ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES

CHAPTER 105 – BACK TO WORK

They woke to the smell of food and conversation both coming from the kitchen.

“Good morning, sleepy heads,” Dawn said, as Buffy and William came out to the kitchen, after hastily dressing.

“Morning,” Clem said, from the stove.

“You guys didn’t have to cook,” Buffy said.

“Well, we did if we wanted to eat!” Dawn said, teasing.


After breakfast, Clem left to run errands.

“It was great seeing you again, Dawn,” he said to her, as she walked him to the car.

“It was great seeing you, too. Especially, since I’m seeing a new side of you,” she said.

“What? Oh, you mean human looking me?”

Dawn nodded, “But I still loved the old you, too. You know that, right? No matter what you look like.”

“I know, you, too.”

“Me, too? Oh, you mean my Keyness? Can you see that?”

“Nah, not anymore, but you used to sort of have a green glow-y sort of aura about you.”

“Hm…I forgot some of you demon types could tell that,” she said, grinning.

“Come back soon, Dawn, okay?”

“With your cooking, you betcha,” she said, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek through the car window.

She waved and walked back to the house.

Dawn cleared her throat, as she walked in, just in case.

“Buffy? William? Think I’d better get headed back, too.”

“So soon? We were hoping you’d stay at least through lunchtime. We wanted to show you the trails around here and the views of the desert in the distance. From the lookout point up on the ridge, we can see over 100 miles away,” Buffy said.

“I’d love to, really I would, but I told Dr. John I’d pick him up at the airport around 1:00pm, so that gives me only 2 hours to get there, and you never know with the traffic.”

“Was he at another conference?” Buffy asked.

“Not exactly, training seminar. He asked me to go with, but I told him maybe next time, if I didn’t have a previous engagement,” she said smiling.

“Or if you don’t have your studies,” Buffy said.

“That’s right,” William added.

“Thanks mom and dad, I’ll keep it in mind,” she said, laughing.

August 27, 2008
Wednesday
1:00pm

“William Worthington, Elizabeth Worthington,” Dr. Emily Strayn’s receptionist called.

William’s mouth was dry, and he trembled a bit as he stood up.

“Are you okay?”

“Not really. I hate this, I don’t know why I have to do this,” he part whined, part hissed at her.

“Come on, I told you why, plus there’s that thing I need,” she said, winking at him.

She had brought up the idea during sex one night, when he was messing with a condom. She’d told him that she could go on The Pill, after explaining what it was, then told him that he should actually have an exam and get up to date on all immunizations, after also explaining what those were. She toim tim that the school expected all its employees to be in compliance with State of California Health Department regulations regarding working at schoolven ven if there were no direct contact with students. He’d asked why it couldn’t be verified that he’d had those when he was a boy back in London, but she’d told him that naturalized citizens were required to take those, given in this country. Furthermore, even if he had, there was no way they could find out from the Health Department of Sunnydale, since it no longer existed. Luckily, he didn’t ask why the state itself didn’t have a record. Thank goodness he wasn’t that computer savvy yet.

So, her argument was, if she could go on The Pill everyday, he could have a couple of little shots that would protect him.

Next, Buffy had called the doctor and explained to her that William had suffered memory loss, so he couldn’t say if he’d ever had any type of vaccinations, but that from what she knew of his family, they had been of a religion that forbid it. Now that he was going to be working around children, it was necessary for him to be protected, as well as them. She asked the doctor not to bring this up to him.

“If I had a different job, I wouldn’t have to be doing this,” he said, as they started toward the nurse, who stood holding the door for them.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” she reassured him, but she knew he was terrified of doctors and needles from the ordeal he’d been through. Not to mention, who knew what kind of doctors they’d had back in the 1800’s and what William’s experience had been with them!

Dr. Emily Strayn was a small woman, in her late 30’s with soft, loose reddish-blonde curls that fell into her face frequently as she talked to them.

“Well, Elizabeth, since you were here last March for your pap, I can just give you a prescription for The Pill,” she’d told her. They had discussed the various kinds and settled on what they thought would be most effective. William had been embarrassed beyond measure when matters of a sexual nature between them had been brought up, but he’d been concerned as well, when the doctor had listed the possible side effects.

