Notes: This story is made up of three "books" with a possible fourth somewhere down the line, and each book contains multiple chapters. The story is finished and stands at 230 pages in Word, which I'm certain is my longest story to date. There are lots of joyous ups and depressing downs in this tale, and some of you might not like every chapter and where I take the characters, so I advise you to read at your own risk. There's also lots of sex, which I will clearly mark with an M for Mature at the beginning of those chapters. If you're a minor, just put this one away until that glorious 18th birthday.
BOOK I—GLORY DAYS
It wasn't that her parents were the perfect couple or that they'd win an award for Parents of the Year—her mom drank too much and her father had numerous affairs. Her siblings weren't very well-adjusted either, and Piper blamed much of their culpabilities on Bill & Carol's lack of parenting. Her older brother, Danny, was self-absorbed, and her younger one, Cal, was already smoking weed at the ripe age of 11. Those things weren't apparent to the outside world—no, to anyone who wasn't on the inside, the Chapmans were the perfect family. Bill with his steady job and vast income, and Carol, the pearl-wearing housewife who "kept a good home."
Piper was the blonde headed, blue eyed, straight-A student who seemed to have it all. Boys flirted with her and girls wanted to be friends with her. Teachers appreciated Piper's participation in class and could always count on her to turn in exceptional work. She sometimes got teased by the stoner crowd at school for being a "goody two shoes," but Piper didn't care—she wasn't out to impress them.
Piper wanted for nothing, so she rarely complained about the way her parents treated her or that they didn't pay much attention to her during her formative years. When Danny went off to college, she inherited his white BMW, and despite the 102,000 miles on it, Piper loved the vehicle, not because it was a status symbol, but because it was her escape. She enjoyed driving and often found herself just across the state line in New York. Her parents had greater things to concern themselves with other than questioning how their daughter had racked up 10,000 miles the previous year. She'd tell them she was spending the weekend at her friend's house, or even better, at one of their summer homes in the Hamptons, and Bill & Carol always allowed her to go.
Her white lies had served Piper well as she went to Broadway shows or simply craved a slice of pizza in Brooklyn. Sometimes she traveled alone, but mostly, she'd drive with Polly to the City or around Greenwich. They'd go to malls or house parties that she'd somehow gotten wind of. She'd made out with all sorts of boys before she met Larry, but since the day they met in math class, Piper had been going steady with him. She didn't drink alcohol like her friends, because if she got caught, the worst thing that could happen would be her loss of driving privileges. She couldn't have that.
The summer before her junior year of high school, Piper and Polly decided to see Fiddler on the Roof in the City (Polly's father had given them tickets.) She loved the theater and sometimes used her monthly cash allowance to take in several shows a year. Piper and her friend went to Sardi's for dinner that Saturday night, and she saw something that would forever change her life.
The gray-haired man at the table in the corner was her father to be sure, and seated next to him was a dark haired woman. With eyes as wide as saucers, Piper watched him kiss the woman's hand and caress her arm. She distractedly tapped Polly on the arm, but words were stuck in her throat, and her mouth hung open like a guppy.
Polly turned to see the scene to her right. "I'm sure it's not what it looks like."
"The hell it's not." Piper thrust her chair out and approached her father and his guest. "What the hell is going on here?"
Bill at least had the decency to look shocked and pull away from the woman. "I can explain, honey."
"I don't think an explanation is necessary." She folded her arms, eyes darting between the two adults.
He looked down as if trying to come up with a reason why he was canoodling with someone who wasn't his wife, and then covered the other woman's hand with his own. "This obviously isn't how I wanted you to find out about us, but since we're in this situation…I want to introduce you to Diane."
Piper's head whipped to her right as she glared at the other woman. "He's a married man!"
"I know that, hon, but..."
"What she's trying to say is that sometimes we can't control where our heart goes." Bill clutched the other woman's arm. "Piper, there's no easy way to say this." He clenched his jaw and met her eyes. "Your mother and I are getting a divorce."
