"Yeah, but it's easy to forget when you're not in the habit of needing them," Esmeralda commented lightly, knowing Mal wasn't ignoring the question as much as she was trying to determine what to say.

"Kent's partner is a couple - a man and wife he went to school with. As far as I can tell, they have been friends for almost twenty years." She paused and Esmeralda waited silently. "From what I have been able to gather...." Here Mal broke off and looked directly into Esmeralda's green eyes. "You know, this would all be a lot easier if we had access to the heavenly files."

"I know," Esmeralda agreed softly. "But I can't ask for that, Mal."

Mal heaved a deep breath. "I know," she grumbled. "But it would've made things easier. However," she continued without pause, "from what I've be able to put together, Kent and the male - whose name is Doug, by the way - were roommates in college and had talked about this whole business idea off and on during that time. Doug and Carolyn met in his junior year - she was a freshman. He went into the Army after college and she stayed to finish her degree, but they eventually got married. Kent was Doug's best man, but after the wedding they drifted apart."

"Like Charisma and Brianna?"

"Oh no... not at all. They still wrote once in a while - Christmas cards, newsletters - or made the occasional phone call, but life kind of got in the way of their friendship. Doug was overseas as well as being newly married and Kent was trying to establish himself in the theatre world."

"Okay, so then what?"

"After Doug's stint, he was tapped for a teaching position at NYU where he is still a professor. Carolyn is a nurse manager at NYU Medical Center. And when Kent was working on some production or other, they stumbled across one another again... literally. They got to talking and one thing led to another and they decided to try and make that college dream come true."

"How long did it take... before they made the dream come true?"

Mal paused thoughtfully when Esmeralda turned off the water and passed her a towel. "A little while, but I can't say for certain how long it took. I know that Kent and Charisma used it for their reception, but I don't know if she knows why."

"You don't think Charisma is aware of this part of Kent's life?"

Mal shook her head. "Would she need to be?"

Esmeralda's focus went inward for a long moment before she looked at Mal again. "Given what I know of the two of them, I'd be surprised if she is actually aware of this venture. The only thing they seem to have in common is their son." She paused. "Does Kent talk to both Doug and Carolyn or just Doug?"

"Mostly just Doug. Even though Carolyn is a nurse manager, a majority of her time is still wrapped up in the hospital. Doug, on the other hand, can put the hours into the business now that he's tenured."

"What do they talk about?"

Mal scrunched up her brows in confusion. "I'm not sure I understand the question."

Now Esmeralda furrowed her own eyebrow. "What's not to understand, Mal? What do Kent and Doug talk about when they sit down together?"

"Um... the business, mostly. What's going right, what needs work... sometimes they throw menu ideas back and forth to each other." She turned a little green. "I'm glad they have a trained chef," her wry comment and screwed-up facial expression causing laughter to bubble up in Esmeralda's chest. Mal chuckled sympathetically. "Once in a while they talk about their kids or sports."

"But not their wives?"

Mal shrugged. "Doug does... especially if Carolyn hasn't been there for a while. Kent tends to be noncommittal and changes the subject pretty quickly."

Esmeralda remained thoughtful for another moment, then motioned to Mal. "C'mon... we still have company, and I'm gonna need time and space to process this."

"You want me to stay?"

"Unless Jade notifies you that Kent is suddenly leaving, yeah." And together they exited the bedroom and headed back down the hall towards the kitchen.

The sound of hilarity and the scent of meat cooking hastened their steps and three sets of eyes turned to greet them as they reached the threshold. Esmeralda tugged Mal by the elbow until they were standing side by side.

"Mal, you remember my mate Saphira," introducing her as though she was a friend as she was purported to be and not part of the household. Saphira offered her hand, though her eyes twinkled in mischief. Mal accepted it and shook it briefly, then waited for Ruby's introduction and did the same. When Esmeralda reached Brianna, however, Brianna held up her hands.

"Are yours all right now?" flexing her fingers to show Mal what she meant. Mal blushed and nodded.

"Yeah, thanks. I forgot how cold it can get here and just walked off without my gloves."

"Bet that doesn't happen again," Brianna teased.

"No bet," Mal muttered. "Pretty sure I've forgotten them before and I'm guessing it wouldn't take much for me to do it again. Not enough working brain cells, you know."

Brianna laughed. "I feel like that some days. So what do you do, if you don't mind my asking?"

Mal didn't miss a beat. "Surveillance," she replied candidly. "It's dirty work, but it pays the bills."

Brianna snorted. "I feel the same about politics," she confessed, garnering her laughter from around the kitchen.

"What about the law?" Saphira inquired. "Do you ever feel that way about the law?"

Brianna scratched the back of her neck and frowned. "Sometimes," she answered. "Like when I know we're going to lose a case because the evidence isn't there, even if we know the person being tried is as guilty as sin."

"Does that happen a lot?" Ruby asked from her spot at the counter. Brianna shrugged.

"Not as often as you'd think, but more often than I'd like to admit." She turned and looked at Esmeralda. "Are you sure there isn't something I can do to help? Despite the nature of my current job, I promise I really am quite proficient in the kitchen.

Esmeralda was standing beside Ruby, currently helping prepare lunch when Brianna voiced her question. She turned and smiled. "It's not a matter of proficiency, Brianna - it's a matter of logistics." She motioned around her. "There's really not room but for one or two of us to be doing anything constructive like making a meal."