“You don’t have to go on The Pill, Elizabeth,” he’d said, “I’m fine with…”

“No, it’s alright, we’ll give it a try and if I have any side effects I’ll stop, okay?”

Reluctantly he’d agreed, but with reservations.

“So, William,” the doctor turned to him, “you’re here for an exam and for vaccinations, right?”

He nodded, a pained expression on his face.

“Elizabeth, how about if you step out for a few minutes while I conduct the exam, then you can come back in when I’m ready to give him the vaccinations.”

“Okay,” she said, “okay with you?”

William nodded.

“So,” said the doctor, “your family belonged to the Church of Christian Scientists?”

“No, Church of England!” he said, looking at her funny.


Buffy took her seat in the waiting room until the nurse came to get her about 10 minutes later.

“Well, William is in fine health, his blood pressure is good, heart sounds fine, all systems are go,” Dr. Strayn told her, “I told William we should do a blood test, but he doesn’t seem to like that idea too much. Since there’s no real cause for it, we’ll let it go for now, but I would like to do one just to have a base line next time you come in, okay? Good. Now for the shots.”

William grimaced.

“Nothing to worry about, it won’t hurt but for a second,” she said, readying the injections.

Buffy stood behind him, her hand on his shoulder lightly, while the doctor swabbed his arm. She also did a T.B. test, and gave him an oral polio vaccine.

“All done, see that wasn’t so bad?” the doctor said.

“Just glad that’s over with!” William said.

“Well, actually, you’ll need to come back a couple of more times to complete the series.”

“Great, just great,” he mumbled.


“You didn’t tell me I’d have to go back 2 more times,” he said, accusingly when they got into the car.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Really.”

He just grumbled back at her, not really believing her.

The doctor had warned of any adverse side effects, causing William to needlessly worry, but except for a mild fever and feeling a bit like he was coming down with a cold the next day, he was fine.


September 2, 2008 – Labor Day
Monday
10:00pm

“William, you’re making me crazy, please come to bed.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to check everything out again. What if something happens tomorrow and I don’t know how to fix it? What if something breaks? Where are those new shoes again?”

Buffy sighed, he’d been like this for the past couple of days, but today she’d almost wanted to tie him to a chair, just so he’d stop pacing about.

“Nothing is going to break tomorrow. Marilyn’s husband, who’s done some of the work before for Mrs. C., is going to take you around and show you the ropes, which by the way, you pretty much know by now, since you and Clem have been over there at least 3 or 4 times. Tomorrow will be mainly introductions and a little light work, along with mostly instructions,” Buffy explained for the umpteenth time, a little less patiently than the other ‘teenth times.

“I know, you’ve told me that, I just want to be prepared.”

“William, no matter what you do, something totally unexpected could happen, but probably won’t. All I’m saying is that there are no guarantees. You’re as prepared as anyone in your position could be and then some. Really, you are. You’ll be fine,” she said, coming up to him and stopping him from pacing, “you will. I believe you’re going to do fin
H
He bent down to kiss her, “Thanks, I just worry, is all.”

“Time to stop worrying and come to bed.”

“Okay. Wait, where are my shoes?”

Buffy had explained to him that he would probably get his good shoes dirty and even green, if he mowed. He had wanted to get a pair of old, used ones at the resale shop in town, but she thought that was probably unhygienic. They’d compromised, getting him a pair of cheap ones at the dollar store, which in his mind, still constituted way too much at $10.00. Same with work clothes. They’d gone to Wal-Mart in San Marcos, near the university to get him some other jeans and shirts for work, getting some stuff for herself in the process. She really didn’t mind; mall shopping was only a treat she had indulged in once or twice a year s mov moving to Julian, consumerism being low on her priority list.

Buffy figured if anyone could make short shrift of this job, it would be William, with all his preparations and then some.

