Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Al Bundy stood outside on a frigid March evening in Chicago, rubbing his hands together for warmth.
He was standing in a line full of antsy, grumpy people, waiting to get one last meal at Johnny B. Goode’s diner.
Johnny’s had been his top hangout during high school. His “home away from home.” He used to hang out there every day with his buddies after school.
He met his wife there.
Well. Make that ex-wife. He grimaced bitterly.
Tonight it was all ending as Johnny’s finally closed its doors for good after nearly 30 years in business.
Johnny himself had passed away a few years ago and his nephew had taken over the shop. Al hadn’t eaten there in years but he was hoping to see some familiar faces tonight and relive some wonderful memories.
Except he ended up having to work late, thanks to the demands of a woman the size of a small planet, who insisted she try on every single shoe in his store before he could close up for the night.
So he had arrived at Johnny’s pretty late, and now was stuck in this miserable line. Wet snow started falling, darkening his mood even more.
Suddenly, a man emerged from the door to the restaurant and stood in front of the crowd. “I’m sorry, folks, but we’ve reached our capacity for the evening. We’ll be closing up in a bit. Thank you for all of your support over the years!”
The people in line booed and hissed. Al grabbed his head in disbelief. “Are you kidding me??” he shouted. “I was Johnny’s most loyal customer back in the day! He’d be furious if I didn’t get a chance to get in there and have one last Double Burger with the works!”
“I’m sorry, buddy, but we’ve reached our limit. Ain’t nothing I can do,” replied the man.
“Listen, you squirrely moron,” came a voice from behind him. “Are you telling me I came all the way down here for nothing??”
Al turned around and came face to face with a tall, red-headed woman. She was glaring at the man with her arms folded across her chest, her leg tapping furiously against the pavement.
She looked very familiar to Al. And he swore he recognized her voice.
“There’s no need for name-calling, Ma’am,” said the man sternly. “Now once again, I thank you all for coming, but if you don’t disperse now, I’ll have to call the police!”
“Boy, the absolute nerve!” muttered the woman, looking furious.
“I’ll say,” agreed Al. “That jerk doesn’t deserve to work at Johnny’s. No respect for the loyal customers who kept it in business all those years!”
The woman looked at him. “Hey! I know you!” she exclaimed.
Al was certain now that he knew her too. He just couldn’t pinpoint exactly how or where he knew her from.
“You’re Al Bundy!” she said. “Mr. Four Touchdowns in a Single Game!”
He grinned. She must have been from Polk High. “That’s me!” he said proudly.
“Otherwise known as the only guy on the football team who wouldn’t sleep with me,” she smirked.
At last, he remembered her.
He snapped his fingers at her. “Peggy Wanker!” he declared. Don’t bother to thank her, he added silently.
She did a little pose. “The one and only!” she smiled. “Except it’s Peggy Johnson now.”
“Ah. Found someone to settle down with, huh?” he laughed.
Her smile disappeared. “For a while, anyway.”
He looked up at the snowflakes whipping around them. Then he glanced at the coffee shop across the street.
“Say, you wanna grab a coffee over there? So we’re not standing around in the cold? Might as well treat ourselves since we won’t be getting a burger.”
Her smile returned. “Great idea. Let’s go!” She led the way.
Once settled into a booth with their coffees, Al was finally able to get a good look at her, out of the snow and the darkness of the winter evening.
Her hair was as red as he remembered it, although she styled it differently now. It was longer. But she still had that little beehive in the front.
She was still quite slender and had that same megawatt smile she had in high school. Al always thought she was a smoke show.
He just stayed clear of her because he knew she was bad news.
Peggy seemed to be eyeing him up too, under the bright glow of the coffee shop lights.
“Well, Al. I have to say, you haven’t changed a bit! Maybe a little less hair,” she laughed.
He laughed in return, sliding his hand over his head. “Yeah, well, life will do that to ya.”
She gave his arm a quick tap. “Still got the arms of a football player, though,” she said, flashing that bright smile of hers again.
He blushed. “Eh, I try to keep in shape.”
He had to admit, he enjoyed the compliment. It had been a long time since a woman had said something positive about his appearance.
“Whatever happened with your football career, Al? I remember you were quite the star player,” She took a sip of her coffee and looked at him attentively.
“I played in college for a couple of years,” he replied. “But at the end of my second year, I injured my knee pretty badly. That was the end of my football days,” he said ruefully.
“That’s too bad,” said Peggy. “I always thought you might make it to the pros!”
