World:
A Riverdale where the Cooper's andthe Blossom's are two rivaling mob families.
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Summary: Alice and Penelope get closer than they should
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The first time she sees PenelopeBlossom is at their daughters' dance recital and Alice Cooper thinksshe's a stuck up bitch. The perfectly pinned up hair, the perfectlyironed clothes, the perfectly applied make-up, the perfect husbandand the perfect second child. Alice has all of this, too, but there'sjust something about the other woman that makes Alice believe shethinks she's better than everyone else.
It's probably true, too. The Blossomshave always been rich and well-known and just generally judgingpeople. Clifford Blossom had inherited the family business from hisfather, who had in turn gotten it from his own and so on. And whenthe time comes, it will fall into his son's hands. Officially theBlossom Business deals in Maple Syrup, has for as long back as anyonecan remember, but everyone knows that that's just a front for what'sreally going on. You don't live like the Blossoms do, even withfamily money that had surely been acquired in the same fashion, byproducing and selling Maple Syrup. Not even the self-acclaimed bestone on the whole state. And Penelope, who'd come from money, too, hadfit perfectly into the family.
Alice had grown up with a while lotless money and parents working two jobs just to be able to pay rentand put food on the table. She'd had a pretty great childhood, alltogether, but her parents never wanted her to end up like them. Theywanted her to be able to provide for her children. So, when HalCooper asked her out on date she had agreed mainly for her mother andfather, until she found she really liked him. They had married prettyquickly after that first date, and just a few weeks later, he'd takenover their own family business, that, if she's honest with herself,is just as shady as that of the Blossoms. But it's her family, sothat's different.
She watches her husband steal hiddenglances in the general direction Penelope and Clifford are sitting,always disguising it as something else, trying to figure out if thisis just a simple outing to watch their daughter preform or ifClifford Blossom is using the opportunity to conduct business. Sheinconspicuously kicks him in the shin the tenth time, because nomatter what the Blossoms are up to, * they * are here to supporttheir child. He sends her an apologetic smile and focuses back on thestage in front of him, an arm slung over the back of the chair theirelder daughter is occupying next to him. She can see he's still notsolely focused on the play, but she ignores it this time. Cliffordand Penelope Blossom are not really that interesting to her as theyseem to be to Hal.
The first time she talks to PenelopeBlossom, is because their other children had bonded over theircomplete lack of interest in dancing. Alice picks her daughter upfrom practice, only just in passing acknowledging the other woman'spresence as she helps her own daughter into her street shoes, and theblonde turns her head for only the briefest of seconds and thensuddenly she's alone with Betty, her older daughter nowhere to beseen. She heaves a sigh of frustration because it's not the firsttime seven year old Polly decided to wander off on her own. She's agood kid, but this is just dangerous and it seems like she's notwilling to learn not to do it.
Betty pulls on her sleeve, indicatingshe's finished putting her dance outfit away, and hands the bag overto her mother eagerly. Alice takes it, her daughter's hand in herother one. Then she's off in search for Polly. Betty is crankybecause practice had been tough and she's probably coming down withsomething, too and she just wants to go home and eat and sleep, andso Alice needs twice as much time to find her other child, thoughshe's been looking in the same place for the third time now. Sheloves her daughters, cherishes every moment with them, but there aretimes she wishes she had that nanny her husband had insisted onhiring just after Polly's birth. It would be a lot simpler at times.
Alice spots the girl by the front door,outside, legs dangling from the bench back and forth. She seems to bedeep in conversation with a red headed boy Alice recognizes as thesecond Blossom twin. Great, just what she needs, her daughter makingfriends with the enemy.
Okay, maybe * enemy * is a bit harsh,after all the boy is just six years old. Their respective fathershowever are mortal enemies (again, maybe a bit much, but still thebest way to describe it) and neither of them would be overly thrilledabout that development. Alice couldn't care less. She bends down,tells Betty to please go back inside and look for that redhead andher mother – Alice learns her name is Cheryl – tell them the boy– Jason – is out here and come back out with them. Withoutwandering off like her sister. The girl promises and then hurriesback inside the building while Alice approaches Polly and Jason.
"How often..." She starts,
"... did I tell you not to wander offlike that?" and Penelope finishes from behind her, directing thequestion at her son. Both the children look sorry, but also not sorryenough to make it believable they won't do it again.
"I'm sorry mom" It's almost creepyhow in sync the two children are after a five minute conversation.
Both Alice and Penelope decide not tochew out their kids in public, but usher a stern warning about'talking about this at home'. Then Betty and Cheryl have joined theirsiblings on the bench, engaged so deep in conversation that it's hardto believe they've never even really met before. And so Alice Cooperand Penelope Blossom are reluctantly forced to make the barest ofpolite conversation, too.
They start with introductions,unnecessary as it is, because even though they haven't met in personyet, both families are popular enough. They move on to superficialsmall talk, covering the weather to clothes to last week's dancerecital. They're fast running out of topics to cover, when, finally,Betty and Cheryl alike start to fuss about going home and the twofamilies part on friendly enough, if not slightly awkward terms.