He’d had Buffy install the Typing Tutor program on the computer the day Dawn had left, and had been putting in at least 2-3 hours a day, for the past two weeks. He’d told her he was up to an accuracy rate of 40-45 words per minute, which was probably as good as she typed. He’d gone to the website and tested out of the first 8 of 10 tests. Now he only had a couple of more to complete, before being able to get his completion certificate, which they’d also found out, would be equal to 3 credit hours of college credit, should he ever take the certificate to a college and pay for them, as they had an agreement with the University of California. Or they could just be considered an adult education course. In any case, he’d applied himself religiously to the training and now was quite comfortable using all 10 fingers. Rather, 8 fingers and two thumbs.

William had called Xander to thank him the same day, and now frequently I.M.’d him online, now that he could type quickly. He raved about the Typing Tutor to Xander, who was a lot faster than William had been initially, but still didn’t quite have the skills to use all 10 fingers. They also talked about programs for kids Alex’s age. Xander said he’d check into it, but William already had ideas in mind for their Christmas gifts.

Buffy began to feel almost like those wives did, whose husbands spent hours watching sports, “I’m an Internet widow,” she mumbled one night, but not loud enough for him to hear, or he’d surely remind her that she had to be really married in order to be a widow. Besides, she’d already felt a widow of sorts for too many years, so no matter what their ‘real’ status was, she already had the wounds that had gone with having experienced ‘widowhood’ or ‘significant other-hood,’ as it were.

In any case, she didn’t usually have to ask him twice to come join her in the real world. He was always attentive to her feelings in that way.

September 3, 2008
Tuesday
6:30am

“Coffee’s done,” William called from the kitchen.

“Thanks, be right there,” Buffy yelled back, then stopped, as he walked into the bathroom with her cup.

“Here you are, ”he said, handing her the coffee, “almost ready?”

“Not really, still have to do my makeup and set my hair. Relax William, we have plenty of time, it only takes 15 minutes to get there and we don’t have to be there for another hour and a half,” she reminded him.

“We should get there early,” he mumbled.

“We won’t get there at all, if you don’t leave me alone to finish,” she said, then smiled at him; “I’ll be out in about 20 minutes, okay?”

“I’ll go get breakfast started. You want anything special?”

“Whatever you feel like fixing. A bowlcerecereal works, too. Don’t forget to pack lunches.”

“That’s right,” he said, slapping his forehead and hurrying off.

She shook her head; she’d be so glad after these first day jitters of his were over with!


“Well, here we are,” Buffy said, looking down at her watch, it was 7:45am. School didn’t officially start until 9, but some of the All Day children were already in their room, and the other teachers were beginning to arrive.

Buffy parked the car, just in time to see Marilyn and her husband arrive at the same time, but in separate cars.

“That’s Joe,” Buffy told William.

William nodded and got out of the car, coming around to Buffy’s side.

“Hi, Marilyn. You remember William, don’t you?

Marilyn was the combined Preschool and Kindergarten teacher, “Hi William, nice to see you again, this is Joe,” she said, as her husband walked up.

“Joe, this is William, he’s Elizabeth’s husband and our newest employee; the one you’re going to be training.

“Great, nice to meet you,” Joe said, extending his hand, which William took.

“Well guys, we’ll see you in about two hours, down in the basement for the
back-to-school convocation.

Buffy stood by the classroom door, greeting her students, receiving hugs and excited “Mrs. W.’s!” as they filed in. Her class, Upper Elementary, was a combination of 4th, 5th, and for the first time this year, 6th graders. The 5th and 6th grade students had just moved and and she knew most of the 4th grade students as well, as the Lower Elementary classroom of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders was in the room across the hall.

Since it was a small school, they frequently did things together, so Buffy basically knew all the students from Preschool on up. There was only one new student in her class this year, which had transferred from a parochial school, when her family moved to the area.

The kids all got their little rug squares, called sit-upons and brought them up to the front of the room, where Buffy and her teaching assistaLilyLily Doler, Mrs. D., to the kids, talked about the new school year with them. They went over where the students would get their morning work from, where to put their folders, and other things that they would be doing this year. Field trips and a possible overnighter to a campground up in Big Bear were also discussed.

They all went downstairs around 10:00am for the convocation and for introductions.

Buffy’s class filed in and took a seat on the floor, while the teachers sat next to them in chairs along the sides of the room. Buffy looked around and spotted William, Joe, and the Susan, the secretary in the back of the room. She waved at him and he waved back.

