"Yes, please." She let the silence go on for a little while, then?. "Tell me about you and Saphira." Esmeralda cocked an eyebrow in Brianna's direction. "I'd just like to know more about you." Brianna paused. "Tell you what - you share with me and I'll share with you."

"All right," Esmeralda agreed as she picked up the duster. "I'll start. Do you want to ask specific questions or should I just throw out random bits of information?"

Brianna's eyes narrowed. "You haven't always been a custodian, have you?" Esmeralda grinned. This was going to be fun.


Chapter XII

"What makes you say that?" Esmeralda asked as started pulling supplies from her cart, setting them out in the order she planned to use them.

"Call it prosecutor's intuition," Brianna said with a satisfied smile, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back in her chair. For the first time since the announcement about her posting that very morning - what felt like a veritable lifetime ago - Brianna felt comfortable. Though she had only met Esmeralda the previous day, there was something about her that inspired a sense of well-being and Brianna hadn't been kidding when she'd told them she'd long ago learned to trust her gut. It was an instinct she had developed the hard way and she wasn't going to dismiss it now? especially when it boded well for her for a change.

She noted the smirk on Esmeralda's face and couldn't stop the smile from breaking out across her own, even though she was confident that the twinkle reflected in green eyes that could have been her twins meant nothing but trouble for her. "What?"

"I didn't realize prosecuting attorneys were allowed to have intuition, Senator. I thought they had to check it at the door in order to get their ID badges."

"Oh ho? funny woman, hmm?" Brianna allowed the twinkle to form in her own eyes. "Let me guess - you were a comedienne in another life," she continued drolly.

"No, I've always been a custodian or a janitor in one capacity or other. I'm good at it, it pays the bills and you'd be surprised at the things you learn cleaning up behind a person. And while I would never use that knowledge for my own personal gain, it has taught me how to read and relate to people better. And that has given me some wonderful, interesting friends in my life."

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely. To those who see me - who relate to me as a person - I am a viable friend? someone who has earned trust and respect. But to most of those that I work for, I'm not a person but a job to be done. They don't see me - only the results of my labor - so it's easy to dismiss me, but it tends to make them more careless than they would be if they realized I was able to see the things they left behind."

Brianna tilted her head, eyes gone serious at Esmeralda's words. "Such as?"

"Well, you can tell about a lot about a person's personal habits by how they leave their desk. Or what they throw away. What they eat or how they personalize their workspace."

"So you're a student of human nature?"

"Something like that," Es shrugged diffidently. "It keeps my mind busy at any rate."

"Don't downplay your intelligence, Esmeralda, or any of the other talents that you possess." Brianna held up her hand to keep Esmeralda from interrupting before she could finish. "I don't trust easily, Es - I've learned not to in my line of work. Too many people have a tendency to lie first and I've come to expect it as a matter of course. Because of that I have developed a sense about people - not always completely accurate, but right much more often than not."

Esmeralda nodded, but waited for Brianna to continue.

"There's something about you, Esmeralda. You are much more than you allow most to see, but still people feel comfortable around you. I imagine a lot of people talk to you - spilling any number of secrets. And you keep each and every one."

"Brianna, you haven't known me long enough to make that sort of judgment."

Brianna smiled, the expression genuine and visible in her eyes. "Normally, I'd agree with you. But I'd be willing to bet good money I'm right."

"You sure it's not just because you need someone to talk to? need someone to trust?" Esmeralda watched sadly as the light faded from Brianna's eyes. "I'm not saying you're wrong, Brianna, but I don't want you to ever regret confiding in me."

"Do you think I would?"

"I would never give you a reason to, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't have doubts and regrets if you jumped in with both feet right at the start. Right now you have nothing more to go on than your gut and my word, and while I'm sure you trust your gut with very good reason, my word means nothing to you yet."

Brianna sat back, impressed despite herself. "Seems you really are a student of human nature, Esmeralda. You appear to know me very well. So what does my office tell you about me?"

"Aside from the fact that you are moving in?" Es asked with some levity, motioning to the many boxes still packed and scattered around the large space. Brianna smiled with appreciation then nodded and Es took her time surveying the room, walking around slowly as she observed everything.

"Well, going strictly by the labels on the boxes, you are something of a scholar if the sheer number and variety of books is anything to go by. That is not the most important thing to you though as they haven't even been opened and uncrated yet. You were probably a Girl Scout at some point in your life as evidenced by the large first aid kit and several changes of clothing already ensconced in your closet. Family and friends are important to you - though some hold more weight and value in your life than others do. You traveled the world a bit when you were younger, but adulthood and its responsibilities allows you that luxury only on rare occasions. And either photography is a bit of a serious hobby or you travel alone now when you go." She tapped her fingers on her lips, pretending not to notice Brianna's shell-shocked countenance. "Let's see? what else?"

"There's more?"

"Not much at first glance," Esmeralda confessed as her eyes continued to roam the room. "I'd say you probably came from money and that your parents divorced when you were still fairly young although you appear to have found or cultivated a new family unit. And you're most comfortable surrounded by the warmth of familiarity that these reminders bring you. Other than that??" She shrugged. "Only time will reveal more."

