Washi -thanks for your patience. Sorry it took a while.
The Rose24 - I think that Susan wrote you about the files. If that doesn’t work for you, send me a ezNote. Thanks.
Title – Paths Diverged/Divulged Part 29 –
The Always Birthday Part IIAuthor – JustSkipit - Debra
Spoilers –Season 6
Rating – Part 29 – R
Disclaimer – Guess what, I don’t own W&T, Buffy or the rest of the BtVS crew. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental and fortunate. Also Rachel thinks I should point out that I don’t make any money from this…
Thoughts in italics“Come on, baby,” Willow urged from the edge of the bed.
“I think that’s why we’re running late to s-start with, sweetie,” Tara teased.
Willow walked over to the doorway of the bathroom and stood behind her lover, wrapping her arms around her waist as she watched the beauty in the mirror. “You were the one who said the shower was so fun this morning…” Willow teased.
“Well,” Tara purred as she turned in into the embrace so that her arms were around the smaller girl and their breasts were pressed together, “I just pointed out that I didn’t get a chance to wash you.” She began trailing light kisses down the other girl’s neck. “I just wanted you to make a good impression on people at the party.” She pulled back, a look of feigned innocence on her face.
Willow giggled as she caught the look in her girlfriend’s sparkling blue eyes. “You wanted me clean, huh Ms. Maclay? Did all the women before me buy that one?”
Tara tilted her head slightly and quirked her eyebrows as if thinking hard. “I don’t remember anyone e-ever complaining before,” she answered slyly.
Willow again laughed at the conniving look on her girlfriend’s face as she reached for the girl’s cane to hand it to her. “Very good answer, my love,” she whispered before giving her a kiss and taking her hand to lead her from the small room.
“How do I look?” Tara asked holding out her free hand to display her outfit.
“Does the word ‘urrrgggghhh’ mean anything to you?” Willow responded as she looked lustily at her lover’s body. Tara had seemed trepidatious when the redhead initially asked to choose her outfit but the look on her face showed that she seemed to appreciate Willow’s response to her body in the tight black jeans and red midriff top the girl had selected.
Tara giggled at Willow’s leering look. “So I take it you like?”
“Well,” Willow answered, “I can think of a few outfits I like you better in…”
“Like bedsheets?” Tara suggested.
“Bed, floor, shower,,,” Willow started ticking off choices on her fingers before finishing, “but keeping those clothes on is probably a good idea for going to Frank and Maria’s.” As Tara started toward her, a smile on her face, the redhead teased, “At least until later.”
“Vixen,” Tara predictably responded. The searing kiss she delivered left no doubt that she agreed with her girlfriend’s plans and intimations. Nonetheless she retained her grip on Willow’s hand as the two girls started from the bedroom, glancing at the clock to note that they were running late already.
“Don’t you want your present now, love?” Willow asked as they reached the door to the house. She was pleased that Tara’s suspicious look to her indicated that she had struck the right combination of flirtation and serious concern about the delivery of her birthday present.
Tara narrowed her eyes slightly as she glanced to the bedroom door. “Do you really have a present in there or is this just a devious but tempting p-plot to get me back in the bedroom?”
“You mean you don’t trust me enough to take your chances?” Willow barbed back.
The blonde laughed loudly at her lover as she pulled her to the door. “That’s the problem: it sounds all too tempting to me, baby,” she explained as they walked toward Willow’s car.
As the redhead started the car she agreed that she would give the blonde her present later. She wasn’t sure that it was exactly what Tara would want but the girl was very hard to shop for. She had enough money to buy whatever she wanted and obviously had done so in many areas. The garden in the back of the house was absolutely perfect and Willow couldn’t imagine any changes that either girl would want to make to the area. She had plenty of clothes, books, and compact discs and Willow wanted to give her something more special than that anyway. When Willow thought about it the only thing that had been missing from Tara’s life was Willow herself and now she was here.
So Willow had spent nearly two weeks scouring every store in town for anything unusual. She had shopped for jewelry but then felt nervous for thinking of such a huge step so quickly. She had shopped for magical supplies and crystals but couldn’t find anything better or more powerful than what Tara already had. Willow had brought a few valuable magic tomes with her from her visit to Sunnydale in this world and between the two of them they had a rather amazing magical library.
