Chapter Eleven:
Dinner
The days until Saturday went by unusually fast, strange how when you're looking forward to something the days pass slowly but if you're not, the days just fly by.
It was 5:00 on Saturday and her dad and his wife were supposed to be there at 7:00, and even with the good two hours to get herself under control, Buffy was freaking out; her hands twisting and untwisting around Spike's necklace until she was in danger of breaking it if she kept it up.
"Buffy?" Dawn asked, opening the door.
"Hi Dawn." Buffy said, fidgeting and trying to calm down.
"What's that?" Dawn asked, pointing to the necklace that Buffy was still twisting in her fingers.
"Oh, this? Just a good luck thing." Buffy said
"You know they're not coming for another two hours," said Dawn "You can calm down."
"I know, I'm just a little on edge."
"Did Spike give that to you?" Dawn asked
"If I say yes will you go on and on about how much he likes me?" Buffy asked.
"I promise not to."
"Fine then, yes he did give it to me, as good luck." Buffy told her, making it clear that if Dawn said anything about it other than 'OK, whatever' she was going to suffer consequences.
"Fine, I'm going to go help mom, she's a wreck." said Dawn, closing the door and going down stairs.
"And I'm a terrified wreck." Buffy said to herself, grimacing as the thought splurged through her brain.
She sighed and moved to sit on her bed. She had barely hit the bed when she heard the tap on the window that signaled the arrival of her bleached blond neighbor.
"How are you doing?" he asked once he was inside.
"Terrified." Buffy answered.
"You look it. No offense." Spike added quickly.
"It's OK, I've seen myself in the mirror, I know what I look like, and saying I look terrified is putting it lightly." Buffy said.
"You don't look that bad."
"You're sweet, but I know you're lying."
"I'm not, I'm being totally honest with you. You don't look that bad." he insisted.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks." Buffy shot him a half-smile.
"You're welcome, so when's your old man getting here?" Spike asked
"7:00."
"Two hours, I'm guessing that's not enough time for you is it?"
"No! I would need at least two days before I got myself under control, then another three until I was ready to actually see him!" Buffy exclaimed, slumping into the plush mattress.
"Shhh, pet, shhh. It'll be fine. You may not know it now, but it will go fine, and then your dad will leave and you can relax. Don't worry." Spike soothed her softly.
"Where does all this confidence in me come from?" she asked wanly.
"Someone's got to see it."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that it's not just confidence in you, it's that you can do stuff, you just don't see it for yourself." Spike said
"Well I don't trust myself not to wig out and run up here when he gets here." Buffy said matter-of-factly.
"Well I do. Now, I'd better go home and let you alone to calm down." he said, getting up to leave.
"What!? So you're just going to leave me here to wallow in my terror?" she shrieked.
"Well when you put it like that-"
"Stay... just until he gets here."
"You really want me to?" she nodded "OK."
They spent the next hour and half talking, about anything that would keep her mind off of her dad. She had calmed down considerably but when she looked at the clock and found that he would be there in 15 minutes she started to freak out again. "He's going to be here soon." she whispered on a thin breath.
"I know you can do this, it's just dinner." he told her calmly but firmly.
"OK, OK, OK, thanks, I think I'd better go down stairs now, my mom might wonder what happened to me. She's in worse condition than me." Buffy said, gathering her bearings and standing up.
"Good idea, I'll see you." he said, taking his familiar rout out the window.
"Hi mom, how are you doing?" Buffy asked, coming down the stairs
"Well as good as any woman can be seeing her ex-husband with his new wife." Joyce sighed
"Stupid question huh?" Buffy asked, lifting the corners of her mouth in a formation that was meant to be a smile.
"Not at all sweetie."
A knock sounded and Joyce went to open it, standing on the other side was Buffy's dad and a tall, obviously bottle, blonde clinging to his arm. "Hi Daddy!" Dawn squealed and jumped into his arms.
"Hi Dawnie!" he said, producing a small box from his pocket and giving it to her. "This is for you."
"Yay!" she squealed again
"Hi dad." Buffy said quietly
"What not even a hug?" he asked, an obviously fake smile on his face as Buffy slowly walked over to him and gave him a brief hug. "And this is for you." he said, pulling out another box from his pocket.
"Thanks." Buffy said, still quiet.
"Hello Joyce." he said, walking completely into the house and sitting down on the couch, his arm never stopped the groping it was doing to his new wife.
"Hello Hank, why don't you introduce us." Joyce suggested, gesturing to the blonde.
"Of corse, this is my new wife, Katharine." Hank said, putting a little emphasis on the word wife.
"Hello." Joyce said, trying to sound unfazed
"Hi." Buffy said, not even trying to hide the distaste in her voice.
"What's up?" Dawn offered a bit awkwardly
"It's nice to finally meet you all." Katharine said, in a voice that reminded both Buffy and Dawn of Harmony, only worse, if that was possible.
Yeah right! Buffy thought, that's just code for, I really don't give a damn, go away so I can be with your dad. Yeah some dad he was; her parents hadn't been divorced three months and he was already married!
"So Joyce what's for dinner?" Hank asked, implying she was the waiter and he was ready to order.
"There's food, I think you should wait to find out until it's in front of you." Joyce said defiantly
"That's so thoughtful of you, you always knew I loved surprises." Hank said stiffly, tugging his wife closer to his side.
Once they were all seated and dinner had started, Hank had done all the talking in a conversation; all about how great things were going with him. He had not once asked how things were going with them. And Katharine had explained how the relationship with her dad had started. "In the beginning it was just an attempt at a raise, but it turned into an undying love." she had said and Buffy was seriously thinking that this was harmony's sister (no way was she old enough to be her mom.)
"So Joyce have you found a job yet?" asked Hank
"Actually, I have an interview tomorrow afternoon." she replied
"Oh my god! Mom! You didn't tell us!" exclaimed Dawn
"Well I was waiting to tell all of you together." Joyce said, shooting a triumphant smile to Hank as if to say 'You didn't think I could do it did you?'
"That's... fantastic." Hank said, hiding his sneer with a fake sneeze.
"I'm glad you think so."
Way to go mom! Buffy thought, a huge smile on her face.
Unfortunately, the job announcement was the only high point to dinner, the rest was spent trying to block out her dad's unstopping explanations as to how amazing things were for him, he repeated several stories just so he could hear himself talk.
When Hank and Katharine were finally saying their good byes, Buffy felt on the verge of exploding. And if she heard Katharine's high-pitched squeal one more time she probably would!
"Bye Daddy!" said Dawn, giving him another hug.
"Bye Dawn." he said, that fake smile dominating his face again.
"Bye dad." Buffy mumbled, she had started to twist Spike's necklace around her fingers again in a desperate attempt to stay calm in the last few minutes her dad was going to be here.
"Bye Buffy." he said, pulling her into a hug, which, she reluctantly returned.
"It was nice to meet you all, we must do this again," insisted Katharine
"Won't that be nice." said Joyce saccharinely.
"Bye now." said Hank, closing the door behind him.
"Well that was... eventful." Buffy muttered
"I need a drink." Joyce said
"I think it was fun seeing dad again, I hated Katharine though." Dawn said
"I'm going to bed." Buffy said, running to her room and shutting the door.