[Reviews - 189]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 1866 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
Firstly I'd like to thank Mari as always :) She's the bestest beta ever!
Secondly I want to say thank you thank you thank you to everyone who reviewed and read the last chapters. You guys are awesome! I only hope I keep up with your expectations.
And lastly, I should be able to update a lot more frequently now that school's out. So enjoy the next chapter and please review!
Chapter 10 – The Bearer of Bad News



“What on earth is this?” Willow held up an object covered in feathers and held it toward Buffy.

“It’s a tribal mask, for uh… fertility?” Buffy answered after looking at the delivery manifest. She was busy unpacking crates of new display items which had arrived that morning. Willow had happily offered to help her, not having spent a lot of time together with Buffy for a while.

“Oh,” Willow angled the object and squinted but still couldn’t make it out. Shrugging she added it to the African Tribal Collection table. “Have you talked to Xander lately?”

“Uh yeah, a couple of weeks ago, I think,” Buffy replied, prying nails from the lid of the biggest crate. “Why?”

“Did he tell you about the girl he met? Anya?” Willow didn’t sound too impressed.

“Xander met a girl? A real girl?” Buffy was stunned. Xander’s dating history was not the best. First, in high school, he’d had a fling with the resident bad-girl Faith, then with a crazy exchange student. Both had left without a word, and since then Xander hadn’t really shown any real interest in anyone.

“Yeah, she’s weird. Apparently, she went to high school with us, but I don’t remember her. He ran into her at the bar he was working at for like… what, a week,” Willow emptied the packing peanuts into the big bin at the other end of the room.

“Huh. Well, that’s good. Xander deserves a little happy time. Not like he’s the paragon of normal,” Buffy placed the lid of the crate on the floor and reached in to lift out the first of the paintings.

“I suppose. Still, I say she’s odd. I’m sure you’ll meet her eventually,” Willow checked the manifest for the next crate’s contents. “She’s very blunt.”

“Blunt? How do you mean?” Buffy picked the second painting out of the crate and leaned it up against the first.

“I don’t know. Trust me I can’t explain it. You’ll just have to be surprised,” Willow turned toward the door when Steve, the college student who worked weekdays, knocked on the doorframe.

“Buffy? Someone’s here to see you. Says he’s from the bank,” Steve had that typical art student look, appearing to be constantly bored or frustrated by the conformists of the world.

“Okay, thanks, Steve. I’ll be out in a sec,” she looked over at Willow. “I guess I’ll go see what he wants. You okay here for a little while Will?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll just keep, you know, unpacking,” Willow had watched the stricken look come over Buffy’s features at the mention of the bank, and hoped that it wasn’t bad news.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hi, I’m Buffy Summers,” Buffy approached the man standing nervously in front of one of their strangest pieces of art. It was a modern piece, which was supposed to represent dreams, but looked more like a monster ready to strike.

“Yes, hello, I’m Jeremy Barker, your mother’s personal banker,” he extended a hand toward the young woman. Buffy shook it and pointed toward the closet-sized office her mother had kept.

“Why don’t we have a seat in there, unless this is just a quick talk to tell me I inherited mountains of money?” Buffy said with a crooked smile but she couldn’t quite keep the nervous note out of her voice. Her fears mounted as Mr. Barker only shook his head and followed her into the small room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thirty minutes later, a visibly shaken Buffy joined Willow in the back room. She was pale and immediately sank down to the floor, causing Willow to rush to her side.

“Buffy? What’s wrong? It’s bad, isn’t it? I mean a personal visit from a bank guy is never good. Did he yell at you? Hit you?” Willow was rambling, searching Buffy’s face for a clue.

“Why would he hit me Will?” Buffy frowned, the last question pulling her out of her thoughts.

“I don’t know maybe i-it’s like The Sopranos you know, all collectiony violence? Like, if you don’t give me money now I cut off your pinky toe,” Willow worried the hem of her shirt with anxious hands.

“It’s the bank, not the mob,” Buffy couldn’t help a faint smile slipping forward at her friend’s comment. It immediately receded when she continued with a deep sigh, “We’re almost out of money. He came to tell me I need to do something about it.”