Finally Willow had settled on a combination of buying and making something for the blonde. She had bought a refurbished laptop computer and customized it to what she believed Tara’s preferences would be. She had outfitted it with a wireless modem and installed a wireless hub at the blonde’s house. With Michelle as her willing and eager conspirator she had been able to accomplish all the changes while Tara was at work. The computer contained every piece of software that she thought Tara might want including customized versions of all the Microsoft Office Suite products, biological and medical textbooks, study guides for graduate school examinations, and bookmarks to myriad magical and pagan internet sites. Now that Tara had begun to use Willow’s computer for her papers she was finding it to be just as much of a godsend as the other Tara had and Willow felt sure that she would like the present. She only hoped that she wasn’t expecting something more … personal?
“Whatcha thinking about, sweetie?” Tara asked quietly.
Willow giggled as she teased back, “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
“Must be something good,” Tara concluded.
“I hope you like your present,” Willow elaborated.
“Baby,” Tara replied as she kissed her lover’s palm, “being with you is all I ever need.”
“I know that,” Willow answered, “but I still hope you like your present.”
“I’m sure I will,” Tara assured her. She waited a minute before asking, “d-d-did you want to go by your apartment and make sure that candle will last all day?”
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Willow whispered as she felt her sadness once again. “I mean I’m not really even supposed to light it today or anything. It’s supposed to be on the Yartzeit, and certain holy days, not her birthday.”
“Yeah, baby,” Tara told her sympathetically, “but it’s important to you. Why don’t we just s-stop and check that it will burn long enough?” Earlier in the week Willow had explained to the blonde the tradition of burning a candle during a mourning period on certain days for the first year. After that year, the mourner should burn the candle on the loved one’s Yartzeit or the anniversary of their death (by the Jewish calendar of course) and recite the mourner’s Kaddish.
Initially Willow was reluctant to bring up the subject of her mourning for the first Tara. She had burned the candle on Yom Kippur or the Jewish Day of Atonement and even attended services to recite the mourner’s Kaddish. But this week her confusion and emotion had finally been too much. She felt that she had to talk to Tara and get the girl’s advice. Was it ok to still mourn for her lost lover even though she had found a new lover? Was it ok to amend the traditions to include their birthday? Even though it wasn’t a holy day it was important to her as the day both her loves had been born. She probably should have expected that Tara wouldn’t be upset by the discussion. She was very supportive, knowing that Willow’s grief for the first Tara didn’t temper her love for her. The blonde was wise enough to prefer that Willow share her grief with her than keep it bottled up inside.
Without discussing it further the two girls arrived at Willow’s apartment and quickly checked the candle, agreeing that it would burn well past sunrise the next morning if they didn’t spend the night at Willow’s apartment. No sooner had they left the apartment than Tara’s phone rang, playing “Happy Birthday.” “Hey -- who programmed my phone?” she asked and saw Willow smiling her sneaky smile as she answered the phone: “Happy birthday to me!”
From the one-sided conversation Willow gathered that Eliza was calling to check on them to ensure that they were on their way. Tara assured her that they would be no more than 15 minutes late arriving at the joint and that they were ready to have a good time. The blonde hung up the phone and put it in the pocket of her jacket.
Willow drove somewhat faster than the speed limit called for but they arrived in one piece and without getting stopped by a cop at the new restaurant/bar. Willow quickly got out and came around to help Tara out of the car. “My lady,” she bowed with exaggerated formality causing both girls to break into giggles. “Wow,” she indicated the building, “they upgraded. I mean this is way bigger than the one in our world.”
“Oh yeah,” Tara agreed, “they upgraded. Still the same wings though and the same food.”
The girls speeded up to meet Eliza who had come out when she saw their car pull into the parking lot. Giving both girls a hug, she proudly announced, “Been here an hour and nothing but Iced Tea so far.”
“Wow, that’s great!” both witches agreed. They thought it was a bit much for making it an hour without alcohol but hey, positive reinforcement couldn’t possibly hurt. Even in her short time in this world Willow couldn’t fail to notice how much Eliza seemed to drink, and she supported the girl cutting down.
“Guess who’s here so far?” Eliza asked with a glint in her eye that showed she knew some dirt on someone.
When she fixed her gaze on Willow the redhead had a sinking feeling. “I’m going to go with Elizabeth for $200?” she posited and felt Tara’s hand squeeze hers comfortingly.
