Chapter 47
“Hello, mom?”
“Oh hey honey…how are things?” Joyce sat up in bed
“Oh you couldn’t imagine! Did you get those photos I downloaded to you?”
“Photos – um…not yet honey….when did you send them – Oh excuse me!” Joyce yawned
“This morning…did you have a hard day at the gallery?”
“Um hard day, it hasn’t started yet, it’s only just 6am!”
“WHAT - Oh stupid me – I was thinking it was 9pm with you, you know what I’ve done, don’t you? – Only gone and counted eight hours forward, not back, I’m sorry mom, Will and I just had a late lunch, it’s 2pm here!”
“It’s okay, so the cottage is nice then?”
“Oh mom, it’s SO beyond nice, it’s like, well, I sent you an email so you can see for yourself – and Professor Lindsay, that’s Will’s sort of boss, says we can have the keys when we like – so we’re going to get them this afternoon!”
“That’s great honey…your dad phoned, wanting to know how you are – I told him you were in England, he thought it was for a competition”
“Honestly…doesn’t he EVER listen to what I tell him? – Anyway, more good news, I got an interview – with the BBC! Imagine that – the most famous TV company in the world!”
Joyce laughed; it was so good to hear her daughter happy again.
“And what’s it for?”
“Presenting, a sports show, it’ll be SO good if I get it, I can commute into London, it’ll take me about an hour – they’ll even send a car for me!”
“That’s great baby – I’m so pleased for you!”
“Well mom, gotta go, I’ll phone you later on in the week”
****************************
Buffy heard,
“Three, two, one – and that’s a wrap” in her earpiece, the programme’s signature tune died away and her smile turned into a full grin. She gathered her papers together and logged off on her laptop and turned to her co-presenter, who said to her,
“That went like clockwork – you were terrific!”
“Thanks – you made it SO easy for me – it just felt all…well natural, as though I’ve been doing it for years!”
“So, what do we do now?”
“Well, we have a quick debriefing with the producer and the director, just in case things haven’t run smoothly, and then that’s it!”
Her co-presenter, ex long-distance runner Colin Pittaway held the door open for her as they went to the operations room.
As son as Buffy pushed open the door, she heard the sound of a champagne cork popping and saw everybody grinning at her, including William
She got congratulations and pats on the back, and a glassful of bubbly!
“Well Buffy, that went like a dream – and the switchboard has been jammed – mostly congratulations, and a couple of ‘how are you after the crash’ questions, so we thought that before we start the main programme tomorrow, you could say a few words, something like, ‘thankyou to all you kind people who have rang and asked about my injuries after the plane crash I was in, I’m fine now, thankyou – or words to that effect, something that will take no more than about 30-40 seconds, because the viewing public DO like to see and hear you banter when the show finishes, we have to leave time for that!”
Buffy smiled and nodded
“So, is there anything I gotta know now?”
“Just do the same tomorrow, and we’ll be grand!”
***************************
Buffy and Spike left the studios and Spike eased the car into the thick evening London traffic
“Hungry princess?”
“Hmm, actually, I’m starving!”
“Good…I thought dinner at the Savoy hotel, then, if you’re not too tired, a show”
Buffy squealed with delight
“Oh wow!”
“Course, we can’t do this every night, there are some nights I’ll have to work late”
“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to do it every night, it would get boring – but now and again – I just love it!”
****************************
Six months flew by, and the show Buffy co-presented was taking a 6 week break, she had one or two projects to do, she was to appear on a panel game and also to give instruction to some budding young skaters for a show called ‘Masterclass’, but apart from that, she was going to rest.
The same couldn’t be said for William, he was working all the hour’s god sent, and coming home tired and just falling asleep.
The second morning of her holiday break just after William had left for work, Buffy got up and putting on an old tracksuit, she started to clean the cottage. Going over to the little niche where they kept the computer, she saw a white envelope on the desk, it wasn’t addressed to anybody, and it wasn’t sealed – her curiosity got the better of her and she carefully took out the sheet of folded notepaper………
‘Dear Sir Clive, It is with regret I have to inform you that I wish to tender a month’s notice, that I shall leave the job as Chief House Surgeon……… I’ve had offers of work in Japan and Australia………
Buffy couldn’t read anymore, her eyes flooded with tears, and she had to be careful that they didn’t fall on the paper. She carefully folded the sheet and put it back in the envelope and placed it where she found it. She knew William wasn’t happy, but he hadn’t even discussed leaving the job………and what about their lovely little cottage – or her job, a job she absolutely loved?
