William was on cloud nine. Sure he hadn’t exactly sealed the deal – as in, Buffy hadn’t said she loved him, but she’d said he wasn’t alone.
“You’re quite chipper this morning,” his mum noted with a knowing look as she helped him set the table for breakfast the following morning.
William smiled. “Am I?”
Anne nodded, “Did something happen with Buffy last night, hmmm?”
“Mum, are you diggin’ for gossip?” William mock reprimanded her.
Anne looked at him in mock innocence. “Me?”
“Yeah, you. Don’t think I’m not onto you. You made it quite obvious last night with that hasty departure and with practically dragging Dad out the door.”
Anne chuckled warmly, placing the last few utensils on the table. “I’m sorry, William. I just really like her. She’s a sweet girl. She’s incredibly intelligent and from what I can see, a great mum.”
William beamed, “She really is.”
“And she cares for you a great deal, I can see it.”
“You can?” William asked eagerly, needing reassurance from an outside source, even if his mother was biased.
Anne smiled, “I can.”
“I told her, mum. I told her I loved her.”
“And?”
“She said that while she can’t yet define all her feelings for me, I’m not alone.”
Anne nodded slowly. “It’ll take some time, William. You’ve both been through a lot, not all of which I think was in vain. Much of the strife you’ve been through in regards to Cecily has helped bring you closer I think.” She stood tall and pointed at him. “And now you listen to me, William Giles. You do anything to ruin your chances with that girl and you won’t have Cecily to worry about; you’ll have me. You understand me?”
William smiled, “Yes, mum, I understand. And trust me, if I do anything to ruin my chances with Buffy, you won’t have to worry about taking care of me. I’ll take care of myself.”
“Just keep going as you have, and you’ll be fine. Just no more cheating, William, I mean it. Don’t do that to her and please, don’t do it to your son.”
William shook his head adamantly. “No, mum, I won’t. I can’t. I made a heap of mistakes with Cecily – marrying her just being one of many. I won’t do the same with Buffy. I never loved Cecily the way I love Buffy and I know in my heart I could never hurt her that way. I can’t even conceive of another woman.”
Anne smiled. “Because Buffy is your match. She’s the One.”
“She is, mum, she is.”
“Just remember that. Honesty is the cornerstone of any relationship, William. If you’re not going to be honest with her, if you’re not going to be faithful to her, then you end things. You don’t lead her on. As much as I dislike Cecily, and as much as I believe she abused you in many ways, cheating is not a means to deal with a bad situation. It only makes a bad situation worse.”
William nodded, “I know. I’m learning there are repercussions to my actions. And when I think of, say Buffy cheating on me…” he broke off, shaking his head. “It cuts me like a knife.”
“Remember that feeling.”
William sighed, “And it makes me feel this smidgeon of guilt for Cecily.”
“Sometimes understanding of another’s plight brings sympathy for another. It’s the old adage, my boy. ‘Do unto others as you would like done unto you’.”
“You know what Cecily’s used to be?”
Anne rolled her eyes. “I can just imagine.”
“’Do unto others before they do unto you’.”
Despite herself, Anne burst out laughing. “Oh, dear. That young lady has much to learn. Just make sure you take your lessons, son.”
“I have, mum, I have. There will be no more hurt where Buffy is concerned. Not intentionally anyway. I’m sure I’ll make an arse out of myself at some point where she’s concerned, but never intentionally.”
Anne beamed, “By George, I think he’s got it.”
“So you have an interview? That’s great, Will!” Buffy congratulated William a few days later as they strolled through Boston Common with Brandon.
“Yeah, I just gave in to my dad and let him look at my resume. I wanted to do it on my own, but…”
“Well, there’s no shame in asking for help,” Buffy said wisely.
“I guess not, especially since it helped me get a foot in the door.”
“And it’s as assistant editor for Boston magazine?”
William nodded, “Yes.”
“You must be excited, I mean, it’s closer to what you love.”
“It’s closer to you?” William teased, nudging her with his hip, smiling when Buffy blushed.
“I meant for what you went to school for.”
“I know, luv, I’m teasing you.”
Buffy swallowed hard, “Well, do you feel confident about it?”
“I do, in a way. I’m actually sort of nervous. I mean, I’ve never done anything so hands on. Most of the work I’ve done in marketing had a large level of editing attached to it, but that was mostly done by our own editors. I’d like to think my command of the English language, and my rapt attention to detail will help me in acquiring the position.”
Buffy started to laugh. “I’m not actually interviewing you here, Will, but I think you got the spiel down pat. Just add in how your ‘command’ of the English language and ‘rapt attention to detail’ will vastly enhance their magazine and I think you’re all set.”
“That is the plan,” he looked at her sheepishly, “My dad gave me a few tips. He feels since I’ve been out of the ‘real world’ for so long and in the ‘Adams’ world’ instead, he thinks I need to be kept abreast of how the ‘real world’ functions.”
Buffy giggled. “And how do you feel about that?”
“I find it both frustrating and helpful. I feel like I’m being coddled.”
Buffy shrugged, “They’re parents. And you know, say what you want, but they’ve helped you immensely, William. Your entire attitude has changed. You’re not carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. You haven’t been since they came. You’re not so concerned about being seen out with me as you were before. They seem to have taken some of that stress from you, given you some hope, and I think it’s great.” She nudged him with her elbow and grinned. “I get to see the lighter side of William.”
Stopping, he forced Buffy to stop as well, and she faced him, one hand on Brandon’s stroller.
“You’ve helped too, you know,” he told her.
She waved a hand at him and he caught it, grasping it in his hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. “No, luv, you have. You’ve helped too. You’ve been here for me. You could have walked away at any time, but you haven’t. If anything, you’ve stayed closer by my side. You have no idea what that means to me, Buffy.”
“I care,” she said softly, averting her eyes from his intense gaze.
“I know,” he whispered. “And don’t think I’m not aware how much I don’t deserve it-”
“Let’s not dwell on what’s deserved,” she insisted, starting to turn back to pushing Brandon. She liked it much better when they were discussing him.
“You do,” he countered gently. “You dwell on what you think you deserve.”
“Yeah, well, that’s different,” she said abruptly, taking her hand from his grasp.
“Why?”
“Because it’s me!”
“Buffy?”
William and Buffy’s head snapped to find Riley and Sam pushing Junior in his stroller. Buffy was ever thankful for the distraction and greeted them with an enthusiastic and thankful, “Hi!”
“Hi,” Sam greeted her, her eyes straying to William. “Hi, I’m Sam, you are?” she asked and stuck out her hand.
William took it cordially, “William.”
“He’s Brandon’s father,” Buffy piped up. “A—and my friend.” Oh, she wasn’t sure if “friend” was really how to go about describing William. Perhaps she should have just stopped at “Brandon’s father”.
Looking over at the hurt expression on William’s face, she had a feeling “friend” had definitely not been the way to go.