"Over her?" Piper yelled, unimpressed with the other woman's teased hair and ratty dress.
"I'm in love with Diane," he stated plainly. "We've been together for six months, and I'm not letting her go. I know this is difficult to take in…" Bill continued talking, but Piper tuned him out.
A multitude of questions whirled around in her head like a pinwheel. How'd she miss this? What did it mean for her? Did her mother already know? "This can't be right. I must be having a nightmare."
He stood and put his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "You know this doesn't change the way I feel about you and the boys. I love you very much, Piper, and I will always take good care of you."
Piper flung his hands off of her. "What about mom?"
Bill pursed his lips. "I was going to tell her tomorrow."
"Sure you were." She spun around in search of Polly, and then looked back at her father. "You're a liar. I don't want anything to do with you!" With that, she stormed out of the restaurant as Polly gave Bill a disapproving look before chasing after her friend.
She remembered collapsing against the steel and concrete of a tall building and Polly rubbing her back as tears poured down her cheeks and snot dripped down to her lips. It wasn't until hours later when Piper felt well enough to drive back home, skipping the Broadway show, and deciding to spend the night (or the week) at Polly's house.
She shouldn't have been shocked at her father's affair—her grandmother had told her a few years ago that Bill was unfaithful to her mother—what shocked her was that she'd caught him red handed. That and the fact that he seemed to have no intention of loving and leaving this one—this Diane.
She fished in her purse for her prized Zippo lighter, balancing a cigarette between her lips. "I'm not fucking moving in with them. Do what you need to, mom, but I refuse to live there."
Diane yanked the cigarette out of her daughter's mouth. "What did I tell you about smoking?"
Alex huffed and shook her head.
"You're meeting Bill's sons and daughter today, kid." Diane lit the cigarette, putting it between her own lips. "All I ask is that you give them a chance. If you don't like them, we'll talk about another solution. That's fair."
Alex couldn't argue with that—it was fair. Still, she didn't think she'd change her mind about moving in with the Chapmans. Unbeknownst to her mom, she'd driven past their home with her friend, Nicky, who had her own car. Alex took one look at the manicured lawn and large red-bricked house with its two car garage and a BMW and Mercedes parked out front. "Fuck this," she'd told Nicky.
"Yeah, I don't blame ya," Nicky had said with a pat on the back. "More money, more problems. I should know."
Not that Alex liked school, but if she moved to the Chapman's house in Connecticut, that meant she would have to transfer in the middle of her senior year. It had taken her four years to establish a relationship with her teachers enough for them to understand that she didn't do school, and earning a D was a perfectly passable grade. Alex also knew exactly how many days she could be tardy or miss and still get a diploma at the end of the year. If she transferred to a high school in a different state, she'd have to navigate an entirely new educational system.
"I told you to change your pants," Diane announced, looking her daughter over.
"I'm not going to be someone I'm not." She shrugged. "These are my favorite jeans; you have to at least allow me to be comfortable in my own fucking clothes."
"Fine." Diane grabbed the keys off the hook with a huff. "Get in the car, kid."
Alex watched the city whiz by as they left the glittery lights of Manhattan and headed into the tree-lined suburban streets of Connecticut. Although she was only 17, the brunette was a city girl, and the thought of moving to the burbs was less than appealing.
After Piper had caught her father and Diane together at Sardi's, things progressed swiftly between the older couple. In just six months, Piper's mother had moved into a well-appointed apartment in Pemberwick and Piper and Cal stayed in the house with their father. Diane was going to move in by the end of the year, but it was still undetermined if her teenage daughter would move in with her.
Piper had a tough time forgiving her father for this latest infidelity, but despite her complaints, Bill stood his ground and was committed to a new relationship with Diane. The blonde had to choose her battles wisely, and deep inside, she knew this was one she'd never win.
