Brianna pointed her to the correct door and took a seat on the small sofa. Whatever Okasa wanted, it wasn't life or death. So Brianna closed her eyes and focused on getting her heart rate back to normal. For a few minutes, she'd been terrified something had happened to...
She stopped herself. She wasn't going to allow herself to walk that particular path. A touch on her shoulder made her jump and her eyes shot open to find Okasa looking at her in concern.
"Little Bri? Are you all right?"
Brianna took a deep breath. "I was going to ask you the same thing Mama O. Didn't I just talk to you this morning?" seeing Okasa nod. "Has something happened?"
"Sort of," Okasa confirmed, "but not like you're thinking. Everyone is fine - Paddy is with me here in town. He went to get us a room for the night," watching the confusion wash over Brianna's face. "I'll explain, I promise."
Brianna nodded. "And the boys are okay?"
"Well, they're gonna be jealous as all get out when they find out Papa and I will get to see you when they don't, but otherwise they're all fine."
"All right," Brianna agreed slowly. "Then what's the problem? Why are you here? Or rather," realizing how rude that sounded, "what problem has brought you to my door this late in the evening that I can help you with?"
Okasa chuckled. "Ah, Brianna - how I miss you. I know... I know - but even when you were close it was hard to see you. Not your fault," Okasa added when Brianna's eyes dropped to the ground. "It's just the way of life. Kids grow up - they move on and move away. Doesn't mean we miss them any less."
"So you're here because you miss me?"
"That too," Okasa admitted. "But I am here now because I made you a promise twenty years ago, and I'd like you to promise me something now."
Brianna looked at the box and then back to Okasa, a feeling of sick dread filling her belly. "I won't make a blind promise Okasa."
"I'm not asking you to, Little Bri," knowing Brianna had her hackles up. "I'm asking you to listen to what I have to say first... then make me a promise."
"I promise to listen, Okasa. But beyond that...."
Okasa nodded. "That's all I can ask."
************
Esmeralda and Saphira looked up from the table as the rest of the angels returned from their day out. Without a word, they circled around and took seats at the table, then stood around the periphery of the room where they could see Esmeralda when she spoke. Esmeralda nodded to Ruby who started ladling out bowls of hot soup, passing them along until everyone had food in front of them. Only when they were all served did Esmeralda finally speak.
"First, did everyone have a good day out?" asked with a tender smile and genuine interest. Looks were exchanged and they all nodded, but no one spoke. Esmeralda and Saphira traded wry looks. "Guess we're gonna have to tell about ours before we hear about theirs, huh?" garnering soft chuckles from around the room. "Okay then... everyone dig in while it's still hot and we'll tell you all how our day went."
"First, however, I want you all to know you own a huge debt to Brianna and Charisma. They did leftover dishes duty. Ruby decided to clean out the refrigerator while they were here."
"You didn't!"
"Ruby!!"
"Are you serious??"
"How could you??"
Ruby looked back at them in all innocence and shrugged. "What??" she protested. "It was time. Besides, you didn't see the groceries Brianna brought that we had to make room for. I had to do something with all that stuff," holding up her bowl of soup. "And I'm not hearing any complaints about supper."
"Yeah," Indi agreed, "but still...."
"But still nothing. At least it kept them busy doing something besides skirting around each other for a change."
"Okay, Ruby... that's enough," Esmeralda advised beaming and holding up her hands. "I don't mind if you tell it, but you need to tell it all and in the right order," smiling when Ruby smirked and shrugged.
"You young people are no fun these day," drawing snorts from everyone in the room. "Where's the challenge in that?"
"Like we don't have enough of that around here already. Keep it up, Granny," Saphira warned. "You might find out what real kids these days consider fun to be." Before she could continue, the front door banged open and Jade blew in on a cold, stiff wind. Immediately everyone moved into action, making sure she got into the warmth beside the stove and had a bowl of hot soup in her hands. Esmeralda waited until Jade caught her breath before she spoke.
"Everything all right, Jade?" seeing her nod.
"Yeah," she replied after swallowing a mouthful of soup. "Wait'll you hear the stories I've got to tell."
Chapter XXXVIII
Esmeralda scrubbed her hands through her hair when Jade finished her telling. The girls had eaten and done up the dishes while they were listening, so now it was just a matter of choosing the next course of action. Saphira watched with troubled eyes as the hands moved from Esmeralda's scalp to her temples, gently rubbing in a circular motion as though to will away a headache. Without hesitation, she rose and stood behind Esmeralda, kneading the knots out of her shoulders.
"Es?" her concerned voice a bare whisper in Esmeralda's ear. Esmeralda patted one of the hands rubbing the side of her neck.
"I'm all right, Saphira. Just a bit of a headache. I never expected them to be so stiff and polite...."
"... and at the same time so antagonistic," Saphira added. "I know; neither did I. But it could have gone a lot worse. We were lucky Adam was here."
"How so?" Ame asked. "Did you find a story he liked that they could relate to?" wondering at the sudden burst of giggles seeming to afflict Esmeralda, Saphira and Ruby. She looked around, glad to note she wasn't the only one missing the joke and raised an eyebrow at them. "Would one of you like to let the rest of us in on it or should we start guessing?"
Saphira appeared to recover herself the quickest, and after a deep breath, she met Ame's eyes steadily. "Tell us about Adam... the Adam you know."
Ame scowled at the wording, but she held Saphira's eyes. "Um... well, he's a quiet child mostly. He reads a lot - or I should say, he loves to be read to and tries to read along. He has several learning video games he plays, but there are also blocks and paints and basketball. We take walks and go to the museum.... I'm not sure what you're looking for here Phira. He's a good kid."
"He is a good kid," Saphira agreed in all seriousness. "And we're really glad he was here today. He kept things from becoming impossible between Charisma and Brianna."
"And letting him streak naked through the kitchen screaming didn't hurt either." All eyes turned to Esmeralda and she shrugged. "It's the truth," rubbing her head again. "Let me give you the Angel's Notes version of our day, then I think I'm going to go lay down. I can't believe how stressful this day was." She turned to Saphira. "Wasn't it supposed to be easier for them with us around?"
Saphira bit her lip briefly. "I think it was, Sweetheart. But that doesn't mean it was supposed to be easier for us." She caught Ruby's eye and the subtle nod. "Why don't we let Ruby fill the girls in on what happened today? We're not gonna have a mad planning session tonight, are we?"
Esmeralda slowly shook her head. "I don't think so. Truthfully, I'm not really sure what more we can do at this point. It's basically up to them - we're just here for support if they need it."
"Okay, so let Ruby give them a quick rundown while I go start you a tub to soak in. I'm sure the girls won't mind hearing from Granny - she gives them their marching orders in the mornings."
"One of these days, Saphira," Ruby threatened with a grin. Esmeralda smiled tiredly at their banter.
"Sometimes, I don't understand how the two of you have managed to coexist for so many millennia. Then I realized you have to be in the same space to have to actually coexist and you two rarely are."