Larry because he'd detested the smell. After going so long without one, Piper admittedly didn't enjoy the smell either. But, for the time being, it was covering the very strong smell of decomposition now filling the prep room.
"How they managed to get this poor bastard up here from Florida within thirty six hours is beyond me." Nicky commented, sticking her trocar into his carotid artery. Alex scrubbed silently. Piper handed her half finished cigarette to Nicky.
"I'm gonna go and apologize to Lorna." She looked to her boss. "Come get me when you're done cleaning those so I can…follow whatever's next."
Alex silently nodded and with that, Piper left the prep room.
"Trouble in paradise?" Nicky asked, taking a hit off of Piper's cigarette.
"Yeah." Alex scoffed, still refusing to look up from her task at hand. "Piper and Larry are eloping to Vegas and she waited until after I poured my heart out to her about Diane to tell me."
Nicky shrugged her shoulders and winced as the man on the embalming table began to purge yellow liquid from his nose.
"Look Vause," Nicky sighed. "I don't know what you expect out of the poor girl."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Alex set the brick of heroin down and looked to her friend. "I don't want shit from that poor girl." She said, making air quotes. Nicky laughed.
"You knew the chick was straight when you started fucking her, did you not?" She asked.
"Yeah." Alex shrugged.
"Okay, so you're fucking an engaged straight girl. You can't be mad at her when she does engaged straight girl things." Nicky set her trocar on the table and traded it for a piece of ligature. She went to work tying off the man's artery, her cigarette hanging from her lip. "She's gettin' married. She's not leavin' her fiance. So what? You like fuckin' her, right?"
"Yeah." Alex crossed her arms and looked down towards her feet. "I do."
"Okay so if her having all this stuff going on when you met her didn't stop you from fuckin' her, what's stopping you now?"
"Marriage is a lot more serious than an engagement, Nicky."
"Is it? Cause to me it's just a piece of paper." Nicky shrugged.
"That's because you've never loved someone in your life other than a bipolar woman who changes how she feels about you every other day."
"So you love her now?" Nicky looked up. Alex met her eyes.
Alex shook her head.
"I don't-" She sighed. "I don't think it's like that but it makes it a lot harder to fuck her knowing she's got a husband. A fiance can be left. A husband? That's a whole other ball game."
Nicky got back to work on the man, suturing the incision in his neck.
"So what were you expecting to happen? For her to stay engaged to the guy for as long as you two decide to keep bumpin' uglies? For her to leave him for her drug dealer boss she's known for a month? What's your endgame here?"
Alex got back to scrubbing.
"I don't know. I just thought maybe there'd be more time before they got married."
"You really like this chick enough to ask her to leave this dude she's been with for however long? Are you ready to stick by her when she leaves him for you? Give her somewhere to go when everybody she knows stops talking to her cause she left her lawyer fiance for her lesbian mortician mistress? Do her parents even know she likes fuckin' girls?" Nicky looked up from the man's neck and put her hands on her hips. "What happens when she leaves him and the excitement from sneakin' around is gone? You still gonna like her when she's just Piper and not your little secret love affair?"
Alex stopped scrubbing for a moment, thinking. She nodded her head.
"I don't know." She admitted. "But I wanna try."
"Well you better get your shit together and decide if you wanna take the loss and break it off or grow a pair and stick with what it is and keep it under wraps because she's part owner now. She knows about all of this now." Nicky pointed at the bricks of heroin stacked neatly on the floor. "We can't give her a reason to wanna run her mouth to the wrong people. Whatever you two have can't get in the way of business. Keep it cordial."
"Yeah Nick, I know." Alex grabbed a duffle bag from the prep room closet and began gently filling it with the tightly wrapped bricks. "I'll figure it out."
Piper found Lorna in the employee restroom, crying. She approached her slowly and set her hand on her shoulder. Lorna continued sobbing quietly.
"Lorna, I'm really sorry."
"No, it's okay." She sniffled. "This thing just looks so stupid. I shouldn't have let Nicky pick it out for me." She slid the wig off, revealing her shaved head underneath. Piper was taken aback but hid her surprise with a nervous smile. On the crown of her head was a small patch of blue stitches with several other small lacerations all around her scalp.
"Lorna," Piper took a step closer. "What the hell happened to you?"
Lorna swallowed hard and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror.
"They didn't tell you what happened?" She asked.
"No." Piper shook her head.
