Charisma's jaw dropped, but she was unable to formulate a response before Okasa kissed her again, then turned and left the room. The shower was running in the guest bath before she pulled herself together and started picking up the things in the family room. By the time Okasa returned, dressed and ready to leave, Charisma had pulled herself together and rejected Okasa's words as frivolous.
"Are you sure you need to rush off, Mama? I could take some time...."
"I'm sure. I know you have things to take care of. I expect you home in a few days," waiting for Charisma to nod. "And you think about what I said," deflating slightly when she saw Charisma had already dismissed her statements as inconsequential.
"Drive home safely, Mama," Charisma offered, giving Okasa a hug and walking her to the door.
"Goodbye, Daughter. See you soon. I love you."
"I know, Mama. I love you too." She waited for Okasa to get into her car and roll towards the gate. Then she shut the door and headed upstairs to get ready for her day, painstakingly avoiding even a glance at the study. She would deal with that later.
Chapter LXXIII
Brianna stretched out on the bed with a sigh of contentment. Notwithstanding the fact that she knew she was running away again, the only feeling she could dredge up about it this time was one of peace. She was tired and she felt as though she'd been buffeted by hurricane force winds for the last few months. At least before, tempestuous hadn't meant she got beaten black and blue on a daily basis. And that's how she felt - in the very depths of her soul. She felt like she'd been beaten with a stick every day since accepting the appointment as interim Senator. She'd expected it to be hard - she hadn't expected it to be deadly.
And despite how melodramatic that sounded, it was how she felt - like she was dying inch by slow inch. Brianna took a deep breath. She hadn't even realized she was suffocating... drowning... until she left... until she arrived in Dubai and felt everything slip from her shoulders. She'd have to remember to do something really nice for Indi - this had been a spectacular choice.
Brianna turned to look at her view and smiled when a school of fish swam past her room. Who knew you could have an underwater panorama if you chose the right resort to visit? She clicked on the flat-screen and perused the choices of activities at the resort. And for the first time in months, felt her creative juices stirring. She might be able to get a novel or two out of this adventure.
But first she needed to call Esmeralda. She had promised to keep in touch, and being half a world away wasn't going to change that.
************
"Brianna - you didn't have to call me from Dubai," Esmeralda said with a tiny laugh. "I can certainly understand wanting to get away from the snow and the cold for a while. I definitely would too, given the opportunity… even without the extenuating circumstances."
"You don't think I'm a coward, Es?"
"Brianna - what I think shouldn't matter. Do you think you're a coward?"
Brianna sighed. "I think I'm tired, Es. I've tried everything I know to try."
"Then take a break, Brianna. Maybe you'll come back with a fresh outlook."
"Maybe I'll finally be able to put it to rest once and for all."
"Maybe," Esmeralda said as noncommittally as she could manage. "I guess this means we won't be seeing you around Christmas though, huh?"
"Not this year, Es. But is there anything I can bring you back from here?"
"Just yourself home safely, Brianna. I'll miss having you around to talk to while you're gone."
Brianna chuckled. "I'll still call you every few days, Es. The phones work here just like they do in Washington. And you have my number if anything comes up, right?"
"I do."
"All right. I'll talk to you in a couple days then, okay?"
"Have a good time, Brianna. Take some pictures and relax."
"I will - talk to you soon."
"Be happy, Brianna."
"Bye, Es."
************
"Es, this is Charisma."
"Hey Charisma! How are you enjoying the break?" having a fairly good idea after hearing about things from Indi and Coral especially, but wondering what Charisma would offer as her truth.
"Staying busy - for some reason the holidays don't mean less work... just different," smiling when she got a chuckle from Esmeralda. "How about you, Es? Are you getting some rest?"
"I'm becoming a spoiled lady of leisure," Esmeralda responded lightly. "I haven't felt this good since... I'm not sure I've ever felt this good actually. I feel almost made over."
"That's wonderful, Es... just amazing. I guess Saphira is thrilled with the turnaround?"
Esmeralda laughed. "I'm pretty sure that's an understatement, Charisma. I haven't seen her this relaxed in a long time - like she's carrying a much lighter burden."
"She is, Es, and Mama will be happy to hear it for both of your sakes. She asks about you every time we talk." Charisma wavered a moment, then pushed on. "Will you be joining us for Christmas?" She almost felt Esmeralda's eyes widen in shock. "You're family now, you know."
"Oh Charisma - that's... it's wonderful of you to say so, but I don't think we can. Even if we had a way to get there, I don't see how we could go this year. Saphira is picking up as many extra shifts as Matilda will let her have, and I wouldn't leave her here by herself even if it was an option for me. But I appreciate the thought... we both do. Make sure to give the family our love, won't you?"
"You know I will," Charisma assured her with a smile that could be heard over the phone. "I expected that answer, but I promised Mama I'd ask. Don't be surprised if I come by the day after with a truckload of stuff for you both though. You know how Mama is."
"I do indeed. You're very lucky."
"Mama reminds me of that all the time," Charisma snorted. Esmeralda laughed again. "Listen Es," Charisma said before the silence could become uncomfortable. "Do you by any chance... have you been in touch with Brianna lately?"
Esmeralda sighed. She'd wondered if she would get out of this unscathed, then shook her head. She should have known better. "Um... yeah - she called me yesterday. Said she'd had enough of the cold and snow and was gonna spend a little time in the sun before Congress resumed in January."
"You didn't happen to ask where she was did you?"
"No... it didn't occur to me to ask," not mentioning she hadn't needed to since Brianna had freely shared the information with her. "Why? Is something wrong, Charisma?"
"What? No - she asked me for a copy of something," looking at the picture of the two of them at Trevi Fountain. It made Charisma want to cry, but she took a deep breath to fortify her nerves - she'd promised Brianna a copy and she was damn well going to deliver despite everything. "But I haven't been able to reach her so we could plan a time for me to get it to her. I tried calling her, but...." A pause. "Do you know if she called you from her cell phone?"
"I don't know, Charisma. I didn't ask. I assumed she did." When silence met her answer, Esmeralda pushed a little, having a very good idea what Charisma was talking about. "Charisma, is it something you could send to her by email?"
"Not really... I mean, I guess I could if I had to. But at the moment it's just a hard copy item."
"Is it something you could scan in or is it like a book?"
Charisma sucked in another deep breath then covered her mouth, pressing hard against her lip to keep the tears at bay. She cleared her throat. "No... it's something I could scan in. It's a picture we had taken together - when we were in Rome years ago."
"Well, if it's important enough that it can't wait for her to return from her trip, maybe you could scan a copy in and send it to her by email. You can always give her a hard copy once she returns," knowing that it was more than important... to both of them.