"Quite a change from this morning," Okasa commented.
"I was wrong this morning," Margaret confessed. She looked first at Esmeralda, then Saphira. "I judged without knowing... without giving you the opportunity to speak for yourself. That was wrong of me and I'm sorry," flinching slightly at the fire she felt burning from Saphira's eyes. It was Esmeralda's touch and her compassion that caught her attention though.
"We would never have known if you hadn't told us, Margaret, and we've all been guilty of it for far less reason. Consider yourself forgiven."
"Thank you, Esmeralda. Now are you sure there's nothing we can do?"
"I'm getting as much rest as I can manage, which right now is a lot." She turned and looked at Charisma. "I love holiday break," she said with a smile.
"Are we having a break?" Charisma groaned theatrically. "I must have missed the memo. I am still working as hard as I was when we were in session."
A chorus of 'Awws' and 'Poor Baby's' rang out along with laughter at Charisma's response which was to maturely stick out her tongue, throw a pillow and crossed her arms over her chest. At that moment, the men of the group returned and decided it was time for dinner. Just the suggestion of food made a number of tummies rumble and the large group headed towards the kitchen to make pizza.
************
"So what do you think?" Saphira asked Esmeralda once they were settled into bed much later that evening. After pizza, they had adjourned to the living room once more, with the exception of Saphira and Adam. He had chosen her as his bath buddy, so with much adieu-ing and many goodnights, she had taken him upstairs for his bath, just managing to keep him from streaking downstairs and through the house. Once he was clean, she had tucked him in and read to him, staying with him until he fell asleep. So she missed quite a bit of the adult interaction that had taken place.
"Well, I think Margaret knows now that we're not mooching off anyone nor are we planning to take advantage of her family in any way." She held up a hand to halt Saphira's growl in its tracks. "Not sure where all her distrust and suspiciousness came from, but I'm pretty sure we were just residual damage. Hopefully, we have opened her heart just a little, but either way, I don't think she views us as a threat anymore.
As for the rest...." She closed her eyes thoughtfully and worked her way around the room. "Charisma and Brianna were... weird, for lack of a better word. Their whole vibe was off and I'm not sure which of the many factors in play were to blame for the change in their interaction. Okasa and Paddy were expectant, hopeful, and Kent...." She paused, then opened her eyes and met Saphira's which were patiently waiting for Esmeralda to finish her description. "Kent was watchful - it's the only way I can think to describe him. He didn't seem upset or anxious; he just seemed to be paying an extraordinary amount of attention to things going on around him without actually participating in them."
"And did I understand Brianna correctly on the drive up? Is her first lover joining us for dinner tomorrow?"
"You understood perfectly, my love. Apparently, when Brianna first came over for the holidays after she and Charisma split, Okasa told Brianna that if she ever found someone special, the family wanted to meet her - that the family still had an obligation to ensure that whoever Brianna chose was worthy of her. Brianna needed that feeling of belonging... of family, so on the first holiday after she and Kay got together, she brought Kay with her."
"The family approved?"
"The family was shocked, but they like Kay, and they loved the way Kay adored Brianna. So they gave her the Tagherty seal of approval. Kay has joined them on every holiday that Brianna was here since then. Even after they broke up and Kay and Lee married, they still joined the Tagherty's during whatever holiday time Brianna spent here with them."
"You do realize that this cluster just keeps getting bigger and bigger, don't you?"
Esmeralda snorted. "Yeah - I'm waiting for my hair to start falling out." She climbed into bed and Saphira reached over and turned out the light. "Tomorrow should be...."
"... something," Saphira filled in. "Tomorrow should be something. I just hope it's not on the Titanic scale of something."
Esmeralda moaned. "Me too."
************
Kent waited until Charisma was tucked in beside him before he spoke. "I like your friends."
Charisma stopped her roll away from him and lay on her back so they were side by side. "I'm glad. They're good people... all of them."
"I agree. And Esmeralda sure gave my mother a complete change of heart." He chuckled. "I'd like to know her secret. That'd be worth a fortune."
"I think it's just who Es is, Kent. There's just something about her...."
He nodded, even though Charisma couldn't see the action in the dark. "I think you're right. Your brothers are going to love her... her and Saphira both."
"Probably," Charisma agreed through a yawn. "Night, Kent."
"Goodnight, Charisma."
************
"Well, that was interesting," Patrick said, turning out the light as he crawled into bed.
"It was all right," Okasa stated. "And Esmeralda was able to bring Margaret to her side just by being herself."
"I wonder what their story is... really," Paddy said as he rolled onto his side. "I get the feeling that there's a lot more there than they're telling."
"Well, whatever it is, it's gonna have to wait until morning. And tomorrow should be enlightening, to say the least."
"I just hope it's not painful," Patrick muttered before he dropped off with a snore. Okasa lay quietly in the silent darkness for some time before finally allowing sleep to claim her.
Chapter LVII
"You're up early," Brianna commented as she passed Esmeralda on her way to the coffee pot. "Everything all right?" taking a cup from the cabinet and filling it with coffee. She inhaled deeply, and a beatific smile crossed her face before she gently sipped her first taste of the morning. "That is good coffee, Es."
Esmeralda chuckled and shook her head. "Not me. Okasa had it set; I just turned it on when I heard you stirring around upstairs."
Brianna frowned. "How long have you been down here?"
"A while," Esmeralda sighed. "I wasn't sleeping, so I figured it was better to come down here where I wouldn't disturb anyone with my reading," holding up her book. She glanced at the clock, wondering why Charisma had hesitated outside the kitchen door instead of joining them. "What are you doing up so early?"
Brianna took a seat and folded her hands around her cup, staring into it as though it held the answers to the secrets of life. "I couldn't sleep either," she said softly. "It's... weird being here like this. I don't belong here."
Esmeralda cocked her head. "Why do you say that, Brianna? I thought the Taghertys were like your family."
"They are, but not like this... not for years." She lifted the cup and took another sip, then sighed, relishing the warmth of the coffee as it reflected onto her face. "When I agreed to not lose contact with the family after I walked away from Charisma, I had my own place nearby... I didn't stay here. When I took a position in the DAs office, and was forced to travel to be here, I stayed somewhere else." Brianna took another deep breath. "This is the first time I've stayed here since college."
"Why?"
Brianna blinked and turned her head to meet Esmeralda's tired eyes. "Why what? Why didn't I stay here before or why am I staying here now?"
"Yes," Esmeralda stated firmly.
Brianna lifted her coffee cup again, taking a deep draught this time and only slightly wincing at the heat in her mouth. "It was habit as much as anything to stay somewhere else. At first it was because I lived close... relatively speaking - like the boys, I just came over to share the holiday... I didn't need to stay overnight. But once I moved, there was always a possibility of a casual tryst while I was here. I have a friend in town who...." She stopped explaining when Esmeralda held up a hand and nodded her understanding. "Aside from Kay, who I was with when I still lived in the area, I've never brought anyone with me when I came home. I was never serious about anyone, and it seemed presumptuous to bring someone who was merely a fu... a booty call into Okasa's home, especially for the holidays. So it was just easier to stay at a hotel."