“Oh yeah,” Eliza agreed, “she’s in rare form and I’m remembering why I always drink so much when she’s around.”
“Who’s with her?” Tara asked with obvious distaste.
Willow looked from one girl to the other as she pondered the question. Were they saying that Elizabeth had a girlfriend already or had two girlfriends? If so why was she flirting with Tara at the party and why didn’t either of them come to the party with her? “Both of them,” Eliza whispered with mock outrage.
“Great,” Tara muttered as the three girls walked toward the door. She stopped for a minute as she turned toward her lover. Eliza took a few more steps and looked at her shoes to politely give the two witches a few moments alone. “I love you, Willow,” Tara whispered.
Willow smiled and kissed her lover gently noting the concern in the blue eyes watching her. “I’ll be good, baby,” she assured the birthday girl, “no fighting or dancing on tables for me.”
“Good,” Tara agreed, “lezgo.”
The three girls walked into the restaurant and were immediately greeted with shouts of “Happy Birthday, Tara!” from a group of tables pushed together in the corner. Since they were a little late, most of Tara’s friends had already arrived. One table contained a pile of presents while the others held a smattering of beer pitchers and assorted wings, fried cheese, and other items to clog anyone’s arteries before their 25th birthday. Michelle was the first to reach the group, giving Tara and then Willow enthusiastic hugs before embracing her own girlfriend.
All four girls walked over to join the table, greeting everyone enthusiastically. Willow recognized Little Joey, James, and Elizabeth who were seated at the other end of the table. She was introduced to Little Joey’s fiancé who had missed Michelle’s birthday party because she was out of town. James didn’t appear to have brought a date but from the looks of it he wouldn’t be leaving the party alone unless he wanted to. Tara introduced a few friends from school and some people from the vet clinic. Cassie and Mark were there too.
When they reached the end of the table Elizabeth stood up to give Tara a hug, a hug that lasted too long in Willow’s opinion, and say a cold hello to the redhead. She also introduced Jon, her boyfriend, and Amy, her girlfriend, each of whom gave a slight wave before going back to visiting with each other.
What the fuck? Willow wondered. Not to be throwing stones and certainly the witch was glad to find out that Bethie had her own dates and didn’t need Tara but
why is she always hitting on Tara? She doesn’t need her. Finally Willow sat with Eliza and Michelle and gave up trying to figure out Elizabeth.
So the girl is an asshole. Whatever. A beer mug appeared in Willow’s hand almost by magic and she noted that Tara had one also. Maria came out of the kitchen with a load of wings and set them down before pulling up a chair and settling herself into the group, telling funny stories about the trouble Eliza and Little Joey had gotten into as children. Speaking of Eliza, Willow looked over at the dark-haired girl noting that true to her word, she was not drinking anything more serious than Iced Tea. The look on her face every time Elizabeth’s shrill voice drifted to their end of the table gave the distinct impression that her resolve was likely to weaken if the girl decided to join them. After a short while Willow noticed that Michelle had switched to Iced Tea; she assumed that the runner was trying to support her girlfriend.
Tara stole a glance at Willow, knowing that just doing that would make her feelings soar. Every time she looked at the redhead, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her skin tingled with excitement at the way the girl nodded her head or brushed her hair from her eyes or said, “Please pass the wings.” Anything was enough to take the blonde into a dreamy Willowland. The party was in full swing and everyone had enjoyed the food and drink heartily. Some people were showing the effects of their drinking and surprisingly enough, Eliza and Michelle appeared to be the most sober people at the party.
Who’d a thunk? Tara giggled to herself. Although their hands rarely left each other, either fingers intertwined or one hand resting on the other’s thigh, both Tara and Willow had been involved in conversations with other friends throughout the night. The blonde witch was pleased and impressed to see how well her lover fit in with all her friends.
Realizing that she had been staring at Willow as the girl told a story about a disastrous trip to find a computer store recently, Tara waited for a break in the conversation. Then she bent her head slightly to brush her lips across the top of Willow’s ear before holding her mouth just barely away from the girl’s flesh. “Did I ever tell you how sexy I find this ear?” she whispered before running her tongue lightly along the freckled top.
Willow’s fingers clenched involuntarily as she processed Tara’s sexy flirtation.