She knew she couldn’t openly confront William with what she knew as she’d found out by snooping, but she thought she could try and carefully broach the subject over dinner………
Later, that evening, after William had phoned to say he was going to be late………
“Sorry darling, I hope I didn’t ruin dinner?”
Buffy looked up from he magazine and gave him a rueful smile
Cold cuts and salad – it can’t dry to a frazzle – glass of wine?”
William had taken off his tie, slipped off his shoes and then he felt Buffy’s arms go round him
“Baby…we’ve got to talk”
William looked at her, and just nodded
After dinner, they both went and sat on the sofa, William turned so he had his head in her lap. Buffy idly stroked her fingers through his silky soft hair.
“If you keep on doing that kitten, you’ll have me asleep!”
“And that wouldn’t really be a bad thing, would it – I mean you come home late practically every night, exhausted………”
“I know pet, and I’m sorry…hopefully it will get better”
Buffy thought carefully and said
“But are you enjoying it?”
William looked up at her and turned slightly
“Enjoying?………He took a few sips of wine and thought about it.
“What makes you say that?”
Buffy too had thought this out carefully and she said,
“When you first took the job, you used to come home, tell me about your day, the people you’d operated on and helped…and now all I hear from you is, ‘sorry love I’m going to be late, Sir Clive this and Sir Clive that and Sir Clive the other – I thought that he was retired and handed over the ropes to you, he’s not even supposed to BE at the clinic anymore”
“Yeah…that was the general idea…I’m sorry love, I’ve been neglecting you, and-“
“No – please baby, this isn’t about me, well not directly, you’re not happy I know, and if you’re not happy, then I’M not happy”
William sat up and drained his wine glass.
“I actually typed out my resignation last week”
“Did you?” Buffy said re-filling his glass with the cold Soave
“Didn’t send it though, well obviously not, we hadn’t discussed it and well, it was a kind of therapy in itself, knowing I COULD do it…just seeing the type-written words, ‘I’m resigning my post’
“Is that what you want to do – resign?”
William looked at her – he really so desperately wanted to say yes, he was heartily sick of the clinic, instead of ‘handing over the ropes’ as promised, Sir Clive was at the clinic everyday, making William feel like a naughty schoolboy in the headmasters office………
“But what about this place, the cottage it goes with the job – I thought you loved it here”
“I DO, but not at the expense of your sanity! Oh Will, we could find somewhere else easily! – Come here you big silly!”
Buffy pulled him towards her and kissed him – it had been nearly a fortnight since they’d been intimate and they both felt a frisson of anticipation.
“I’ll go run us a bath and light some candles, you bring in the wine, ‘kay?” Buffy went and did as she said.
Later, in bed lying in each others arms…
“It’s nearly two am, shouldn’t you be thinking of getting to sleep?” Buffy asked sleepily
“I’m not going in until nearly lunchtime………Sir Clive can cope – he always takes over the daily rounds anyway!”
Buffy gave a sleepy little giggle, and William moved his head to look up at her, his mouth tantalizingly close to her nipple, he reached and kissed it, it hardened immediately and he did it again, adding a gentle suck too. Buffy mewled and William leaned up grinning and said,
“Nothing for a fortnight, then THREE times in one night eh?”
“Three, but we’ve only done it twi – oh….OOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”
*****************************
The following lunchtime at the clinic
“…And as we couldn’t contact you, well he just went ahead and booked him in for surgery, I told him what you’d said, but he said as you weren’t here, he’d-“
“Thankyou Dr Gough, I’ll handle it, don’t worry, I’ll sort it, who are the theatre managers today?”
