Esmeralda took a deep breath and opened the door to find the woman standing in front of her rapidly rubbing her hands together to stimulate some warmth. Esmeralda cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. "Mal, is there a good reason you're standing on the front porch in Washington without your gloves instead of in the City with Kent?" She paused and frowned. "And why did you knock anyway?"
Mal stuck her hands under her armpits and jerked her head towards the door. "Can I come in? I didn't realize it was going to be so cold here or I'd have made sure my gloves were in my coat pockets before we left the City." Esmeralda opened the door wider and gestured Mal into the house. "As for why I knocked, I wasn't sure what was going on today. I thought I saw a limousine leaving the neighborhood and I didn't want to chance barging in on something. At least knocking means I can be a friend who stopped by to check on you."
Esmeralda nodded. "Good thinking, Mal. But it still doesn't explain why you're here instead of the City with Kent. Do you have the information we need?" reaching out to help Mal remove her coat.
"I dunno," Mal shrugged. "I'll tell you what I know and you can make that decision."
"Okay," Esmeralda agreed. "Go into the bedroom and wait for me. I need to let Saphira know you're here and then I'll join you and you can tell me what's going on."
Mal nodded and slipped into the hall. Esmeralda hung up Mal's coat in the closet, then stuck her head into the kitchen. She watched unnoticed for a moment. She didn't know what the joke was, but it was heartwarming to see old friends and new bonding so well. After a moment, she shifted just slightly, knowing that any movement on her part would garner Saphira's attention.
"Es?" she invited, holding out a hand. "Who was at the door?"
"It was Mal," watching two sets of brows hike into hairlines. She arched her own brow. "She came to see how I was doing, but she forgot her gloves and can hardly move her fingers. So I'm gonna go help her warm her hands slowly and then I'll bring her in."
"Go," Saphira commanded. "Ruby and I can entertain Brianna for a few more minutes."
"She's right," Ruby agreed. "We have lots more diner stories to share." Esmeralda saw Brianna nodding her agreement and smiled.
"All right. We'll be out in a few minutes," she said with a slight wave as she disappeared around the corner of the kitchen. It was quiet long enough for them to hear a door down the hall close softly, then they returned to their conversation.
Esmeralda looked around the bedroom and realized that Mal had already moved into the bathroom and was running cold water over her hands. She nodded approvingly. "Good girl. I told them I was going to help you get your hands warmed up. Now talk to me - what's going on?"
Mal sighed. "Do you know what's been going on between Kent and Charisma... with the phone calls and everything?" waiting for Esmeralda to nod. "When he realized she'd called him again - and in the middle of a show, no less - he made arrangements to leave the City for a couple days to come back to Washington and find out exactly what was going on. Unfortunately, by the time he decided to do this, it was very, very late last night. And I didn't want to leave him unwatched until I was sure he got home safely."
"I can understand that, Mal. So you're here now because...?"
"When he arrived home, I found Jade keeping watch over Charisma and Adam. She agreed to keep an eye on Kent so I could come over and give you the lowdown on what was going on." Mal winced when Esmeralda made the water lukewarm, sucking in a breath and then relaxing again under Esmeralda's tender ministrations. "You could have been a nurse, Es."
"No thank you," Esmeralda declined firmly with a shudder. "I don't like the sight of blood."
Mal bit her lip, knowing she had wandered into a hornet's nest with her comment. "Sorry, Es," she whispered.
Esmeralda leaned forward and brushed a kiss over Mal's forehead. "No harm, no foul, my friend," offering her forgiveness in the touch. "Now what can you tell me about what else is going on up there? Does he have a lover or significant other? Or are his interests purely business related?"
"From everything I've seen and been able to find out, his interests are legitimate. He has his theatre gigs and he has that restaurant/bar combo that he's invested in. He goes into the theatre around four-thirty or five every afternoon, and he's there until the show is over. Then he goes over to the restaurant for an hour or two - has a meal, talks to his partner...."
"Tell me about the partner."
Mal studied the running water thoughtfully, almost smiling this time when Esmeralda turned up the temperature on the water. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to forget my gloves," she mumbled. "I know better."
"Yeah, but it's easy to forget when you're not in the habit of needing them," Esmeralda commented lightly, knowing Mal wasn't ignoring the question as much as she was trying to determine what to say.
"Kent's partner is a couple - a man and wife he went to school with. As far as I can tell, they have been friends for almost twenty years." She paused and Esmeralda waited silently. "From what I have been able to gather...." Here Mal broke off and looked directly into Esmeralda's green eyes. "You know, this would all be a lot easier if we had access to the heavenly files."
"I know," Esmeralda agreed softly. "But I can't ask for that, Mal."
Mal heaved a deep breath. "I know," she grumbled. "But it would've made things easier. However," she continued without pause, "from what I've be able to put together, Kent and the male - whose name is Doug, by the way - were roommates in college and had talked about this whole business idea off and on during that time. Doug and Carolyn met in his junior year - she was a freshman. He went into the Army after college and she stayed to finish her degree, but they eventually got married. Kent was Doug's best man, but after the wedding they drifted apart."
"Like Charisma and Brianna?"
"Oh no... not at all. They still wrote once in a while - Christmas cards, newsletters - or made the occasional phone call, but life kind of got in the way of their friendship. Doug was overseas as well as being newly married and Kent was trying to establish himself in the theatre world."
"Okay, so then what?"
"After Doug's stint, he was tapped for a teaching position at NYU where he is still a professor. Carolyn is a nurse manager at NYU Medical Center. And when Kent was working on some production or other, they stumbled across one another again... literally. They got to talking and one thing led to another and they decided to try and make that college dream come true."
"How long did it take... before they made the dream come true?"
Mal paused thoughtfully when Esmeralda turned off the water and passed her a towel. "A little while, but I can't say for certain how long it took. I know that Kent and Charisma used it for their reception, but I don't know if she knows why."
"You don't think Charisma is aware of this part of Kent's life?"
Mal shook her head. "Would she need to be?"
Esmeralda's focus went inward for a long moment before she looked at Mal again. "Given what I know of the two of them, I'd be surprised if she is actually aware of this venture. The only thing they seem to have in common is their son." She paused. "Does Kent talk to both Doug and Carolyn or just Doug?"
"Mostly just Doug. Even though Carolyn is a nurse manager, a majority of her time is still wrapped up in the hospital. Doug, on the other hand, can put the hours into the business now that he's tenured."
"What do they talk about?"
Mal scrunched up her brows in confusion. "I'm not sure I understand the question."
Now Esmeralda furrowed her own eyebrow. "What's not to understand, Mal? What do Kent and Doug talk about when they sit down together?"
"Um... the business, mostly. What's going right, what needs work... sometimes they throw menu ideas back and forth to each other." She turned a little green. "I'm glad they have a trained chef," her wry comment and screwed-up facial expression causing laughter to bubble up in Esmeralda's chest. Mal chuckled sympathetically. "Once in a while they talk about their kids or sports."