Esmeralda nodded and laughed, knowing Jas was right. More than once she and Turq had both been unready when the phone rang. It didn't happen often, and now they at least put on clothing around the house as opposed to a bathrobe. They could be seen outside in sweats and jeans - negligees and robes were a little more noticeable when you actually had to be seen in public.

"You're right," Esmeralda agreed. "It almost has been once or twice. Be quick, Jas, but be careful."

"I will. Be back shortly."

"I'll be here." And with that, Jas started the car and headed towards the city center to pick up Brianna.

************

Charisma watched Kent play with Adam for a while in the family room, before she rose. Adam instantly stopped playing and ran over to wrap his arms around her legs. "Mama, where going?"

"I'm going to go take care of a little work, Son. You stay here and play with Daddy."

"What would you have done if I hadn't been here to watch him, Charisma?"

"Same thing I do every other weekend you're not here, Kent," she replied tiredly. "Taken him into the study with me. But since you're here, and he hasn't seen you for a while...." She let the thought trail off.

"Why don't you stay with us, Charisma? It's not like your work is pressing right now and we have so little time together as a family."

Charisma sighed. It seemed like they went through this every time Kent came back from being out of town for any length of time. He should know better by now. "I won't be long, Kent, but I need to get this done before we head home on Monday."

"Yeah, about that - why don't we leave now? You know your mother would be thrilled to have us home for a couple extra days."

Charisma thought about the album viewing 'date' she and Adam had scheduled with Brianna for the following morning. Part of her was loath to give that up, but the other part wondered if it might be better to delay it. She wasn't certain how Kent and Brianna would react to each other... especially when Kent saw how Adam responded to Brianna so naturally. At least at her mother's home, they would keep their company manners. It would give her an idea on whether having them both in her home at the same time was a good idea.

"Charisma?" Kent called out with only a hint of impatience. "Did you hear me?"

Charisma blinked and shook her head, then met Kent's eyes. "Yes... I'm sorry. I was mentally trying to rearrange a few things. Let me take care of my work and see if I can rearrange a couple things I had scheduled for tomorrow. If I can get that done, we can go up this afternoon if you want."

Kent nodded, smiling. "Good. I'm looking forward to this holiday."

Charisma returned his smile. "I am too," she said honestly. "Seems like forever since I saw the whole family."

"Okay - go do your work or whatever," Kent answered, making shooing motions with his hands. "Adam and I'll go see about getting our stuff packed up. Yours ready to go?"

"Mostly. I'll add the few things I need as soon as I get done. I'll be on my cell if you want to call Mama and let her know to expect us. You know how she feels about being sprung upon," added with a smirk.

Kent chuckled. "Yeah. Now shoo - the boy and me have got this covered."

Charisma laughed and headed out of the family room. "Don't forget to call your mother as well," she reminded. Kent's brows went into his hairline, then he looked at his son.

"C'mon Boy - we've got work to do so we can go see your Gramma and Pop Pop and your Grandmother."

"Br'anna too?"

Kent's brow furrowed. "How about you tell me about Brianna, Adam? Daddy hasn't met Brianna yet."

"Br'anna good. Adam love Br'anna."

"C'mon, son. Let's go upstairs and get ready to go. You can tell me all about Brianna Walker."


Chapter LIII

"Brianna!" Esmeralda exclaimed as she opened the door to find a wet, bedraggled senator standing at her door. She reached out an arm and pulled Brianna inside, waving to Jas as she eased the car from the drive. Esmeralda offered Brianna a warm, dry towel even as she helped her out of her coat. Brianna accepted the towel as she slipped out of her outer garment, thankful it had kept most of her relatively dry. Her shoes, however.... Esmeralda hung the coat and took the loaf of French bread, then grabbed Brianna by the elbow and tugged her towards the kitchen. "C'mon," she invited. "It's warmest in the kitchen."

They entered the kitchen and Brianna took a deep breath. "It smells really good in here."

"Thanks," Esmeralda grinned. "It's Saphira's favorite. Take off your shoes," she instructed, placing the bread on the counter and slipping into her room, only to return a moment later with a pair of dry, woolen socks. Esmeralda raised her eyebrows at Brianna when she realized the other woman hadn't moved. "Your shoes?"

Brianna looked down at her feet. "What about them?"

Esmeralda shook her head. "Take them off and put these on," she said, passing Brianna the socks. "Here," she added, handing Brianna another towel. "Dry your feet real good. I'm gonna take these and see if we can't get them dry before you head home," holding up the soggy socks and shoes. "Be right back."

"Ahh," Brianna exclaimed as she eased the long socks onto her feet. "That feels like heaven."

"Not quite, but close," Esmeralda chuckled as she returned to the kitchen. She poured Brianna a cup of coffee. "Do you take cream or sugar?"

"If it's available, yes. I learned to drink coffee in many different forms during my tenure with the DA's office. I swear what I got in some precincts would be considered 'rot gut' only if you were feeling generous."

Esmeralda made a face. "Well, I don't think my coffee is bad, but I do have cream and sugar. I take lots of both myself." She wrinkled her nose. "I don't like the taste of coffee much."

"I'd rather have chocolate milk myself, but this is good coffee, Es," raising her cup. "And just what I needed to warm me up. Man, it's nasty out there today. Saphira wasn't kidding."

"Do I wanna ask how you got so wet?"

"Um... no. I don't want a lecture."

Esmeralda raised her eyebrow. "That bad, hmm?"

