Chapter 4
The following week, Buffy and Tara were rehanging some of the paintings in The Gallery. Buffy was standing on the top rung of a ladder, trying to readjust a painting, when the door chimed as someone walked into the store. As she turned to see who it was, she lost her balance on the ladder and felt herself fall… right into the arms of Will.
He grasped Buffy by the waist and carefully let her down. “I guess that was good timin’ on my part. You could have broken something if I didn’t catch you, Buffy.”
Tara, seeing Buffy falling, rushed over. “Buffy, are you all right?”
Buffy was a bit flustered with the combination of losing her balance and then sliding down Will’s lean body. “ Ah yeah, I’m fine. Let me introduce you two. Tara MacClay, good friend and loyal employee, meet Professor William Atherton. Will is Dawn’s boyfriend.”
“Booyyfriend? This is Dawn’s boyfriend?” Tara said with skepticism.
“Yes, this is Will, who has impeccable timing, by the way. Thanks so much for catching me. And what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be teaching a class or something?” Buffy rambled, trying to hide her uncomfortableness at liking the feel of being in Will’s arms.
“Well, I wanted to see your shop. I was in town, so I thought I’d wander in and have a look-see. Didn’t plan on catching a fallin’ damsel, though.”
“Oh, well let me show you around,” Buffy said sheepishly.
Tara, sensing she was in the way, said, “I will be in back, filling out that mail order, if you need me.” Tara had always had a kind of sense of how people were feeling. She could sense their emotions from looking at them. Buffy normally emitted a calm pinkish glow about her, but when she was in Will’s arms, the glow around her was all red and firey. This was something she would need to talk to Willow about tonight because if her feelings were right, there was some kind of connection between Will and Buffy, and that might mean trouble for Dawn.
Buffy walked Will around the shop, stopping to talk about particular pieces that she liked or that he had questions on. When they were done with the tour, Will turned to face Buffy with a questioning look.
“Would you be interested in looking at some of my paintings, Buffy? I know you have an eye for art, and I would like to get your unbiased opinion of my work.”
“Will, Dawn never told me you paint. Where do you paint? At school or your home? I’d love to see your work,” Buffy said excitedly.
“Well, Dawn doesn’t know about my paintings. I paint in my garage, and I’ve never let her in there. She thinks it is full of junk from my move. I just felt that she wouldn’t be interested in it, and after you saying she didn’t care about artwork last week, I was glad I never showed her. I don’t want her saying she likes it when she is just doing that to make me happy.”
“Oh. Well, I’d be happy to give you an objective opinion if you want one. You let me know when you want me to look at them and I will be there.”
“I have some free time now and I only live about fifteen minutes away, so if you are free, we can go to my place now, unless you are busy here at The Gallery,” Will said with trepidation.
“No, Tara can handle anything that comes in. Tara, I’m going with Will to see some of his paintings. I should be back soon, and I have my cell if you need to ask me anything.”
Tara yelled from the backroom, “No problem, Buffy. Take your time.”
‘The more time you take the more chance I can get Willow on the phone and tell her about what I sensed.’ She quickly pulled out her cell and dialed Willow’s number.
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Will drove Buffy to his house on the other side of town. He pulled into the driveway and they both got out of the car. It was a small one-story cottage with a detached garage. Will said, “Follow me to the garage. The door’s at the other end.”
Buffy followed Will to the small door and went inside when he opened it for her. As she stepped in, her eyes were assaulted by the colors in the room. On each wall were several paintings in a theme. One wall was abstract art with bright colors, one wall was filled with scenes of fields and farms, and the last wall was of beaches and sunsets. Buffy could tell right away that the beach wall was all California while the field wall seemed to indicate England. She was totally confused about the abstract wall, though she thought the work was excellent.
“Will, I can’t believe how great these all are. That is my professional opinion. On a personal level, I would have to say the same. The fields remind me of England, though I have never been there, and the beaches suggest California. You have to describe them to me.”
Will proceeded to describe each painting and what he was feeling when he painted it.
Buffy followed him around listening attentively to him. When he was finished, she said, “Have you ever thought of doing a showing? I would love to show them at The Gallery.” Maybe this would be the new artist that The Gallery needed.
“Ah no, I never thought of a showing. I mostly paint for my enjoyment. Do you think anyone would be interested in buying them? It’s been more a hobby than a job,” Will said with a bit of hesitation.
“Oh, I can think of some buyers right off the top of my head.” She moved closer to one of the paintings and squinted at the signature. “What does this say - ‘Spike’?”
“Yes, Spike is my nom de plum. It is an old nickname from my college days. Dawn doesn’t even know about it since I only use it in my paintings.”
“Well, that is perfect. I think ‘Spike’ should have a showing at my gallery. It’s up to you if or when you tell Dawn. If you decide not to, then Spike can remain anonymous. What do you think?”
“I think that’s a plan. What do I need to do?” asked Will excitedly.
“We will need maybe two or three more paintings, and then I think Spike can have a showing.”
“I will work on it and let you know when I am done. Now I’ll drive you back to the gallery, and we can discuss things on the way there.”
“Great. I have some ideas of what I want to do,” Buffy said as she walked towards the car.
A/N: Thanks again to my beta, Allison.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to those that have commented. I was away from a computer yesterday and couldn't update. Sorry.