Goddess, what this woman does to my body, she thought as she appreciated the effect Tara’s proximity was having. Moving her fingers higher to brush along the inseam of the blonde’s jeans she decided to tease the girl back. She turned her head slowly to whisper in Tara’s ear, “I don’t recall you saying that but maybe you did and I had trouble hearing you because I had my head between your legs…” She noted that Tara’s mouth had dropped open and continued her X-rated description: “I mean I just get so absorbed when I’m running my tongue along your wet lips or sucking your clit into my mouth… and when you scream my name, I guess I never hear that well if you are talking about my ears.” As she finished speaking she slowly licked a trail down the blonde’s neck, sucking lightly at the base of her jugular, not caring if it made a mark.
She barely registered Tara weak admission, “You win.”
“Ha ha,” Willow gloated, “I win. I win. I never win. This is an all-time day if I win.”
Tara laughed as Willow took way too much glory over her victory this one time. Of course it only stiffened the blonde’s resolve to reclaim her title as queen tease. Maybe later she’d find an outlet for her ambition.
“You win what, Low?” Eliza asked.
“Oh yeah,” Tara teased, “why don’t you explain to Eliza what you won, baby?”
Willow looked no less smug as she answered the younger girl: “Tara will explain it. That’s one of the benefits of winning. The loser explains the game.”
Tara spoke quietly but loud enough that Eliza could hear: “I thought I was the queen for the day. That’s what you said earlier when you were...” she trailed off to whisper something in Willow’s ear, tugging on the girl’s reddening skin with her teeth as she pulled away.
Tara’s look was smug as Willow gulped before turning to Eliza to explain, “Tic tac toe; I won three straight games of tic tac toe.”
“With no paper? Whatever, Willow,” Eliza answered. Before turning back to her own girlfriend, Eliza explained to the two witches, “Just so you know, you are not the first two women to enjoy teasing each other.” She didn’t even wait for a response before turning smugly back to visit with Michelle and the other friends at that end of the table.
Tara and Willow’s shocked and embarrassed silence was broken by a shout from the doorway, “Tara!” Willow was still raising her head to find the speaker when she heard her own name shouted as well: “Willow!” Trying to see the person through the crowd the redhead wondered who knew her that wasn’t here. With the exception of the people in Sunnydale no one else knew her. Her confusion was answered as Joy arrived and gave Tara a hug before turning to Willow and likewise hugging the redhead.
“I’m sorry we’re late, Tara,” Joy explained, “we had trouble finding the place.” She indicated the young man standing slightly behind her: “This is my boyfriend, Teddy.”
“Nice to meet y’all,” Teddy politely responded as he shook both girls’ hands, “Joy talks about y’all all the time.”
“Pull up a chair,” Tara suggested as she and Willow took their seats. She turned to Willow to explain quickly, “When Joy called the other day I told her a-about the party and she wanted to come.”
“That’s so great,” Willow told the young girl as she passed her some food, “how is Golden doing?”
“It’s amazing,” Joy and Teddy answered together. They looked at each other and giggled before Joy continued: “She’s running so great and I think she may be able to be ridden soon.”
Tara took advantage of a break in the conversation to introduce Joy and Teddy to some of their other friends and get the youngsters some cokes. Since people were starting to leave the party it was decided that Tara should open her presents. Willow watched as the girl opened various shirts, books, and compact discs from all her friends. James gave her a wonderful picture that neither girl knew he had taken of them while Tara was singing the “Under your Spell” song at Michelle’s party. Willow smiled as she thought of the time the young man in her world had done the same for herself and the other Tara, slipping the picture into their luggage.
The redhead bristled as Elizabeth came over to give Tara her present personally, taking what Willow considered much too long to hand it over and obviously looking down Tara’s shirt in the process. Only Tara’s hand on her leg combined with Eliza’s hand on her other hand kept the redhead from coming out of her chair to tell the girl off.
Even that wasn’t enough to contain the redheaded witch when Tara opened the present to find a silky negligee within. The crème colored material slid through the blonde’s hands as her mouth opened first in surprise and then in anger. Willow was obviously incensed and the only thing keeping her from taking a swing at the older girl was Eliza now using both hands to hold her back. Even so, Tara noted the unfamiliar and disturbing darkening of the girl’s eyes. “Willow and I are going outside,” Eliza announced as she pulled the girl toward the door with Teddy’s help.
Tara could hear Willow muttering, “We are not going outside!” By now it appeared that Teddy had picked her up with Eliza and Joy following.
