The sun peeking through the curtains in her old room was the first thing she saw in the morning. She rolled over and checked her watch for the time. 10am. Which meant she had slept off her hangover completely and was ready for a coffee and a good breakfast. Her Grandmother's cooked breakfast was mouthwatering and she really hoped she was up in time to get some today after her late start.
She turned on the shower and let it heat up as she brushed her teeth. Stepping under the warm water, Piper could feel her muscles relaxing as the water ran down her body. She ran her hands through her shoulder length blonde hair and lathered up the shampoo while humming to herself. She could spend all day in a bath or shower if she could. It was a place where she could get lost in her own thoughts and feel like her troubles were being washed down the plug hole with the dirty water. It felt like she was starting a clean slate with a new body when she had been in the shower.
The anticipation of a cooked breakfast was enough to make it a quick soak today though, so she hopped out and dried off quickly. Putting on a pair of skinny blue jeans and a black v neck sweater, she tied her wet hair up into a loose bun and ran downstairs where she could already hear voices in the kitchen. Neri and Cal were sat at the table with Steve, drinking a delicious smelling mug of coffee. While her Grandmother was washing up some dishes from an earlier breakfast.
"Morning! Am I too late for a scrummy Chapman breakfast Grandmother?" Piper heaped on the puppy eyes and pleading voice to full effect as her Grandmother chuckled. "Of course not sweetheart. One breakfast coming right up. You just sit yourself down there and get yourself a mug of that fresh coffee from the pot here and I'll be with you in a jiffy."
Cal rolled his eyes at seeing the Bambi eyed Piper Chapman at work again. "Seriously, you should patent that. It's saved your ass and got you more favours than money could ever buy." Piper winked at him and laughed, knowing exactly how to work the look to get what she wanted.
Celeste sat with them at the table as Piper ate her breakfast and asked how the new store was coming along. Between bites of delicious food, Piper explained that they had a good deal on the rent for the first 12 months and Polly had secured some invested money to cover their start up costs. Steve asked how Polly had gotten an investor as he knew of a few schemes that would only give you a small percentage of the overall costs to get going. "Normally, you would have to find the rest of the money yourself, say around 50% of the money. You've been really lucky if you haven't had to find any money yourself to invest. Banks like to know their start up companies are putting their own money into the business before they commit to anything."
"Wow, really? I hadn't realised that. I guess we got really lucky with that. To be honest, I left it with Polly to sort out as I was not really able to attend the bank meetings when I was in prison." Realisation dawned on Steve and he fell over himself apologising for being so ignorant. Piper laughed and said it was nothing to be embarrassed about, it happened and of course it has had an impact on her involvement in the business.
"Polly has been absolutely amazing to get this whole thing set up and ready to go for when I was released. I don't know what I would have done without her in so many ways. Although I find I have questions about decisions she made at the time, it is difficult for me to ask them because I feel like it is putting something she did under the microscope when at the time she made it, she was juggling so many different things. We are up and running and we have to work as a team now to make sure that invested money is spent making a solid future for PoPi. I'm less worried about what happened in the past and more interested in the future now. I've spent too long looking back..." She looked at Cal as the last words left her mouth and he reached over and squeezed her hand.
Steve said his Dad had had a wonderful time at the party last night and had really enjoyed seeing everyone again. Being here had brought back so many memories for them both when they were surrounded by so many familiar faces and he asked if anyone would like to go on the walk down to the lake before we all head home. Grandmother said it was too slippy down there for her to go and Cal said he and Neri had some errands to run in the village before they headed back to their cabin in the woods. So it was just Steve and Piper who wrapped up in coats, hats and scarves for a walk in the Autumn leaves.
The path was quite slippy with the fallen leaves and Piper linked Steve's arm as they descended the steep slope at the start of the path. They continued to walk like that and talk about Steve's plans to stay on as a Resident at Mas Gen once he was fully qualified. They reached the old boathouse on the lake as Steve explained he would likely stay because Boston is his home and always has been. He doesn't know anywhere else and he has no reason to leave. Steve hadn't travelled the world like Piper had, he had barely left Connecticut in fact. So the thought of leaving for somewhere brand new had never even occurred to him. Piper enthused about the thrill of exploring somewhere new, of becoming someone new and the excitement of not knowing what might be around the corner. Steve smiled at her while placing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "You are a born wanderer you know that? I always knew you wouldn't stay around here for long once you went to College. You always wanted something more. But I've always been happy with what I have right here. My family are all around me, I still see the friends I grew up with and there's no awkwardness in getting acquainted with a brand new group of friends for the first time. I like the familiar. I've loved seeing you again and seeing you here has brought back many happy memories of the times we shared here." He ran his thumb across her cheek and straightened her woolly hat while looking into her eyes. "Come on, let's get you back before your Grandmother thinks I've kidnapped you and rowed off in your Grandfather's boat."
8 When they arrived back at Celeste's house, the smell of home made soup was drifting through the garden. Steve's tummy grumbled loudly and Piper chuckled "I guess you're staying for dinner then? We couldn't have you found in the grounds having died of starvation, could we?" She smiled as she opened the door for them both to head into the kitchen."Oh God, you heard that? I'm so sorry, it really wasn't a hint I promise!"
They ate some warm soup with Celeste, telling her how beautiful the lake looked and showing her some photos they took with their cellphones while they were out. She sighed when she saw how much the boathouse has fallen into disrepair since Piper's Grandfather had passed away but agreed the scenery was as beautiful as ever.
"I have to head off soon as I have a few things to do back in New York before I'm back at work in the morning. You should come up and see the big city lights some time, I'll give you the tour Steve."
"Well I'd have to get myself a passport to do that kind of travelling, so one step at a time eh?" He smiled warmly. " How about I give you my number though so we can catch up again if you're down this way? Just let me know when you think you'll be dropping by and I'll see what I can do with my shifts to meet up."
Piper took his number and hugged him tightly as she said goodbye at the doorway. "It's been nice spending time with you this weekend and of course I'd love to see you next time I'm back." She kissed him on the cheek and said goodbye before closing the door and running into her Grandmother. "I always said you two were a cute couple." She winked as she walked back to the kitchen before Piper could reply.