Amber shook her head. "Not much, actually. They were kind of like strangers talking to each other. Kent was apparently pretty stunned to hear from her. She's never called him before just to talk. It's always been because she needed something."
"How long did the call last?" Coral asked, her question reminding the others of her presence. Amber took a deep breath and released it as she thought.
"Not long, relatively speaking - maybe ten minutes?"
"Did they talk about anything important?"
Amber shook her head again. "They didn't actually talk about anything at all. It was mostly awkward pauses and long silences. In fairness, I think Kent was in shock. Charisma played it off like she just wanted to see how things were going. Kent actually had to cut the call short because it was time for him to get to the stage."
"I can't imagine that," Saphira said softly. "I can't imagine not needing to talk to your mate or not having anything to discuss when you had the chance to do so without interruption. Es and I always have something to talk about... even if it's just our days at work or the things we'd like to do while we're off. And when we have time to simply sit down and talk...."
"I know," Amber agreed. "I'm the one that generally has to risk life and limb to interrupt the two of you, remember?"
Saphira cut her eyes at Amber in a mild glare. "I am well aware. Your timing usually leaves a lot to be desired."
"That's not what Michael says," she replied with a smirk. Saphira's eyes widened and she covered her ears to block the sound.
"Lalalalalalala - TMI, Amber. I don't think Coral and I needed to know that." Coral kept her hand over her mouth to keep her laughter from escaping. Saphira glared at both of them. "We've moved pretty far afield of yesterday's activities. Did anything else of note happen?" pinning each of them balefully.
"Only one more thing, as far as I'm concerned," Amber answered slowly, pinching her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger as she considered her words.
Saphira arched her brow when the silence continued. "Would you like to share with the rest of the class or are we supposed to guess?"
"Oh... sorry. Charisma went directly to her bedroom as soon as she got off the phone with Kent."
Saphira blinked slowly. "Okay... pretend I'm a complete moron here and explain to me the significance of your statement."
Amber blew out a frustrated breath. "Almost without fail, Charisma sticks to a routine once she gets home. She drops her stuff in her office and heads directly to Adam's room. After she spends a little time with her son, she goes straight to her office and takes out whatever she brought home with her. If she's home relatively early - meaning she didn't have some sort of political function to attend - she grabs whatever dinner Ame leaves for her in the fridge and takes it to the study. Until Brianna crashed back into her orbit, her time was spent going over whatever bills and legislation she felt needed her attention while she ate dinner at her desk."
"And since then?"
"A lot less of both. She still brings her plate to the desk and she still pulls out her work, but so far she's not finishing much. Most of her time has been spent looking at that album."
"And this doesn't bother Kent?"
Amber tilted her head. "I don't think he knows about the album. And the other is just SOP as far as he's concerned. It's always been like that between them. Most of their time together is spent in the public eye - most of their private time is separate."
Saphira pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed her eyes. "Father Above," she prayed, trying to rid herself of the headache she could feel coming on in the back of her skull. Coral and Amber remained silent, knowing Saphira hadn't talked to her Father since He had turned her out of Paradise with Esmeralda to begin this assignment. Saphira didn't say anything else and finally exhaled noisily. Then she turned to Coral. "What about Brianna?"
Coral shook her head. "It was... normal. She went home early after her all-nighter. She called for some dinner and took a shower, changing into some old sweats before her meal arrived. Then she ate, brushed her teeth and crawled into bed. She read a little - Harry Potter, before you ask - then turned out the light and went right to sleep."
"That's it?"
Coral nodded. "That's it. She didn't even get up for the bathroom or a drink of water. The first time she stirred was when the alarm went off." Coral stopped speaking and bit her lip thoughtfully. Saphira cocked her head in question.
"What?"
"Well, aside from the fact that she didn't move at all, the only thing that was a little odd about her night was that she seemed to resent the alarm going off this morning."
"Doesn't everyone?" Amber asked with a hint of a grin. It was a well-known fact that she was perfectly suited to her night job because she didn't have to deal with a morning alarm. In her mind, that made all the difference in getting out of bed every day.
Coral looked at her seriously. "Not Brianna. I know we've only been here a few weeks, but according to the background I had to dig out on her she's always been one to face the day as something to be treasured for the gift it is. She was almost angry this morning."
Saphira blew out a breath. "I guess Indi will have an interesting report tonight."
"Maybe," Coral said with a shrug. "Brianna was in the bathroom for a few minutes this morning, giving quite a pep talk to herself in the mirror."
"Oh?"
"Yeah - she was assuring herself that she could do this... that it was only for two years... that she had survived this long, she could survive a little longer."
"Did she believe what she was saying?"
"Well, there were no tears in her eyes and her spine was straight when she walked out the door. If she didn't believe it, she was at least able to put up a credible faзade that would fool the rest of the world."
"Including Charisma?"
"Especially Charisma. She doesn't want to see past it, given what we know of her."
"This just keeps getting better and better," Saphira muttered as she rose from her corner of the couch. She gave Amber a wry smile when she immediately stretched her length along it as soon as Saphira vacated her space. "All right. I hate to ask, but I need the two of you to go out and get groceries before you settle down to sleep. Ruby was going to when she got off this afternoon, but since she's taking my shift...." She stopped speaking when Amber held up her hand.
"Saphira, it's all right. Coral and I do a lot of grocery shopping. Stuff is generally stocked better when you go early and the farmers' markets open early."
"Yeah," Coral concurred. "You go take care of Es. We'll restock the larder and fix up some lunch when we get back."
"You're sure?"
Coral snickered. "We're sure - we've cooked a lot of lunches that translate into dinner for the day crew."
Amber scowled at Saphira. "Will you please get out of here? We're professionals - we know what we're doing. You, on the other hand, are a neophyte in the guardian business, and you need to get back to guarding the boss for now. We'll call you if we think we need you. But we know Es does, okay?" putting a firm hand in the middle of Saphira's back and pushing her towards the bedroom door. "Go on... buh-bye... see ya."
"Thanks, Amber," Saphira said softly without turning away from the door even as she reached out for the knob. Amber scowled again... this time to keep the tears at bay.
"Yeah, well... just don't get used to it, all right? The world would probably stop spinning or something equally horrible if the universe caught us playing nice together."
Saphira's chuckle came out more like a strangled sob, but Amber let it go. "Heaven forbid," she whispered. "I've got enough to worry about without having that on my shoulders."
"Amen!" Amber agreed, patting Saphira's back gently. "Now go be with Es. Coral and I'll be back in a little while." Saphira nodded and opened the door, crossing the threshold and shutting it behind her without a backwards glance.