Tara felt Michelle’s hand on her arm and turned back to Elizabeth. “We need to talk, Elizabeth,” she told the older girl firmly.
“What?” Elizabeth asked with an attempt at an innocent look on her face, “I just thought you would like it.”
Before Tara could speak she heard Michelle’s anger in her speech: “No, Elizabeth, you didn’t. Now would you rather the three of us have this conversation here or in the bathroom?” The older girl at least had the good sense to look admonished as she turned and moved toward the bathroom. Tara stole a glance at Jon and Amy and was amazed to see that neither of them seemed phased at all by the events and in fact seemed ready to move their party home for the evening.
Apparently having regained her composure Elizabeth turned to face the other two girls with a haughty look on her face. “Tara,” she began, “I don’t see why my present offended you…”
She was cut off by Tara raising her hand. Without waiting for Elizabeth to stop speaking the blonde interrupted and began, “You know perfectly well why it offended me.” Seeing Elizabeth’s mouth moving as if to begin defending herself she continued, “Jesus Christ, Elizabeth. Why don’t you g-grow up? You’ve been hitting on me for five years. You hit on me when I was dating your own sister, for Goddess’ sake.” She paused here as if hoping that Elizabeth were going to adopt some level of contrition. Internally she cursed herself slightly for stuttering. It certainly didn’t seem that the girl was bothered by the admonition. “And now you’re pulling this shit in front of my lover? Willow is about to take you apart, Elizabeth!”
“Can’t your
lover take a joke?” the older girl sneered.
“A joke? All this is a j-j-joke, Bethie?” Michelle interrupted. Tara could see that the runner was furious with her sister. It wasn’t often that Michelle lost her temper, but this had been building for years. Honestly, the blonde couldn’t believe that Michelle had never had this out with her sister back when the two friends were dating. She remembered how Michelle’s older sister had flirted with her every time they saw each other during her two month relationship with the younger girl. “Fuck, Elizabeth!” the runner shouted, “any idiot could see that Tara and Willow belong together! Have you seen Tara’s art? Did you come to the exhibit? Have you even known her in the last four years?”
Elizabeth finally looked somewhat shocked at her sister’s angry outburst. “I didn’t mean… I …,” she faltered looking at the other two girls. Becoming more quiet with every breath she asked, “you mean she’s not just…you really care about her?” It wasn’t so much that Elizabeth was grief-stricken because she really cared about Tara, it seemed more that she realized that she had finally and conclusively lost.
Seeing how broken Elizabeth looked Tara gently reached up to tuck a hair behind her ear. “She’s my soulmate,” she told the girl confidently. “Why don’t you go get Amy and Jon and go home, Bethie?” she suggested.
“We’re right here,” Amy answered as she reached out for her girlfriend’s hand. Tara turned to see that their little discussion had expanded to include Amy and Jon, Eliza who stood just behind Michelle and as she turned the other way she saw Willow who reached out her hand and took Tara’s. The connection was instantaneous and she could feel the powerful energy that flowed through their link. Frowning for a second she realized that some of Willow’s power was still fueled by her anger but she could also tell how hard the redhead was attempting to control her feelings.
No one spoke for a few minutes as Jon and Amy led Elizabeth from the bar. Eliza was now nestled behind Michelle, her arms wrapped around her girlfriend’s waist and her chin on her shoulder as if wanting to give her as much support and love as possible without intruding on the moment. She knew that it was a stressful time for Michelle with this confrontation finally happening. The dark-haired girl often wondered how Michelle and her sister had turned out so different. Michelle was the most loving, giving, and faithful person Eliza had ever known. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was a complete snob. It never occurred to her that the things she said and did were offensive to most of the people around her. She flirted with everyone she met and had obviously set her sights on Tara years earlier. This was another situation that Eliza knew bothered Michelle. Even when the friends were dating in high school, Elizabeth made no effort to avoid flirting with Tara. Michelle didn’t open up about it often but Eliza knew that the girl was deeply hurt by her sister’s actions. Add that to Elizabeth’s very lightly shrouded distrust of Eliza and this confrontation had been brewing for a long time.
