Title:
The Sidestep Chronicle – Second Chronicle – Life After Education (Part 160)
Author: Katharyn Rosser & TiredSoul
Feedback: Constructive criticism is always welcome.
katharynrosser@hotmail.com Flames just demonstrate you have a tiny mind.
Spoiler Warning: Pretty limited. The story occurs in an alternate universe as set up in “The Wish” though reference is made to events that occur in both realities. Nothing is referenced that occurs after S5 though. Guess why? Most “spoilers” would be for the first chronicle of this fic rather than the show and if you haven’t read that then much of this will make no sense but you can try and get round it by reading the preface to Part 104 which summarises most of what went before.
Distribution This story was written for Pens. Pens is its home. No archiving off Different Coloured Pens (This applies to all of the Sidestep Chronicle)
Summary: In amongst it all they can make plans for the future…
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the copyrights or anything else associated with BTVS. All rights lie with the production company, writers etc, etc. I am making zilch from this series of stories. You know the drill.
Rating: R – a general rating for occasional content. Individual parts might be less than this level.
Couples: Tara and Willow forever – others couples as necessary but nothing unconventional.
Notes: This, hopefully is just one of those nice moments where I get to indulge my true passion.
Thanks To: All My Brilliant Beta Readers (AMBBR) Kerry (Forrister) who for some reason signed right back up for this fic after seeing the size of the last one. No accounting for madness is there. And Celia (TiredSoul) who should have known better but signed up anyway. *HUGS* and Big Thanks to all of you. This one is Celia’s who learns about Brits as she teaches me about Yanks. Thanks so much for all that you do. In this part she added some valuable stuff, so there is the writing credit too. I don’t deserve these two!
The Sidestep Chronicle – Second Chronicle
Life After Education
By
Katharyn Rosser
“You know,” Jenny said as they waited for their tea, a beverage which Tara had gotten used to drinking here even if she chose to drink it nowhere else, “We should do something after your final exams are over.”
Now that was quite a suggestion. Tara had been thinking along the same lines, but now she was interested in what Jenny might have to suggest. Jenny had some of the most interesting idea’s she’d ever heard… not as interesting as some of Willow’s more fun-filled ones – but interesting all the same.
“It’s an important milestone – one that should be celebrated. You should have seen the party I had after my last exam. They still talk about it. There was this…”
Jenny trailed off. She was very obviously aware that her husband was amongst them laying out the sugar bowl and a plate of cookies Toni had baked when she’d been here the previous night. Tara had to smile. There was this whole back-story to each member of the couple that formed Family Giles that no one would probably believe, at least not when they saw who they were now. In a different way Jenny had been every bit as wild as her husband.
Besides, she didn't have to mind the interruption Rupert created by his return to the room, Tara was sure that Jenny would tell them later – all girls together. It sounded like an ‘all girls’ kind of story by the way Jenny had trailed off at the end.
“Or,” Rupert countered, “Quite possibly you might consider it for when school finishes for the summer, two weeks later and when neither I, nor Toni, have occasion to be more gainfully employed. Hmm?”
They sat there for a several long seconds. Watching him.
And watching.
And then watching a little more.
It started to get embarrassing as Rupert’s fingers slowly caught up with the words he’d spoken. The problem was that, quite often when Rupert said something, none of them knew the signs. He was just so… British.
After all, ‘gainfully’? Who the heck used that word? Not Toni evidently as she seemed to have to search her memory for it.
“Maybe that’ll teach you to use such big words, English,” Jenny teased as Toni seemed to be thinking about what he had actually said.
*I don’t know how to make a sign for g-a-i-n-f-u-l-l-y,* Toni admitted. *Or even if there is one in American Sign, or Signed English.*
“It’s not like it’s Signed British,” Jenny teased in agreement with the girl.
“Then by all means, I shall avoid the word,” Rupert said to Toni, ignoring his wife’s quip.
It was funny sometimes, Tara thought to herself as she watched their interchange play out. They all had to do it – even though Signed English was designed to work on the same basis as spoken English, there was just no way they could have learned enough to truly approximate speech. That meant that they either changed how they spoke or they thought about how they were signing instead of just doing the words as they were spoken – which was tricky.
Add to the lack of tone or inflection and the words had to be chosen carefully so as not to completely change the meaning behind them. There had been a time or two when something meant so innocently, or even jokingly, had been taken the wrong way – even when it was the right word and the right sign. And that just meant you had to sign your way out of it, which caused more problems. Once you got into it then it became a babble.