Alice decides not to mention theincident to her husband, since the only things she knows about theBlossoms come from Hal complaining and bad-mouthing the family. Sheknows they used to be friends – the two families – over a hundredyears ago and she'd never cared enough to ask about the exacthappenings, the Cooper's and the Blossom's are bitter rivals eversince – in business and apart from that.
The first time she meets with PenelopeBlossom, is a month after the awkward post-practice conversation. Thelast four weeks, the two women have been slowly getting acquaintedwhile dropping off and picking up their children from dance rehearsaltwice a week. On the third session they had let Jason and Polly playfor a while until they'd both had to head to different appointments.They hadn't seen each other at pick up and it had given themsomething to talk about the week later. On the fifth session Cheryland Betty, who had become quite inseparable, had begged them forafter-practice pizza and ice-cream but there had been no time and sothey had promised to do this some other time. Both families hadseriously been busy that day, but it had mainly given them time tothink about a way to get out of it. The two women might not actuallyhate each other and they don't really see the harm in their childrenbeing friends, but both their husbands would not be incredibly fondof the idea. By the sixth practice they had casually exchanged phonenumbers.
That's how the two women findthemselves at a small cafe in town, amicably chatting over a cup oftea. It's neither forces nor awkward anymore and some time duringtheir third refill Alice notices she's taken to staring at Penelopewhen the other woman's not looking. She shakes her head, clears herthoughts and decides to ignore the feeling she doesn't want to put aname to.
Penelope Blossom is nice and polite andnot nearly as stuck up as Alice thought her to be and definitivelynot as bad as her husband always makes her out to be. The woman mighthave only married into the Blossom family, but Hal seems to becertain she's almost as devious as Clifford, if not more so.
But Alice doesn't see any of that andbefore the meeting is even over, they have agreed to make this aweekly thing.
The first time she kisses PenelopeBlossom is at the twins' birthday party two months later. All four ofthe children have struck up a remarkable friendship in the pastmonths and as much as their fathers don't like it, then men are notto forbid them that. If it makes the kids happy, so be it and onoccasions like this party, they'll always have their wives to takecare of it.
The women are in the kitchen sinceAlice volunteered to help preparing and bringing out the two cakesfor the birthday kids. In no way could Alice explain what she'd beenthinking in that moment, but she still knows that the moment her lipsclosed over the redhead's she hasn't been thinking at all anymore. Ithad been short and sweet and nothing more than a quick peck andPenelope hadn't reciprocate at all and Alice hadn't known why she didit in the first place. They hadn't talked about it. Hadn't evenmentioned it. Had gone on like this never happened. Their childrenwere still friends, they were still meeting once a week for tea andtalk, they were still good. And it was fine like that.
Now all Alice has to do is find a wayto not let too obviously show she has actual feelings for the otherwoman. She's not prepared to name the feeling just yet, but she can'tdeny that she feels * something * - or that Penelope seeminglydoesn't.
The first time she sleeps with PenelopeBlossom is six months after that awkward kiss, when she'd stumbledonto a rather tipsy redhead in a hotel bar. Alice had a huge fightwith her husband and, she'd later found Penelope was in a similarsituation. They'd gotten incredibly drunk together, Alicesurprisingly resisted the constant urge to press her lips against theother woman's, and bad-mouthed their husbands. They'd ended upsharing a hotel room, sleeping off their drunkenness, curing theirhangover with some eggs from the breakfast bar and then, since theysomehow booked the room for two nights, headed back up to talk somemore.
Two hours later, she has the redheadpressed into the bed sheets, hips firmly holding her in place. Hertongue is eagerly exploring Penelope's mouth and by the sounds comingfrom the woman beneath her there's no mistaking that they're bothvery much enjoying this. Both of them are already dressed in next tonothing, the clothes strewn all around the bed. And Alice has no ideahow they ended up here.
The last thing she knows without adoubt is them talking, lounging comfortably next to each other on thebed. Then a hand accidentally brushing a thigh – she can't saywho's hand or who's thigh – and then there might have been someheated looks and teasing touched involved, but neither of the womenis exactly sure what happened. Their minds went blank when their lipsfinally touched.
It's only awkward for a moment, after.They look at each other for a long time, not willing to break theconnection just yet and then Penelope grabs Alice's hand, pulls heralong into the bathroom and the shower and it feels like they've beendoing this for ages already. They kiss behind the closed door oftheir hotel room before heading back home to their respectivefamilies. A day later, it's their weekly tea appointment and after along debate with herself, Alice is brave enough to send the text tomeet her in the hotel instead of the cafe as usual.
It's becoming a regular occurrenceafter that. They'll meet in private and spend a few precious hoursmaking love to each other. They are always careful, never arriving orleaving together, doing anything not to be placed into the same hotelroom together by the staff. An affair is always a risky thing, butthey come from two rivaling families with unpredictable husbands.Neither of the two women want to find out what'll happen if theirrelationship should be discovered.
But it goes on for months withoutanyone ever be aware of it.
The first time she says I love you toPenelope Blossom is when they realize this has gone too far. Theblonde says it while cuddled up in bed, the redhead says it backwithout hesitation. Then they get dressed, kiss each other once moreand then go their separate ways.
The next time they see each otherthey're pretending nothing's wrong.