But Eliza also knew that that was really nothing compared to what Tara and Willow were likely to lay on the girl. Eliza had no idea how she knew what it meant but she could feel a sort of electrical energy emanating from both Willow and Tara at the moment that the piece of lingerie slid through the blonde’s hands. She had felt something like this before from Tara but was not prepared for the intensity coming from the redhead. In fact Eliza was thankful for Teddy’s help getting the smaller girl out of the bar. Teddy obviously felt out of place although he was glad to have been able to help. As they had rounded the corner, he faded into the background and allowed the two girls to talk. For a few minutes Eliza was truly worried that Willow was going to do some damage to Elizabeth. Her eyes were dark, almost black as if her pupils had taken over the entire colored part of her eye and Eliza could feel a sort of power flowing off the girl’s skin.
“Willow,” she said evenly, “you have to calm down.”
“Calm down? I need to calm down? I don’t think I do. I think that I need to go in there and kick that skank-queen’s ass,” the redhead argued.
“I can see that you are feeling pretty upset. How about taking a few deep breaths,” Eliza suggested. She looked down for a second before whispering, “Really Willow. You’re kind of floating off the ground.”
Willow looked at her feet for a second before lowering to the ground. “Better?” she spat out.
“Much,” Eliza confirmed. She was holding the redhead lightly by the upper arms trying to stroke her skin to keep her relaxed.
“You have no idea,” Willow sputtered. “You have absolutely no idea what it’s like-what she’s like. She’s such a … a … a …” The redhead faltered for a word finally settling on “ho.”
Eliza laughed briefly before answering, “I have no idea? Is that what you figure?”
Willow stopped her anger for a second too think about what Eliza said. “I guess you probably have a better idea than just about anyone what she’s like, huh?”
“Yeah,” Eliza responded, “I know just what she’s like and she makes me angry too.” She waited for a second before adding, “But what’s important is that she upsets Michelle.”
“I guess our getting angry just makes it harder on Michelle and Tara?” Willow realized.
Eliza smiled as she nodded her head. After each girl had taken a few deep breaths they had gone inside to find Michelle, Tara, and Elizabeth in the hallway near the bathroom. Eliza was happy to see Willow move to stand lovingly to Tara’s side and put her hand out. The blonde reached one hand back and seemed to gain strength from her lover’s presence.
Tara was, of course, very happy when she had realized that Eliza and Willow had returned. She could feel the remnants of Willow’s energy and chided herself lightly that the two of them had not done more work to regulate it lately. Of course they had both been ignoring most free-time activities except for enjoying their time together for the last week and a blush spread over her face as she thought about it. Moments after Elizabeth left with her lovers, Tara felt Willow’s arms wrapping around her waist. Squirming slightly the blonde turned to face her lover and return the hug. “I love you,” she whispered.
Willow brushed the back of her fingers down her girlfriend’s face as she looked into her intense blue eyes. Softly she kissed her before pulling back. “Because I didn’t turn her into a frog?” she teased.
Tara giggled, “You don’t like f-frogs, Willow.”
Enjoying the break in the tension Willow joked back, “No, but I could have turned her into a ferret or a snake or a lizard.”
“Ok,” Tara agreed, “then that’s just one of the reasons I love you.”
Looking around they realized that Michelle and Eliza had returned to the table. Most of the other party-goers had apparently found this to be a convenient time to high-tail it out of there. Only Michelle, Eliza, James, Little Joey, Joy, and Teddy remained at the table. The two witches returned and took their seats as Eliza jokingly commented, “Well. I think we have now fulfilled our recommended daily allowance for drama anyway.”
“You know what they s-say?” Tara asked.
Michelle and Eliza looked at each other before shouting, “Happy Birthday!” Everyone at the table broke into laughter.
Joy stood up announcing, “We need to get going. Happy birthday, Tara.”
Everyone hugged the younger girl and Willow took Teddy’s hand. “Thanks a lot, Teddy. You were a big help.” The couple left after waving to the group.
By now the bar was empty besides the birthday group. “Who pays?” Willow finally blurted out. It had been bothering her all night. All these people came to the party and brought a present but none of them seemed to leave money. She knew that usually when people went out for someone’s birthday they would leave money for their part and extra for the birthday person but she hadn’t seen anyone leave any money.
Eliza started giggling as she turned to Tara. “She says just what she wants doesn’t she?”
“Like you don’t,” Tara and Willow both shot back and again everyone laughed.
“Papa Patron pays,” Eliza explained and it took Willow a minute to process the information. So Mr. D’Angelo paid for Tara’s party every year. What did he do for Eliza and Joey’s birthdays if Tara got this kind of party? Wow. And she had thought she was well off when she was in high school. Of course in high school she had the other Tara to compare herself to and the girl was pretty poor.
