This chapter is rated T for Teen.
The evening after Mrs. Rankin's funeral, Alex and Piper accepted the invitation to stay at Diane's house. All three women were too emotionally drained to cook, so they ordered Moo Goo Gai Pan and fried rice from the only Chinese restaurant in town, and then sat at the kitchen table with chopsticks in hand. They talked about Mrs. Rankin and the services that day. They also discussed many of the people who came to pay their respects. Diane said that her daughter and Piper were "the classiest couple there," which made the younger women smile.
"So what else has been going on around here?" Piper asked around a button mushroom.
"I have some exciting news." Diane wiped her mouth with a napkin and inhaled sharply. "I've been seeing someone."
Alex immediately stopped chewing. "What?"
"With Mrs. Rankin's death and all, I didn't want to say anything," she began. "And I wanted to see how long it actually lasted before opening my big, fat mouth and jinxing everything."
"That's awesome news, Diane!" Piper exclaimed. "Who is it? Do we know him?"
"You remember the bread guy, Henry Holmes?"
"Tall guy, goatee?" The blonde asked.
"Why don't I know him?" Alex questioned, setting her chopsticks down.
"You never came into The Commons in the mornings when he made deliveries, hon," her mom replied.
Alex turned to her girlfriend. "How do you know him?"
"I had a study period my junior year, and I'd go into The Commons when the bread man came so that I could grab a slice of freshly baked baguette," Piper said as if it was the most natural explanation in the world. "Your mom used to butter a piece for me."
Diane covered the blonde's hand with hers. "You remember those days?"
"Of course, I do!" Piper smiled. "In fact, I might've loved you before I even loved Alex."
"Hey!" The brunette protested, but her insides melted at the thought of Piper loving her mother. She'd known since the beginning that Piper adored her mom, but hearing that she loved her made her heart soar.
"You're too sweet, kid." Diane leaned in to place a kiss on top of Piper's head. "Anyway, Henry asked me to go with him to the July 4th parade in town, so I went." She ate a piece of chicken. "We've gone out two or three times a month since then."
"Mom, this is huge," Alex said, halfway between a neutral expression and a smile.
"What's he like?" Piper asked, popping a snow pea into her mouth.
"He's divorced, but no kids; he's been baking for over 20 years; grew up in White Plains; and he plays in a Neil Diamond cover band," she replied with a huge grin.
"Haven't you gotten your fill of rock stars?" Alex rolled her eyes, but her smile betrayed her mock annoyance.
Diane swatted her arm. "Your father was an asshole who happened to play in a rock band. Henry is a business man who happens to play Sweet Caroline at local bars and charity events."
Piper's smile traveled from ear to ear. "He sounds awesome."
"Is he good to you?" The brunette asked, concern etched on her face.
"Yeah, he is." She took a bite of fried rice. "We've known each other for seven years, but he just now had the balls to ask me out. Said he'd been thinking about it for a long time."
The blonde set her chopsticks down and hugged Diane with one arm. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks, kid." She smiled.
"I am, too." Alex's smile was less radiant, but no less meaningful.
No one was there to watch over her mom, and she was nervous about men trying to take advantage of her. Diane had a string of boyfriends during Alex's childhood, and none of them, according to her daughter, were worthy of her. They were all love 'em and leave 'em types, and it wasn't until Diane had gotten her job at Gateway when she really seemed to wise up to the fools who were after one thing, and it certainly wasn't her money.
"Have you kissed yet?" Piper whispered.
Diane pulled back, moving her arms in a crossing motion. "I never got in your business about your sex life with my daughter, so don't think I'm about to tell you mine!"
"I asked if you'd kissed, not if you fucked," Piper laughed, covering her mouth to prevent food from flying out.
Alex laughed, too. She watched the interactions that her mom had with Piper and loved every second of it.
"So when do we get to meet this Henry?" The brunette asked after a sip of Bud Light.
"If you stay in town one more night, his band is playing at St. Nick's."
Piper looked at her lover with pleading eyes. "Can we stay? Please?"
The blonde was on winter break through mid-January, and Alex had the week between Christmas and New Year's off. "If it's ok with you, mom."
"Are you kidding? Like you even have to ask!" Diane replied with a toothy grin.
Diane and Piper high fived as if they'd won a nonexistent argument, and once again, Alex smiled at their downright adorable friendship.
Piper had flipped through all of Diane's records and couldn't find a single Neil Diamond album. Alex had told her that her mom was more of a rocker, but Piper wouldn't accept that. She confessed that growing up, her parents played Neil Diamond albums almost every night after dinner. At first, Piper hated the singer/songwriter, but once she moved to boarding school, listening to Neil was one of the few things she missed about being home.
Piper borrowed Diane's car to go to the music shop downtown and purchased the double album, Hot August Night.
As the women started getting "all dolled up," as Mrs. Vause called it, for the concert that night, Piper approached Diane with the gift.
"I have something for you," she began. "Even if it doesn't work out with Henry, which I hope it does, this should be an essential part of your collection."
Diane unwrapped the gift (Piper had used old newspaper for lack of access to formal wrapping paper.) "Piper, you shouldn't have!"
"Yes, I should have. Your boyfriend is in a Neil Diamond cover band, and you don't have his album? That's a problem." She took the record from her girlfriend's mom, and headed to the turntable. "Mind if I play it?"
"Go for it, hon!"
The blonde glanced at the album, as if choosing which song she should play, and then lined up the needle. "Alex, get in here!"
