Christmas in the New World

"Here, wear this."

"No."

"It's required. I studied the ads for the successful retail stores. Many feature a man wearing the red costume. We'll start with the hat and if it improves business, we'll get you one of the red suits." Anya looked critically at Giles. "You're too skinny."

"I'm not wearing the hat and I'm certainly not wearing a Santa Claus suit. You might put the hat on; you'd probably look quite fetching in it."

Anya twirled the fuzzy stocking cap by its white tassel as she stared at the banner Giles had hung on the wall. It enjoined everyone to remember that the holidays were coming--Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice and Gurnenthar's Ascendance. Its implication was: Presents would be expected. She said "That makes good business sense. Humans are very touchy about their religion, especially Gurnentharians. It would be better not to cut into our customer base. And then, if I wore it, it would give me 'hat hair' like Willow used to have."

Giles just nodded and muttered wise decision as he went about getting the Magic Box ready for what he hoped would be the holiday rush of customers.

And in fact, that day's business and that of the following two weeks was gratifying. They sold a lots of jewelry, herbs that could have been more cheaply bought in the local grocery, spell books, deluxe tarot packs, and many, many glass globes filled with silver snow falling on a white clad angel.

Christmas Eve came and Giles was in early to tidy up and put some special prices on slow moving items in hopes that desperate last-minute gift givers would snatch them up. When Anya arrived a few minutes after Giles she had Xander with her.

"Oh, good, an extra pair of hands is always welcome," Giles said, seeing him.

Anya said, "He doesn't have to work today. He wanted to sit at home and watch cartoons and eat cereal all day. But I keep reading the holidays are all about being together, so I made him come."

Xander came up behind Anya and put his arms around her. "Glad to help. You see, Giles, the construction business gives its workers off for holidays. Retail is all Scrooge McDuck and my honey is Bob Cratchit, working her fingers to the bone."

"I'd counter that argument, such as it is, except that I'm somewhat bewildered to be a purveyor of trinkets to aid in the commercialization of heartfelt sentiment myself. Life takes some unexpected twists. In the meanwhile, there's coffee and cakes in the back. When customers arrive, perhaps you can make yourself useful. Fetching and wrapping and so forth."

"Coffee and cake, breakfast of champions!" Xander said and headed for the back room.

As soon as the front door was unlocked the three of them had an extremely busy day. It wasn't until late afternoon when the bell over the door stopped an almost constant briiinng as the door opened and closed. Giles announced to the few indecisive shoppers left that closing would be in 15 minutes and herded them out as soon as he could. "At long last," he said, sitting down decidedly at the study table. "Anya, if you wouldn't mind doing the tallying up. I'll sit here, perhaps until the New Year."

Anya had already opened the cash register till and had hands filled with bills, and receipts piled up on the counter. "My favorite part, Giles. I only wish it didn't require work beforehand. We shouldn't have to sell things to people; they should just give us money."

Xander took a seat at Giles' table and said, "Well, if anyone can come a way to do that, I'm sure it'll be you, honey." And to Giles he said, "And I'll try to stop the plan before the long arm of the law gets involved. So, Giles, you up to coming by the apartment tomorrow for Christmas dinner?"

"That's very kind but I'm rather looking forward to spending a very quiet day after this retail madness. You can, however, do me a favor and drive me home and allow me to offer you a drink to toast the holiday."

"Sure, no problem for the ride, but where's your car?"

Giles sighed and said, "In the repair shop having something done to its workings. Again."

"Geez, Giles, you never had this trouble with the Citroen. She was always there for you."

Anya interjected, "That red machine is Giles' trophy wife."

Giles glared at her but she missed it, absorbed as she was in stacking her cash. "No doubt losing the reliable Citroen was my fault for engaging a vampire chauffeur. And now I'm reduced to caging rides from others."

Xander laughed and repeated, "No problem, Giles." He got up and went behind the counter. "Almost ready, babe? Giles' promised us a drink and I'm exhausted."

Anya nodded and Xander began to wander around. Something on a lower shelf caught his eye. He snatched up the Santa hat, put it on and leered at his girlfriend, saying. "So, have you been a i very /i good girl this year?"

