She looked at Adam and nodded. "I think we should. Besides, it'd be nice to stretch my legs for a few minutes." Kent nodded and signaled his intention, pulling the big truck off the road and into the rest area. Adam, feeling the change in speed, blinked his eyes open.
"Gramma?" he asked, looking around curiously.
"No, son," Charisma said as Kent parked the vehicle and she got out to open Adam's door. "We're not at Gramma's yet. Time to go potty," she added as she lifted him from his seat. He wrapped his arms around her neck, scrunching up his nose and laughing when Charisma took the invitation to tickle him.
"MAMA!" he squealed.
"C'mon, Little Man," she answered with a smile as she set him on his feet. "Let's go potty."
"You want me to take him, Charisma?" Kent offered.
"Sure," she accepted after a long moment looking between them. "Adam, go with Daddy." Adam looked seriously at his mother before taking Kent's hand. Then they went into the men's room, leaving Charisma alone to enter the ladies.
A few minutes later, they met up outside the restrooms and Adam took Charisma's hand, walking happily between his parents. Then he jerked from both handholds, cheering as he ran from them. "Mama, look - BR'ANNA!!" Charisma was running as soon as Adam pulled away, catching him after a mere step or two. He struggled, pointing to the blonde women he'd seen. "MAMA!!! BR'ANNA!!"
The woman, hearing the commotion behind her, turned and Charisma nodded while giving the woman an awkward smile. "See, son - that's not Brianna. She won't be at Gramma's for a few days yet." She glanced at the woman who was watching the tableau with interested eyes. "I'm sorry; my son mistook you for a friend."
The blonde woman smiled. "Not a problem. My granddaughter has done the same thing. You're just quicker than my daughter. Rebecca actually caught up to the woman she thought was her aunt."
Charisma shook her head. "Scary," watching the woman agree. "Well, I'm sorry to have troubled you."
"No trouble, dear," the blonde woman nodded, then continued on her way. Charisma walked around to her side of the SUV and opened Adam's door, setting him in the seat and strapping him in. Kent watched from the other side, waiting until Charisma was done with Adam and sliding into her own seat before opening his door and climbing in.
"Should I even ask?"
"Just a case of mistaken identity," Charisma said with a shrug.
"Someone I've met?" he asked slowly not giving anything away. "Because that woman didn't seem familiar to me," wondering how much Charisma would share with him.
She bit her lip. "I don't think so - a fellow Senator... Brianna Walker. She's an old family friend I'd lost touch with until just recently."
Kent nodded his head slowly... thoughtfully - considering the information he'd just been offered. "Walker... Walker - why does that name sound so familiar?"
Charisma sighed. This really wasn't something she wanted to be discussing with her husband at the moment, but she supposed he needed to be looped into the circle before they got to her parents house. Given what Brianna had told her, and knowing her brothers like she did, she was convinced Brianna would be treated more like a part of the family than Kent had a prayer of ever being. No fault of his own, of course, but even as Charisma's husband he couldn't compete with the more than twenty year head start Brianna had on him.
"She's the replacement Senator the Governor appointed a few months ago."
"Oh," he said as though a light had gone off. "Of course - I remember that. She made quite a big deal about only keeping the office until the election," glancing at Charisma who laughed and shook her head, letting her hair fall down around her face, concealing her expression.
"Yes, that would be the one."
Kent laughed. "I can't begin to imagine how that's gone over with your colleagues."
"Well, I'm pretty sure none of them quite know how to deal with her."
And you, Charisma? Do you know how to deal with her? he wanted to ask, but refrained. Instead, he queried, "So how did Adam meet her?"
"They ran into each other in the hallway of the Senate Building. Brianna was coming back from a meeting and Adam was wandering the hallway. Luke had taken him to the men's room and Adam got done before him, so he left. Brianna found him and brought him back to my office."
"Why was Adam at work with you?" Kent asked with a frown. He didn't remember hearing anything about Adam going to work with Charisma. "What happened to Ame?"
Charisma shook her head. "She never said exactly, but half of her face was a lurid shade of black and blue the next morning."
"Like someone had hit her?"
"More like some *thing*," Charisma corrected. "It was a really big bruise. But she recovered pretty quickly and she seemed uncomfortable talking about it, so I didn't push."
"So Adam likes her... this Brianna Walker?"
"Yes," Charisma answered but didn't speculate on how much or why. "She'll be at Mama's for the holiday."
Kent's eyebrows went into his hairline. That he hadn't expected to hear. "It'll be nice to meet her," he replied neutrally, then focused his attention back on the road. Charisma blew out a breath and looked back out her window, hoping for the best.
************
"Are you sure about this, Mama?" Patrick Tagherty asked as he helped Okasa make up the beds in the guest room Kent and Charisma always took when they visited. "This has the earmarking of a disaster written all over it," he added as they pulled the spread up and tucked it into place.
"What would you have me do, Paddy? They're gonna have to meet at some point; better it be here with family to support them than somewhere where things could turn ugly and quickly get out of hand."
"You really think they would?" Patrick asked dubiously as they finished the small bed that Adam used in their home. When he was a little older and they had fewer guests, he would be moved to a room of his own. But for this trip, he would be ensconced with his parents. Okasa gave the room a once over and nodded her head in satisfaction that everything was in readiness. Then she crossed to the door and went to the next guest room so they could prepare it for Kent's mother. They expected her to arrive before their daughter and son-in-law did. Paddy picked up the bedding and followed right behind her, waiting for an answer to her question.
Okasa sighed as she removed the dustcover, folding it carefully before setting it aside and taking the bottom sheet from the stack Patrick still held. "I think it could easily go beyond something manageable into something unrecoverable." She sighed again. "I don't want to lose any part of my family in the fallout."
"Including Kent?"
"Including Kent," she confirmed. "Patrick, I love Kent - he's a good man, and he's been a good father to Adam. He's just not the right mate for Charisma and never has been."
"And what of Kay and her family joining us for dinner? I know they have since she and Brianna were together; are they still coming as well?" waiting for Okasa's affirmation. He shook his head. "Seems to me things could get unpleasant regardless," Patrick said as he added the throw pillows to the bed.
"I think that depends on us," Okasa replied, cocking her head when she heard a car door slam. "Now c'mon. I think Margaret is here," snatching up the dustcover and stuffing it into the bedding bag. Together they headed downstairs to greet the first member of their extended family to join them for the holiday.
************
"So then Patrick looks at Adam who's looking at Patrick before they both turn to me and point fingers at each other," Okasa relayed through her laughter. "It was all I could do to keep the smile off my face long enough to send them upstairs to clean up!"