And even Toni was having to restrict herself to words she knew they were aware of, or at least having to stop and spell things out for them and then to teach them the sign. Over and over again. But all of them had come such a long way over the past months, there were less restrictions for her to deal with. She could almost have an evening filled with an adult level of conversation now.
Still, sometimes things weren’t quite… right. Toni didn’t see what was said, exactly, or they had to change how they spoke. That affected Rupert more than anyone else as his speech was so… here she was again at… British. Though she had to admit that sometimes Willow suffered in the same way because she was just so… Sunnydale. The land of the contraction and the abbreviation and inappropriate use of language that deserved better.
She and Willow had been an influence on each other though – as they always were in so many ways – Willow had adopted some of her speech patterns and she knew she’d taken on some of Willow’s, some of which would have horrified her grandfather.
*It’s not like I
have to be registered in school,* Toni said. *If it’s inconvenient or anything. I mean it’s only part time anyway for the rest of this year.*
Toni’s modification was, by her standards, to sign really, really slowly. She, Willow and Jenny were able to work a little faster, but Rupert, who was at work a lot more, didn’t have as much time to practise with her so it did slow down anyway when Toni was in his company. When Toni was excited or agitated though – sometimes things became a little too fast to think about properly. For all of them.
Tara didn’t want to even think about how slow they all seemed to Toni, especially when she saw Toni get like that – her fingers flying. Everyone knew how annoying it could be to speak and pause a lot, or speak really slowly. Tara was sure that, compared to Toni’s Dad – and especially other deaf people Toni had known – they were waaaaay beyond being annoyingly slow. They were like the cheetah’s on the nature programs, slowed down by the camera… Toni hid any frustration well behind her patience though.
“Yes,” they all said at once, “you do.” Big,
emphatic signs.
Obviously Jenny already had something in mind for this ‘celebration’ and it had to be something big? A party perhaps? Well… Tara was willing to bet that the big party Jenny had nearly spilled the beans about hadn’t been one that had featured four-year-olds, young teenagers and English librarians in any great numbers. That wasn't the kind of party Jenny would have had in mind four years ago, let alone when she’d graduated a little further in the past.
Besides, that sort of party was better based in a dorm, which reminded her about checking in back there. It had been a few weeks since they’d dropped in there to see any of their friends outside of any shared classes. Things… Well, when there was a child, or even a teenager, to look after, things got so busy. They always got busy – even if they’d been busy before.
And there was no way Toni wasn’t registering part-time in school just so they could have a party earlier.
Besides, Rupert was right, there were jobs to be done by the worker amongst them. This was all a little way off yet – Willow had only just drawn up her revision schedule, without even knowing the dates of the exams. Exams which were, technically, no more important than any of the others they’d taken but for the same reason Jenny wanted them to celebrate them, they
seemed way more important. They were the last ones they had to do – at least for their degree courses.
It was a good job, she was used to pressure or… Well, looking back at herself she had to say ‘stuttering wreck’ was a good possibility – at least if anyone had asked her to talk about it. But not with Willow at her side… It was Willow, rather than an ability to deal with pressure that had finished off the lack of confidence that had made her stammer.
“Yes, you do have to be registered,” Tara repeated, both in sign and speech to Toni. “Besides, it’s not part time it’s part
home-learning.” They’d figured out by now how to put the stress in the right place in a sentence, at least when they wanted it to be clear rather than nuanced.
*But I’m getting my lessons already,* the girl responded, *what does registering do for me?* It seemed Toni was willing to argue anything to fit back into the typical teenage ‘do I really have to go to school?’ image. And that was probably a good thing all in all – just so long as she lost the argument.
And she would lost – Tara had a trump card apart from the value of education.
“You want to race, don’t you?” Tara asked. Toni was already allowed to train with the school athletes, but that was just a favour the school was happy to grant because of how good she was. If she wanted to race, then the other schools in the district were going to insist she was a registered student – even if the pattern of her lessons didn’t actually change from what they were now. Most of her studies were with Jenny unless it was subjects she had no idea about or needed more facilities. Like science.
*Yes,* Toni admitted with all the grace of a teenager discovering the inevitable. An inevitable she didn’t like. She really was starting to fit in with the people she was training with.
Do we really, Tara wondered,
want her to get back to being a real teenager?
Oh yeah. “Then you have to be registered,” Tara confirmed firmly.
“Besides,” Willow said, “Rupert’s right – he has a job to go to. Earning the big bucks, working for the man. Or Principle Flutie at least.”
“Thank you, Willow,” he said as he disappeared back into the kitchen. He sounded a little unsure whether she was supporting or gently teasing him. “Now, let’s all remember that, shall we,” he called. “At least until you two ladies have jobs of your own and my lovely wife is back at work.”