That evening, they were going to meet Diane's daughter for the first time. To say that Piper was not looking forward to the evening was an understatement. All she knew was that she needed to make nice over dinner for a couple of hours, and then she could meet Larry at the bonfire party down the street.
"You look very nice, Piper." Her father patted her on the head like a poodle.
She figured if she played her cards well and behaved the way she always did, like a good girl, she'd get just about anything she ever wanted. In fact, she'd already used her parents' divorce to make them promise to buy her a new car at the beginning of senior year. It was high time for a new BMW.
Piper glanced down at her winter-white dress with its aqua sash at the waist and smoothed her hand down her sides. "Thanks, daddy."
"Just think, we'll have access to a car that starts after just one try in a couple of weeks," her mother said after revving up their 1989 Buick three times.
"Great, ma." Alex rolled her eyes and shoved her headphone buds in her ears.
"Money's no object, so you order whatever the hell you want on the menu," she said, yanking one of the earbuds out of her daughter's ear. "But you damn well better be on your best behavior. That means no cursing."
Alex sighed as she plugged the headphone back in her ear and listened to Nine Inch Nails. She figured if she could just sit through this two-hour dinner, she'd be able to smoke pot and get wasted with Nicky by 9 o'clock.
They arrived at Salvatore's Ristorante, and it was the first time Alex had a car door opened for her. "I can manage, thanks." She stepped out and closed her own squeaky door.
Diane winked at her daughter as she handed the valet a dollar bill. "Fancy, isn't it?"
The younger Vause adjusted her glasses and shrugged her hair off her shoulders. "I guess."
Diane put her hand on her daughter's back as they entered the restaurant. "Take out those damn headphones and turn off your music. This isn't Burger King."
She rolled her eyes but did as she was told, wrapping the red and black cord around the iPod she'd "found" at school two weeks prior. Alex looked around the vast space, and she'd never seen such opulence. There were two massive, gold chandeliers hanging from the 20-foot wooden ceiling; white tablecloths with perfectly starched corners on every table; and servers wearing tuxedos, whisking around the room, carrying trays topped with glasses of all shapes and sizes.
"Holy shit," she mumbled.
"Language, kid." Her mother slapped her arm as she spotted her lover across the way. "Bill!" She waved.
The man grinned as he met them in the lobby, wrapping his arms around her mom. He pulled back, keeping one arm around Diane's waist. "You must be Alex."
"What gave it away?" She felt her mother's hip buck against her own.
"Yes, this is my daughter," she stated proudly.
Bill extended his hand. "I've heard so much about you, Alex. I want to introduce you to my children."
The Chapman kids had already met Diane on two occasions, not counting Piper's chance encounter with the other woman six months earlier.
"I'm Cal." A young, roly-poly boy with reddish-blonde hair waved, and then shoved his hand into his khakis.
She returned the wave. "Hey, I'm Alex."
"And I'm Piper," the girl next to him said, extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you."
Alex pursed her lips and adjusted her glasses. She had no idea that Bill's daughter would be so attractive with her shoulder length blonde hair and wiry body. Piper was still "developing," to be sure, but she was filling out nicely.
"Hi, Piper." She grinned and shook the girl's hand, holding on a few seconds more than the blonde seemed comfortable with.
"Our table's ready." Bill opened his arm for the women to go first. "After you." Cal followed behind, mouth hanging open as he stared at Alex's ass.
There was something about Alex that screamed cocky, and Piper didn't appreciate it one bit. She'd hardly said three words over her Linguine Alle Vongole, leaving the blonde to determine that she was most certainly aloof. Her father had filled her in about Alex—she was a senior in high school, worked part-time at a grocery store, and had aspirations, according to her mother, to be a business major. When the topic of college surfaced during dessert, Alex squashed that idea.
"Me? College?" She let out a low laugh. "I don't think so."
"Then what are you planning to do with the rest of your life?" Piper asked as if Alex's thoughts about not attending college were outlandish.
