“No, I figured I botched that up enough already.” Brooke sighed. “I’m going to go talk to Sam’s parents.”

Brown eyes flashed to the bulge in Brooke’s coat pocket. “You…you’re not going there to ask for their permission, are you? Brooke, you’re crazy if you think that they’ll listen to you, once they know what you want.” C.C. turned back to her closet and pulled out a simple black dress. “I’d better drop this off at the cleaners on my way to class. Something tells me I might need it in a hurry.”

Looking into the rearview mirror, Brooke checked her appearance. God, this is worse then taking Sam home and telling Dad that we were dating one another. Blue eyes gazed over at the house, then back down to the paper with the address on it. Well, Aunt Sandy, you got me here, now let’s see if I can do the same for Sam.

Brooke checked in the mirror once more, then got out of the 300Z and made her way to the front door. Making some last minute adjustments to her clothing, the tall woman took in a deep breath and proceeded to ring the doorbell. Okay, Brooke, be diplomatic, be polite, and whatever you do…don’t come off being too butch. That’s the last thing you need right now, for them to know that you’re her lover. Do that, and you might as well have cemented this estrangement in an iceberg and set it adrift on the high seas. Brooke smirked at the thought. It won’t come home for years to…

The movement inside the house distracted the tall woman’s thoughts. She could see a man coming to the door then opening it. “Yes, can I help you?”

Brooke looked to the medium sized, short statured man in the doorway and asked, “Mr. Moleson?” Her eyes studied the man as he gave her tall figure a roving eye.

“Yes,” the man answered cautiously, his hand tightened on the doorknob, hesitant to ask the stranger in to his home.

Okay, Brooke, time to pour on that ol’ executive charm there. “Hi, Sir.” Brooke flashed a smile and nodded. “You don’t know me, but my sister is roommates with your daughter, Sam.” She gazed into his clear, green eyes and watched for a reaction. Seeing none, she continued. “I was wondering if I could speak with you briefly.”

“Is something wrong with her?” Concern crossed his face, “With Sam, I mean?”

“No Sir, she’s fine.” Brooke saw the relieved look come to the man’s face.

“Ah…okay,” he muttered. “Where are my manners? Come in, please. It’s too cold to be standing out there.” He opened the door wider, inviting the woman in.

The slightly upturned corners of Brooke’s mouth stayed in place as she accepted his offer and entered the house. “Thank you, Sir.” The tall woman nodded as she stepped inside.

“Samuel…” the feminine voice came calling out of the rear room of the house. “Who is it?”

“That’s my wife,” the man smiled politely at Brooke then turned his head, directing his voice to his wife’s location. “It’s ah…someone inquiring about our…ah…I mean…Sam.”

Remembering that she had not taken the time to introduce herself properly, Brooke offered her hand. “I’m sorry, my name is Brooke Gordon. My sister C.C. is your daughter’s roommate.” She felt his hand grasp hers and shake it a time or two.

“Samuel Moleson…” his eyes twinkled when he looked up at the woman before him. “But I guess you kind of figured that out already.”

“Samuel…”

The sound of the feminine voice was closer now and Brooke looked past the man holding her hand to see the short, spit-fire of a woman come into the opposite end of the narrow hallway next to the steps leading to the second floor.

The man followed Brooke’s gaze. Seeing his wife enter the hall, he started his introduction. “It’s a woman by the name of Brooke Gordon, Dear. She’s a family member of ah…Sam’s roommate.”

“Mrs. Moleson,” Brooke nodded, then felt the man’s hand slip out of hers. “I’m sorry to disturb you this evening. I…I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

“No, you’re not interrupting…” Samuel started to speak, but was abruptly cut off.

“Has she done anything?” The woman’s brow wrinkled and her face took on a rather sour look. “I knew there would be trouble with her,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Sam?” Brooke questioned who was trouble. “No…no, nothing like that.”

The woman walked the length of the hall and planted herself next to her husband, with her arms folded tightly across her chest. “Then, what are you here for?”

God, I hope Sam takes after her father. Brooke calmed her pounding heart and took a deep breath before she started. “Actually, I just wanted the chance to speak with you. It’s about Christmas…”

“What about Christmas?” The woman tilted her head letting the light coming from the fixture above her, catch her reddish-blonde locks.

“Well, we were…” Brooke caught a glimpse of blonde hair in the far doorway and remembered Sam talking about her sister. A smile came to her face as she thought of the potential of seeing a younger version of her lover. “Ah…that is, my sister C.C. and I were discussing the upcoming holiday…”

“What’s the little hussy done now?” Mrs. Moleson watched Brooke’s blue eyes as they seemed to focus on something further down the hall, then turned to look in the same direction. The voice that came out of the woman was stern and unyielding. “Go to your room now, young lady.”

“Excuse me?” Brooke wasn’t sure if the question was directed to her or not and blinked several times, startled by the rough voice that had come out of the petite looking woman.

There wasn’t another word said as the adolescent crept out into the hallway, then seeing the look in her mother’s eyes, she hurried down the narrow hall toward the group.

Brooke watched curiously as the young girl made her way through the adults and headed up the stairs toward the second floor. The adolescent stopped just past the midway mark to turn slightly and look back at the tall stranger in an almost familiar way, then hurried off to her destination.

That has to be Sarah. The startled realization lingered in Brooke’s mind when the youth had turned back to look at her. She knows who I am. She knows that I’m Sam’s lover. The executive gazed over at Sam’s mother wondering if she also knew her role in her eldest daughter’s life. More determined than ever, Brooke pulled all of her calming resources to the surface and let her mind think of the upcoming conversation as a negotiation more than anything. Maybe if I can stay in that executive role she won’t see me as the lover.