And there, Tara thought, was a scary idea. Not Jenny being at work, just the part about them getting jobs.
Real, paying, jobs.
To tell the truth she hoped she
wouldn’t be getting a job after graduating – at least not a permanent or full time one. She had her application in for teacher training course and was just waiting for confirmation of the grades she was expected to get to finalise the acceptance. Willow… Willow was looking at a Master’s degree but couldn’t quite decide on her course yet. Her girlfriend was too good at too many things to make the decision easy. Of course, some of the things she was best at weren’t rewarded by academic qualifications.
They had their own reward system for those kinds of achievements. She might do a certificate though… MSc Loving Me Up.
Anyway, there was practically no chance in the world of Willow not getting into any course she wanted to. Not unless the world came to an end… Okay… That was a bad thought, not out of the complete realm of possibility either. Hellmouth. Apocalypse in the plural. That
would be what it took to stop Willow getting something she wanted though.
She could tell that Willow was excited by Jenny’s suggestion, even without details. It would be appealing to her highly active imagination even now. Tara had lots of experience with excited Willow and this was… Well, probably something around a four on the Willow-Scale. Not too high… but then they didn’t know the plans or the history yet. Tara herself was a little more wary… They had responsibilities and she’d never really enjoyed big parties. There had been some good ones, but as a rule she liked small, intimate, gatherings.
Occasionally with Brie, as these things tended to be. Though she could actually do without stinky cheeses in exchange for music that wasn’t centuries old.
“What do you have in mind?” Willow asked, restraining herself quite well.
Yeah, her sweetie was definitely at a four. A five would have meant she lost that control. More than a five would have been… unfortunate.
“I don’t know really,” Jenny admitted, and Tara saw Willow deflate a little. She obviously wanted details now. “Just… something nice. I mean I’m sure you’ll have your big party in the dorm so… something nice,” Jenny concluded as she looked at her kids and Toni.
Tara supposed Jenny was right about that. The dorm party would be a goodbye party to the people who didn’t live in Sunnydale and just studied here. They already had plans to keep in touch with a few people, but that was going to be special. Everything they’d all worked towards for so long – as well as a big goodbye. And there would probably be invitations to other dorm parties… cos of the people on their courses. But none of those was going to be the sort of party children and teenagers should be at, Jenny seemed to realise that maybe she couldn’t have a repeat of whatever had happened for her.
Then, Tara thought, there was the fact some of their friends weren’t over twenty-one, mostly the ones that would still be on their courses, but it was pretty clear there would be drinking there. Somehow, someone would just happen to leave them around and there they would be. Sometimes Tara just felt… old. She’d turned twenty-one within months of starting college so she’d been under pressure to do the beer runs from pretty much day one.
She’d held out for a while against it… but then again she knew they’d find a way without her. And it was only for people she trusted. Better she could make sure they weren’t getting too much. That was what she’d told herself and it wasn't like she was buying kegs – just a six-pack or two. A bottle or two of wine. No one had ever gotten in trouble as the result of any event she’d bought for, and she never bought alcoholic drinks for parties where someone else she didn’t know might get hold of it.
Besides, all their friends knew she’d have cut them off if she had to. There was this vibe she must give off – a ‘not afraid to make difficult decisions for someone’s own good’ vibe. Even Willow responded to it, Toni too despite their few remaining problem topics. It was like… No one wanted to disappoint her – which was something that was freaky when she thought about who she’d used to be and what people in high school had thought of her… before everything had started to happen. Back then no one had even cared what she’d thought, let alone been afraid to disappoint her.
Jenny was the one who’d pointed it out to her
and said how jealous she was of that. How perfect it was for teacher to have such a talent, how it could make her teaching so much easier because she wouldn’t have to fight for control of the class. Tara had never heard anything so encouraging about her proposed career and from someone who was already regarded as one of the best teachers in Sunnydale High. Or was when she wasn’t on maternity leave.
Right now, as Willow had said, Jenny was the best teacher outside of Sunnydale High, and she was teaching Toni – which was good for both of them.
You could, Jenny had said, make students do what you wanted them to – what they needed to do – or you could rely on them wanting to do it for you before you even asked. Most good teachers worked their way towards finding a happy medium. The bad ones relied on threat of punishment. The really good ones… Tara wasn't sure she’d be a really good one – but if she had the knack Jenny was talking about, then it seemed like it was a good place to start.
“And something outside Sunnydale,” Jenny added to her thoughts.