Anya looked up and said seriously, "Yes, I have and I expect a lot of presents."

"Well, you'll have to sit on Santa's lap and tell him all the things..."

"Yes, yes," Giles interrupted as he stood up. "I'll open the safe and we'll put the money away and then be on our way."

They left the store soon afterward, Xander still wearing the hat.

When they got to Giles' apartment he began bustling about, assuming the host role. He lit a match to the artificial log in the fireplace, switched on the lights on his Christmas tree, then went into the kitchen and began opening and closing cabinets and the refrigerator.

Xander and Anya went over to inspect the tree that was on a table in front of the window. "Hey, Giles, you go out and cut this down yourself?" Xander gestured toward the two-foot fir.

"No, I purchased it at the local supermarket. I wanted to have some of the neighbors in for a drink and it seemed right to—I imagine the word is—spruce the place up a bit. I made some punch for them, too. Though in this climate, it seems a bit silly to have a heated drink, still, it's more traditional."

Anya was inspecting the small pile of packages wrapped in muted color paper under the tree. "Oh, look, Xander! There's a present for me. And you, too."

"It's nothing much," said Giles from the kitchen.

"Oh, crap, Giles, I forgot to bring yours!" said Xander.

"It's under our tree, which is quite large and all the presents have shiny paper on them," said Anya. She picked up the gift with her name on it. "It's too big to be jewelry. Can I open it now?"

"Honey, we were going to wait until tomorrow morning, 'member?" He raised his voice slightly to include Giles, "Now that I have my own place, I thought I'd like the Christmas I always wanted. I sleep indoors on Christmas Eve and I have something to look forward to the next day."

"Indeed," said Giles, as he came out of the kitchen with a tray with drinks and several bowls of nibbley-type food on it.

Xander caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror over the fireplace and realized he was still wearing the Santa hat. He snatched it off and laid it on a nearby table.

The room had filled with a spicy apple smell. The cups Giles offered his guests had apple slices and cinnamon sticks in them. Xander looked dubiously at the warm liquid, "Thanks, Giles, do you mind if I ask what it is?"

"Is it mead?" Anya peered into her cup. "Oh, no, it's a pretty red. Isn't it funny that humans always need alcohol to be together in social gatherings." There was a pause and then she said, "I mean, we humans."

"It's a punch with Calvados, apple brandy and cranberry juice. It may be more suitable to a cold, rainy UK than Southern California, but it's a gesture to the season."

"You mean, this is something you made all the time back home?" Xander asked.

"It's very tasty," Anya had taken a large swallow of the drink.

Giles hesitated, "Well, no. I've made punch before but not this one. Usually with whiskey, but I thought cranberries being so American..."

Xander interrupted, "Rambling, Giles. Something you're hiding?"

"If you must know, I saw Martha Stewart make it on television when Spike was incarcerated in my apartment and putting the set on was the only way to keep him quiet. The punch looked...interesting. I thought I'd try it."

"Martha Stewart is a witch," said Anya.

Xander patted her shoulder. "My girlfriend has opinions about Martha."

"I wonder how many minions she has? You always see her pictured with dogs. Dogs aren't usually "familiars"; she must be very powerful." Anya stared down into her empty cup and then held it out to Giles to be refilled.

He took it, drained his own and took them to the kitchen to refill. When he came back, he noticed Xander had put his scarcely touched drink on the coffee table. Giles raised an eyebrow at him. Xander said, "Sorry, it's great and all, but I don't suppose you have a beer?"

"Of course, I quite understand," said Giles, taking the glass from him and heading back into the kitchen.

"I like the little cheesy things, though," Xander said, grabbing a fistful from the bowl, "Martha?"

"Supermarket," Giles replied. He came back with the beer and they sat down and started chatting about the store and demons and their relief that Buffy's mother was recovering.

After a while Giles went again into the kitchen and this time returned with a ceramic pitcher filled with the punch. He refilled his glass, topped off Anya's and then put the container down on the hearth so the fire would keep it warm. And before he sat down again, he removed his coat and loosened his tie. Xander said, "Okay, Giles gets into party mode!"

