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Chapter 8


“Uncles Giles!”

“Hey…how’s my favourite little girl then, hmm?” he scooped her up and planted a big kiss Izzie’s cheek, and ruffled young Billy’s hair.

“Giles – you look well!” Buffy gave him a hug while he was still carrying Izzie.

“I am indeed!”

“Coffee?”

“I’d rather have tea, if you don’t mind!”

Buffy smiled and rolled her eyes and went to put the kettle on, saying playfully,

“You Brits and your tea!”

Giles sat at the table in the lounge/dining room of the holiday apartment, with Izzie on his knee.

“So, how are things coming along at Honeysuckle?”

“Fine…we’ve managed to get an electrician and a plumber – we had to go into Barnstaple though, none of the locals wanted to know. We were going to give them a week to come forward, but it needs doing, we need to get moved in. Spike’s over at the cottage now, supervising”

“I see, and how’s the thatching coming along?”

“Great, Jean said she’d be finished by Tuesday”

“Jean – oh it was a woman who did it then?”

“Yes, with her apprentice son! Here you go…now be careful Izzie, uncle Giles has hot tea”

“Okay mommy”

“Uncle Giles, do you like the picture I’ve drawn?” Billy offered Giles a sketchpad, and Giles flipped the cover to reveal a beautiful pencil drawing of the front of the cottage.

Frown/smiling, Giles was amazed and said,

“Did you draw this Billy?”

“Oh yes, all by myself!”

“Takes after his dad, you know I can’t draw for candy!” Buffy said, pulling Billy into a sideways hug and kissing the top of his head, proudly.

“This is excellent stuff Billy – who’s that in the window upstairs – is that Izzie?”

Billy frowned and looked hard at the drawing

“I d-don’t know…I didn’t um…” Billy shrugged feeling puzzled, because HE didn’t draw the little head and shoulders at the top window, but he decided not to say anything.

“So, Giles continued, do you know when you can actually move in?” Buffy slipped into the seat opposite and sipped her tea.

“Well, we’ve still got all the decorating to do of course, but it’ll have to be in the next three weeks, the company that owns these holiday flatlets want to decorate and renovate them. We can then get our stuff out of storage and at last make a home of the cottage”

“And how’s the author?”

“Oh gods, poor thing hasn’t had a spare minute to write! He’s fine though –done absolute wonders with the front garden, but unfortunately not such wonders on his first draft of the second book though, we’ve just been too busy”

“When do they want it?”

“First week in November, so they said”

“Oh well, he’s got his diaries hasn’t he – that should help!”

“Its such a shame, he gets up, does a day’s work on the cottage and then he falls asleep reading the children their bedtime story!”

Giles smiled and winked at Billy

“Is that right?”

“Yes! Daddy was asleep before me last night – he was on my bed, still dressed!” Billy said grinning, Giles finished his tea and said to Buffy in a quiet aside,

“It’s amazing how much things have changed, isn’t it?”

“I’ll say!”

“Oh, here, I had a letter” Giles put an opened blue ‘Airmail’ letter on the table.

“Seems somebody else hasn’t let the grass grow either…”

Smiling Buffy took out the letter and read the large familiar handwriting.

‘Hiya ‘G’ man! Well Florida is just as sunny as good old Cali-forn-I.A, but the construction crews work a lot harder here! Phew I can hardly keep up – it’s a real mixed bunch of guys, Mexican, English, German – I think out of the 48 of us building the complex, there are only 5 of us from America!

I’ve met a lovely girl, Lucy, she’s very pretty with long red hair and green eyes, she works in the payroll office – she kinda reminds me of Willow when she was young. Anyway, she helped me sort out my tax, I was paying WAY too much (and who wants to fund the I.R.S) and we’ve been out a couple of times, movies and dinner – you’d like her. Tell Buffy when she gets the time to send me her new address, I can send photos – well gotta go, we’re going out bowling see you, all the best, Xander’

Buffy smiled and slipped the letter back into the envelope

“Nice letter! I’m so glad he’s met someone”

“Mommy, has uncle Xander got a girlfriend now?” Billy asked smiling

“Seems like it! Have you heard from Willow, Giles?”

“She phoned me at the beginning of term”

“That’s right, you told me, when we were on holiday staying in Woolacombe. But you’ve heard nothing since?”

“Not since that, no. She’ll be studying hard – don’t forget most of her lectures are in French now with her being at the Sorbonne”

“She’s so clever, she - oh, excuse me (Buffy answered her cell-phone)…………Hello Spike………yes he is, about fifteen minutes ago, I’ve just read a letter from – what…oh, oh god, is it serious, is he okay?……………Alright, I’m on my way, bye”

Giles looked expectantly at Buffy

“Um, could you look after the children, something’s cropped up at the cottage and I need to go there”

“Sure, is everything alright?”

“I hope so”

*************

“So what actually happened?” Buffy asked, surveying the hole in her kitchen floor

“I don’t really know, I was upstairs talking to Mick – oh, by the way, he said where you want the bath and shower is fine” Buffy nodded and said,

“Good – go on, what happened?”

“Well, like I say, I was upstairs talking to the plumber, downstairs Andy is drilling, when there’s this loud crash, and a yell, so Mick and I rush downstairs to see just the top part of the ladder, and a big hole in the kitchen floor, with Andy half sticking out of it”

“But I thought the floor was all stone flags, what’s all this rotten wood here?”


“That’s just it – it must have been a door to the cellar or something, hidden under that ancient mat, I never thought to look under it, did you?”

Buffy shook her head

“See…look, there’s a hinge” Spike indicated with the toe of his boot to a very rusty bit of metal.

“And what about Andy, will he be alright?”