“So did I,” he sighed. “Instead, I dropped out of college and got married!”
Peggy was looking at him with great interest now. “Who’s the lucky woman?” she smiled.
“You remember Darlene Sinclair?” he asked. “Head cheerleader during our senior year?”
Peggy laughed. “Boy, do I! She hated my guts!” She paused. “Then again, most of the cheerleaders hated me. I had a habit of stealing their boyfriends!” She gave a guilty grin.
He chuckled. “Yeah, well, she stuck around after graduation and followed me to college. She actually made the cheerleading team there, too. After I got injured, she decided to drop out of school too and that was that. 9 months after the wedding, we had our daughter!” He grinned sheepishly.
Peggy nodded knowingly. “A honeymoon baby, huh?” He nodded back.
“How about you, Peggy? Where did you end up after high school? Obviously you got married too.” He glanced down at her hand, but didn’t see a ring.
She looked away from him and stared down at the table. “I left Chicago after graduation. My plan was to go to New York with a couple of my girlfriends. But I only made it as far as Pittsburgh. I had a cousin there and she helped get me a job at the club she worked at. I was going to save up money so I could get myself to New York. That never happened,” she said, giving a dry laugh. “I got involved with the bouncer at the club. Clay Johnson. He was exactly my type, at least what my type was back then - tall, muscular and clad in leather.” She shook her head, rolling her eyes. “We dated for a couple of years, until one day I found myself pregnant. He decided to do the honourable thing and marry me. We tied the knot two months before our son was born. He’s 14 now,” she added.
“My daughter is 16,” replied Al. “She goes to Polk.”
“So does Bud!” said Peggy. “That’s my son’s name,” she explained, seeing the confused look on Al’s face. “Clay had a thing for Budweiser beer.”
Al chuckled. “So how did you end up back in Chicago?” he asked.
Her face turned red. She still didn’t meet Al’s eyes. “Three years ago, Clay left me for another woman,” she said quietly.
“So did Darlene,” muttered Al.
“You mean another man,” replied Peggy, glancing up at him sympathetically.
“Nope,” he replied, looking back at her.
Her eyes widened in understanding. She put her hand on chest. “You mean - Darlene is - is…”
“A lesbian,” said Al, finishing her sentence for her. “Correct.” He took an angry swig of his coffee.
Peggy was speechless.
“Believe me, my reaction was much worse than yours when I found out,” mumbled Al.
“I just can’t believe it!” exclaimed Peggy. “Darlene was one of the biggest flirts in high school! She was blonde, perky, and even I envied her boobs!”
Al laughed. “Well, while you were envying them, my guess is she was admiring yours - for far different reasons!”
Peggy shook her head. “I guess it goes to show, you can never really know someone.” She stared at the table again.
“You got that right,” muttered Al.
******
He had never seen it coming. Sure, the spark had faded from his marriage long ago. But he always thought that he and Darlene still had something special.
That is, until one day, he discovered a pile of his Playboy magazines hiding in the bottom of her sewing box. He’d been looking for a button to replace on his jacket. He stared at the magazines in disbelief. He knew he’d been missing some. He had blamed it on the kid across the street who he’d hired to help out with yard work around his house.
He confronted Darlene the moment she returned from her shopping trip. He thought she’d deny it but instead, the whole truth came pouring out of her. How she’d felt different her whole life. How she tried desperately to be attracted to men but couldn’t do it anymore. How she still thought fondly of Al but didn’t love him in the way a wife should love her husband. And finally, worst of all, how she had recently got involved with another woman. Who just so happened to be their next door neighbour, Marcy.
Al had taken off for a few days after that, drinking himself into a stupor and nearly getting fired at work for missing his shifts. He only came back home when his daughter Kelly tracked him down at the local bar and begged him to man up and face reality. She was only 14 years old at the time and he realized he needed to get a grip.
Darlene moved out shortly afterwards. Her and Marcy got a place together up in Milwaukee. Kelly chose to stay with Al. She had always been more of a Daddy’s girl. Darlene had been disappointed that Kelly hadn’t been smart or athletic like she had been. Kelly wanted nothing to do with cheerleading or ballet or joining clubs at school. She was into heavy metal and horror movies and rebelling against pretty much everything her mother was into.
She did agree to visit her mom one weekend a month.
The next thing Al knew he was signing divorce papers and buying microwave dinners from the grocery store for supper. Darlene had been an amazing cook so having a home cooked meal on the table every night was one thing he missed about her.
