I got next to zero work done on Part C today, but I don't care. I'm still going to post Part B tonight. So that means I'll have to work extra hard to get the next part done so it's not a year away until I post it. This one's kind of short, but there's a lot going on.
Reply:bluewillowwitch – I’d hate to be part of that conversation too. Tough stuff. Update now.
Title: Songs For A Mix Tape
Author: Sarah (unionjill30)
Email: unionjill_30@yahoo.comRating: PG - PG13ish?
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters from ME, and really I don’t own the other characters so much either. Though Kim would like to think she owns me. I’ve been informed that I don’t have to be Kim’s bitch, I just choose to be. Go figure.
Feedback: Yes please
Track ListTrack 22: Glory of Love (From “Karate Kid 2”) by A New Found GloryPart B Willow woke up Friday morning feeling better than she had in days. At the breakfast table her good mood didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of her family.
“Did you call Tara?” her father asked with a knowing smile.
Willow only grinned back as she spread cream cheese on half a bagel.
“When do we meet this girl who puts that bright look on your face?” her grandmother asked from across the large table.
A thickly accented voice spoke up from the head of the group. They all turned as Emilia Luftig, or Nana as everyone called her, said, “When the child is ready, we will meet her.” The short, white-haired woman was one of few words, or English words anyway, but when she did have something to say, it usually held some weight with the family.
Willow smiled warmly at her great-grandmother and went back to her bagel. She was glad her family was so interested in her girlfriend. As they continued with breakfast she thought about how fortunate she was.
After meeting Jennifer, Willow and her family went inside the theatre with the brunette. There was still time to kill before things started, and Willow took the opportunity to tell her parents about her plans to drive back to California. She’d made all the arrangements on her own, but had yet to tell them. Needless to say, they were less than pleased with her decision.
“You can’t drive that far by yourself,” Ira argued. He’d seen Barbara Walters’ segment on 20/20 and knew all the roadside dangers young women traveling alone could face.
“Your father’s right,” Shelia agreed. She hardly ever had to tell her daughter ‘no,’ but she felt it was best in the situation.
When she’d made the decision, Willow didn’t know she’d have to argue with her parents about it. She didn’t get what the big deal was and figured she was old enough to do what she wanted. “I don’t have a plane ticket back any...”
“We’ll get you another one,” Ira interrupted.
Willow saw the look on her father’s face and knew to just give up. It was his ‘stern face,’ as she liked to call it. “Fine,” she sighed and leaned onto the armrest to properly pout.
Not much later the movie began. It only lasted an hour, but by the time it was over, the earlier argument seemed to have been forgotten. Ira hadn’t forgotten though. He was just waiting for an opportunity.
When they all left the theatre, Jennifer and Willow went in search of a restroom. “Can you hold my purse, Dad?” the redhead asked, handing over the purse and giving her father the opportunity he sought.
Tara sat behind the counter at the bookstore flipping through a catalogue from a music distributor in LA. Kim came in ultra early, in her opinion, and was sitting next to her friend compiling a list of the things they needed to accomplish in the coming weeks.
“Did you find out how much the paint was going to cost?” Kim asked.
Tara glanced up from the catalogue with a confused look. “I thought you already did that.”
“Nope. I thought that was your department.”
The two looked at each other for a moment before Tara gave in. “I’ll go do it when I get off.”
Kim smiled and wrote it on her list. “Great!”
Tara rolled her eyes and went back to the catalogue. Just as she was ready to flip the page, her cell phone went off. “Can you...?” The blonde motioned to the few people milling about in the store.
“Sure,” Kim said, taking over for her friend.
As she answered the phone, Tara slipped off to the back room.
About ten minutes later, Kim finished ringing up a customer as Tara came back to her seat behind the counter. The blonde didn’t say anything, and Kim looked at her friend expectantly.
Tara felt Kim’s eyes on her and turned to the other woman. Hesitantly she said, “There might be some changes in next week’s plans.
Willow and her family had lunch with Jennifer before the brunette had to head back to New York.
“That girl is so odd,” Willow’s grandfather said after Jennifer’s departure.
“Elliot!” her grandmother admonished the older man. She agreed, but it didn’t mean she’d say it out loud.
“Does everyone not think the same thing?” Elliot asked the family.
No one, including Willow, said anything. After paying the check, they all headed back to the elder Rosenbergs’ home to prepare for Shabbat.
Friday evening and Saturday were filled with family time and traditions that Willow hadn’t known she missed. Her father and grandfather, two of the most competitive people she knew, spent a good portion of time battling it out with a combination chess/checkers/backgammon set. Knowing better than to get in the middle of the father-son match, the youngest Rosenberg spent her time with the women of the family. Nana Luftig graced them all with stories of her long life, and by the end of it all, Willow was sad she didn’t get to do this every week and felt a little guilty that she neglected her heritage so much.
On Sunday morning, Willow and her parents made their departure from Massachusetts. They drove at a steady pace through the day with Ira insisting they get back as quickly as possible. He claimed he just wanted to get back to his own home, but Willow thought he was acting funny. She didn’t comment though.
The trio made it back, safe and sound, just as the sun was starting to dip from the sky. Willow headed directly upstairs to her bedroom to unload her things.
Shelia poked her head in her daughter’s bedroom doorway. “I’m going to run to the grocery store. You want ice cream or anything?”
Willow’s face lit up. “Can you get popsicles?” As an afterthought she added, “The red, white, and blue ones?”
“Sure,” her mother said, laughing at Willow’s enthusiasm. “I’ll be back soon.” With that, Shelia disappeared out of the doorway.