Tara felt herself frown and regretted it. It was an automatic reaction to anything, which took her away from what she knew she should be doing. A night or more away? Rupert would frown too – because if they all left…
It might be months away, but then there would be no one here to hunt. They’d be abandoning their duties… Even though there were always nights no one actually patrolled, there had always been someone in town who could do that if it was necessary. Before he left, there had at least been Larry to help Rupert even when she and Willow took a trip back to the farm. Jenny would have helped her husband when someone was looking after Faith, which Ira loved to do given half a chance – though Willow’s Dad drew the line at looking after babies.
“We could rent a cabin, say in the mountains, for a few days,” Jenny suggested, finally bringing her idea out into the open.
Tara watched as the smile took over Willow’s face, and then a frown. She’d almost made a level five there. Almost. Back to four for now though.
“You do mean whilst it’s not snowy?” Willow checked.
“There isn’t much snow in the summer, Will,” Tara told her. “That’s why it’s the summer. Except on the highest peaks and I don’t think Jenny meant a cabin right up above the snow line.”
“Okay…” Willow said, moving back towards a five. “Then I think it’s a great idea – I just don’t want us to be snowed in. I have no idea what we’d do with ourselves.”
Tara gave her a sly smile, Willow’s ideas about log cabins and rugs in front of fires had come up more than once in the past. But not, usually, with four other people in the cabin. That would be… less than ideal.
“Don’t you think it’s a good idea, Toni?” the teacher asked as Tara looked from one to the other with some thoughts in her mind. Willow was only now making it to a five? When it involved cabins?
Unless cabins weren’t an issue at all… And then she was almost sure what was going on here.
Oh, this was being very well done. She might almost have believed Willow was in on this before it was even mentioned – apart from the snow worries, which had been very genuine. They’d been watching a film a few nights previously where a plane crashed into a mountain in a blizzard. Obviously Willow was picking up on that as much as she was into the idea of rugs in front of fires.
In her lover’s head Tara knew there was a worry about planes coming down on top of them and about the snow… And probably all sorts of other stuff too. It was just one of the many facets which made Willow, Willow.
Her Willow.
Her Willow who was perfectly capable of plotting with Jenny to get what they wanted and asking Toni… that was a clever move. Getting buy-in from the others before turning to either Tara or Rupert. Tara wouldn’t have opposed this idea – but she might have made sure it was carefully scheduled, not too long and, if possible, with someone covering for them. Maybe if Wesley and his Slayer were passing through the area… They’d never
all left before. Willow knew she’d have a problem with that. She and Jenny were playing this well, but there were some things Willow couldn’t hide. Not from her.
*All of us?* Toni checked.
“All of us,” Willow said with a significant look at Tara that dispelled all doubt. This was why Willow wasn’t massively excited. She’d already known, she wasn’t reacting to a surprise. She’d feigned a level four.
More evidence… Maybe, they hadn’t planned the mountain thing – maybe that was off the cuff given the snow fear, but Willow and Jenny had been talking about this idea in general. Sneaks.
*It’d be good,* Toni told them, *If I’m still here.*
Tara resigned herself to the inevitable immediately. They were going somewhere. Willow was going. Jenny was going. Toni was willing to go. Faith and Ben would go with their Mom and Rupert wasn’t in the room at the moment. She didn’t want to be the stick in the mud who’d said ‘no.’ “Even if you’re not with us,” Tara said as Willow’s face betrayed just a flicker of distress at the prospect, “then I’m sure we could try and arrange it anyway.”
If there had been distress in Willow’s face – even just a flicker of it – then there was nothing but pure love there as their eyes met after those words. It was right though – they were never going to let Toni disappear, even if social services found her Mom or placed her elsewhere. They’d stay in contact and no one with a heart was going to deny her a vacation just for the sake of it, even if the timing wouldn’t turn out to be great. She smiled at her love and then turned to the smallest person in the room who understood what had been suggested.
“Faith?” she said. Was this little girl in on the plot? Did she have it in her to keep it a secret? Probably not, Faith was a good girl, but Tara felt she needed to know for the future.
“Wad?”
“Stop bouncing, honey,” Tara instructed and was pleased to see her quiet down immediately. She also got the tiniest illicit buzz from seeing Jenny shake her head at the speed of the obedience. Tara knew why that was… She was ‘Tara’ not ‘Mommy’ and that meant ‘listening’ wasn’t a question of being ‘told off.’ Besides, as Jenny had said, no one wanted to disappoint her. Including Faith. “Would you like us all to go away together?”
Faith was suddenly very serious, meeting the eyes of each of them in turn before coming back to Tara. “When?” she asked, which was an interesting question for a girl of her age. She was thinking how long she’d have to delay it because it couldn’t be now. That seemed a very mature thing for her to consider.