But soon, he and Kelly adjusted. Kelly started taking home economics classes at school and much to Al’s surprise, she actually enjoyed learning how to cook and sew. She eventually started cooking small meals for her and Al, and she got herself a sewing machine with her babysitting money so she could make her own clothes. Al was proud of her.
******
Al snapped back to the present. Peggy was stirring her coffee with her finger, lost in her own thoughts.
“Sorry, zoned out there for a minute,” said Al.
Peggy blinked. “Oh. Me too,” she laughed.
“So, is it just you and your son now?” asked Al.
Peggy nodded. “Yes. We live in a small apartment together. I work in a salon, doing hair, makeup and nails. He just got his first job, tutoring kids in math. I don’t like to brag, but he’s kinda smart.” She paused, smiling. “We do ok for ourselves.”
“Sounds like it.” said Al, smiling back at her.
“How about you? What does Polk High’s famous football player do for a living now?” she asked.
He sighed. “Prepare to be unimpressed. I work in a women’s shoe store.”
He thought Peggy would laugh but instead she gasped. “I love shoes! I kind of collect them,” she said, chuckling. “Where’s your store? I should drop by sometime!”
“In the New Market Mall,” he replied.
“You’re kidding me! Our salon just relocated to that mall a few weeks ago! Well, now I’ll definitely drop by!” She gave him one of her bright smiles that made him feel a bit weightless.
“Well, good! It would be nice to see an attractive woman in there for once instead of the herd of whales I usually serve.”
He realized what he had said and froze. He hoped she didn’t think he was a pig for saying something like that. Darlene had always hated it when he insulted the fat women that frequented his store.
But Peggy just rolled her eyes and nodded. “Must be the same herd that comes into the salon and makes me paint their hooves while they gripe about their terrible husbands.”
Al laughed. Finally someone who got it.
“I shouldn’t be so mean,” Peggy sighed. “My mother is a big boned woman herself. But those hippos in the salon are usually so rude to me!”
“They are to me, too!” Al agreed. “That’s why I would love for you to come and check out my store. You’d be a welcome change of scenery!” He smiled at her.
She smiled back. “I’ll drop in tomorrow!” she promised.
Al checked his watch. He was having a good time but it was getting late. “Gee, I probably should get going. Kelly, my daughter, tends to have boys over when I’m not around.”
Peggy nodded. “Yes, I better get back home too. Bud may be smart but he’s also a troublemaker. I caught him looking through binoculars into the apartment across the road from us the other day.” She shook her head
They headed back out into the chilly night. “It was great to catch up with you, Al! My bus should be coming along any minute, so I’m gonna run down to the next stop.” Peggy turned to leave.
“Wait - I can give you a ride home!” said Al. He hadn’t realized she didn’t have a car.
“Oh, no, it’s probably far out of your way!” replied Peggy, her cheeks reddening a bit.
“It’s no trouble,” he replied. “This isn’t exactly a great neighbourhood. I don’t like the thought of leaving you here by yourself so late at night.”
Peggy still looked unsure. “Well…..ok,” she said after much consideration. “I’ll buy a pair of shoes in your store tomorrow to repay you.” She smiled.
He grinned. “C’mon, my car’s just parked down the road.”
Peggy gasped when she saw Al’s Dodge. “Al, is this your car from high school??” Al had kept his beloved Dodge in great condition.
“It sure is!” he replied. “I’m surprised you remember. You were definitely never in my backseat.” He looked at her and laughed. He couldn’t help pointing that out.
“Sadly, you’re right,” she replied, giving him a teasing smile.
They got in the car and Peggy directed him to her apartment building. Al noticed she lived in a rundown area of town. He didn’t say anything, though.
“Thank you again, Al. I really appreciate the ride.”
“Hey, like I said, no trouble! I’m just glad I got to catch up with someone from high school tonight after all! It makes up for missing my burger at Johnny’s.”
Peggy nodded. “I’m glad now that I went all the way over there. I enjoyed talking to you tonight, Al.”
She opened the passenger door. “And I’ll see you again tomorrow in your store!” she promised.
“See you, Peggy! Good night!” He gave her a wave.
She waved back, then headed into her building. Al made sure she was safely inside before pulling away.
He turned on the radio and hummed as he drove back home. Out of all the people from his high school days, Peggy Wanker was the last person he had expected to reconnect with tonight. But he had really enjoyed himself.
He smiled all the way back to his house.