Chapter 18:
She was ill prepared for the invitation. Her energy to fight her husband was not desperate enough. Before she could think up a well defined excuse for not attending, Angel was already inside his BMW and making early morning calls to his clients on his cell phone.
After he was gone, Buffy was left alone in her quiet house with the not-so-incident invitation on her kitchen counter. She felt like Angel left a mess for her to clean up when she glanced at the pink and white index card.
‘You are cordially invited…’
“ ’Cordially?’ ” Buffy muttered aloud in distaste.
‘This isn’t a wedding you stupid whore!’ Buffy screamed inside her head. ‘I used that word on my invitations for my wedding!’
“I hate her…” Buffy growled and shook her head, “I hate her!”
‘I can never use that word again …’ Buffy mournfully decided as she collapsed into one of the chairs at the kitchen table.
Her hair was now more tangled than when she first got up that morning. She felt ill when she realized that this invitation wouldn’t be the last…that they would keep coming as long as she stayed an O’Connor. Instead of magazines and bills every other day in her mailbox, it would be these little index cards from Darla or Harmony. Buffy realized now that she was in a cycle…an endless cycle that William had become accustom to so long ago. It scared her more than ever.
*****
Even though William wasn’t ready to see Buffy yet, he didn’t turn her away or hide when she walked into the library to see him. Before she even spoke he could see the distress on her face, and because of that he too felt uneasy.
“Buffy…” he whispered in his librarian voice that he had been using all day.
“Are you going to Darla’s party?” Buffy didn’t waste any time beating around the bush, she got down to business.
“Darla’s having a party?” William looked confused as he glanced down at the invitation that Buffy sat down in front of him.
“I take that as a no then.” Buffy cringed and shifted uncomfortably in her high heels. She had just come straight from Wolfram and Hart and didn’t bother chancing out of her work attire.
“The party is this Friday.”
“I know!! Thanks for the short notice bitch!” Buffy couldn’t get over the fact that this was happening again. She hadn’t had the time to take her ugly dress from the previous party to the cleaners and here she finds out that she had another shindig to go to?!
“I can’t go.”
Buffy stopped ranting inside her mind and actually heard his soft response.
“Can’t…as in…can’t?”
“Drusilla’s father is coming into town…Dru told Darla…that must be why she didn’t send out the invite.” William guessed.
“You can’t come?” she mumbled again.
William shook his head as he held her stare.
“You have to come.” Buffy blurted out.
“I can’t love…I…I can’t.” William didn’t know how he managed to get out those words. He didn’t know he had the will to deny her of anything.
“But…but you have to. You…you said before that you wouldn’t let me do this alone—that we’re in this together.”
“We’re still in this together…just…just not that night…” He was breaking his promise gently but yet painfully.
“What am I suppose to do?”
“Do what I do…pay them…pay whoever it is off.”
“I don’t want to go without you.” Buffy whispered. “Please come…please.”
William swallowed the lump in his throat; she was desperate and practically begging for his companionship. He was seconds to giving in…but then he thought of Drusilla and Mr. Laurence.
“I can’t…”
TBC….