"Well," Lorna turned and faced her. "That lazy piece of shit Nicky hired to run Alex's drugs around town ran off with some. When I say some, I mean a lot of the drugs. Cobra or whoever the fuck it is they work for didn't like it and sent these two ugly bastards to Nicky's apartment. They beat the shit outta both of us and conveniently didn't do shit to Alex." Lorna chuckled sarcastically. She touched the side of her head, running her fingertips over the stitches. "So now I'm fuckin' bald and Nicky has a gun."
Piper stood in stunned silence for a moment. She grabbed the wig from Lorna's hand and looked at it curiously. She stepped behind Lorna and turned her to face the mirror. She slid the wig back onto her scalp and began playing with it, running her fingers through the false locks.
"Well, if we do it like this," Piper began styling it, holding the length of hair just below Lorna's jawline. "It'll look a lot more real." Lorna held her hands under Piper's, studying her reflection. "And if we put some product in it we can style it so it has some volume to it."
"You think so?" Lorna asked happily.
"Yeah." Piper smiled. "I've got some scissors in my office. Want me to give it a go? I spent a lot of time in the cosmetology department in highschool."
"You'd do that? For me?" Lorna smiled at her in the mirror.
"Yeah." Piper set her hands on the smaller woman's shoulders. "Let me go grab-"
Alex opened the restroom door with the duffle bag hanging off her shoulder. She nodded her head towards Piper.
"I'll be back." Piper squeezed Lorna before following Alex. The two silently walked out the front door of the funeral home to the parking lot. They climbed into one of the removal vans and without word, Alex started the van and began to drive.
The women drove for nearly twenty minutes in silence. Piper began to play with the radio, switching stations rapidly. Alex turned it off and continued her driving.
"So is this how it's going to be? Until I leave Larry?" Piper asked angrily. Alex didn't answer.
"Alex!" Piper crossed her arms. Alex still remained silent.
"I wish I would've known you act like a fucking child when you're mad before-"
"Before what?" Alex snapped. "Before we started fucking?"
"Before I agreed to elope with Larry." Piper answered. "Before I risked everything in my life to be with you."
"Yeah." Alex scoffed. "You chose this. You chose to buy twenty five percent of my business. You chose to fuck me. You chose to stay here."
Piper shook her head and looked out the window, watching as they drove past miles of fields and rural homes.
"I did choose this." She remarked. "I chose this because I wanted to. You chose to be with me knowing what my life was like, Alex. You could've stopped it at any point if you had a problem with my engagement. If you had a problem with me working for you."
Alex didn't take her eyes off the road.
"Well I'm stopping it now." She said with anger in her voice. "We're coworkers. Nothing more."
"You really mean that?" Piper asked sadly.
"Yeah." Alex said coldly. "I mean it."
They drove in silence again. They drove through seemingly endless amounts of fields and wooded backroads before they came to a stop in front of a trailer on a long dirt road. Parked in front of the trailer was a black Mustang. Standing outside of it was a tall, dark haired, white man. He was leaning against the car, watching as the van pulled in. He popped the trunk of the car. Alex put the van in park and climbed out, grabbing the duffel bag from the back. Piper exited, walking slowly next to her towards the man.
"It's all there this time?" He asked in a gruff voice. Alex simply nodded.
"Wouldn't want another visit from your friends, huh?" He laughed. Alex tossed the bag at him roughly. He caught it and set it in the trunk.
"You wanna weigh it?" Alex asked. Aiden retrieved his own duffel bag from inside the Mustang and handed it to Alex. She unzipped it to reveal countless bundles of cash wrapped light pink rubber bands.
"Nah." He answered, opening the driver's side door. "If it's short, you'll know."
"What do you mean?" Piper asked, earning a glare from both Alex and the mysterious man.
"You'll know." He repeated before climbing into his car and speeding away, blowing dust clouds around the two women.
After four more hours of Alex's silence, cutting and fixing Lorna's cheap wig, and listening to Nicky rant in the embalming room while chain smoking, Piper finally clocked out and made it to Polly's house. She arrived, Chinese food in hand. Polly opened the door and invited her in, quickly closing the door behind her. Piper walked to the kitchen and began unbagging the food.
"I know you're trying to watch your sodium intake so I got you-"
"Leave that. Sit." Polly demanded from the dining table.
"What?" Piper laughed.
"Sit, Piper." Polly said seriously. Piper took a seat next to her friend. She looked around the house and noticed the silence. "Is everything okay? Is Seth okay?"
"I'm fine." Polly folded her hands. "What's wrong with you?"
Piper chuckled and looked at her friend in confusion.
"I'm fine." She squinted. "What's wrong with you?" She asked.
