Two days before Thanksgiving break, Alex took a leisurely walk back to her house and admired the stunning autumn leaves along the campus perimeter. She wasn't much of a nature lover, but this time of year, she could spend hours outside, soaking up the bright hues of fall. It was mostly in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving when she liked to read poetry and even write verse that had nothing to do with school assignments.
As she walked up her driveway, she found her tattered copy of The Woman in White on her welcome mat. She smiled as she leaned down to retrieve the novel before going inside. She set down her heavy bag, and then proceeded into the kitchen to pour a glass of cab franc.
Alex flipped through the pages of the novel and a notecard fell out. It was a thick, ecru piece of stationary with Piper Chapman embossed at the top. In perfect handwriting, Piper wrote:
Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost would have a lot to say about the golden leaves along the paths at Gateway this time of year. Meet me by the pond at 5.
She took a long sip of wine and ran her fingertips over the embossed name at the top of the notecard.
What was she going to do with Piper Chapman? In a month, the decision would be far easier—she would no longer be substituting at Gateway, and if she wanted to pursue the young woman, she could do so with little guilt (except, of course, for her age.) She stood at her kitchen counter, notecard in hand, wondering how she should proceed.
Alex changed into an old pair of jeans and a comfortable hooded sweatshirt. She walked around her house with nervous energy, sipping wine every so often. She tried playing music on her new iPod speaker system, but even Prince couldn't drown out her thoughts about Piper.
It wasn't so much Piper's physical beauty that captivated her, although, Alex had to admit that her young pupil was indeed beautiful; rather, it was the way her mind worked. She soaked up information like a thirsty bird. Her writing was downright inspiring. She was mature beyond her years, and she seemed to know what she wanted out of life. If they were a couple, Alex suspected, they'd balance each other quite well.
The clock chimed five, and the dark haired woman had a choice to make: stand up the enigmatic young Chapman or meet her to end their flirtations. Alex knew that even as innocent and careful as they'd been, what their relationship looked like from the outside would not be conducive to their positions at school.
In the end, she decided to be passive about the meeting. She walked outside down the well-traveled path between the faculty homes and the sports fields. No one was around—the only people left on campus were the international boarding students and the dorm director. Most of the students weren't even at school that day as their parents whisked them away to some exotic location to celebrate Thanksgiving.
"Alex!" came a voice from far behind.
She turned around to see Piper jogging up the path.
"You got my note?" She asked, wiping her hair out of her face. The wind had picked up a bit, but it was still a beautiful evening.
"I did." Alex couldn't help but smile, but it didn't take long for her expression to turn somber. "I'm not meeting you by the pond, Piper."
The blonde looked confused. "But you're here."
"Yes, I'm going for a walk on this gorgeous autumn day, but as you can see, I'm nowhere near the pond."
She squinted into the sunlight. "Is that your passive way of saying that you're not interested in talking to me?"
"We've been through this before, kid." Alex noticed the way her face scrunched up, making her look a little awkward but downright adorable. "You and I can't hang out."
"But you took me to your class in the city," she explained with a furrowed brow.
"That was an academic adventure." The brunette shrugged. "Even so, it won't happen again."
"I don't understand."
Before Alex could explain, Piper spoke again. "Ankit and I broke up."
"Sorry to hear that." She looked off into the distance. "Breakups suck."
"I broke up with him," she responded, looking at her feet and kicking a pebble. "So it wasn't that bad on my end."
"That takes some serious balls." Alex continued walking north. "I thought you two weren't boyfriend/girlfriend?"
"If you asked him, we were," Piper stated. "But I never felt that way about him. Don't get me wrong, Ankit's a nice boy, but I'm not interested in him in that way."
Out of the corner of her eye, Alex could see Piper looking at her, as if she was trying to relay a coded message.
"I'm sure there will be many other loves in your life," the brunette said.
Piper didn't respond. The two women walked slowly across the baseball field and onto a path that Alex hadn't journeyed on. Before she knew it, they were at the pond.
Alex stopped and eyed her companion suspiciously. "Got me here anyway, huh, kid?"
"Not intentionally," she replied with a shy smile. "But since we're here, I want to show you something."
