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We now return you to your regularly-scheduled WAFFys
Title:
Dream House
Jane Caldwell smiled and gave her navy blazer a discreet tug as the
young couple got out of their red sedan and approached her in the
driveway of the house on Jacaranda Lane. She had the good feeling
today. The house had only just been listed after having stood vacant
for several months, and already she had a viewing. She noticed how one
of the customers kept a watchful eye on the other as they negotiated the
modest incline and added a small real smile to her deluxe
sales-professional one. After 15 years as a real estate agent she had
developed the ability to read potential buyers and these two she could
tell were good people. And so much in love.
"Hi, there!" Jane said, turning to the nearer of the two, whose track
pants and beige halter top contrasted with her partner's conservative
suit. "Are you Ms. Rosenberg?"
"Please, call me Buffy," the athletic blonde said, nodding. "And this
is my wife," Buffy added, proudly, "Dr. Willow Summers." The second
woman shifted her weight and awkwardly waved a hand.
"Pleased to meet you, Willow. That's a beautiful name."
"Well, 'Summers' was Buffy's, originally," the redhead explained. "We
switched when we got hitched," she added, giggling at the rhyme and
gazing down.
"Swapped rings, swapped names," Buffy said. "Hyphens: so not going to
do it."
"Makes sense," Jane said. "Well, shall we go inside?"
The happy couple nodded, and followed her up the flagstone walk, past
the rose bushes, and in.
***************************************************
"Now, this might be lot of house for people just starting out--" Jane
said, feeling she should broach the subject, as she showed Buffy and
Willow one of the guest bedrooms, which the late-afternoon sun had
bathed in a soft glow.
"Oh, that's fine," Willow said. "We're probably going to have a lot of
people dropping over. Buffy's sister, for one."
"Besides," Buffy added, "I need a gym and Will needs an office."
"I hate to mention this," Jane said, casually standing in front of the
large bay window to silently call attention to it, "but if you're going
to practice medicine I don't think the zoning code permits it here."
"Oh, no," Willow said, "not that kind of office. I do research work."
"Bio-chemistry. Genetics." Buffy beamed. "The building blocks of life
are child's play for my Willow."
"Buffy?" Willow said, blushing.
"And what kind of work do you do, Buffy?" Jane asked politely. She
sensed that Buffy would go along with whatever her wife wanted, so she
made sure to impress Willow by showing an interest in the blonde's life.
"I teach self-defense. And I do some, uh, bodyguard work, too."
"Well, good," Jane said, fidgeting slightly in her patent-leather pumps.
"You know, being so capable probably helps psychologically. I'm afraid
a lot of people might be concerned over the recent events here." Jane
knew this could be a problem, but she figured it was best to face this
squarely. Perhaps playing it off as a compliment to Buffy would help.
"Even though it keeps the price down." Jane also figured it couldn't
hurt to try and turn this into a selling point. If there was one thing
a realtor's license in Sunnydale prepared you for, it was buildings with
an unsavory history.
"No, I can handle a lot of stuff. Willow's the sensitive one, and she
says there's nothing to worry about, so I don't. Right, Will?"
Willow nodded in agreement. "Nope, no wiggins." Willow knew Buffy had
killed all the demons that had been sacrificing their victims in the
finished basement, and while waiting for the house to come on the
market, she herself had run several purification and barrier spells,
despite Buffy's reservations, even making the difficult call to Tara to
double-check it a couple of times. No trace of evil spirits or
disturbed souls remained (nor, thankfully, did the stench of burnt
flesh), but she knew Buffy still had qualms. And this from a Slayer who
had hung out every day for years, literally on top of a Hellmouth!
*****************************************************
"Here you go," Willow said to Buffy. "You keep getting a feel for the
place, and I'll go check the yard, okay?"
"We're good," Buffy replied, gracefully stepping away.
Jane followed Willow across the living room carpet, through the sliding
doors out onto the spacious redwood deck, and then down the stairs into
the lush green yard, giving on the forest.
"Do you two enjoy the outdoors?" she asked as they crossed a gentle
swale, heading into the trees.
"Uh, it was more a thing my last girlfriend and I would do. But Buffy
understands that I need a connection to nature."