"But you're still recovering...." with concerned eyes.

"I know, but trust me... you don't want Saphira to cook. I love her dearly, but there's a reason she waits tables at the diner, and it's not because she's overly fond of screaming kids," she said tenderly. Then Esmeralda laughed, forcing Brianna to turn and catch Saphira crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue at the sentiment. "Besides," she added a moment later, "you *provided* lunch. Least we can do is prepare it."

Brianna held up her hands in surrender. "All right," she conceded. "I'll just sit here and look pretty," making the same face the Saphira had.

Esmeralda shook her head at the three women sitting at the table currently trying to outdo one another making ridiculous faces. She crossed to the cabinet that held the dishes, but before she could grab a stack of plates, Mal jumped up and slapped at a pocket of her pants. The rest just looked at her in astonishment.

"Stupid phone," she muttered for Brianna's benefit, knowing full well the others would understand. "Sorry," she said to Brianna. "I always forget about it til it vibrates. And unfortunately, it means I have to go back to work now." She extended her hand to Brianna. "It was nice to meet you." She turned and looked at Ruby. "And you as well, ma'am," knowing that would get her butt kicked later. Mal turned to Saphira who had risen to stand beside Esmeralda. "It was good to see you both again. Es, I'm glad you're doing better."

"Let me walk you to the door," Saphira offered. "You're gonna need some gloves if you're going back out into this weather, and I think I've got an old pair in the hall closet you can take with you."

"I'd appreciate that, Saphira - thanks."

Mal waved once more and then followed Saphira to the foyer. Esmeralda grabbed the plates and put them on the table in front of Brianna. "Now you can help if you wanna," Esmeralda offered. "The table needs to be set," putting the silverware and napkins with the plates.

"I can do that," Brianna said enthusiastically. "And can I just say how glad I am not to have to worry about the number of forks?"

Ruby laughed. "I never quite got that myself."

Meanwhile, Saphira had opened the hall closet and extricated Mal's coat. Mal slipped into it and began fastening it up when Saphira dug around for gloves. With her head still in the closet, she spoke quietly over her shoulder. "You wanna tell me that was all about? Because you know and I know and Es and Ruby both know it wasn't a cell phone buzzing that made you jump like that."

"It was me," Jade spoke. "I stepped into the hall where she could see me."

Saphira frowned. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. "You're supposed to be watching Charisma."

"I'm aware," Jade agreed drolly. "However, Charisma is getting ready to leave her house - I heard her put in a call to Turq. So I figured I'd better let Mal know she needed to get back to keep an eye on Kent."

Saphira rubbed her forehead and blew out an impatient breath before she met Mal's eyes. "I'm gonna take a real leap here and assume Es can explain all this to me later... when we don't have company?"

"Yep."

"All right. Go then... both of you. And be careful."

Jade and Mal both nodded and shimmered out of sight. Saphira took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then turned her footsteps back towards the kitchen. Hopefully this would start to make sense soon. She was getting a headache.

Brianna had the table nearly set when Saphira crossed back into the kitchen and Ruby was beginning to put the food on the table. "Everything all right?" Esmeralda asked, noting that Saphira was rubbing her forehead.

"Yeah. It just took me longer to find those gloves than I expected. You want me to refill the drinks?"

"Would you mind?" watching as Brianna and Ruby took their seats.

"Not at all," Saphira agreed, pulling out Esmeralda's chair. "Why don't you...?" A knock at the front door stopped her words with a sigh. Saphira's chin dropped to her chest and she looked out at Esmeralda from beneath thick bangs and lashes. Esmeralda just smiled and patted her forearm.

"You finish fixing the drinks - I'll be right back."

"You two seem pretty popular today," Esmeralda heard Ruby comment before she moved out of hearing. Then she stepped up to the door once more and looked through the peephole again. "Oh boy," she muttered, feeling a distinct sense of dйjа vu. "This day just keeps getting better and better."


Chapter XXXV

Esmeralda took a deep breath and opened the door, smiling brightly at Charisma and Adam who waited her reaction nervously... or in Adam's case, with great anticipation. She opened her arms when Adam grabbed for her, glad for swift reflexes. Charisma lunged after him, keeping her arms around his middle even as his arms wound around Esmeralda's neck. Esmeralda held Adam tightly with one arm while she steadied Charisma with her other. Then she smiled.

"Hello, Charisma. Welcome to our home," opening her arms and briefly embracing them both.

Charisma chuckled as she pulled back from the hug, her face flushed pink. "Thank you, Esmeralda. It wasn't quite the impression I hoped to make - I hope you don't mind us taking you up on your invitation and just dropping by."

"Of course not, Charisma - it was an open invitation. We're very glad you're here." She glanced at Adam. "Why don't you let me take him and we can move indoors where it's warmer?"

"Oh God... I'm sorry, Es," suddenly noting Esmeralda's lack of cold weather clothing and detecting her slight shivers. She released her hold on Adam and turned to wave Turq off before she crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her. Esmeralda had already put Adam down and had knelt to help him remove his coat. When she stood, Esmeralda extended her hand to Charisma, taking her coat and motioning towards the kitchen as she turned to put both coats in the closet. She idly noted that Adam took Charisma's hand, but neither of them seemed inclined to move.

When she had the outerwear taken care of, she extended her hand to Charisma. It took a minute, but finally Charisma put her slightly shaky hand into Esmeralda's, then they made their way down the short hall that led to the kitchen.