Willow came downstairs a little while later to find her father in the kitchen opening a bottle of red wine. His parents grew their own grapes and bottled the wine themselves. They had sent a few bottles with their son and his family.
Ira looked up to see his daughter just as he pulled the cork out. “Want a glass?” he asked.
“Sure,” Willow accepted, moving to stand opposite her father at the butcher’s block in the middle of the kitchen. “So when am I leaving?” she asked. They hadn’t talked about it, but the redhead assumed her parents had already taken the liberty of getting her a flight back to California.
“Tomorrow,” Ira said as he finished pouring two glasses of the wine.
“What time?” Willow asked, accepting one of the glasses. She took a sip, enjoying the rich flavor.
Ira smiled. “You can sleep in if that’s what you want to know.”
Willow rolled her eyes but grinned back. “I’m going to go pack then and call Tara.” She then retreated from the kitchen, wineglass in hand, to head back to her bedroom.
Once upstairs, Willow placed the glass on her bedside table, sat down on her bed, and grabbed her phone. She speed dialed Tara’s number and waited for the blonde to pick up.
It only took a moment for Tara to answer. “Hey, Will.”
“Hello, Beautiful,” the redhead said cheerily. “How goes it?”
“I’m fine,” Tara replied. “Sounds like you’re in a good mood.”
“Getting to talk to you sort of has that effect on me,” Willow said quietly, as if it were a secret. “And it feels like ages since I talked to you last. Hence the obvious good mood.”
Tara giggled. “Sweetie, it’s been three days.”
“Like I said. Ages.” After a moment of comfortable silence, the redhead added, “I have a bit of news for you.”
“Yeah?” Tara questioned curiously.
“Yeah. Apparently my assumptions that I’m a big girl now were wrong, and my parents voted an emphatic ‘no’ on the me driving back thing.” There was an evident pout in Willow’s voice.
“Really?” Tara asked, though it came out as more of a statement rather than the question it was intended to be.
“You don’t sound at all surprised.”
“Well they’re your parents,” the blonde tried to hastily explain. “They probably worry.”
“I know,” Willow agreed reluctantly. She then smiled. “But on the upside, Tara-Time happens a lot sooner, which leads me to the favor asking portion of the evening.”
“And what favor would you be asking, my dear?” Tara asked, grinning.
Willow hesitated a little since she knew Tara and Kim were going to be busy getting the store ready, but she went ahead and asked. “Would there be any chance that tomorrow you could pick me up at the airport?”
Tara’s grin faltered. “Oh.” As much as she wished she could agree to do any favor for the redhead, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to fulfill the request. “I would love nothing more than to say yes, but I don’t know if I can. I…”
“It’s okay,” Willow interrupted. “You have a lot of stuff to get done. I can ask Buffy. I need to call her tonight anyway.” She was a little disappointed, but could understand if Tara wasn’t available.
“Don’t ask Buffy just yet. Can I talk to you later tonight to let you know a definite?”
“Sure,” Willow replied. “I’ll wait to call her.”
“I think we’re almost there,” the redhead heard another voice say from the other end of the phone. It was too quiet to make out who it was, but the fact that it was female made her assume it must be Kim.
“You guys out and about?” Willow asked.
“Sort of,” Tara replied. “I’m hanging out with my sister.”
Willow thought for a second but didn’t recall Tara mentioning a visit from Elle. She figured it must have been one of those random visits. “Cool. Tell her I said ‘hey.’”
Tara smiled and turned to her sister who was at the steering wheel of the car they were in. She had to stop herself from giggling. “Willow says ‘hey.’”
Her sister looked back, confused, and replied, “Um, hey back?” She pulled the vehicle into a parking lot and announced, “We’re here.”
“She says ‘hey’ too,” Tara told her girlfriend. “I have to go for a while, but I’ll talk to you in a little bit and let you know about tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay,” Willow said, though she was sad Tara had to go. “I’ll be here.”
They both said their goodbyes and Willow stood up from her bed to take on the task of repacking all of her things. Opening her suitcase, she opted to take advantage of her parents’ water and do a little laundry so she wouldn’t need to when she got home.
After beginning a load of clothes in the washing machine, Willow went back to her bedroom to check her email. Not much later, her wineglass was nearly empty, and she decided to go back to the kitchen to refill it. At the top of the steps she heard the front door open followed by her mother’s voice. She was sure her father wasn’t who her mother was talking to considering she then heard her father’s voice greeting someone. Curiously, Willow crept down the stairs to see who was visiting her parents.
With only two steps to go, Willow could see into the foyer and made out the face of the person her father was hugging. The glass in her hand fell, shattering on the wood floor of the landing, and all she her voice could manage was to gasp, “Tara?
You say it’s your first time backstage at the Troubadour, but I get the feeling that’s been said by you before. You’re very slick when you’re not being coy, but I’m on to your tricks and I’m wise to your ploys. And I bet you say that to all the boys. You’re quite good at telling me just what I want to hear, and you do a bit more than just talk that much is clear.
I'm so glad that they are on good terms at the moment. I just hope their next big talk doesn't cause any problems. Can't wait till next update. 
unionjill 
,
I'm glad that 
and 
have talked and worked a few things out. 
That is going to be a long and hard conversation that they are in for though. 
I wouldn't want to be on either end of it. 
Can't wait to 
more. Update soon, please? 
This roadtrip should be an interesting one. 
Can't wait to 
. Heehee, that was so planned, I think. Anyway, like I always say, great work, great update, GREAT FIC 