Mrs. Carpello welcomed everyone to the new school year of 2008-2009 and had each of the teachers come up as she introduced them. She then asked William to come up to the stage.

“This is Mr. William hinghington, our Upper Entarntary teacher Elizabeth Worthington’s husband,” she said, ignoring the gasps of some of the older children, “he’s going to be doing our outside work for us, as well as helping with our indoor projects this year. Everyone say hello to Mr. W.!”

“Hello Mr. W., Hi Mr. W.,” said the multitude of kids and adulin ain a cacophony of sound.

He smiled shyly and waved to the kids.

Buffy was grateful that Mrs. Carpello didn’t ask William to speak, or invite questions from the children, as who knew what they might ask him, putting him on the spot. They walked off the stage together.

“You did good,” Buffy said.

“I didn’t really do anything,” he replied.

She laughed, “I’ll see you down here for lunch around noon.”

He took the watch fob she’d given him out of his pocket and opened it up to check the time; it read 10:30, “Got it,” he smiled at her and walked off to join Joe in the back of the room.

As soon as she got back to her room, the kids all started to her her about William, about how long she’d been married to him, when she’d gotten married to him, etc.

“Mrs. W.,” Sally said, “You told us that your husband had died, is this a new one?”

She sighed. She should have known these bright kids were not going to let anything slip by them.

“Okay, come and sit down and I’ll explain. But this will be the one and only time we’re going to discuss this, understand?”

They all nodded their heads. When they had all taken their seats on the floor before her, she sat down, facing them and began to tell them about how Sunnydale was destroyed in an earthquake, and how unknown to her, William had survived, but had lost his memory. She answered their questions for another 15 minutes, then directed them to their work for the morning.

William stood by the cafeteria door, unsure of what he should do, when Buffy came in with her class.

She motioned for him to follow her and they filed into line after the students.

“I’ve got our lunches,” he reminded her.

“I know, just want to make sure the kids are taken care of, then we can sit. Do you want a cold drink or some coffee?”

“I’ve got some juice for us, but coffee would be good.”

“Me, too.”

After the kids had taken their seats, her and William found a seat with the other teachers.

“So, William, how did it go? Did Joe get you all set up?” Marilyn asked.

“Yes, he was quite helpful in showing me where everything was, and assisting me in setting up a daily and weekly task schedule. Tomorrow he’s going to show me what needs to be done inside.

“Good, good,” Marilyn said.

The other teachers made small talk with him, politely asking him where he was from and when he had moved, until he finally had to say that he didn’t know all the answers, because of his memory loss problem.

They apologized, but he told them it was alright, that he was getting used to answering questions. Buffy looked at him, wondering about his statement, but also feeling very proud of how well he seemed to be handling himself.

“Let’s get out of here,” Buffy whispered to William, “lunch is almost over, I’ll walk you over to the library.”

Buffy and William walked out to the playground through a side door, where Buffy told Mrs. D., that she should take the children back to the classroom and that she’d meet them all there. Her and William then went across the street.

“I’m sorry about that,” she said.

“About what? The questions? It’s alright. I already told Joe about my memory problem this morning, so it’s not a big deal,” he said, amiably. “I mean, it seems strange to tell this to people I’ve only just met, but I’m getting rather used to it, seeing as it’s a part of who am. It doesn’t quite seem so ‘terrible’ as it did…does it?”

As they walked into the library, Buffy pulled him into a closed meeting room, and quickly closed the door, flinging herself into his arms and kissed him hard, “Have I told you I love you today? How proud I am of you? Of course it’s not ‘terrible.’ You’re nothing, if not brave, to go through all this, to have…”

He kissed her back, silencing her; “I’m only ‘brave’ about it all because of you, Elizabeth; because you found me, because you love me,” he whispered to her.

For the next few minutes they kissed, their hands caressing each other softly, careful not to stir fires that they wouldn’t exactly be able to put out in the middle of their day.

Finally they broke apart and snuck out of the meeting room, “See you in a few hours,” Buffy told him.

“I’ll be here!” he smiled, and adjusting himself, went into the main part of the library.

END CHAPTER 105