Giles ignored the comment and said, "I'm thinking of going over to see Buffy and the family on Boxing Day. She said they wanted a quiet Christmas because of Joyce's recovering, but they'd probably welcome some distraction by then."

"Boxing Day?" Anya asked.

"The day after Christmas. It's what the English call the 26th, it all comes from…"

Xander interrupted, "I remember you mentioning that when we were in high school; I thought it had something to do with Mohammad Ali. The sport of kings."

Giles looked confused for a moment. "That's horseracing. The sport of kings."

"Whatever."

Giles drained his glass and filled it again. Then he said, "Wait, we should have music."

Anya looked dubious. "It's not chants, is it? They're very gloomy. Not holiday-y at all."

Xander said, "Well, knowing Giles, it probably i will /i be something in Latin. Nothing about good St. Nick."

Giles had gone over to his rack of record albums and going through them one by one, discarding the unwanted ones on the floor. "There!" he said finally. He was on his knees and he held the album out at arm's length. It wavered a little unsteadily. He grabbed hold of a nearby chair arm to help him stand up again. "You are, of course, wrong about the music. This is not in Latin nor is there chanting. Just some appropriate songs from back when music was music and not candy floss." He removed the black disc from its cardboard sleeve and held it by its edge as switched on the turntable. He had momentary trouble locating the spindle as he tried to slip the record on it. And again as he lifted the needle arm. At the first try, he missed the revolving disc, but after another attempt or two, he placed the needle arm on the edge of the record and the music began. "It's a compilation of Christmas songs done in a rhythm and blues style. Someone a long time ago gave it to me as a present." He went back to where he left his drink and took a big swig. He said in a mutter, "I used to get presents like that; now I get sweaters."

Xander and Anya exchanged a long look and Anya shrugged her shoulders.

"It's cool, Giles. The music. The kind of thing you used to play when you were a 'Rock God'?"

"I wish that were true." Giles looked intently at Xander. "Would you like another beer? I feel that I'm failing…" Giles' attention was caught by a spot on his tie and he seemed to lose his train of thought. He grabbed the tie by its knot and pulled it up over his head. He stood looking at it in his hand in a very concentrated way before letting it slip to the floor. He took a handful of nuts from the snack bowl, flipped one in the air and missed catching it. "I don't think I ate lunch. A mistake, no doubt." He sat down.

"No more beer for me, thanks," said Xander. Anya had put her hand on his arm and he looked over at her. She was moving in time to the music.

"This music is quite infectious. Let's dance." She caught at Xander's hand and they began to move around in the open space on the apartment floor.

"Rock and roll forever, huh, Giles!" Xander said over his shoulder. Giles waved his punch glass in response and began singing along with the record, so quietly that the other two could just hear him, rockin' around the Christmas tree... After two or three upbeat songs, the melancholy tale of someone spending a blue Christmas without their loved one came on and Xander and Anya, both winded, sat down.

"Would you like to dance?" Anya asked. "Xander says it is necessary to include everyone in a party, even the ones that are called 'the wallflowers'. It's being polite."

In response, Giles grinned and across his teeth was a slice of apple from the punch, skin side out. He started to laugh and started to cough as apple fragments got caught in his windpipe. Xander leaned over to pound him on his back.

"Thank you," Giles managed to say. "I think I'm better now." He leaned back red-faced in his chair, eyes closed.

"Well, thanks for the drink, Giles, me and Anya should probably get going. I'll take this stuff into the kitchen." Xander stacked the snack bowls and took them and the beer bottle and put them on the counter in the other room. Coming back into the living room, he turned off the record player. He looked over to Giles and whispered to Anya, "I think he's asleep."

She nodded and got her purse and their presents and they started to leave. When they got to the door, Xander stopped and went back. He grabbed the Santa hat he'd laid on the table and put it on Giles' head at a jaunty angle. When he got back to Anya, he said, "He's going to like that as much as waking up a Fyarl demon" And giggling together, they went out the door.

The End