"In the two years you've been with Larry, I've never once seen a hickey on your neck." Polly motioned towards the side of Piper's neck. Piper quickly placed her hand over it. She'd been extremely careful to place just the right amount of concealer over it. How Polly noticed it was beyond her. "And when I walked into the cafe this morning, you were holding hands with your creepy boss. When we bring up the elopement, suddenly she has a very important meeting and storms out?"
"She's not-"
"She's not what, Piper? She's not aware that you're getting married? Or she is and she just doesn't care?" Polly asked angrily. "Larry might be too naive to notice what you two are doing but I'm not stupid. I know you."
"Polly, listen." Piper said nervously. "Alex knows. It's not…" She stumbled for a moment, struggling to grasp her words. "She's not a bad person."
"Maybe she's not, but whatever you two are doing is fucked up. It's wrong, Piper." Polly said sternly. "You know what it did to Larry last time you did something like this."
"No." Piper put a finger up. "It is not like what happened with Jacob."
"How is it different, Piper?"
"With Jacob it was…" Piper shook her head. "It was just sex. With Alex it's-"
"It's what? Love?" Polly scoffed. "You've known this woman for a month."
Piper threw her hands in the air. She clenched her fists and took a deep breath in.
"It's something, Polly." She said quietly. "It's not constantly talking about trials. It's not visits with in laws who fucking hate me. It's being looked at like I'm somebody other than a fucking baby mill."
Polly sighed and nodded her head slowly. She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked over at Piper with disappointment in her eyes.
"How long have you two been doing this?" She asked.
"About a week after I started working for her. We went to a bar and we kissed and then after that it just kind of escalated."
"And who knows about it?"
"You. The girls at work." Piper answered.
"So what's your plan? Are you leaving Larry for her? Are you gonna end it when you get married?" Polly asked.
"I don't know." Piper admitted. "I don't really have a choice. Alex ended it already." She said sadly.
"Good. Because you've got two choices with me, Piper." Polly said. "You can either stop seeing her outside of work and I won't tell Larry. Or, you can let me catch you with her again and I tell Larry everything."
"Polly-"
"You're my friend, Piper. But so is Larry. He's a good guy. You can't do this to him again. He won't be able to take it."
Piper said nothing. Polly held eye contact with her for a moment.
"You can choose Larry and lose Alex or you can choose Alex and lose me and him both. As your best friend, I have an obligation to let you know when you're fucking up. This. This whole lesbian affair behind your fiance's back- is fucked up. I can't be friends with someone who's okay with repeatedly hurting the person they're supposed to love the most."
"Does Pete know?" Piper asked.
"No. He's too clueless to even notice his shirt's inside out. He won't know either, as long as you promise you're done with her."
Piper sighed.
"Okay?" Polly asked.
"Yeah. Okay."
"Good. Now let's eat because I'm fucking starving and Seth is kicking me in the ribs."
Piper returned home after an awkward dinner with Polly. She stayed long enough to listen to Polly complain about Pete and the body pains that came with pregnancy before making an excuse to leave. In all honesty, she was mad at Polly for threatening to expose her affair with her boss. On the other hand, she couldn't blame her. She knew what she was doing was wrong. She was treading dangerous waters with both her feelings for Alex and her newfound career as a heroin trafficker. After years of friendship, that was the angriest she'd ever seen Polly. She couldn't imagine how she'd react if she ever found out what else she was getting up to behind the scenes at Vause Crematory and Funeral Home.
Piper couldn't shake the image of Lorna's injured head from her mind. She imagined two men breaking into her apartment and dragging her out of bed to pistol whip her. She imagined them beating Larry to death's door over a delivery of heroin that was a gram short. She felt her veins go cold. She desperately hoped the saran wrapped bricks they'd delivered that afternoon weighed in at exactly the expected amount. She fought the fear of her front door suddenly being kicked in behind her.
She walked into the living room to find Larry asleep on the couch, a bowl of popcorn sitting on his chest. He was snoring loudly while the TV flashed scenes from an old horror film. Piper got on her knees, looking over him. The way he slept compared to Alex was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. She used to find it so cute, the way he twitched and spoke in his sleep. She watched the bowl on his chest shake with each breath he took. She ran her finger over the side of his face. He groggily swatted it away and rolled over, sending popcorn spilling to the floor. Piper huffed and began sweeping it back into the bowl when her phone buzzed. She checked it to find a text from Alex.
Can you meet me?
Piper stared at it for a moment. She considered ignoring it. She considered blocking Alex's number and never returning back to the funeral home. She would accept her losses and never speak of the large sum of money she mysteriously no longer had. She looked at Larry then back to her phone.
Where?