Alex came out of the bathroom, hair already coifed, wearing nothing but a black t-shirt that barely covered her ass. "What's going on?"
Piper bit her lower lip as she looked her girlfriend up and down. "We're about to dance to some serious Neil Diamond."
Cracklin' Rosie came blaring out of the speakers, and the blonde and Diane started dancing—Piper doing the mashed potato and Diane, the Watusi.
When the chorus rang out, Piper sang at the top of her lungs, "Cracklin' Rose, you're a store bought woman, but you make me sing like a guitar hummin', so hang on to me girl, our song keeps runnin' on…Play it now, play it now, play it now, my baby!" She reached for Alex, and forced her to dance.
The three women moved and grooved for the entire three minute song, and by the end, Diane was breathing heavy. "I have to catch my breath!"
"You're going to need to show Henry some moves tonight," Piper said, continuously bumping her hip against Diane's butt as, I am…I Said, played.
"Oh, I got moves," she said, bouncing back on Piper's butt.
"I bet you do!" The blonde laughed.
"You two better stop dancing and start getting ready," Alex said with a chuckle. "We have to leave in 10 minutes."
"Dance with me," Piper requested, pulling her lover by the wrist.
The brunette noticed Piper's sex look, as she liked to refer to it, and thought she probably should have put on jeans or something. Alex recalled several other instances when she wore only a t-shirt with her panties, and Piper jumped her at the very sight.
"Stay for just a while, stay and let me look at you…" Piper sang the first few lines of September Morn as Alex joined her in the middle of the room.
The brunette rolled her eyes. "This is so fucking cheesy."
Piper slapped her back, chastising her with a loud, hey!, and then tucked her head against Alex's chest.
She'd never tire of feeling Piper's body against hers, and despite the rather tacky song, Alex found herself holding her lover a little closer, swaying in time to the music. She closed her eyes and placed her cheek on top of the blonde's head, letting out a long, contented sigh. She felt Piper's palm spread wide on her back, and every once in a while, she'd rub her thumb against the softness of Alex's t-shirt.
They were completely lost in each other on that makeshift dance floor, the world all but forgotten. Alex felt the sting of tears at the overwhelming sensation she felt for the girl she was holding close to her. She didn't allow tears to fall and silently laughed at herself for her emotional state dancing to a fucking Neil Diamond song.
When the song was over, the next track came on, and the women separated but not before Alex took her girlfriend's face in her hands and kissed her softly on the lips.
"You two are something else to watch," Diane commented from her spot on the sofa. She dabbed her eye with her shirtsleeve.
"Please," Alex began, trying to draw attention away from their cheesy display of emotions. "Don't get all mushy on me. That's the last time I dance to a Neil Diamond slow song!"
"You're full of shit!" Piper bumped her with her hip, and then turned to Diane. "She's full of shit. Alex is like putty in my hands, especially when it comes to slow dancing with me."
"I am not! And I'm glad to see your ego is in check," Alex replied, walking back to the bathroom to finish getting ready.
Piper mouthed, "She totally is," to Diane before following her girlfriend to the bathroom.
Diane shook her head and grinned. "Any person with eyes can see that."
Piper opened the door to the bathroom and stepped inside, closing it behind her.
"You're so fucking dramatic, babe," Alex chuckled.
Piper put her arms around her lover's waist from behind, resting her chin on Alex's shoulder. "Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't enjoy dancing with me."
"I can't look you in the eye," she said as she gazed into the mirror. "I'm putting on eyeliner."
"Lame excuse," Piper said with a grin. "I'll wait."
"Fine," Alex huffed, then turned in her girlfriend's arms. "I love dancing with you. I love having your arms around me. I love the way you still make me all tingly inside even though we've been together for over a year."
Piper gave her a devilish grin. "Thought so."
Alex leaned in to kiss her lover, one hand tenderly on her face, the other on her shoulder. "Now leave this room so that I can finish getting ready. We're already running late."
Piper turned to leave, and Alex gave her a little slap on the ass, causing the young Chapman to let out a yelp.
The concert was far more entertaining than Alex had anticipated, and she enjoyed Henry Holmes' showmanship (he was the pianist, not the lead singer.) When the gig was over, the women waited for Henry to wrap up backstage and join them for a drink.
"This must be your daughter," he said as he approached the women.
Diane hugged him, and Henry gave her a peck on the cheek.
"It sure is," Diane said proudly. "This is Alex, and this is her girlfriend, Piper."
"It's nice to meet you both," he said, arm wrapped low around Diane's waist. "Did you enjoy the show?"
"We did," Piper replied. "I especially loved Hello, Again and Love on the Rocks."
"I'm surprised," he said. "Most people love Sweet Caroline."
"That one's too mainstream," the blonde commented.
"How often do you play?" Alex asked.
"Oh, once a month or so," he began. "These old bones can't take much more than that. Besides, I'm a baker, so I have to get out of bed at three in the morning, five days a week. Late nights don't really work for me anymore."
Alex smiled. "I bake a little myself."
Henry glanced at Diane, and then back at Alex. "Your mom told me. Maybe we can have a 'bake off' one of these days?"
"Sounds like fun," she offered. "Mom, I think we're going to head home. You ok getting back later?"
"Yeah, hon. I won't be long," Diane said with a smile.
"Henry, it was nice meeting you," Alex said, shaking his hand.
"Thanks for coming!"
With that, the women left Diane there to do whatever older couples did, which Alex hoped was not the same thing she and Piper were going to do the minute they got back to the house.