“Sister McKenzie and Sister Duffy”
William pulled a face at the last name; Sister Duffy was a nun, also a nurse of the ‘old school’ and hung on every word Sir Clive said………
William sat at his desk and phoned operating theatre manager’s number
“Sister Mac’s office”
“Hi Sadie, it’s me – do me a favour?”
“Cancel the surgery booked for Ryan Stubbs?”
“Clever girl!”
“Well I heard what you said yesterday and I agree with you, why give the young guy at the beginning of his footballing career scar tissue when traction will work just as well, take a bit longer, but…you DO realise Sir Clive won’t like it, don’t you?”
“I do, and do you realise that the old fart shouldn’t be here in the clinic at all, he’s retired?” the nurse giggled and said goodbye and William put the phone down.
****************************************
Hardly able to keep the grin off her face, Buffy took the post off the postman
“Morning, lovely day!”
She almost skipped inside and sorted it out on the table, one from Willow, six, no seven for William, a bill, two circulars and one from the BBC………
“………For financial purposes we are moving ‘Evening Sports Round-up’ to our Nottingham studios, we do realise that you still have six months contract left to serve with us, and if you’d please telephone Cath Butcher on Ex 364, we can discuss this’ Buffy’s smile left her face. So that was it then, she’d lost her job. She had no idea how far Nottingham was, but she guessed it would be too far to commute.
***********************************
“………Look Sir Clive-“
“………Pretty poor show, not turning up until lunch time, things need to keep ticking like clockwork, they won’t run themselves you know, I thought I made this quite clear when I gave you the job”
“Look, Sir Clive, I’ve already told -………”
“And I think that that young Ryan Grudge will be better with surgery, how DARE YOU cancel when-“
“SIR CLIVE – IF I could get a word in edge wise, you can’t get the bloke’s name right, it’s Stubbs, Ryan Stubbs, who at just eighteen has an injury to his Achilles tendon, he’ll more than likely have problems with it throughout his career, so it’s best if he doesn’t pick up scar tissue at such an early age, traction will do fine.”
Sir Clive went to open his mouth, but William stood and said
”And I felt entitled to come in late today, do you realise I put in a one hundred and seven hour week last week, and I knew you’d be here anyway”
“You can’t know that for definite!”
“But Sir Clive I DO know that, since you gave me the job, you have been here EVERYDAY except one and that’s when you went and played golf, but you were still in the next day, earlier than me – I thought you’d retired, given up, passed the ropes to me, but sadly this isn’t the truth, and quite frankly I feel undermined, undervalued and not trusted”
Sir Clive was beet red and he blustered
“Well that’s ridiculous!”
“It isn’t – this is why I feel compelled to do this – I’m sorry, but I’ve discussed it with my partner and my mind is made up, I’m gone at the end of next month” he handed Sir Clive the letter he’d typed and left the office.
***************************
“Oh baby, I’m sorry – I know you loved that job too!”
“Never mind…so we’re BOTH out of work now!”
“Don’t worry – go get your hair done and your glad-rags on, we’re going out to celebrate!” William said
“Okay then, I’ll be ready for seven thirty, don’t you be late!”
“Er, don’t you use all the hot water, I’ll be home at five for a bath!”
“Really – okay then!”
They didn’t get to go out, Buffy went into the bathroom to ‘wash his back’….but it isn’t how it quite worked out………later, over a Chinese take-away, William said,
“So kitten, how do you fancy Japan, huh?”
“Japan – OH MY GOD! I’ve ALWAYS wanted to go to Japan!”
“Good, I’ve got a great friend of mine out there, a Dr Sakura – the hospital he works in, it’s like a NASA space lab, it’s awesome, he’s ALWAYS asking me to go work with him – I thought we could kill two birds with one stone, I take you out there to show you – we could make it our honeymoon if you like………
Buffy…will you marry me?” William was suddenly on his knees, holding out a beautiful diamond solitaire.
Shocked, Buffy looked at the beautiful ring, then at William’s hopeful face – she flung her arms around his neck and said
“Oh yes – yes YES PLEASE I WILL!!”
Joyce screamed with delight when she heard the news when Buffy phoned her later, Willow too was overjoyed for her friend.
[Reviews - 219]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 2498 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to all that stuck with us on this one