Brianna blinked. "How did you??" She looked around the office. "How can you tell all that? All I see is a bunch of unpacked boxes in a mostly bare space."

"I explained about the books," Esmeralda started patiently, waiting for Brianna to nod her agreement. "Were you a girl scout?"

Brianna blushed slightly but nodded again. "I went through the whole program - I was an ambassador."

"Which is why you've learned to prepare for the unexpected as much as you possibly can."

"And the family and friends?"

"You already have their pictures out and placed around your office; you can see all of them, but their framing and placement indicate their value in your life. This one," picking up the crystal frame Brianna had purchased in Ireland years before. "This one is especially important - the frame is expensive and it holds the most prominent position on your desk - so it stands to reason that the other person in it is important to you? or was when the picture of the two of you was taken. Either way, it is a reminder of what you consider to be one of the happiest times of your life. These," motioning to a small grouping of silver frames on one corner of the desk, "are family or close friends, I'm guessing? maybe both. Those," gesturing to the pictures hung on the wall across from the desk, "are people you're glad to have met - you may even keep in touch with the occasional email or Christmas cards - but that's it. The collages - places you've gone and the memories make you happy, so you keep them close behind you where you can turn and look anytime you need to relax."

"I would guess these," motioning to two pictures that hung on either side of prominently displayed diplomas, "are your parents. You have her height, build and eye color and his smile and hair. Since you are alone with your father in his picture and with your mother and her husband in hers and since your dad isn't wearing a wedding ring, it stands to reason that they are no longer married to one another. The fact that there is no mark on his ring finger means they probably haven't been together for a while."

"And the travel?"

Esmeralda smiled. "That was actually the easiest." She walked around the desk to take a closer look. "These," pointing to the college of Brianna's and Charisma's graduation trip, "show you in most of them. If I was to guess, I'd say probably when you were in college and you traveled with at least one friend," not yet mentioning she recognized the same younger version of Charisma Tagherty that sat so prominently on Brianna's desk in the crystal frame. "These," gesturing to the next set, " are still whimsical and personal, and yet there are no obvious people in them, except the one you're in. The photos are of the places themselves, not the people you spent time with there. The timeline is only a guess on my part because photography has changed so much over the last twenty years or so, but I'd guess the two trips were at least ten years apart. And these," standing in front of the last collage, "these are the work of an artist - someone who knows how frame a shot and get the maximum effect. You could probably sell them if you were so inclined. I find it interesting that you don't seem to have visited the same place twice in a row? judging by your photography anyway."

Esmeralda turned to face Brianna, smiling gently at the totally gobsmacked look that graced her face. "So? how'd I do?"

Brianna blinked a couple times, her mouth opening and closing silently as she tried to recover her scattered wits. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were either psychic or a stalker." She held up her hand before Esmeralda could protest. "But your explanations - seeing through your eyes was amazing? and very telling in and of itself."

"How so?"

"You're wasted as a custodian, Esmeralda. You should be a police detective or a secret service agent. You don't miss very much and you have a real grasp on human nature."

Esmeralda smiled. "Lots of practice." She drew in a breath then hesitated, unsure if she should continue. Brianna cocked an inquiring brow and Es shrugged. "I was just noticing - this reminds me of someone I know," retrieving the crystal frame from the desk and studying it carefully. "Another friend of mine. This young woman is about half her age, although given your age here?." She placed it gently back on the desk and met Brianna's green eyes squarely, shaking her head. "But what are the odds of that, huh?"

Brianna smiled weakly, but plowed ahead. "This friend? she doesn't happen to be a United States Senator, does she?"

"As a matter of fact?."

"Um hmm? and does she have a name?"

"Senator Tagherty? Charisma Tagherty. Is that??"

Brianna nodded. "We were college roommates and best friends once upon a time. Then our lives took different paths and we lost touch with one another."

Esmeralda smiled despite the feeling of impending doom that suddenly resonated throughout the room. The tension was apparent in the stiff lines of Brianna's body and Es could feel it scrape and vibrate along her own nerves. However, she was committed to this course of action, so?.

"Well, then - isn't it nice that you're neighbors now?" gesturing towards the closed office door. "It will give you the chance to?."

"No!" Brianna cut in before Esmeralda could finish her thought. Esmeralda looked at her with shock and confusion clear in her eyes and expression. While Brianna's reaction was not unexpected for the angel, the custodian needed a more human response.

"But??"

Brianna held up her hand to halt Esmeralda's words and she took a deep breath before speaking again herself. "I appreciate what you're saying, Esmeralda. But that was a long time ago - things aren't the same anymore."

Es rolled her eyes dramatically, coaxing a reluctant smile from Brianna despite her best efforts to remain stern. "Of course they're not, Brianna. Life is about change - it's the one guaranteed constant we're assured of. That doesn't make it a bad thing. C'mon? can you sit there and tell me you have so many friends you can afford to refuse the opportunity to make another? or renew one that's been lost for years?"