Jane saw the flicker of sadness around the mouth at the mention of the
ex, and decided to probe. Sometimes establishing a bond with the
clients was crucial to the sale.
"Tough break-up?" she asked sympathetically, nonchalantly brushing a
pine needle off of her pleated blouse.
"Yeah, Tara took it rough," Willow said regretfully. "And I hated
losing her as a friend; she really only sees Anya--that's a mutual
friend--these days. But I, uh, kind of had everything spelled out to
me--"
Willow paused, remembering the look of hurt on Tara's face when the
"true love" spell the once-blonde witch had cast had only served to
reveal what Tara had worried was the case all along. Thank the Goddess
everything had gone so well with Buffy (who had almost been waiting,
subconsciously, for Willow to come to her), or Willow would have felt
even worse.
"--but there's one thing I know," Willow said, coming out of her
reverie. "I would never have been as happy with her as I am now."
"I know," Jane agreed, lips narrowing as she remembered her own divorce,
"It hurts; but what has to be, has to be."
"Yes, I had to face that, and I really am glad I did it when I did,"
Willow concurred. "In spite of everything. Look, I'm going to take
this in for a bit," she said, turning her attention to a large oak tree.
"Why don't you go check up on Buffy, okay?"
"Okay," Jane replied, heading back to the house.
*********************************************************
She found Buffy in the kitchen, looking a bit awkward as she tested the
drawers on the center island.
"You cook?" Jane asked, guessing the reply.
"Well, I'm trying to learn," Buffy ventured. "Be a little more
domestic. Willow's a great cook, though."
"Anything I can help you with?" Jane asked as she made sure to run her
hand across the burnished-steel oven, worrying that she saw a hint of
concern on the blonde's face.
"No, I'm okay here. Aaaand, I like the house," Buffy said. "I guess
I'm just having trouble with the idea of such a big commitment."
"Financially, do you mean?" Jane said, quickly stepping forward.
"Because I'm sure we could--"
"No, Willow makes a nice salary, and Anya says we can afford this place
easily."
"Oh, that's right, Willow mentioned your friend. Is she a banker?"
"She used to be an investment counselor," Buffy explained, "but now
she's running the financial side of her and her husband's construction
firm."
"I see," Jane said, probing gently and fighting an urge to go stand
conspicuously near the extra-large refrigerator. "Well, if it's not
money??"
"No, it's just the idea of putting down roots. I, uh, I've had a really
unsettled life, even some near-death experiences," Buffy said (thinking,
hold the "near"), "and it's like I'm afraid that if I make any long-term
plans, I'll jinx what we have, and I don't want to do that. 30-year
mortgage? Major wig-out. But I haven't been able to tell Willow this."
"I'm sure she'd understand," Jane said, worried about where this was
going.
"Oh, she would. I just meant I can't tell her this, because every time
I look at her, I just feel so good. I think about how much we love
each other, and I stop worrying, and I can totally see us sitting
together and growing old 50 or 60 years from now. But when I'm alone, I
start to worry again."
"Well, then, you know what you have to do," Jane said, giving a slight
nod, not really knowing whether that was true, but hoping her confident
tone would inspire the client to agreement.
"Yeah, you're right," Buffy, in fact, agreed. "I know I'm never going to
give up Will--I couldn't if I tried. So there's no reason to get all
nervy about all the details. I just have to stop being such a baby."
Jane smiled, and not just at the prospect of the sale. "And that's
another reason to settle down," she said, nodding at the beautiful
blonde girl nestled in Buffy's arms. "You know, you never told me her
name," she added.
"Eve," Buffy said, cooing to the baby. "Rosenberg, because
Summers-comma-Eve, that just wouldn't be nice," she pointed out.
"Well, she's beautiful, no matter the name," Jane effused, coming closer
to the child.
"You know," Jane declared, surprised, "I've never said this to a female
couple before, but she really looks like both of you."
"Actually, she is both of us," Buffy said, gently rocking Eve.
"Really? Wow. Oh, that's right, genetics. I didn't actually know you
could do that yet, though."
"I know," Buffy beamed, truly blissful. "It's almost like magic."
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