"You're completely miscast. I just want you to know that." She arched an eyebrow at him and smirked. Hunter laughed and shook his head. "Take a seat, and I'll tell you how you did. Then you can tell us how you did it." Applause broke out around the table and Saphira curtsied neatly, then dropped into her chair with a laugh.
************
"You know," Charisma commented to Brianna after dinner was done, "if Saphira and Esmeralda ever decided to use their powers for evil, we'd be sunk."
Brianna nodded and wrapped her arms across her chest a little tighter. She'd come out to the garden area of the yard as soon as dessert was over, hoping a few minutes of peace would settle the weird sensations she could feel in the pit of her belly. She wanted to blame it on the food, but she knew in the depths of her soul that those strange nigglings could only be contributed to Charisma. She took a deep breath and turned to face Charisma. "Yes, we would," she agreed. "But imagine the book and movie deals they could get out of it," she added with a smirk.
Charisma nodded thoughtfully. "I'd have to go see it at least."
"Oh, so would I. I'd want to see whoever was playing me on the big screen." She paused thoughtfully. "Maybe we could play ourselves."
"Maybe you could ghostwrite the book with them."
"Still trying to get me to go back to writing, Charisma?" Brianna asked with a hint of a smile on her lips though it never reached her eyes. She turned and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She hadn't intended to be out here this long.
Although Brianna couldn't see it, she heard the shrug in Charisma's voice. "It's something you were good at, Bri - and something you enjoyed doing... once you got past the idea of someone else reading it." Charisma hesitated when Brianna didn't acknowledge her words at all. "Why didn't you tell me?" She didn't move from her spot about an arm's length from Brianna, so she saw the stiffening in Brianna's spine as soon as the words left her lips.
It took a moment, but Brianna relaxed, then she turned to face Charisma. "Tell you what, Charisma? You've got to give me a little more than that."
"Why didn't you tell me about you and Kay? I would have understood, Bri. You were my best friend, and I'm not a homophobe - I never was."
Brianna met Charisma's eyes without flinching and Charisma had to bite her lip to keep from gasping at the pain she saw in those green depths. "Kay and I were a couple after you and I... I met Kay at Harvard - she was in her last year of residency when I entered law school."
"I see," Charisma said slowly, and Brianna wondered if she was putting the pieces together or trying desperately to keep them from reaching their inevitable conclusion. "And I guess you didn't know she would be here today?" the non-sequitor a little hard for Brianna to follow. Her mind had been on another train entirely.
"I wasn't sure," she replied honestly. "She and the family have always been here when I was, but today was a little different than normal. I really didn't know what Okasa was going to do."
She held Charisma's eyes, and blue eyes were the first to turn away. Charisma looked out across the yard that had been prepared for the coming winter and shivered a little at the deadness of it. She wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill she felt. Without turning her head to see Brianna, she asked softly, "Did she make you happy, Brianna? Did you cry for days when you broke up?"
"She did make me happy, Charisma - it just wasn't enough for either of us. And no, I didn't cry for days... but I did cry. Kay was very special to me - she still is. And I'm lucky... we stayed friends and I count her husband as a very dear friend as well."
"They sound... impossible," Charisma said on a choked breath.
"They're lovely people, Charisma... if you give them a chance."
Now Charisma turned and faced Brianna squarely. "Would that make you happy, Bri - for me to give them a chance?" Brianna nodded but didn't say a word. "All right - I'll give them a chance... for you." Charisma covered one hand briefly and squeezed, then turned and headed inside. Just before she reached the door, she looked back. "You need to come in soon - it's too cold to be out here without a jacket." Then she crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her.
Chapter LXII
It was coming on dark when families started gathering at the door preparing to leave. The children were reluctantly snugged into their outerwear by parents who knew that the chilly day had given way to a frigid evening. Most submitted to it with a long-suffering sigh, and parents exchanged eye rolls as each child was bundled up for the weather.
Esmeralda and Saphira had said their goodbyes earlier, when Esmeralda had started showing signs of exhaustion again. The girls had watched them go with concerned frowns, but Saphira and Esmeralda never noticed. Esmeralda had taken a good nap, and now she and Saphira snuck down to the staircase landing at her behest to watch the proceedings with interest.
The kids saw Okasa and Patrick emerge from the kitchen with containers of leftovers, and they cheered - the older ones stepped forward to relieve them of their burdens and receive a hug and kiss. As they bid their grandparents goodbye, they headed outside to escape the congestion and free up some space in the now overcrowded foyer.
Brianna walked out with them, not wanting them to be outside alone in the near darkness. Harley just rolled his eyes - knowing he was old enough and responsible enough to be left out here alone, but secretly glad Brianna cared enough to help him keep an eye on his siblings and cousins. For all his grumbling some days, he certainly didn't want anything to happen to any of them.
"I hope your friends are all right, Aunt Bri," he offered as he and Michelle came up to stand beside her next to the Williams van. Brianna turned and looked at him with a question in her eyes. He cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "No... no one said anything, but I've got eyes that can see. I saw how upset you and the rest were when they excused themselves and went upstairs early. I figure one of them must be pretty sick... maybe even terminal or something." He shrugged. "I just hope they're okay. They seem like really nice people, and it was funny to see Saphira blow Dad's sock off at dinner."
Brianna chuckled. "Yeah, she did kind of floor him, didn't she?"
"I'll say," Michelle agreed, waving her brother and sister over as her parents stepped from the house. "That was so much fun - and the look on his face...." She reached up and gave Brianna a hug that she gladly returned in equal measure. "I'm glad you were here, Aunt Bri. I've missed you since you went to Washington."
Brianna smirked. "You can still call me there, you know. The phone still works that far away." Michelle stuck out her tongue, causing the three of them to laugh and Kay to question as she walked up beside them.
"Should I even ask?" looking at the three of them. "Probably not," she added with a laugh when they gave her their cheesiest grins. Lee bumped by them with a smile as he started loading the two younger children into the vehicle. Harley held out his hand to Michelle and they made their way to stand at the back of the van to say a semi-private goodbye. Kay turned to Brianna and opened her arms; Brianna stepped right into them and wrapped Kay in a firm grip.
"I'm so glad you were here," Brianna offered somewhat muffled.
Kay returned the hug fervently. "Even with everything...?"
"Even with."
Kay smiled and pulled slightly out of the embrace, enough so she could look into Brianna's face half hidden in shadows. "I don't know what you said to her, but thanks. If Charisma didn't exactly warm up to me, at least she stopped resenting every breath I took."
Brianna chuckled. "That's progress - I'll take it."
Before Kay could reply, there was a commotion at the front door and Adam ran out. Without thought, Brianna released Kay and ran towards him, snatching him up and lifting him into her arms. He struggled for a moment.