Buffy drifted over to a nearby bench and got comfortable - this could take a while. Alice was in full flow and Giles’ patience was infinite. She may have his total concentration but Alice did not have it all her own way. Buffy rolled her eyes as Giles quietly broke Alice’s monologue from time to time in order to correct her pronunciation, or flat out tell her she was wrong and provide the right facts.
Jeez, he had driven her mad with that in the early days! Nothing she’d said was ever good enough. The words she used, the way she said them and the order they came in. Giles had made Buffy feel like she never wanted to open her mouth again, so often out of pure nervousness she’d talked, well babbled more and all the while he would listen, correct and respond. Effortlessly employing the right words, said the right way though occasionally in a slightly fractured order as he fought to control his stammer.
Slowly Buffy came to appreciate Giles’ rather pedantic manner, if nothing else it was proof that he heard what she had to say. At sixteen there aren’t many people who will really listen to you. Buffy and her Mom could go for days without having a conversation that went beyond the eternal triangle of the gallery, school and curfew. In class Miss Summers was almost invisible, not being disruptive enough to be a permanent blip on the teachers’ radar and not even close to being the kind of brainiac who always get asked questions by a disenchanted teacher facing rows of glassy-eyed stares and blank faces.
Principle Snyder with his firm conviction that Buffy was capable of anything and none of it of the good was the only faculty member to pay her serious attention. Apart from Giles, whose belief in Buffy’s abilities not just as the Slayer but as a student and fully-rounded human being was total, and gave her the confidence to try and to improve.
During their time together Giles had given Buffy a great deal, never turning away no matter how high the price of doing his duty became. Whilst the scars he carried provided a visual reflection of that unstinting loyalty and support, ultimately the simple act of listening to Buffy with total acceptance was one of the greatest things he’d ever done for her.
‘Alice, do you know there is a museum here that is full of dinosaurs?’
Alice snorted dismissively - was he dumb or something? Everyone knew that.
‘We’re going there today. I planned it.’
Clever girl, it’s a fine plan,’ she wriggled with pleasure at his praise. ‘If you would wait a day or so then perhaps I could get one of my colleagues there to arrange for you to have an extra close encounter.’
He glanced over at Buffy for confirmation. Guessing what was coming next she tried to talk over Alice saying in a loud falsely bright voice.
‘Dinosaurs really are the order of the day!’
Just as Alice said. ‘Can’t wait. We’re going home tonight on the plane.’
Silence.
Giles got to his feet as Buffy felt the frustration rising within her. Here we go again, she thought. From happiness to angst in less time than it takes Xander to eat a Snickers. Perfect. Giles is happy. Buffy turns up. Giles is not happy. Maybe she should start painting a black mark on all her clothes so that strangers would know she was infected with gloom, and pass her by. She felt like screaming just to relieve the tension. The silence was broken as Giles said to Alice.
‘Another time then.’
Buffy came forward and for a moment all three of them stood and looked awkwardly at each other. Clearly not liking the change in atmosphere Alice started to walk away. Without sharing so much as a look let alone a word the two adults trailed after her.
Rounding a corner, a small fenced-in play park came into view. Alice looked to Buffy for a nod of approval then sprinted off towards the jungle gym. Buffy hesitated for a second ‘better keep an eye on her’ then ran too, leaving Giles to follow at a more sedate pace.
‘I’m Alice, want to play?’
Used to being new and quickly making friends she ran up to a sweet looking dark-skinned girl who was just a little bit bigger than herself.
‘I’m Jaspier - you can play but Asgar can’t.’
A head emerged from the window of a tiny wooden house.
‘I can play too.’ said the head’s owner indignantly.
‘No you can’t. You’re only three and boys are rubbish.’ Jaspier shouted back looking fierce.
Despite this disagreement the three children were soon running around shrieking and whooping with delight, playing the kind of incredibly complex game that pre-schoolers invent where no one knows what is going on but they all have a great time.
Buffy traded smiles with Jaspier and Asgar’s Mom who was sitting on one of a line of swings rocking forward and back on her heels. For a second it appeared she was going to come over and start a conversation and Buffy’s heart sank. Normally she’d happily spend a while swapping Mommy tips but now was not the time for small talk. Giles was leaning with his back against the fence and his hands stuffed in his pockets, looking down at the floor.
The other Mom gave the man who’d turned up at the play park apparently alone a hostile and accusatory stare - Buffy caught it.
‘It’s alright. We’re together.’
‘Oh, okay.’ replied the woman who then looked from the pretty young American in front her across to the frankly quite attractive but seemingly upset looking older man, intrigued.
‘Oh’ she said again but this time with much more interest.
‘Yeah, we’re together. So I’m gonna go and be that with him.’
Buffy backed off and headed towards Giles before the woman could start asking questions. Reaching up she jumped and sat lightly on top of the fence her knees the same height as Giles’ shoulders. Just as she was about to speak, Alice screamed and Giles’ head shot up.
‘Relax. That one means ‘I’m excited’.’
‘Hmm?’
‘Mommy trick - you soon learn which ones to react to.’
‘I’m sure that you do.’
Giles looked up over his right shoulder at Buffy.
‘She’s amazing.’
‘You wouldn’t be saying that if it was you she was waking up at four am because of sore hair.’
Giles gave a quick smile to acknowledge the humour, but looking straight at his eyes Buffy could see he was far from amused.
‘We were going to come and see you, honestly.’
No reaction.
‘We just ran out of time,’ she finished lamely.
‘It’s quite alright, Buffy. You don’t have to explain.’
Giles took his glasses off, pulled out the bottom of his shirt and used it to polish them distractedly. Fighting the old familiar impulse to grab them out of his hands in order to force him to leave them the hell alone and look at her, Buffy carried on.
‘I didn’t want to see you because I really, really wanted to see you.’
Giles stopped polishing and frowned.
‘What?’
‘It seemed too weird to just turn up and then go. I didn’t want to upset you or me but ‘yay Buffy’ I’ve managed it in record time.’
‘What can…’ Giles tried to interject but Buffy was on a roll.
‘So now we’re going to spend the rest of this time together with me not knowing what to do and getting on your nerves every time I speak, and you saying one word every twenty seven minutes wishing I’d leave but being too British an’ all to tell me to go. Then Alice and I will be gone, and whenever I think of you it won’t be good anymore it’ll be this and I’ll hate it and hate you!’
Buffy bit her lip and felt herself going red with embarrassment - as explanations go that one took some beating. Tears began to sting in her eyes, Giles was so close she wouldn’t have to stretch to touch him, but now he was as lost to her as he would be when tonight’s flight put five thousand miles between them.
Unhurriedly, Giles finished polishing, held his glasses up to the sun to check for smears and pushed them back on with a finger. He then turned to face Buffy who could tell from the emptiness of his expression that he was working something out. Sighing deeply he finally appeared to reach a conclusion.
‘Well now those terrible events have transpired and departed, shall we take Alice for an ice-cream? There should be a stand further on.’
Grinning up at her, his eyes full of warmth Giles held out a hand. Buffy tried to laugh but ended up almost whimpering with relief. There had never been much physical contact between them, but now it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to jump down from the fence and grab his hand.
‘Let’s shall.’
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