"I've already had a cup, thank you. But maybe a glass of milk? Thank you, Charisma," she chuckled as she accepted the glass that appeared in her hand before the words were out of her mouth. She turned back to Margaret. "Saphira only allows me coffee sparingly, and rightly so," she added, seeing the disbelief writ large in Margaret's expression at the word 'allow'. "I really shouldn't have coffee at all. But milk - it does a body good, right?"
"Well, it's given you a beautiful complexion at any rate. You could be a model."
Esmeralda's eyes widened and she shook her head vehemently. "Oh no thank you. That kind of work would drive me crazy."
Margaret tilted her head. "Why do you say that? Have you modeled before?"
"No - but modeling strikes me as a lot like politics. You really have to put yourself out there for public consumption, but you're never allowed to be who you really are. Everything depends on other peoples' perception of what you should be."
"You're a very smart woman, Es," Margaret said into the stunned silence. "May I ask where you studied?"
"She's a student of human nature," Charisma and Brianna replied together - staring at one another fleetingly before turning their attention to Esmeralda who simply laughed and diffused the tension suddenly apparent in the room.
"Are you really?" Margaret inquired, watching Esmeralda nod. "Oh please. I'd like to hear about this. I consider myself to be as well, but I think you probably have a much different view of humanity than I do."
"I'd like to hear this as well," Okasa said, moving from the doorway and taking Esmeralda by the elbow to lead her back towards the table. "C'mon? we have a few minutes before everyone arrives."
Charisma and Brianna watched as Esmeralda was compelled to sit between the two older women, then they looked at Saphira who hadn't moved from her spot in the doorway. She seemed content to watch with adoring eyes as Esmeralda absorbed the love and attention currently being lavished on her.
"How are you doing, Saphira?" Brianna asked quietly.
"I'm all right," she said after a moment's hesitation. "It takes a load off my mind to see such a difference in Es. I think this break was something she really needed, and being here...."
"I'm glad you were able to come... especially if it makes a difference for her," Charisma confessed, then looked up when Okasa called her name. "Yes, Mama?"
"Are you three gonna hover in the doorway like co-conspirators of some sort, or would you like to join the rest of us at the table?" her eyebrow arching with a hint of rebuke as she turned her glance pointedly at each of them.
"Coming, Mama," Charisma and Brianna said in tandem. Saphira just shook her head and chuckled as she moved to claim a seat at the table. It was shaping up to be a memorable holiday.
************
They boys and their families arrived almost as a group. They had discovered several years prior - that is, when Charisma added Kent and subsequently Margaret to their number, that doing so compelled them to only make a single greeting instead of multiple ones. And though they liked Kent well enough of his own accord, especially after taking the opportunity to know him better, the fact of the matter was that they did resent him slightly. After all? he wasn't Brianna and never would be. And while they were actually angry at Charisma for letting Brianna get away, she was still their sister. So it was easier to direct their ire towards Kent... however unfair.
So generally a day or two before the holiday celebration that involved Charisma and Kent, the three of them would meet for lunch and decide what time they would show up at Mama's. Not that Okasa knew any of this - she just figured they had done it so long, they had it down to a science. In fairness, they did the same thing when Brianna visited, but then it was to maximize their time with her and Okasa had missed the difference in arrival times, mostly because they saw Brianna a lot less often than they did Charisma. And since she hadn't told them of the change in status between Brianna and Charisma, just as Okasa had expected, there was a knock at the door and Paddy was inviting the rest of the family into the house.
As one body, the women arose from their place at the table. Charisma rushed out first, anxious to see her brothers despite the awkwardness she still sometimes felt from them towards Kent even after several years of marriage and a child together.
Hunter stepped up first and lifted her off the ground before turning and offering his hand to Kent. Rocky followed suit as did Forrest while the children claimed Adam and headed off to the playroom that Okasa and Patrick had set up specifically for them.
Then of course the wives exchanged hugs as well before Maria turned to Charisma and asked, "Is Mama in the kitchen?"
Charisma nodded, but before anyone could move, Brianna emerged and everything and everyone stopped. There was dead silence... dead stillness before the boys looked at one another and whooped, then moved as a single entity in her direction. Brianna just grinned goofily at them and let them wrap her up in a single hug. Charisma stepped back and watched in confusion and not a little hurt as her family welcomed Brianna with an enthusiasm she hadn't seen since she'd first brought her home twenty plus years before. Kent simply watched Charisma.
Before Charisma could say or do anything that might make things awkward for everyone, Okasa slipped from the kitchen with an arm around Saphira and the other around Esmeralda. She had asked them to let Brianna precede them out of the kitchen, having a good idea of what might happen. Esmeralda and Saphira both agreed, instinctively understanding that Okasa wanted them to diffuse any kind of situation that might erupt.
So they stepped from the kitchen together and all eyes turned to them, though no one went still or silent, this time. Instead, the manners Okasa had worked so hard to instill in her children came to the fore and her three sons immediately moved towards them to meet and welcome the newcomers into the family circle, promising Brianna a talk with the boys later.
Esmeralda was her naturally gracious self, drawing everyone to her with her smiles and soft-spoken words. They were a little more in awe of Saphira, sensing in her a more kindred spirit despite her current occupation. Still, it was with much enthusiasm that they were brought into the family holiday. Then the men went to look after the children and the women headed for the kitchen where Margaret had returned after brief greetings in the living room. That to her was the hardest part of the holidays, and she was glad to have it be mostly over for this one.
The girls were a little noisier than usual - Brianna's unexpected return to the fold coupled with the introduction of Esmeralda and Saphira made for an exciting day. So they were quite chatty as they picked up the work where it had been left off.
Charisma deliberately stayed to the outer edges of the fray, content for the moment to be an observer... knowing it was unfair, but feeling a bit ostracized by her own family in favor of the newer members she herself had added to it.
Okasa noticed her odd behavior and crossed the room to stand beside her as she carefully wiped the plates that would soon be gracing the dining room table.
"Is something wrong, Charisma?" she asked bluntly, wondering if Charisma even recognized the issue she was having. Charisma bit her lip, but shook her head. She wasn't going to admit to something as petty as jealousy? especially when she was responsible for creating it.
"No, Mama," she replied softly. "I'm fine. Just trying to get the place settings ready so we can set the table shortly." She met her mama's eyes squarely and Okasa wondered when Charisma had become such a proficient liar. Okasa decided not to call her on it immediately. There would be time enough for that later. Besides, it was almost time for the rest of her guests to arrive and Okasa was morbidly curious to see Charisma's reaction to that arrival.