“After Tara and Willow finish school,” Faith’s Mommy said.
“I go to school next year!” Faith announced proudly.
Tara smiled. Faith had been looking forward to that for what seemed like forever now, certainly before she really understood what school was. Maybe it was because it was where her parents worked – so it was a ‘grown up’ place. Faith wanted to be grown up, even if Jenny was afraid of that time coming and the struggles two such similar personalities would probably have. “I know honey,” she said, “but do you want to go away together?”
Faith stopped and thought about it. Who knew what was actually going around in her head at that sort of moment? Serious stuff Tara was sure – just childishly serious. Importance shifted to other things than adults would consider critical in this conversation.
“Will Ben be going?” the little girl asked with a curious level of innocence. The tone was… hopefully neutral.
Ahh, so that was it. The big concern. Sibling rivalry… Faith loved Ben, she said it often enough, but there was no getting in the way of how brothers and sisters usually felt about each other. It was a universal rule that they would want things the other didn’t have or get to do, because it made them feel special. Especially at this age. At least Faith and Ben were going to be better off than she’d ever been with Donny. There was no telling how they’d have gotten along as adults. She’d probably have had to punch him on the nose. Donny had always been a bully and Faith just didn’t have that in her. Which didn’t stop her from wanting to make sure she got everything Ben did – and more if she could have it.
He was, after all –
“Cos he’s just a baby,” the little girl said – entirely reasonably in her own mind. “He won’t app – app – app,” Faith screwed up her face in concentration, trying to get the word she wanted to come out. “App-ree-tate it,” she said finally.
“Appreciate, honey,” Tara said automatically and waited for Faith to try again. She was impressed at the girl’s ever increasing vocabulary. She was sure that, when she’d been four, she hadn’t been ‘appreciating’ anything – just ‘liking’ stuff.
“App-ree-ceeate?”
Tara nodded. “That’s it – and yes, Ben will be going too. He’s your brother, you want him to have fun too, don’t you?” Tara had already given up the ghost of this
not happening and now she was determined to ensure it was as good as it could be.
Faith thought about that. “He’s a baby,” she said again.
“You know he still has fun though,” Tara told her. “When you play with him…”
“He laughs!” Faith just found those conclusions laying around and put them to good effect. She was going to be such a smart child. No, she already was.
“See?” Tara reasoned.
“Okay,” Faith said. “He can come too.”
Jenny shook her head with an amused smile. She was probably wondering, as Tara often did, just what she was going to do with her daughter when she grew up enough to start to have
real opinions. And old enough to go out and find her own adventures. It was going to be a few years yet… and once they got there, there would probably be some very long years until she settled down again. Even at this age though Faith was showing she was a serious, careful, child. Which was good…
But she was also a child with spirit. Which could be good – but sometimes wasn’t great.
“Will there be horsies?” Faith asked anyone who was listening or watching. She loved her horsies. Well, her toy ones – and pictures of them. Everything about horses in general.
“Maybe…” Jenny said by way of response, looking to Willow.
Tara looked over at her girlfriend. She could virtually see the light going on in her love’s head. It didn’t seem to be part of the plan, whatever Willow had just thought of. Things were changing. There were…
--------------------------
Possibilities.
There were always possibilities and this new possibility was a good one that she and Jenny hadn’t really considered when they’d thought of the earlier possibility they’d eventually colluded to suggest. Or possibly suggest. Faith wanted horsies. Okay, so Faith always wanted horsies, but they’d never considered a way it would actually be possible. It would do the little girl a power of good just to spend a few days around horses.
Not riding or anything because she was too little but just to be around them. She’d love it if she could just go to a stable and give them sugar lumps, pet them. Maybe even brush them whilst someone lifted her up – and a happy child was going to make for a happy vacation. It was the animal equivalent of a giant piece of candy and just what Faith would want too without the dental problems. It might even prevent a years-long fear of arm-eating horses that Willow herself had endured.
Now where did they know where they could find horsies?
And was both big enough and free too?
Why not kill two birds with one stone? Willow knew they needed to do it anyway…
On the other hand, why did she have to kill the birds? She liked the birdies. Every time Miss Kitty brought them a little present to remind them she was no one’s pet Willow felt all remorseful and sad. What had the birdies ever done to anyone? Or more especially to Miss Kitty?
Still… She raised a hand, as if in class, to Tara’s amused smile. “Couldn’t we go to the farm?” she asked as she put her hand down, flushing with embarrassment.
