Chapter 4

After Emily had picked up Xander, Rory went to her room, hoping to have some time to read before the food Lorelei had ordered arrived. Before she was able to start reading her cell phone rang.

"Hello," said Rory, answering her phone.

"Rory, I need your help."

"Paris?"

"I gave Xander my phone number."

"Okay."

"What if he doesn't call me?"

"Then you should call him. Let me give you my grandmother's phone number."

"I can't call him."

"Yes you can."

"But then he will think I'm scary, desperate girl."

"No he won't. He'll think you like him and want to see him again," said Rory trying to keep Paris from hearing that she was laughing on the inside. Rory sat down at her desk. It seemed like Paris was going to need a pep talk and Rory decided if that was the case then she needed to sit down.

"Are you sure?"

"Paris, he likes you. You are pretty much safe doing anything short of mass murder."

"I don't want to kill anybody."

"I know, I wasn't suggesting it. I'm just saying that when a guy likes you, you don't need to worry about if he calls or not. He probably will call, but if he doesn't it's probably just because he is nervous. He doesn't want to hear you say no. If you call him and ask him out he will say yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Paris, if he doesn't call he's a fool, and you don't want to go out with a fool do you?" said Rory, starting to tire of Paris' plight.

"No."

"So don't worry about it."

"Okay. Thanks. Let me get off the line in case he calls. Bye."

"Bye Paris," said Rory to the empty line. After hanging up the phone Rory sat at her desk for a few minutes silently laughing.

---X---

Later that night, after finishing dinner with Richard and Emily, Xander called Paris.

"Hello," answered Paris.

"Hi Paris, it's Xander."

"Hi Xander."

"I was calling to see if you wanted to come to dinner on Wednesday night. I was having dinner with my great-uncle and aunt and I was talking about the movie we all went to and my great-aunt asked me to ask you if you wanted to come to dinner on Wednesday."

"Sure, I don't have any plans."

"Cool, I'll get directions for you from my great-aunt."

"Don't worry, I'll call and get them from Rory. We still have a bunch of things to do for the leadership conference anyway."

"Okay then."

There was a moment of silence as each of them tried to think of something to say. Paris was the first to give up.

"Good bye Xander."

"Good bye Paris."

Both of them hung up.

--X--

On Tuesday, after having breakfast with Richard and Emily, Xander went to his room and after lying down on the bed, he broke out the copy of C-Stranger in a Strange Land that Willow had lent him for his trip. When he complained to her about how he was going to have nothing to do while visiting his great-aunt and uncle, she had suggested that maybe he should bring some books to read and she had lent him several books. While the idea of doing reading not required for school at first had sounded crazy to him, he knew that Willow was an avid reader and she seemed to enjoy it. While he was sitting on the plane on the way to Connecticut he had grown bored with the stupid movie that was showing. Remembering that he had books with him he took one out of his carryon and started reading. To his surprise he had found that he enjoyed reading and after landing he was sorry that he did not have more time to read. Now he would have the whole day to himself, because Richard was at work and Emily was going to run some errands and then go to a D.A.R. luncheon. So after declining her invitation to tag along he went to his room and started reading, and other than the time when Lupe (Richard and Emily's current maid) bothered him and insisted that he eat something for lunch, that is what he had done.

At four in the afternoon Emily arrived home from her luncheon.

"Xander," she called out from downstairs. There was no response, so she called again, a little louder. "Xander."

After spending much of the day reading Xander had drifted off to sleep and he was awakened by Emily's second cry. Getting out of bed he walked downstairs.

"Hello aunt Emily," said Xander.

"Where were you?"

"I was upstairs reading. I guess I must have fallen asleep."

"Well, Richard will be home soon and we are going to the Anderson's for dinner. Why don't you go upstairs and get ready."

"Sure" said Xander. Xander was wearing a t-shirt and blue jeans and he guessed that this was inappropriate for dinner with "The Andersons" who ever they were, so he went upstairs and after cleaning himself up a little bit in the bathroom he changed into dress pants with a shirt and sweater. Checking himself in the mirror he decided that this should satisfy his great-aunt. As he was walking back down stairs he saw that Richard had arrived home from work.

"Hello Xander," said Richard sitting on the couch.

"Hello," said Xander, joining him.

"Well I am sure Emily has told you that we are going to the Anderson's for dinner tonight."

"Yes, she did,"

"Well, she should be ready in a few minutes," he said looking at his watch.

Xander and Richard sat in silence for a few minutes until Emily arrived.

"Well there they are my two handsome escorts," said Emily as she walked into the den.

"Are we all ready?" said Richard standing up.

"Yes, lets go."

Xander got up and followed Richard and Emily to the car. He got in the back seat behind Richard in the driver's seat and they rode in the car for about fifteen minutes, arriving in front of a large house similar to the one Richard and Emily lived in. Xander got out of the car and followed his great-aunt and uncle up the brick-lined walkway toward the front door. Standing on the doorstep, Richard rang the bell. A Hispanic woman wearing a maid's uniform almost immediately answered the door.

"Hello," said Richard, "we're here for dinner with Kerry and Dorothy."

"Follow me," said the woman, taking Richard's coat and Emily's purse. She led them to a sitting room where a well dressed man, a woman and a younger woman were sitting.

"Richard," the man exclaimed, getting out of his seat and holding out his hand for Richard to shake.

"Kerry, good to see you," said Richard, shaking his hand. "Alexander, this is Kerry and Dorothy Anderson and their daughter Rachel. Everybody this is our grandnephew Alexander from California. He is spending the summer with us."

"Hello Alexander," said Kerry, "this is my wife Dorothy and our daughter Rachel." Xander shook his hand and then Dorothy and Rachel's hands as they stood to greet him.

"Well, dinner should be served soon," said Dorothy. "Why don't you sit down and Kerry will get us drinks." Xander sat down with his great-aunt and uncle and while the idea of having a scotch with his great-uncle seemed appealing he decided he better not, and responded that he would take a cola when asked. Kerry got the drinks ready and distributed them.

"So Alexander," asked Dorothy, "what do you think of Connecticut?"

"It's nice, colder than I am used to, but nice," said Xander. "I haven't really had a chance to see much of it yet."

"Alexander, maybe you could ask Rachel to show you around," suggested Emily.

Xander looked over at the longhaired, platinum blonde girl, who was smiling at him. He was sure that he was blushing.

"Rachel just finished her freshman year at Vassar," said Dorothy.

After an awkward moment of silence, Xander was relieved when the maid came and announced that dinner was ready. Everybody got up and walked into the adjoining dinning room and sat at the table. After everybody was seated the maid brought out salads from the kitchen. Xander, remembering what his mother had taught him in the crash course of etiquette she had given him before he left Sunnydale, picked up his salad fork and began eating with everybody else at the table. To Xander's relief most of the conversation at the table was between Richard and Kerry about business conditions at the moment and most of it was over his head. Something about the discount rate being too high to stimulate the economy, which he did not understand. After the salad dishes were cleared the maid brought out the main course, which was roast beef, potatoes and green beans. The roast was a little bit too well done in Xander's opinion but he kept it to himself. The conversation had moved on and Emily and Dorothy were talking about a library that their D.A.R. group was holding a fundraiser for. After the dinner plates were removed, dessert was served.

The evening had been horribly boring in Xander's opinion and he wondered how many of these evenings would he have to sit through this summer. When they got home he said good night to his great-aunt and uncle and went up to his room and changed for bed. After lying down to sleep he thought about Paris and how much prettier she was than Rachel Anderson. He was looking forward to her coming to dinner.