Chapter 8
2 Months Later
Buffy walked off the UCLA campus relieved. She had passed all of her
midterms, and now she was going home to see her mom for fall break. She
hadn’t seen her since the week before the semester started when she had
decided she needed a trip home to help her heal after the Spike fiasco.
Her mother had listened sympathetically to the edited version of the
story, making Buffy hot chocolate and smoothing her hair like she used to do
when Buffy was a little girl. Buffy had already bought the bus ticket home
and was now heading back to her apartment to pack. As she neared her
building, Buffy was shocked to see a familiar face waiting outside.
“Giles?”
“Buffy,” the older man said softly as he stood up. Buffy and her
mother had been friends with Giles since they moved to Sunnydale.
“What’re you doing here? I thought this was a busy time of year at the
Magic Box.”
“Buffy, I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
”What’s wrong? Is everything okay? Is mom alright?”
“Maybe we should go inside.”
“No, Giles, tell me what’s wrong.”
Giles took a deep breath. “Buffy…your mother passed away yesterday.”
Buffy stood frozen in place.
“No,” she whispered. “No, y-you’ve got it wrong. Mom…mom is fine.
I-I talked to her the other day, and she was f-fine.”
“I’m so sorry, Buffy,” Giles said tearfully.
“Mommy,” Buffy whispered, sounding like a lost little girl.
“Let’s go inside.”
Buffy nodded and let herself be led to her apartment.
“What happened?” she asked once they were inside.
“We hadn’t seen each other for a while, and we were to meet for dinner.
When she didn’t show up at the restaurant, I went to the house and found her
on the couch. The doctors…they said there was nothing anybody could have
done.”
“How…what was wrong?” Buffy asked, almost feeling as if shock was
setting in.
Giles took off his glasses and wiped them clean before continuing,
“Buffy…she’s been fighting a brain tumor since the first of the year.”
“What? But she never…she never told me anything.”
“She didn’t want to worry you. She’d been in remission for the past
few months, and she wanted you to focus on school.”
Buffy felt fresh tears stream down her cheeks as Giles wrapped her in a
comforting hug.
“I need to get home, Giles. I-I should be there.”
“I’ll drive you. I made all of the funeral arrangements. I didn’t
think you should be burdened with it at this time.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, walking away to go pack her things.
* * * * *
The next few days were a blur for Buffy. The constant ache that she felt
never left her- she didn’t feel whole. Both Buffy and Giles had tried
numerous times to locate Hank Summers to no avail, leaving Buffy to feel more
like an orphan. She had no family left. Her friend Willow Rosenburg had
flown in for the funeral but had to leave and get back to school at Stanford.
Xander Harris, who went to UCLA with Buffy, was there with her through
half of the break, but he had to get back to Los Angeles so he wouldn’t
lose his job.
Giles had been there for Buffy through the entire ordeal. Now as she
sat in the office of her mother’s lawyer Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, she suddenly
wished she had taken Giles up on his offer to be present.
“Miss Summers, I was so sorry to hear about your mother. She was a
lovely woman.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. “But please, call me Buffy.”
“Alright, well, I’m afraid I have some distressing news. Your mother’s
insurance policy was a very good one, but I’m afraid it doesn’t help us
at this time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Buffy, your mother didn’t plan on all of the medical bills, and by the
time she realized her monetary problems, no other insurance company would
give her an extra policy. She was paying off what she could, but as it
was, there’s not even enough money left to pay off the funeral home for the
burial and other necessities.”
Buffy sat contemplating what he had just told her. “So…you’re telling
me that my mom was broke…and now I have to pay off the bills?”
“Precisely.”
“How much?”
“We can get into the figures later-“
“How much?” she repeated, cutting him off.
“One hundred thousand and change.”
Buffy felt as though she was going to pass out.
“How is that possible?” she asked, trying to catch her breath.
“Your mother had to have numerous surgeries, check-ups, medication,
x-rays, and she was also in the hospital for many overnight stays. She was
arranging to pay off the debt a little at a time, but now that she’s
passed…” Wesley trailed off, letting Buffy draw her own conclusions.
“This can’t be happening,” Buffy said in disbelief.
“For what it’s worth, I am sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, and
I would like you to know I’m waving my fee.”
Buffy smiled gratefully at the older man. “Thank you.” Taking a few
deep breaths, she asked, “So what now?”
“Well, there are two options that are more appealing than the rest.
The first is you continue to do what your mother was doing. Pay off the
debt in small increments and-“
“And be in debt for the rest of my life,” Buffy supplied for him.
“As unappealing as that sounds, it is the choice most people would
make.”
“What’s the second?”
“Sell your possessions. Your mother’s partner at the art gallery has
already offered to buy out her percentage of the business.”
Buffy nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. I wouldn’t have any idea
what to do with it.”
“That will pay for the funeral costs and a few of the smaller hospital
bills. Another option is to sell your house.”
“My home?”
“Yes. As painful as that may sound, your mother refused to take out a
mortgage on it. She said that she had bought it and would not pay off
her medical bills only to be in debt with the bank.”
“If I sell it…would that pay it all off?”
“If the house goes for its appraisal value, there would only be a few
thousand dollars left on the bill.”
Buffy nodded in understanding as she stared down at the floor. “Which
means I’d have to sell the car, too.”
“You don’t have to sell anything, Buffy. It is entirely your decision.”
“It’s just as well,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t drive that much
anyway. What about school?”
“This semester is paid for, but after that…well, that’s up to you.
What about scholarships?”
“No,” Buffy said, shaking her head.
“Student loans?”
“That may be my only option.”
“Take a few days and think it over.”
“I don’t need a few days. I’ll do it.”
“Buffy, this is your home we’re talking about.”
“No…I don’t have a home anymore. Being there is too hard, now that
she’s…I have what’s important. I have memories and pictures and things that
were special to her. Sell the house, Wesley."
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