There was a word that certainly got Faith’s attention. “Farm?” she asked, excited all over again. Okay, so Faith seemed to be all in favour of that plan then. “Are there ducks?” she asked without even waiting for confirmation that she’d heard the word correctly.
“No,” Willow said.
“Are there chickens?” Faith asked, almost as if they were a second string duck substitute. Can’t get a duck, run with the chickens.
“No, sweetie.” There really wasn’t anything on the farm because no one lived there. Tara’s uncle, who lived on the next plot of land over, was pretty much using the lands as he wanted to in exchange for taking care of the house and buildings – even if it still belonged to Tara. Still… he might have brought some ducks in. Or chickens. Best not to say ‘maybe’ though – because it created the same expectations as ‘yes.’ ‘Maybe,’ to a child, was practically a promise. Willow had more than learnt that lesson by now.
“Moo-cows?” Faith persisted, obviously determined to find something she knew lived on a farm. Ee-I-Ee-I-Oh. Willow’s thoughts turned to the song, wondering what else she might ask for.
“Doggies?”
“No…”
“Kitties?”
Ooh, she could say yes to that. Well… “If we take Miss Kitty with us, then yes.”
Faith harrumphed and Willow could see the frustration in her. What was a farm if it didn’t have any animals? All farms had animals. Her toy ones did. And Miss Kitty was nothing new to Faith. She’d practically grown up with Tara’s cat after Miss Kitty had an extended stay here, and since then the feline had claimed this as her second home. Knowing she had been over here, they would sometimes find the cat flap would swing and Miss Kitty, ‘missing’ from the apartment for a few nights, would saunter in and look at Willow and Tara wondering what
they were doing there in their own home.
“So nothing there,” Faith summarised with an accusing glare.
“Oh yes, there is,” Willow insisted looking at Tara to check with her that it would be okay. Just a tiny nod… Which was all she needed to go on. And it seemed she’d sold the idea of a break on the farm to Tara as well. Yay for her. She was two for two.
“No moo-cows, no ducks, no chickens, no doggies, no kittens,” Faith said counting them off on her fingers just as Jenny would sometimes do. She was her mother’s daughter in more ways than either of them would one day want to admit to. Willow was sure they were going to bump heads in the teenage years, Jenny was right about that.
“There’s something there,” Willow told her again.
“Is it a baa-sheep?” Faith asked suspiciously. Faith didn’t like sheep unless they were lambs. She probably didn’t even remember why, but one had nipped at her through a fence once when she was small and she had screamed... even though it hadn’t even caught her. Another reason to make sure she didn’t garner a fear of horsies.
“No honey, not sheep,” Willow promised. “There are,” she hesitated as she saw Jenny’s face, “there
could be horses, sweetie.”
Faith looked at her, hands on her hips, looking right into her eyes searching for a sign she was being teased by the suggestion of horses. That was another of her mother’s mannerisms, usually when dealing with Faith herself. “Real ones?” she asked with a child’s suspicion of adult reassurances. But she wasn’t asking Willow; she’d turned to Tara.
So that was the way it was? Tara would tell her the truth whilst other people might tease her? Willow had to smile. She knew Tara could, and did, tease. But always truthfully.
And Tara nodded to her. So it was that Faith was won over to the cause. “My uncle looks after them for us whilst we’re here,” she explained to the little girl. “We have two horses.”
“Two?” Faith asked, wide-eyed, shooting a look at her mother who wouldn’t even let her have
one. Which was so stupid of course, there was lots of room in the kitchen to keep one. It had a window that opened and everything.
“He has more of his own,” Tara looked to Jenny too and Willow wondered what that was for. “Including a pony,” she explained.
And Willow got why she’d looked to Jenny. Their friend was looking worried at the idea of Faith being around horses, which were waaay too big for her. A pony though… There was a possibility there, of Faith getting to ride, if she was closely supervised and the pony wasn’t too big. Just in a circle sort of thing…
As long as she didn’t have to hold the reins, because Willow knew it would start to run fast and she’d end up being trussed up in the reins in the middle of the… wherever you did stuff like that. Was it a paddock?
She knew why Jenny was worried too, and it wouldn’t be about being accidentally tied up. Faith was an active, resilient, child but she didn’t know her own limits yet and a horse, even a pony, was a big limit for any mother to live with. Besides, if Faith had been pestering for a pony so far it had been rooted in the fact there was no chance of having one – wishing was just something kids did. Now… if they went to the farm and she got to try a pony, was there any prospect of her growing out of it?
Oh no. But was it fair not to let her try it if there was the chance?
No again.
