A chill chased over her skin and she watched the goosebumps rise in its path. She reached down for the towel, rewrapping herself then leaning forward to look at her face. There were slight lines around her eyes and mouth that could be attributed to laughter or, in the case of the ones near her lips, considered dimples if one didn't look too closely.
Her lips were full, her eyes wide, her nose straight. There were no gray hairs - regular trips to her hairdresser ensured that her highlights remained natural looking and her grays remained hidden. She tilted her head and stared harder at herself, straining to see whatever it was that had caused Brianna to fall in love with her. Charisma wondered if after the discussion they'd had if Brianna still saw it, and if she would ever share with Charisma what it was.
Charisma sighed - she'd come up here to get away from Brianna and all thoughts of Brianna, and yet they followed her like a spectre. The box of letters sat unopened on the coffee table in her study and even from this distance she could hear them mocking her.
She scrubbed her hands over her eyes, hoping to clear her mind. She grabbed her robe from the back of the door and pushed her arms into it, belting it closed before stepping foot into her bedroom. Charisma growled when she spotted the album on the nightstand, and hastened back out of the bedroom and down the stairs. She was headed to the bar in her study, but abruptly walked into the kitchen instead. She'd told Brianna the truth... just not the whole truth. It was all about image and perception, but behind that was control. And Charisma wasn't going to relinquish her control to anyone - certainly not to alcohol.
She took the milk from the refrigerator and pulled out the smallest saucepan she could find. Then she warmed some milk and added a taste of vanilla and a hint of sugar. When it was ready, she took the mug upstairs and settled into bed.
Charisma deliberately reached over the album, sneering at it before grabbing for the latest thriller that she'd purchased on the recent trip she'd made to Mama's. She didn't get to read for pleasure very often, so she generally stuck with tried and true. This book, however - there was something about the cover that caught her eyes, and the description on the back had clinched it. And for the first time in a very long time, Charisma had been pleasantly surprised by something new.
Now she found her place and relaxed into the pillows as she sipped her milk and immersed herself in the imagination of H.A. Fontana.
It wasn't until sometime later - when her milk was finished and she was snuggled down ready to turn off the light - that Charisma realized she hadn't heard from Okasa. She knew if Brianna had made good her threat to call Okasa and cancel her holiday plans with the family, Okasa would have called her immediately to do something to rectify the situation. Charisma idly wondered if perhaps Brianna had reconsidered giving up Christmas with the family - after all, Thanksgiving had been wonderful. Surely Brianna wasn't willing to miss personal family time with the boys... and everyone else... because of business.
Satisfied that Brianna had come to her senses and would be at Mama's when Christmas Eve rolled around, Charisma clicked off the light and slowly slipped into sleep.
************
It was the smell of coffee that brought Charisma out of a dead sleep. She frowned and blinked her eyes open slowly, trying to remember if she'd set the coffeemaker the night before. A glance at the clock made her sit up sharply, knowing there was no way in the blue blazes of hell itself that she'd set *anything* for five o'clock in the morning. Even when Congress was in session she didn't get up this early. She certainly didn't when they were in recess... especially when Adam wasn't home.
Charisma got up soundlessly and crept to the closet, opening the safe and pulling out the handgun she kept locked inside. Though she seriously doubted an assailant would stop to make coffee, the fact remained that *someone* was in her house who hadn't been there the night before when she'd gone to bed. So she eased down the stairs silently, glad for the time she'd spent training on the range... and the black belt she could fall back on if necessary.
Charisma took a deep breath and raised the gun. Then she eased around the kitchen doorframe and nearly dropped the gun on the floor in surprise when she realized who her unexpected visitor was.
"Mama?! What are you doing sneaking into my house at five o'clock in the morning?" She latched the safety and put the gun on the counter out of sight before moving closer to Okasa's side.
Okasa gave Charisma a sardonic look. "I snuck into your house at midnight... only because you were already in bed asleep I might add. I am making coffee at five a.m. because I couldn't sleep."
Charisma frowned. "Is everything okay?" She held up a hand before Okasa could make a smart retort. "Obviously everything *isn't* okay if you're here and sneaking into my house at some ungodly hour of the night without calling first. Is it Adam?" her voice becoming more frantic. "Mama, what's wrong?? Where's my son??"
"It's not Adam," Okasa reassured Charisma immediately, smiling as she watched the tension flow out of Charisma's body "He's at home with Paddy and Ame where he's supposed to be. But something is definitely wrong. Has anything happened between you and Brianna recently?"
"How do you mean?" Charisma hedged, moving to the cabinet and reaching for a cup so she could keep her back to Okasa. Okasa grabbed her by the shoulder and forced Charisma to turn around and face her.
"Don't play games with me, Charisma Tagherty. You may be a big shot in Washington, D.C., but you're still my daughter and I won't tolerate disrespect from you."
"Mama, I wouldn't...."
"You just did. I'm not stupid. Please don't act like I am. Now," taking a deep breath and continuing only a little less severely, "what happened between you and Brianna?"
"May I ask why you're asking first?"
Okasa sighed. "She called me earlier this evening... or rather, last evening. Told me she couldn't make it for Christmas, and basically stated that we weren't going to be a family... her family... anymore." Okasa felt more than saw Charisma's swift intake of breath, but she ignored it and resumed speaking. "I know things were good at Thanksgiving - I know you two worked some things out. So what happened? What made Brianna call and remove herself from our family, Charisma?"
"Why are you asking me? Why do you assume it's my fault?"
The look Okasa shot Charisma was telling. "Now you're being deliberately stupid, Charisma, and it doesn't suit you."
"Excuse me?" the anger making her face flush a deep, dark red. Okasa held blue eyes without flinching.
"No excuse. But don't worry...." She pointed a finger at Charisma. "I'm not going to burst that bubble you're living in just yet. First I want to know what happened between you and Brianna that got me locked out of the Senate apartment building."
"Excuse me?" Charisma repeated. "What?"
Okasa blew out an impatient breath and picked up her mug. "C'mon... this is going to take a while obviously and I am too tired and too sore to stand around the kitchen at this time of the morning." They went into the family room and Charisma realized immediately that Okasa had tried sleeping on the couch. While comfortable enough for short naps, it wasn't made for long term sleeping and she turned to her mother in consternation.
"You were trying to sleep down here?? Why didn't you go upstairs to one of the guest rooms?"
"You came downstairs with a gun this morning when you smelled coffee brewing," Okasa replied wryly. "Do you really think I would chance sneaking around up there last night when the only thing that would have been announcing my presence was sound?? I like living, Charisma - I still have a number of things left to do on my bucket list before I die. I'd rather not get shot by my daughter because I was creeping around unexpectedly in her home at midnight."