It’s a different world here. Literally, she thought. Everyone took a drink of their beer and when she finished, Willow realized that not only was she hungry but she should probably eat something to help her drive home anyway. She looked to the basket and realized that it was empty. “We need more wings,” she said. It took a second before she realized that not only had she said it but Tara, Michelle, and Eliza had all spoken at the same moment.
A strange look passed among the other three girls and then, to Willow’s complete surprise, Eliza started howling to the rafters. She leaned back her head and howled, sounding very much like a wolf. The redhead glanced around to see if anyone else was worried about this apparent mental breakdown but no one else seemed disturbed by it. In fact Tara and Michelle both shrugged their shoulders and joined in the commotion.
Ok, it’s a thing? Willow thought puzzled. Just then she felt a tap on her shoulder and James looked at her and then at the other three.
Ok, what do you want me to do? she wondered. Before she could ask him he and Little Joey had joined in. Completely outnumbered Willow joined in the cacophony.
The men howled for only a few seconds before they began pounding on the table shouting: “Round robin! Round robin! Round robin!” As the girls stopped their noise making, James and Little Joey both began harassing Eliza: “Take me. You know you need one of us. Take me. No take me. Take both of us,” and the like. Willow continued watching the scene wondering if she had passed into the twilight zone temporarily.
The redhead looked around completely befuddled about what had gotten into everyone. Lost for a solution she raised her hand and shot three green sparks into the air. They made a loud enough bang that everyone instantly was quiet and looked at her. “What the hell is going on?” she yelled.
“It’s a round robin! Round Robin! Round Robin!” Eliza, Michelle, Little Joey, and James started yelling all at once and all over each other again.
Willow raised her hand once again and shot off one more spark. “No,” she admonished, “we are not doing that.” She pointed at Michelle making it clear that she wasn’t considering shooting a spark at the runner. “Michelle, you explain. Everyone else quiet.”
Eliza giggled but didn’t speak, instead making a motion like she was locking her lips and throwing the key over her shoulder. Tara laughed openly but didn’t speak either as she waited for Michelle to explain. “Well,” the runner started, “you know how you get silly traditions among friends?”
“Hey,” Tara interjected, “whose traditions are you c-calling silly?” Willow shot her girlfriend a look saying, “no interruptions,” and the blonde made like Eliza, throwing her air-key over her shoulder.
“The four of us all jinxed on the wings,” Michelle explained, “then Eliza started the howl. That means we’re having a round robin. James and Little Joey aren’t in the round robin because they didn’t say the jinx on the wings but they want to come along.”
Willow scrunched up her eyebrow. “What is a round robin or should I be afraid to ask?”
Tara raised her hand and Willow nodded at her. “A r-round robin means that we will go out as a group four times. Each person gets to pick an activity, any activity, and we all go do it. You can invite extra people but really the only real r-rule is that you have to pay for your choice. I m-mean pay for everyone,” she clarified. She leaned over to whisper in her lover’s ear: “I can pay yours if you need.” Tara knew that Willow had come to find her with a comfortable amount of money but she really had no idea what the redhead’s financial condition might be and she had spent a lot of money recently on her apartment and furnishings.
“Thanks,” Willow whispered back, “I’m fine.” She turned to the table. “Ok, that sounds good.” She realized something that was bothering her though: “But why are Joey and James so excited?”
Both men raised their hands as Michelle and Tara both exaggeratedly began pounding their foreheads on the table. Ignoring what the two roommates were doing Willow pointed to James who instantly explained, “Eliza always picks the same activity and she needs one or both of us to go.”
“An activity that requires one or both of you to go,” Willow repeated. “What activity requires you? Something with heavy lifting?” She mumbled to herself as she tried to reason it out.
Eliza didn’t even bother raising her hand as she explained, “topless bar!”
Willow glanced at Tara and Michelle who had stopped pounding their foreheads. “It’s a thing,” Michelle mouthed. “We’re going to a topless bar?” the redhead confirmed.
“With us,” James and Little Joey chimed in.
“Eliza has a very limited imagination,” Tara teased.
“No. I just know what I want to do with my round robin turn,” Eliza teased back. Willow leaned back in her chair as she watched the others joke and talk about their upcoming round robin events. Each tried to guess what the others would choose to do until Aunt Maria came to say that it was time for the bar to close and that she was kicking them out.
