Part 19
5 pm
Buffy arrived at Willow and Xander's house, and knew something was
wrong when she saw the extra car in the driveway. "Now what?" she
wondered. She hoped they wouldn't have to cancel on Angel, she was
looking forward to seeing him tonight.
Xander let her in, and she knew from the apologetic look on his face
exactly what he was going to say before he opened his mouth. "Oh,
no," she said. "Don't back out on me."
"I'm sorry, Buff," Xander said. "But Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg showed up
just five minutes ago. What were we going to do, tell them they'd
come here from New York for nothing?" Willow's parents had moved out
of Sunnydale years earlier, while Willow was still in school. They
only visited rarely, Buffy knew Willow wouldn't want to pass up this
opportunity to spend time with them.
Buffy sighed in resignation, "I wouldn't dream of asking Willow to
ditch her parents. I'll just call Angel and tell him we can't come--"
"You won't," Willow said walking up to them then. "I won't let you,
Buffy. I'd feel awful if you canceled on him, with such little
notice. You can still go to L.A. without us. We've got the hotel
rooms reserved for the weekend, make use of at least one of them.
Besdes, I'm sure Angel's really looking forward to seeing you. I know
you were looking forward to going." Xander gave Willow a kiss on the
cheek, before returning to the den to entertain the in-laws while his
wife spoke to Buffy.
Buffy hesitated. She couldn't go to L.A. without Willow and Xander,
it would be too weird.
Willow must have understood what she was thinking, because she
added, "Buffy, you two can't spend the rest of your lives in a buffer
zone. You will find yourselves alone together at some point in the
future. Why put off the inevitable?"
Buffy frowned, "It's just too awkward."
"You just think it will be, but you've never given it enough of a
chance to really find out," Willow pointed out. "Get back in your
car, and drive to L.A. That's an order. Spend a nice evening with
Angel, give yourselves the chance to really get to know each other
again, without anyone else getting in the way. I think you'll find
out that you can manage quite well without us."
"Fine," Buffy finally said with a resigned sigh. "I guess you're
right, it would happen eventually anyway."
"That's right," Willow replied with a smile.
"I swear, Willow, if your parents weren't the reason for your
ditching, I'd think you planned this."
"I'm not that devious!" Willow protested with a frown.
Buffy laughed. "Sure, Will. I might call you tonight from the hotel,
if that's okay?"
"If you need me, I'm here," Willow replied. She gave her friend a
hug, and added, "Just relax. It will be fine."
"I hope so," Buffy said skeptically. "See ya."
She then left the Harris house, and walked out to her car. After a
moment of internal argument, she finally started it, and drove to the
main interstate out of town and toward L.A.
*************
5 pm
Buffy arrived at Willow and Xander's house, and knew something was
wrong when she saw the extra car in the driveway. "Now what?" she
wondered. She hoped they wouldn't have to cancel on Angel, she was
looking forward to seeing him tonight.
Xander let her in, and she knew from the apologetic look on his face
exactly what he was going to say before he opened his mouth. "Oh,
no," she said. "Don't back out on me."
"I'm sorry, Buff," Xander said. "But Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg showed up
just five minutes ago. What were we going to do, tell them they'd
come here from New York for nothing?" Willow's parents had moved out
of Sunnydale years earlier, while Willow was still in school. They
only visited rarely, Buffy knew Willow wouldn't want to pass up this
opportunity to spend time with them.
Buffy sighed in resignation, "I wouldn't dream of asking Willow to
ditch her parents. I'll just call Angel and tell him we can't come--"
"You won't," Willow said walking up to them then. "I won't let you,
Buffy. I'd feel awful if you canceled on him, with such little
notice. You can still go to L.A. without us. We've got the hotel
rooms reserved for the weekend, make use of at least one of them.
Besdes, I'm sure Angel's really looking forward to seeing you. I know
you were looking forward to going." Xander gave Willow a kiss on the
cheek, before returning to the den to entertain the in-laws while his
wife spoke to Buffy.
Buffy hesitated. She couldn't go to L.A. without Willow and Xander,
it would be too weird.
Willow must have understood what she was thinking, because she
added, "Buffy, you two can't spend the rest of your lives in a buffer
zone. You will find yourselves alone together at some point in the
future. Why put off the inevitable?"
Buffy frowned, "It's just too awkward."
"You just think it will be, but you've never given it enough of a
chance to really find out," Willow pointed out. "Get back in your
car, and drive to L.A. That's an order. Spend a nice evening with
Angel, give yourselves the chance to really get to know each other
again, without anyone else getting in the way. I think you'll find
out that you can manage quite well without us."
"Fine," Buffy finally said with a resigned sigh. "I guess you're
right, it would happen eventually anyway."
"That's right," Willow replied with a smile.
"I swear, Willow, if your parents weren't the reason for your
ditching, I'd think you planned this."
"I'm not that devious!" Willow protested with a frown.
Buffy laughed. "Sure, Will. I might call you tonight from the hotel,
if that's okay?"
"If you need me, I'm here," Willow replied. She gave her friend a
hug, and added, "Just relax. It will be fine."
"I hope so," Buffy said skeptically. "See ya."
She then left the Harris house, and walked out to her car. After a
moment of internal argument, she finally started it, and drove to the
main interstate out of town and toward L.A.
*************