“Oh yes, he was fit enough to drive home, I think he just banged his knee a little and got bit of a jolt, he was okay – I made him go home, I told him not to come back until Monday. I’d pay him, it was the least I could do”

“He didn’t need the hospital or a doctor or anything?”

“No, I asked, he said it was embarrassing, falling off his ladder – me and Mick helped him up out of the hole, he was fine”

Buffy bent down and said,

“What’s down there anyway – Geez! Pooh! Stinks” She stood up quickly, holding her hand over her mouth and nose.

“I know! Could be a sewer, could be a cellar with stagnant water, with the odd dead rat or six” Spike said

Buffy grimaced and said,

“Well it needs sorting, pronto – we can’t have that stench, ew!” Just then, the plumber came back downstairs, ending a call on his cell-phone

“Excuse me, I’ve just been onto my brother, he’ll bring an industrial water pump over now, we can pump out the water and see what’s down there”

“Really – great” Spike said with a smile

“We’ll leave it doing the job overnight, makes a bit of noise, but as there’s no-one around to object…”

“That’s brilliant Mick, thanks!” He smiled and nodded and went back upstairs.

“Right then, I’m off back to the children and Giles, any idea what time you’ll be back?”

“Um, shouldn’t be late, I think Mick said something about packing up around two o’clock, hold on, I’ll just go and ask…” Spike went upstairs and Buffy held her nose and took a peek down the hole.

It was pitch black and she couldn’t see anything, deciding to leave it until the smell and the water had gone. Spike came down from his chat with the plumber.

“Yup, he said his brother will be here in the next half an hour. Anyway, if you want to go up and have a quick look, he’s put the toilet and pedestal sink in, and it should take him about an hour to plumb in the bath, then he’ll set up the pump, and finish late lunch. Did Giles drop you up here, did you want to take the car back and come and fetch me later?”

“No, I borrowed his car…oh, hold on…Hi Giles…no, no big really, Andy’s okay, but my kitchen floor isn’t………right now, I’m leaving right now, I’ll see you in ten minutes, okay, bye!” Buffy flipped the phone shut and she ran upstairs and stood in the bathroom doorway to see Mick using a special cutter to slice through some copper piping.

“Its looking good…Spike tells me I can have the bath along that wall?”

“Best place for it!” Mick said with a grin

“Good, well, I’ll leave you to it, see you tomorrow, bye, and um, thanks”
“You’re welcome!”

She went back downstairs and smiled up at Spike

“Don’t work too hard baby, save some energy for me! And don’t get nosying down that stinky hole, wait ‘till all the water’s gone, promise me, m’kay?”

Spike kissed her nose and promised, and Buffy left.

***************


Spike came into the lounge/dining room, threw his car keys onto the breakfast counter and had a good stretch and yawn.

“Hey babe, I heard the car” Buffy came through from the bedroom where she’d been reading.

“Where are Billy and Izzie?”

“Giles has taken them to Crawley Warren, there’s a fête on the village green. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, starving!”

“Well, I’ll fix you something while you go and have a shower, okay – oh, did Mick’s brother come with that pump?”

Spike took his tee shirt off and threw it at the laundry basket.

“Yeah, he’ll be back in the morning at nine to take a look – it’ll shut off automatically when all the water’s pumped out – won’t be long”

Buffy went into the kitchenette part to fix Spike a bowl of chunky soup and some crusty bread.

After he’d eaten, Spike had a snooze in the chair. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep but he’d been reading the paper and sleep just overcame him.

“Mommy, can I wake daddy?”

“Yes, go on, but gently though!”

Izzie went over to the chair and lifted the newspaper half covering her snoozing dad.

“Daddy, look, I’m a bunny rabbit!” Spike opened his eyes and smiled, Izzie had had her face painted.

“So you are! Did you have a good time?” He sat up straight and grinned at his daughter, picking her up and sitting her on his lap.

“Oh yes! And Billy was very clever, he won-ded me a balloon!”

“He won you a balloon did he? Where is it then?”

“Um…it’s in the car – oh look, he’s got it for me, Billy, show daddy my balloon!”

Billy came over carrying the shiny foil, helium filled balloon.

“See daddy, it’s got a pussy cat on it, like Tigger at the cottage!” Spike smiled and nodded

“Yes, and what’s that you’ve got there son?”

“A paint box! There was this huge tub, filled with stuff, it looked like oatmeal, it was dry, anyway it was called a bran tub, and you put your hand in and rummaged around until you touched something, and that’s what you won – I got this!”

“I see. Will you use it?”

“Yes”

“Good lad”


“Were they good?” Buffy asked giving Giles a cup of tea, and a slice of the homemade chocolate cream sponge cake he’d bought at the fête, along with half a dozen fruit scones, a pot of homemade strawberry jam and a carton of clotted cream.

“Oh, thankyou –yes, they were good as gold, and tomorrow I’ve promised to take them into Harrington, there’s a miniature steam-train that goes from Harrington all around the bay to Penny-Drayton and back, then we can go play crazy golf on the beach front”

“Hear that – aren’t you two lucky, I wish I was coming with you - instead I’ll be looking down a stinky big hole!”

Billy’s eyes went big

“Where mommy?”

“In the kitchen at the cottage, the poor electrician fell down it, don’t worry, he’s alright though now, go wash your hands if you want cake, take Izzie”

Billy did as his mother asked and Spike said,

“Listen love, you go with them tomorrow, Mick’s only got to plumb in the shower, he managed to do the bath today, so he’ll only be there a few hours in the morning and I can start sanding down and getting things ready to paint”

Buffy bit her bottom lip

“Are you sure?”

“Course, you go enjoy yourselves”

“Great!”





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