After ensuring that there were at least as many sober drivers as cars, the group left the bar but not before Aunt Maria grabbed the two boys telling them, “Good job you not wrecking my bar but I’m still watching you.” The girls laughed and told the boys they were trouble-makers before everyone hugged and parted to drive home.
Willow held Tara’s hand as she drove. The blonde had her eyes closed in the passenger seat but the girl wasn’t sleeping. The entire back seat was filled with presents and Willow had already decided to take them to Tara’s house since Scooby was there. “Baby?” she asked quietly.
“Yes love?” Tara answered.
“Are you ok? I mean about what happened with Elizabeth?”
Tara opened her eyes and looked at her lover as she answered, “Y-yes. I think I am. I mean it has been coming and maybe if I had been more firm with her over the years this wouldn’t have happened but I’m glad it did n-now.” She took a breath. “I feel bad for Michelle though.”
“Yeah,” Willow agreed, “it definitely seems like the conflict with Bethie has been brewing for Chelle for years.”
Tara nodded, “I don’t think Chelle ever quite forgave Elizabeth for her flirting with me when we were together. And the way Bethie treats Eliza is pretty r-rotten.”
“Why is that?” Willow asked.
Tara shook her head: “I’m not entirely sure. They didn’t’ hit it off right and Eliza has told her off plenty of times for the w-way she treats Michelle.” She watched Willow as she spoke, admiring the girl’s beautiful profile and feeling completely comfortable with her love. “Plus which I think that Elizabeth was a real jerk when Eliza transferred to Brenhams. She always suspected that Eliza had gotten in trouble and that’s why she t-transferred in the middle of the year.”
“She wasn’t entirely wrong,” Willow confirmed.
“No,” Tara agreed, “she wasn’t w-wrong but Eliza has grown and changed a lot from that fifteen-year old girl. “
“It’s amazing how much she has changed,” Willow mused. After a minute she added, “and what’s the deal on Elizabeth’s girlfriend and boyfriend?”
Tara waved her hand exasperatedly. “Honest-to-God, I can’t explain it. It’s been a few years now and I can’t see how they p-put up with her. I think that really the two of them are in a relationship and Elizabeth is like their added flavor or whatever.” She watched as Willow scrunched her face up as if trying to figure out that one. “The thing is,” Tara continued, “they are both really n-nice people. I’ve had classes with Amy and she’s a nice person. And I believe that she really loves Jon so I don’t know w-why they even mess with Elizabeth…”
“People do weird things,” Willow muttered.
Tara giggled at her girlfriend’s assessment of the evening. “This was the b-best birthday I’ve ever had, Willow,” she told the girl sincerely.
Willow looked over at her lover for a second before raising her hand to her lips. “Then I’ll see what I can do about improving on it every year from now on, baby,” she whispered.
Tara smiled broadly at her lover’s assertion that there would be many years to come for them. “Speaking of g-great birthdays,” Tara started, “where is my present?”
Willow smiled as she answered, “In the trunk.”
“In the trunk?” Tara sputtered. “You mean you could h-have given it to me anytime?” She giggled as she accused, “You little sneak.”
“That’s me,” Willow agreed, “Your little sneak.”
“I’ve noticed,” Tara agreed.
“I hope you’ll like it,” Willow added.
This time it was Tara who lifted her lover’s hand to her mouth placing a soft kiss on her palm. “Baby, just your being here is all the present I’ll ever need.”
“Mmm,” Willow murmured, “Then here is exactly where I’ll stay.” Both girls were quiet just enjoying their drive back home. Each one understood exactly what the other was saying and there was no need to elaborate further.
---
"I was working on a proof of one of my poems all morning and took out a comma. In the afternoon, I put it back in again." - Oscar Wilde
at: 11/6/03 7:47 pm
). 
Debra 
,
How are Rachel and the 
doing? Again I hope well. 
I want to live in a fic! They always get happy endings. 
's wake up call for 
on her birthday was great. 
I have my b-day in a month, can I order a wake up call like that? 
If I can WHERE? 
Wonder if she is an alcholic or just likes to drink? I love the exchange between Eliza and 
more. Update soon, please? 
Their relationship is beautiful. 
......wish my life is at least half as good as your fics 
)
at: 11/21/03 6:47 am