“There would be enough for everyone,” Tara said. “If you wanted to?”
Willow surveyed the faces. Faith was obviously won over. Jenny liked the idea apart from her daughter riding which she’d wanted her to be older before she tried. That was just very understandable maternal caution. Willow knew how old Tara had been when she first tried, not much older than Faith when she’d ridden with her Dad. But Tara had been around horses her whole life up to then. Faith had been around the
idea of horses.
She’d been to the stables a couple of times and the rest was all based on picture books and stories, which she wanted to be read to her. And those horsies that existed on her toy ‘puter. Willow knew very well the sort of caution Jenny was feeling for her daughter. She didn’t have a massive amount of faith in horses – without any mental punning. She could ride them – enjoy it, but she could never totally relax around them. With the big bitey teeth and hooves that could kick you into next week. This was probably not the time to bring that up though.
They’d got agreement from everyone and making Jenny have second thoughts wasn't going to help things now. This solved all their problems and it would let Tara go home for the visit they always tried to fit in once a year. They had to take care of things rather than leaving it all to her Uncle to deal with.
Which… just left Toni who’d been watching it all whilst Jenny practised her signing to translate Faith. Practising and learning as Toni showed her new words she hadn’t known or been able to remember. “Well Toni?” Willow asked wanting an unequivocal ‘yes’ from their guest. Then she’d be three for three. Perfect girl again.
*I don’t know anything about it,* Toni replied.
Okay. That was a point – if she wasn’t big on the riding, then there was no reason why she should get all excited about it. Willow was excited. She wanted this to go well. She wanted to go… Going well she’d see about later. “A farm, out of state,” Willow explained, “With lots of good walking and riding. You could run there, I guess, cross-country. Tara’s home.” There was a tree that held some good memories they liked to return to… just the two of them whilst everyone else was riding and running and stuff. If it was sunny when they were back there, she and Tara might visit the tree again. This time they might just have to slip away.
*Tara’s home?* Toni checked. *Your family’s?*
The confusion in Toni’s face as she signed the question made Willow consider that they hadn’t really talked about Tara’s family. That they were… gone. They’d told her before that they’d both lost their Moms but it never went further than that. In Willow’s recollection, she wasn’t even sure Toni caught that. She’d been pretty adamant about her mother leaving at the time. Maybe Toni thought that Tara was just studying here. Toni knew enough about Willow’s family, she’d met Ira a few times and it was pretty clear that her Mom was gone, though not the ‘how’ of that. Did they expect her to pick it up in everyday conversation? If they hadn’t
told her, really, how would she have known?
If she’d known she wouldn’t have asked like that, would she?
*They’re gone,* Tara signed without saying the words.
*Vampires?* Toni asked as if suddenly understanding stuff she’d been putting together in her head for a while.
Tara just nodded. She wouldn’t want to go too far into it, especially around Faith. Mommies and Daddies didn’t die – at least as far as the little girl was concerned and it should stay that way.
*There?* Toni asked.
It was Willow who answered her, or rather didn’t answer. Toni was a sensitive young woman – for a teenager – she wouldn’t push Tara but this was pretty much happy time or at least planning of happy time. “So Toni,” she said and signed, “Are you a ‘yes’ girl?”
*I am so the yes girl* Toni grinned, obviously getting the hint to not pursue the topic.
Everyone who got that had to smile as Toni gently took the micky out of her. Everyone was pretty much everyone – aside from Rupert who was still in the kitchen, and what was he doing in there? Everyone except Faith then. The little girl wasn’t much past the very first letters of her ABC’s in sign. Her fingers just wouldn’t cooperate which got her all frustrated. But like… for a four-year-old… Wow.
Willow knew that most kids who went to school couldn’t do their ABC’s all the way through. They could sometimes sing the alphabet song, but they didn’t know what it meant really. Faith wasn’t even in school yet – could do them backwards – typed to Toni, in her own way, and she was wanting to learn sign. As Jenny had said, ‘she takes after her Aunt Willow.’
Yeah right… There were worse ways to be. But with Rupert and Jenny as their parents, Faith and Ben weren’t going to be anything but clever. And no matter how much innate intelligence they might have been born with, this was a good nurturing environment. Rupert was pretty much knowledge and learning guy. Jenny was a teacher and Tara wanted to be so it was hardly any wonder Faith was doing well.
Plus Faith
always wanted to know stuff. Anything. She sucked up knowledge like a sponge – even if she didn’t entirely understand it.
“So it’s settled?” Jenny asked and Toni showed her the appropriate sign for ‘settled’ after she’d spelled it out.
“What’s settled?” Rupert asked as he finally came back into the room with the tea.