"Let's just say that as a lawyer, I recognize the importance of keeping my own counsel in certain circumstances."

Esmeralda just smirked and shook her head, then stepped closer to the stove. She ladled some soup into two bowls, setting one in front of Brianna and putting the other at the place beside her. Then she took the bread and sliced it quickly and efficiently, causing Brianna's eyebrows to jerk into her hairline in surprise. "What?" Esmeralda asked in confusion at the expression on Brianna's face. She set the bread between them and grabbed the small plate of butter from the fridge. She poured herself a glass of milk and topped off Brianna's coffee, then took her seat.

Brianna shook her head. "Nothing. I didn't realize you had been a waitress as well as a custodian."

Esmeralda chuckled. "Not me. I've just learned a few tricks from Saphira over the years."

"She must be a great teacher then. I don't think a machine could have made it any more even," Brianna commented as she picked up a slice of bread and buttered it.

"Oh, that...." Esmeralda laughed. "I learned that when I was younger," not going into specifics. "Thank you for braving the weather to come visit today. You didn't have to."

"I know," Brianna agreed, moaning when the taste of the soup hit her tongue. "But it was either throw myself on your kindness or eat Fig Newtons for lunch."

Esmeralda snorted. "You have GOT to go shopping, Brianna."

"I know, I know. I'll pick up a few things on the way home - I just didn't see any sense in stocking up right before going home for a few days."

"Are you looking forward to it?" Esmeralda asked curiously since Brianna's voice was devoid of emotion.

"Mostly, yes. At some point, it'll give me a chance to see a few people and catch up with my friends. I have a small circle of female friends who I try to get together with once a month or so. We have dinner and go to a movie or show; or we do something outdoorsy - you know... hiking or spelunking or diving. I've really missed that since I've been here. You can't know how thankful I've been for yours and Saphira's presence in my life here."

"I'll bet. I know how it feels to be stuck inside for weeks on end with only yourself for company."

"Well, I have managed a short phone call to each of my friends at some point and they've returned the courtesy, but it just isn't the same as being there together in person, you know?"

"Yeah... I do know. Miss anyone special?" biting her lip when Brianna's head snapped up in surprise. "C'mon, Brianna - you're a beautiful, intelligent, successful woman. Those are attractive qualities to everyone. Do you mean to sit there and tell me that no one else has noticed that? That Charisma is the only person to hold a special place in your heart?"

"Charisma is the only person to hold THAT special place in my heart - it's why nothing else has ever really worked out. But there have been one or two women who were important to me in their own way, and yes, they are part of my inner circle, so to speak. We all parted on good terms and chose to remain friends." Brianna frowned hard. "Why the sudden curiosity?"

Esmeralda bit her lip. "In many ways, you remind me of myself. But in one very important thing, you seem to be much like my Saphira. She isolates herself sometimes, and I think - whether you intended to or not - you've let yourself become somewhat isolated here."

Brianna reached over and squeezed Esmeralda's hand with a smile. "Don't you ever go changing, Es. You remind me very much of Kay. She was my first lover," she continued, reading the question clearly in Esmeralda's eyes.

"I remind you of your first lover?" Esmeralda's eyes grew wide. Brianna laughed.

"Not in the way you think, Es. Physically, you and Kay are very different, but in here," pointing to Esmeralda's head, "and here," pointing to her heart, "you are very much alike. You draw people to you with your caring and genuine concern. There's something about both of you that makes people believe in you... trust you to keep them safe." She chuckled. "Don't be embarrassed, Es... it's a good thing. The world could use more people like you two in it - it would be a much better place."

Esmeralda ducked her head to hide the red flush she could feel creeping up her neck. "I don't know if that's all true, Brianna, but I'm flattered you think so." She took a deep breath. "So what happened between you and Kay, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Charisma, more than anything else. I was still young and hurting over losing her from my life and Kay was my rebound relationship." Brianna sighed. "We wouldn't have worked in the long run anyway for several reasons," she confessed. "But part of me will always love Kay. She was my first and she taught me a lot - not just about the ways of love and lust, but about life itself."

"Who broke it off?"

"It was mutual. I couldn't stop dreaming of Charisma and she was falling in love with a man."

"Really?"

Brianna smiled. "Yeah, Kay is truly a bisexual woman - she's enjoyed good relationships with both sexes. And he's a wonderful guy - good husband, great father. Lee and I are actually good friends. Kay deserved someone who could love her like Lee does and she's totally devoted to him. They have a lovely family together, and they include me as often as I can join them."

"And she knows about Charisma?"

Brianna nodded. "Aside from those immediately involved, including you and Saphira, she's the only one who knows the whole truth. Apparently I talk in my sleep. It's how she learned about Charisma in the first place, and I wasn't going to lie to her when she asked."

"I would like to meet her," Esmeralda said spontaneously, then bit her lip. Brianna smiled.

"I'll see what I can do. She earned the Tagherty seal of approval," she added wiggling her eyebrows. Before Esmeralda could comment, Brianna's phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen. "It's Charisma," she relayed with a frown. "Let me take this real quick."

"Go on," Esmeralda instructed, shooing her off. "Go to the living room. I'll join you as soon as I clean up in here." Brianna nodded as she clicked the phone on and raised it to her ear on her way out the kitchen door. She was back before Esmeralda had the dishes done. "Problem?" Esmeralda asked over her shoulder as she caught a glimpse of the expression on Brianna's face.