She lifted her shoulders. "Earn money, get my own place; my own car."
"That's fine for the time being, but what career path are you going to pursue?" Piper leaned forward, curious to hear the other girl's response.
Alex swallowed a bite of her mint-chocolate cannoli, then put her fork down. "My life isn't like yours, kid." She dabbed the corners of her mouth with a crisp, white napkin. "I don't have Daddy Warbucks paying my way through college, buying me cars and stuff."
"What Alex is trying to say is that she probably won't take the traditional path to college." Diane patted her daughter's arm after giving her a cross look. "Maybe start at a community college or something for a few years, and then go from there."
"I don't need you to translate for me, mom." Alex looked the blonde straight in the eye. "College isn't for everyone, and it's certainly not in the cards for me."
Piper couldn't comprehend Alex's attitude about the future and was a little pissed that she'd referred to her as kid, so she dismissed the other girl with a huff and waited for her father to change the contentious conversation.
She didn't have to wait long. "Cal, why don't you tell Diane and Alex about your science project?"
The boy told everyone about the volcano he was building and how he liked 'exploding things.' Piper chanced a glance at Alex, who seemed amused by her little brother. The brunette hadn't smiled fully throughout dinner, leaving Piper to wonder what a genuine smile would look like on her perfectly symmetrical face with her pale skin and hazel eyes.
The blonde hastily looked away when Alex caught her staring. "May I be excused, daddy?"
"The bill is paid, and everyone seems to be finished with dessert." He tapped the table with both hands. "I don't see why not."
The group said their goodbyes, and Piper waited for her BMW to be brought around by the valet. Alex walked towards her, digging in her bag for something while Bill, Diane and Cal waited in the heated lobby for their vehicles.
"Where are you rushing off to?" Alex asked casually, tugging her iPod out and unraveling the headphones.
Piper tightened her coat against the bitter wind. "To see my boyfriend at a party."
"Of course you are," she huffed, pressing the screen on the iPod.
"I don't assume you have a boyfriend." Piper looked her up and down, somewhat admiring her worn out leather jacket but repulsed by her gray, ripped jeans.
"It's not for their lack of trying," she snickered. If there was one pleasant thing about Alex, it was her eyes that were hidden behind black frames.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Alex shoved an earbud into her ear, then looked at the other girl. "I'm not into boys."
Piper contained the eye roll that was about to surface. "Oh, that's right, you're so much older than me," she replied with sarcasm. "You must be into men."
That caused the dark haired girl to toss her head back with laughter. Piper couldn't help but stare at her long, smooth neck as it rolled back.
Alex folded her arms. "You don't get it, do you?"
She lifted her eyebrows and watched Alex lick her lips and stuff the other headphone into her ear. "I like girls."
Piper dropped her purse as her mouth hung open. It took her a moment to recover, as she lifted her bag and hocked it over her shoulder. She tried to will away the blush rising up her neck and settling on her cheeks, praying that her car was the next to arrive.
"What's the matter?" Alex tilted her head and smirked. "Never met a lesbian before?"
She hadn't. "Of course I have." She fiddled anxiously with the zipper on her bag. "My school has a Queer Straight Alliance that I would be a member of if I wasn't already over-involved with newspaper, cross country and a super intense academic load," she babbled. "So, yes, I've met lesbians before. All the time, in fact." She'd never been so grateful to see the BMW in her life. "I have to go."
"Nice ride." Alex fastened her jacket and shoved her hands and the iPod into her pockets. "See you around, kid."
Piper glared at the other girl. "I'm not a kid." She handed the valet a tip, got into her car and skidded away.
Just so we're clear, the Greenwich featured in this story is not Greeenwich Village, a neighborhood in Manhattan. This Greenwich is in Connecticut and boasts the wealthiest zip code in New England. People who live in Greenwich often work in Manhattan and take the train or hire private drivers to get there.