"Thank you, Okasa... all of you," as she met the eyes of each woman in the kitchen. "We can't tell you what this means...."
"You don't have to," Brianna assured them both with a smile. "We know."
Saphira chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you do."
"Well," Okasa said, clearing her throat and beaming. "I think one of you needs to go tell Paddy it's time to carve the turkey," looking pointedly at Esmeralda and Saphira. Saphira tapped lightly on Esmeralda's belly.
"You go get Patrick. I'll sharpen the knife and help Okasa start serving up. I'm the professional, remember?"
"Just be careful not to sharpen it too much," Esmeralda cautioned as she slipped from Saphira's grip. "You know what happened the last time...." Saphira flushed when all eyes turned her way.
"That wasn't my fault," she muttered.
"Be that as it may, please do not give the knife a razor's edge. Not everyone is as proficient wielding a blade as you are."
"I kinda like to hear that story," Brianna said as Esmeralda exited the room to fetch Patrick.
"Me too," Charisma and Kay agreed together. Then Charisma continued alone. "However, I'm not going to ask the knife wielder to tell it. Family or not, I'm not that brave... or that reckless."
Brianna and Kay snorted and it wasn't long before their chuckles caused Charisma to break into laughter as well. The rest started asking for the joke, but they couldn't stop laughing long enough to reply, and looking at one another or Saphira only made them laugh harder. Saphira, who had heard every word, maintained a straight face and just kept sharpening.
It was to this scene that Esmeralda returned with a grinning Patrick in tow. He was thrilled that Okasa had made them officially part of the family. He looked around the kitchen full of cackling women and shook his head. After all, the family could use more laughter, right?
Then he crossed over to where the turkey was resting on the counter and accepted the blade from Saphira. The sooner he was done cutting, the sooner they could eat. And judging by the sharpness of the knife, Saphira knew her business. He nodded his thanks and started slicing, only pausing when he realized everyone had stopped and was watching him intently.
"All right, the lot of you - find something else to do. You're giving me performance anxiety!"
This caused another round of laughter, but several of them took his words to heart and started moving food to the dining room, while the remainder went to round up husbands and children to wash up for the meal. It was finally time to eat.
Chapter LXI
Okasa took care of seating everyone, spacing everyone out so they were mixed together well. Only Adam was seated next to his mother - the rest of the children were interspaced among the adults they weren't related to parentally.
She had put Saphira on her right and Esmeralda with Patrick, which of course put them at opposite ends of the table. It also unintentionally gave them the best unobstructed views they could hope for short of being seated on the end.
Brianna and Kay were seated across from one another in the middle of the table, and Kent was across from Saphira on Okasa's left hand. Adam held that place of importance on the other end, putting him between Patrick and Charisma, sitting in a regular chair with several thick tomes beneath him as he felt he was too grown up to use the high chair any longer.
Francesca - Forrest's youngest child though she was still several years older than Adam - was seated next to Esmeralda. Esmeralda felt her stare all through grace, and as soon as the family repeated the 'Amen', she turned to the little girl, even as she reached for the dish in front of her.
"Is something wrong, Francesca?"
The little girl tilted her head and frowned. "Mommy said Aunt Theresa said you was an angel. You do kinda look like the picture of the angel that's in my Catechism class," narrowing her eyes and peering at Esmeralda closely. She studied her face, then craned her neck to look behind her, then returned her gaze to Esmeralda's face once more. Esmeralda never lost her calm demeanor; she simply arched a questioning eyebrow in Francesca's direction. Francesca giggled.
"You look like Aunt Chari," pointing to the woman across the table. Charisma looked up with a cocked eyebrow and smirked. It was all Esmeralda could do to keep a straight face. Francesca looked behind Esmeralda once more and frowned again. "Where's your wings?" she asked loudly during a lull in the conversations going on around the table.
Cindy blushed and sighed. "Francesca!"
The little girl looked at her with an innocent expression. "Yes, Mommy?"
"Honey, are you bothering Esmeralda?"
"Oh no, Mommy. I just wanted to see her wings."
Every eye turned to Esmeralda who was trying not to squirm under the attention. Cindy just squeaked and covered her eyes with her hand. "Sweetie, why do you think Esmeralda has wings?"
"Because you said Aunt Theresa said she was an angel. And all angels have wings."
"Oh. My. God." Cindy groaned. "Honey, Aunt Theresa didn't mean literally. Angels live in Heaven... not here on Earth, so Esmeralda can't be a *real* angel. What your Aunt Theresa meant was that Esmeralda is *like* an angel... because of what she does."
Francesca looked back at Esmeralda thoughtfully. "You watch over people?" remembering her catechism lesson on the subject.
Esmeralda chuckled. "No, I clean up after them... I make everything neat and tidy."
"OH!" Francesca exclaimed, turning her head to meet Theresa's eyes. "You're silly, Aunt Theresa! That doesn't make her an angel - that makes her Mary Poppins!!!"
The entire table burst into laughter and Francesca looked mightily pleased with herself at the response she garnered. Then everyone turned back to the many smaller conversations they'd been having and Francesca's attention was taken by Lee Williams to give Esmeralda a moment to catch her breath.
She smiled her thanks and took a swallow of water, then looked over at Paddy who was chuckling softly. "That one's a pistol," he commented with a grin, getting a smile from Esmeralda and a vigorous nod from Charisma. He turned to Charisma and smirked. "Don't even try it," he instructed. "She's a lot like another little girl I remember growing up around this house."
Charisma's eyes widened. "I can't imagine what you mean, Daddy," but she couldn't hide the twinkle in her eyes either.
"I'll bet you can't," he said with a grin. Then he turned to Esmeralda to learn a little more about the newest addition to his family.
************
"So tell us a little about yourself, Saphira," Hunter invited as he passed the mashed potatoes to her. "What do you do for a living?"
"I'm a waitress," she offered without hesitation, scooping out a spoonful of potatoes and passing the bowl on to Okasa. Hunter frowned.
"Are you sure?" Eyes as blue as his own met his with a frown and a pointed stare, and he wondered if he and Saphira could possibly be related in some way. He didn't encounter many with eyes the same intense blue that he saw in the mirror every morning. Okasa gave him an incredulous snort, and caused him to turn her sight and his attention to Mama.
"Hunter - just because you're a detective doesn't mean you know better than Saphira what she does when she goes into work every day. If she says she's a waitress, you can be pretty sure she's a waitress." He opened his mouth to speak, and she held up a hand. "I get that people lie to you in your line of work, but Saphira has no reason to lie here. Besides, if she was going to lie, do you think she'd pick something like waitressing?? Most people who like to make an impression would choose something a little cushier... like an office manager or a broker or a model."