Brianna pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger and sighed. "Charisma, what's your point?"
"My point," Charisma replied with a hint of impatience, "is that if you mean so much to my son, who has only known you for a few months of his life, how much more do you mean to our nieces and nephews who have grown up with you and known you their whole lives? I understand why you feel the need to separate yourself from me, and by extension, the family. I am asking you to reconsider the family part of the equation. They don't deserve to be abandoned by you in your effort to avoid me. You can continue to see them like you always did."
There was silence for a long moment. Brianna kept her eyes closed and the bridge of her nose pinched. Finally she rubbed her eyes and looked up at Charisma. "Is that it?"
"That's all I had to say, yes."
"Thank you for lunch then," Brianna said as she stood and pushed her chair in. "If it wasn't all pleasant, at least it wasn't all uncomfortable either. Give Adam a kiss for me and tell him...,." Brianna shook her head. "Nevermind - goodbye, Charisma."
Charisma was torn between the desire to follow Brianna and demand to know what she was going to say, and the need to keep the fragile truce they currently had in place between them. Before she could give either course of action much thought one way or the other, Scott Patterson had jumped up from his chair and had joined Brianna in exiting the dining hall. Charisma sighed. She'd done the best she knew to do - the rest was up to Brianna.
Chapter LXXXVI
"Brianna?" Esmeralda asked as she poked her head into the inner office. "Is everything all right?"
Brianna glanced back at Esmeralda just briefly before she returned her attention to darkness of the world outside her window. "Are you a native of this area, Esmeralda?"
Esmeralda frowned, but shook her head. "No. Saphira and I had a friend who was in trouble, so we moved here to help out. But we've been here for a while - why do you ask?"
"What did you think of this place when you first moved here? Were you in awe of its beauty or were you mostly disgusted by the waste? Did you like it or was it barely tolerable? And has your opinion changed the longer you've lived here?"
All Brianna's questions were asked while she still faced the window and Esmeralda studied her stiffened back. She began cleaning and Brianna continued to face the window, knowing Esmeralda was considering her response. After some minutes had passed, Esmeralda took a deep breath to speak.
"Well, I can't say that we were thrilled to be here - except that our friend really did need us and we were able to find employment fairly easily. And we needed that after having given up everything to be together." She paused. "I do like the monuments and museums - they're nice to look at and it doesn't hurt that they are free as well," she added honestly.
"What else?"
"Don't take this the wrong way, because I really do enjoy my job, and I like the Senators I work for. But I don't like the game playing and I don't like the politics. There's too much self-interest here and the people who get hurt by it aren't the ones playing the games."
"What would you do if... if you hadn't come here to help your friend, where would you be? What would you be doing?"
Esmeralda actually stopped cleaning and scratched her head in thought. "I dunno - I never really gave it much deliberation. It wasn't how things panned out so...." She shrugged. "I really don't know."
Brianna turned from the window and uncrossed her arms as she moved behind her desk once more. She seated herself and folded her hands on the desk then stared at Esmeralda intently.
"I want you to think about it... really give it some consideration. If you and Saphira hadn't moved here to help your friend out, what would you have done instead?"
Esmeralda held Brianna's eyes for a long moment, then resumed her work. "What about you, Brianna?"
"Hmm? What about me?"
"Would you still be in the DA's office? You know it's just as political as Washington."
Briana chuckled. "Well, it certainly can be."
"Were you happy?"
"As the District Attorney?" shrugging when Esmeralda nodded. "It had its moments, but I was much happier as a prosecutor in the courtroom."
"Will you go back to it when you're done here?"
"I don't think so," Brianna replied, shaking her head. "I think I'm going to retire from public service and move into the private sector. Maybe I'll teach."
"Would you enjoy teaching?"
"Probably not as much as other things, but I think I'd do all right."
"I'm sure you would," Esmeralda offered with a smile. "You seem to be one of those lucky individuals who always tend to land on their feet."
"Better that than my ass," Brianna smirked. She watched as Esmeralda began to pack up her cart. "So still no answer for me?"
"Well, I really can't say for sure what we would have done. I think it would have depended on our opportunities. I probably would have ended up as a cashier at the local discount store because of my lack of education. But," she added, holding up her hands before Brianna could speak, "if we'd been given the chance, I think Saphira would have gone into law enforcement. Hunter wasn't that far off the mark where she's concerned."
"And you?"
"Me? I... I don't think I have any...."
"C'mon, Es," Brianna cut in. "You had to have wanted to do something when you were a kid - doctor, lawyer, Indian chief?" Esmeralda raised an eyebrow at the last and Brianna smirked in response. "Okay, maybe not the Indian chief. Teacher, writer, astronaut?"
"Now you're just being ridiculous," Esmeralda offered, but she gave Brianna a smile so she'd know there were no hard feelings. "I really didn't think about it much. My life was pretty well set from the time I was a child - I wanted to be Saphira's mate. Everything else?" She shook her head. "It is what it is, and I can't regret it as long as I have Saphira."
"I'm not sure I understand your thinking, Es, but as long as you're happy, I guess it's all good."
"It is," Esmeralda agreed. "What brought all this up anyway, if you don't mind my asking?"
Brianna turned her attention to her desk and started shutting things down and gathering things up in preparation of leaving for the night. "Any number of factors," she answered. "I'm sure you heard about my luncheon with Charisma today," looking up to see Esmeralda nod. "And I know you've heard about Scott Patterson's ambitions." Another nod. "Then we have Laura Maxwell who appears to be grooming Charisma for her run for the White House - I don't know really. It all just converged and got me to thinking."
"Does it bother you?"
"Excuse me? Does what bother me?" Brianna gathered her belongings and walked to the door. She opened it and motioned Esmeralda to go through ahead of her even as she waited for Esmeralda to clarify what she was asking. Esmeralda continued pushing her cart to the outer office door, leaning against it as she spoke.
"Charisma running for the White House? Or Laura Maxwell being the one to propel her there?"
"Es, Charisma Tagherty has had her eye on the Presidency for longer than either you or I have known her. She had already been working for it for years by the time that I met her. I can't really comment about Laura Maxwell - tonight was the first time I've exchanged more than passing platitudes with her. But if she's able to make Charisma's dream of being the first female President a reality, then I say more power to her. Maybe government would work better if it was run like a household instead of a country club."