“You know,” Willow told him. He had to be kidding them. There was an open hatch between the kitchen and the living room. He had to know what had been discussed in here. So much of it had been said aloud – hadn’t it? Had they been signing? If they had… how had Faith been involved. Was it a bad thing she couldn’t remember? “You do know?”
Rupert looked at them as they all looked back him. “No,” he told her. “That’s why I asked you the question.”
Willow supposed that a fair amount of the conversation had lapsed into sign and he might not have heard over the kettle boiling. He didn’t know. They’d left him out.
“Don’t say we can’t, Daddy!” Faith said loudly in her best pleading voice.
“Can’t?” he asked. “Can’t what?” Now Rupert was getting perplexed.
Tara pulled Faith towards her as he started to pour the tea. Everyone, apart from Faith, was looking at each other as the person who should tell him. “Will someone please tell me,” he said as he handed a cup to his wife, “What is going on in here?”
“Well, sweetie-” Jenny started to explain.
Willow knew that was a mistake… Endearments like that weren’t common in conversation like this between them. And now that was putting him on his guard. He knew he was about to be manipulated – but he was wrong. He was about to be told the way it was. There was no manipulation involved.
“Yes?”
“- We kind of decided -”
Faith neighed which interrupted the explanation. Tara shushed her so that Jenny could continue, but Willow had to smile before she took over for Jenny. “We decided to go away,” she added.
“Together,” Tara told him.
“Everyone,” Willow added.
“After Tara and Willow’s exams,” Jenny finished.
He looked at them all as they spoke in turn and he followed that path around again after they’d finished.
“Quack!” Faith said as he turned to his daughter.
“There are no ducks, honey,” Tara told her again.
“Ducks?!” Rupert asked, utterly bemused.
“Cluck, cluck” Faith went on with a look that required approval. “That’s really good,” Tara told her and hoisted her up onto the couch between her and Jenny. “But no chickens either. We said that remember?”
“Horsies though right?” Faith asked – sounding as if they’d gone away.
”Yes, honey,” Tara promised. “Horsies – if Mommy says it’s all right – and you’re real good until then.” Faith nodded vigorously.
“What?” Rupert asked again.
“We’re going to Tara’s house,” Faith told him. “To see the horsies. Miss Kitty might come too!”
“Tara’s house? Who says?”
“Mommy decided,” Faith went on.
“
We decided,” Jenny countered her daughter who really wasn’t helping matters.
“All of you decided?” Rupert asked. “While I was in the kitchen?”
Willow had to admit it had been, or was now, pretty much unanimous. If they’d been able to ask Miss Kitty then she’d have probably said ‘yes’ too. She’d have loved the idea of wild rodents, which brought an added ‘ick’ factor to mind apart from mucking out stables. “We thought you could hear and were being thoughtfully approving in your silence,” Willow told him pathetically. She even felt pathetic. “It was Jenny’s idea,” she added.
The silent ‘thanks’ which passed between she and Jenny then seemed to amuse Tara. From her baby’s point of view there was probably a poetic justice to this – without the rhyming. She and Jenny had ambushed Tara and now Rupert was querying it all too. But Tara did want to go… So that was okay. She was content to sound pathetic as she tried to excuse her actions.
“And not one of you thought to ask me about this?” Rupert protested. “I wasn’t gone
that long.”
“We really did think you knew – and that you could hear us,” Willow promised him, though really she hadn’t given him any thought and didn’t think Jenny had either.
“You didn’t think I might have something to say about it?” he asked, incredulous. “Do I always approve with silence?”
“Well,” Jenny said, “I don’t know about anyone else but I thought you were just keeping quiet because you felt outnumbered again.” She looked round and everyone nodded. Even Toni. Willow had to agree. That was a facet of his personality. The world was against him.
“And is it any wonder?” Rupert asked. “I’m surrounded by women who gang up on me at the slightest opportunity and now my daughter has joined in the fun, too. Not to mention you, Toni,” he said. “It’s all most unfair. I feel discriminated against.”
Jenny got up and kissed him.
“Very unfair,” he persisted, but a little less forcefully. “Just you wait until Ben grows up enough to take my side. Then we’ll see. We’ll all see what happens then.”
They looked at him.
“Yes,” he admitted. “I’m sure he’ll be on your side too.”
***********************
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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in
Chance.------------------------
by heraldgal » Fri Mar 26, 2004 8:56 pm 
Miss Kitty will get you if you ruin this vacation 
and 
It's great that you're back 
and as always, the update is great. I love the thought of Ira being a good cook (except for eggs 