The silence in the house was insurmountable until the sound of a door closing came floating down the stairs from the second floor. Only then did Mrs. Moleson turn back to the tall woman and speak her mind. “Well, obviously something is wrong if you’re here about Sam. She doesn’t live here. If you have an issue with Sam about your sister, I suggest that you talk directly to her. She’s her own person. She made that decision years ago and I’ll not have her and her lifestyle affect Sarah in any way.”

“Mrs. Moleson, Sam is fine. She hasn’t done anything except to befriend my sister and quite frankly, the rest of our family.” Brooke watched as the glare from the small woman never wavered. “I just wanted to discuss the upcoming holiday with you and your husband.”

“And I suppose Sam is the reason for that?”

“No, Ma’am. She has no idea that I’m here.”

“Now Dear,” Samuel tried to ease his wife’s harshness. “You can’t think she’s done…”

“Done what…?” The reddish blonde hair glistened under the light as she turned to face her husband. “I don’t care to know what she does with anyone and I’ve told her that myself.” Mrs. Moleson jerked her head, letting her glaring eyes try to penetrate the tall woman’s façade before her. “Get to the point.”

Keeping her voice as soft as she could, Brooke met the stare with grace and elegance in her reply. “Sam doesn’t know that I’m here. This was my choice to come.”

“And…” Samuel moved closer to his wife, letting his arm hesitantly move to her waist. “…exactly what is it that you want to speak to us about?”

“My sister C.C. and I were talking and she asked me for my help in arranging a Christmas present for Sam.” Brooke could see that her words were not affecting the woman the way she would have liked them to. “I’ll be frank with you. I know that there is some animosity between you and your daughter.”

“You’re damn right there is. Don’t even think that I’d know what she wants. I don’t know that child any more. Sometimes I think I never knew her at all.”

Brooke attempted to be diplomatic. “I don’t know the circumstances and it’s none of my business but…”

“You’re right, it’s not.” Mrs. Moleson moved away from her husband as the anger visually rose to her face.

“Ma’am…please…” worried eyes darted from one parent to the other. “Just let me explain and my visit will make much more sense.”

“Elaine,” Samuel edged closer to his wife, “Let’s hear her out. What harm could it do?” He looked at the stewing woman, then glanced over to Brooke and nodded for her to continue.

“Thank you, Sir.” Brooke kept her voice soft, hoping to get her full thought out before being interrupted. “Since the beginning of the new college year, Sam has spent a great deal of time with my family. What I do know is that it would mean the world to her if she were able to come home to her parents and sister to visit over Christmas. C.C. mentioned this to me the other day…” Brooke looked earnestly at the people before her and continued. “…And since she has classes making it impossible for her to get away, I offered to come speak to you, myself.”

“Did she actually say that?” Mr. Moleson looked eagerly to Brooke. “My daughter, I mean.”

“Yes Sir, she did.” Blue eyes gazed directly into his searching green. “I heard it myself.” Brooke watched as the man gazed over to his wife with sorrow-filled eyes. “As I said before…”

The harsh tone of the small woman’s voice cut through Brooke’s words like a knife. “If she thinks I’ll let her back in here, she’s crazy…” Elaine’s brow wrinkled up more as she tightened her arms to her own chest. “Humph…I know she’s crazy already.”

“Elaine…” Samuel cautioned his wife. “Let’s not go there.”

Brooke took a small step forward. “Look, I don’t know all the details of the rift between you and your daughter, but I know that she’s a good person who loves her family deeply.” The tall woman looked directly at the man slightly to her right, “A daughter who misses her father terribly. She’s my sister’s best friend, and above all, she’s still your own flesh and blood.”

Elaine had turned away when she saw the intentional plea to her husband. She waited for the words to stop before shaking her head and pivoting back to pin Brooke with her gaze. “And I take it you know about daughters?” She said it sarcastically.

“That depends, Ma’am,” Brooke didn’t back down. “I am one of four and being years older than C.C., I know how trying they can be.” She shifted her weight just slightly, as if taking a different approach to the subject. “Is there anything so terrible that you wouldn’t want to spend the holiday with your own daughter? After all, she loves you, Mrs. Moleson.”

The spitfire of a woman stood firm in her resolve as she questioned the woman. “And because of that I’m supposed to expose Sarah to Sam’s reasoning?”

“Sarah’s been exposed to Sam longer than just one day, Elaine. What would it hurt?” Samuel tried to reason with his wife, waiting to see if she would consider any type of communication with her daughter.

“May I ask what the problem is with Sam visiting her family?”

Pent up emotions started to bubble through to the surface as Elaine spoke her mind. “I lost control of one, I’m not about to lose it on the other one.” She turned her gaze to Brooke, asking her point blank. “Would you let your sisters around a lesbian, knowing that she’s trying to make them one too? Or didn’t she tell you that little tidbit about herself?”

Brooke never blinked. Instead she just stated the facts. “Actually, Ma’am, I am one of four sisters. One of which happens to be a lesbian.”

“Oh, so that’s why you’re here…your sister is one also.” Elaine’s face became more angered looking. “I should have guessed as much.”

“No Ma’am. I can assure you that C.C. is as straight an arrow as they come.”

Elaine laughed out loud. “Straight arrow, huh? Not when Sam’s done with her.” The woman turned on a sickeningly sweet smile. “Or is there something that your sister hasn’t told you about?”

The executive fought to hold in her emotions. “I have nieces and nephews and there is a new baby on the way. Everyone is very open around each other in my family, but sexual preference is not made into an issue.”