“Oh Buffy,” Willow’s eyes filled with sympathy for her best friend. The Powers That Be really seemed out to get her at the moment. She saw the tears start to gather and fall down Buffy’s cheeks. Not knowing what else to do, she pulled her into a hug, and cried with her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The soft knocking on the front door broke through the quiet calm of the Giles’ apartment, where Rupert had been busy studying a copy of Buffy’s gallery manifest for the next month, making careful notes concerning placement and advertising.

“Buffy? What a pleasant surprise to see you during the week,” Giles held the door open to let in the obviously troubled girl. The sisters had started eating Sunday night dinner with Spike and Rupert every week, giving everyone something to look forward to. With the amount of work Buffy had at the moment though, Giles had never expected to see her in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon.

“Hi Giles, I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Buffy allowed her eyes to travel around the apartment, trying to avoid his questioning gaze. After assuring Willow she was fine and finishing up with the delivery, she had made her way over here, hoping that Giles may be able to help. She felt lost.

“Not at all, would you like me to make us some tea?” Giles proceeded toward the kitchen at Buffy’s silent nod. She settled on the sofa, pulling out the files Mr. Barker had given her. If she was going to do this, she’d have to ask right away, or she’d certainly lose her nerve.

“There you are,” Giles said, placing a mug of steaming Earl Grey down in front of Buffy. “Now, as much as I am sure you enjoy spending your afternoons with a former librarian, I have the feeling there are more urgent matters at hand.”

One look into Giles’ compassionate eyes had Buffy struggling to hold back her tears. The battle was short lived, though; tears soon making tracks down Buffy’s flushed cheeks. She brushed at them angrily and reached for the folder on the table.

“We have no money,” Buffy said quietly. Giles felt his heart ache for the young girl who had gone through so much already. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and comfort her, allowing her to rest her burden for a little while, but he had seen her determination and knew he was better off listening to her.

“The man at the bank, Mr. Barker, he’d been handling Mom’s finances, came to see me today. He told me that because we didn’t have any insurance, most of our savings went to pay Mom’s hospital bills. And I really don’t want to sell the gallery. It would be like betraying Mom. She worked so hard to get it going,” Buffy’s tears flowed faster when she thought of her mother’s efforts.

“I understand, Buffy. Pass me those files and I’ll tell you what I think your options are,” Giles settled in with the folder open in one hand and his mug of tea in the other. All Buffy could do now was wait. She leaned back against the couch cushions, brushing her silent tears away and sipping her tea.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Twenty minutes and a handful of ‘um-hmm’s later, Giles placed the file folder down on the coffee table in front of Buffy.

“Have you considered either selling or renting the house?” Giles knew this may be a hard option to consider, but was finding it difficult to see any other solution.

Buffy visibly blanched at the thought, “N-no, you mean we have to sell the house?” She didn’t know how she felt about selling the house; there had been so much loss already.

“You don’t have to, Buffy,” Giles took off his glasses and polished them, “I’m just presenting you with your options. I’m not sure what the bank representative said, but you do not have to sell your house per se, you could rent it out. But I think it is inevitable that you move. It seems to be the only option without affecting the gallery or your education.”

“If I drop out of school, we can stay?” Buffy asked quietly.

“For a while, a few months maybe. But that’s not an option, Buffy. You need an education so that you can get a job. If you rent the house, you could always move back after you finish your studies,” Giles placed an arm around her shoulders when he saw the girl begin to shake. “I know I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through, but it seems to be the best option. Just think about it.”

“We could rent an apartment and rent out the house?” Buffy asked quietly.

“Of course. The rent you pay for an apartment would be significantly lower than what you would take in from renting out such a large house. The mortgage is not far from being paid off. Factor in the earnings from the gallery into that and you should be well off.”

“It would mean moving Dawn, finding a new place to call home, if only for a while.”

“Yes, but would it be so bad to have a fresh start? In a new place?” Giles asked her, Buffy’s head resting against his shoulder.

“Maybe not,” she admitted. “Maybe it’s just what we need.” She glanced up at the man who had quickly filled the shoes her father had never really felt comfortable in. She took in the quiet comfort of the moment, feeling some of her heavy burden leave her shoulders. A new life, one without the constant memory of what her mother left too early, maybe that is just what they needed.





You must login (register) to review.