Alex determined that she had very little willpower when it came to the young woman next to her. A little voice inside her head told her to retreat, yet she found herself following Piper around the north end of the pond, swatting at vines along the way. "Where are you taking me? I'm not a fan of bugs."
"You'll see." The blonde hopped over a felled tree and turned to help Alex.
Once they were on the opposite side of the pond, Piper maneuvered through the brush off the dirt path and turned as if to ensure Alex was following. When they reached the edge, the blonde pointed ahead at a gorgeous valley, covered with trees of all different colors and sizes. The bright orange, red and yellow leaves contrasted against the blue sky as the sun crept lower on the horizon.
"Wow," Alex breathed. "It looks like a painting."
"I tried painting it once my sophomore year," Piper replied. "But a brush can't capture this kind of beauty. You just have to see it; bask in it, to really feel its power."
Piper sat on an old bench that looked like it had seen better days, and Alex sat beside her as they stared into the vast space.
Piper spoke softly,
"Descending leaves fall to the ground,
Twirling, twisting, round and round,
Autumn season is almost here,
The smell of freshness is oh so near.
The crisp, cool breeze,
Shakes the leaves from the trees,
Autumn takes away the green,
Golden-bronze and brown is all that can be seen."
"Is that Thoreau?" Alex asked.
She shook her head and laughed quietly. "No, it's Piper Chapman."
Alex smiled. "You're really something else, kid."
After a brief pause and a couple of deep breaths of fresh air, the blonde finally asked, "Do you notice me, Alex?"
"Of course I notice you," she replied with nervous laughter.
"Sometimes I wonder…" Piper swallowed hard as she reached out a hand to brush her teacher's hair away from her face. "If this was another place, another time…"
Alex leaned into her touch and whispered. "Me, too."
"Please don't say, kid," the blonde requested as her hand trailed down the older woman's arm.
Alex smirked. "Babe."
Piper smiled bashfully as her hand finally connected with her companion's. Alex turned her palm up and linked fingers with the girl. They stared at each other for a moment, soft smiles on each of their faces, before turning to the West to watch the sunset.
The dark haired woman's nerves subsided as she held hands with Piper on that bench. She couldn't explain why her heart didn't beat wildly at the thought of connecting with the blonde in that way—it was something she'd carefully avoided over the past three months, so logic would dictate that her heart would flutter when the opportunity presented itself. Yet she remained unruffled, even serene, and noticed that Piper looked equally content, like this was as natural as the earth's rotation.
Once the sun had completely set, Piper was the first to speak. "I guess we better head back. The bugs are going to get pretty bad."
Alex turned to her. "Thank you for sharing this with me."
Piper beamed. "You're welcome."
Alex returned the affectionate smile and stood, extending her hand to help Piper up. Against her better judgement, Alex didn't let go. The two walked back to civilization hand in hand until they reached the perimeter of campus.
"Back to reality," Piper sighed.
"Yeah." The dark haired woman squeezed her hand once before letting go. "Are you going home for Thanksgiving tonight?"
They walked towards the dorm. "I'm not going home at all," Piper began. "My parents are on a Caribbean cruise."
The brunette raised her eyebrows. "And they just left you here?"
"It's not the first time," she explained. "Last Christmas, I went to Dot's Diner down the street by myself."
"That's crazy," Alex commented. "Come home with me for Thanksgiving." As if she could shove those words back in her mouth, she paused and shut her eyes. "I mean, you should consider joining my mom and me for dinner on Thursday. No one should be alone on such an important American holiday."
She blushed. "I'd really like that."
"Give me your number, and I'll text you with details," the brunette said as they approached the portico.
Piper did as she was told, and then walked into the building. "See you in two days," she called as Alex walked back home.
"Two days," Alex replied with a wave.
Once inside, she plopped into the armchair and rubbed her temples. The Piper Issue had presented itself in the flesh, and Alex didn't know exactly how to proceed.
What struck her most was the apparent mutual understanding she and Piper had about their attraction. She'd feared that if the moment presented itself when there was even a remote possibility of a kiss, one of them would have taken the plunge. The fact that the two had held hands near the pond and did not actually take things further showed remarkable restraint on both women's parts. Once again, Alex was astounded by Piper's maturity. If the positions were reversed, she didn't think she'd be able to demonstrate that kind of restraint.