Once more she opened the book and simply gazed at the pictures within. Kent watched until Charisma fell asleep, still holding the book cradled in her arms. Then he left and headed back to the City.
Otherwise, the days were unexceptional and everyone took the chance to rest and relax and gear up for the coming week.
************
Charisma and Brianna met again for lunch on Monday afternoon, amidst a flurry of appointments and meetings. It was a welcome bit of respite in an otherwise hectic day, and both women were glad for the downtime. It was made nicer by the chance to spend it together, though neither of them was particularly willing to admit that fact aloud to the other.
When Esmeralda came by much later that evening, they were both anxious to talk and Esmeralda was more than willing to listen. And once she did, she was anxious to share with Saphira.
************
"Essie... c'mon in here," Matilda beckoned as Saphira held open the door to the diner for her to enter. "I've got something new I want you to try."
Esmeralda allowed Saphira to take her coat even as she cast a questioning glance her way. Saphira barely shrugged, shaking her head. "I dunno," she whispered in Esmeralda's ear as she brushed a kiss over the soft cheek under her lips. She felt the trembling in Esmeralda's frame and pulled back to stare at her with concerned eyes. "You all right?"
"Busy night," she responded softly, though not soft enough for Matilda not to hear.
"Must have been a good busy," she commented as she brought her latest concoction out of the window where Joe stood watching the three of them with a grin on his face. "You've got color in your cheeks, and I don't think it's from the cold." Matilda raised a hand to Esmeralda's forehead, then leaned forward and kissed it. "I don't think you've got fever either."
Esmeralda smiled and captured Matilda's hand in her own. "No fever," she promised. "Just a good night and we got plenty of rest this weekend, which helped a lot, I think."
"Yeah, Saphira told us about that little hellion of that Senator friend of yours. That little guy sounds like quite a handful," Matilda added as she put the plate in front of Esmeralda.
"He is, but he's a good kid. I think he just liked having a grown-up playmate."
Three sets of eyes turned to look at Saphira, whose eyes grew wide as she returned their stares. "Whaaaaat?" she whined. "I didn't do nothin'," she complained, sitting down next to Esmeralda and picking up a fork before digging into the potpie with single-minded focus.
"Give it up, Saphira," Joe admonished with a laugh. "We all know better."
"So what do you think?" Matilda asked after they had eaten for a few minutes. "It must be pretty good - you're actually eating. Or are you feeling better?"
Esmeralda smiled. "I am feeling better, but this is really good too. Are you adding it to the menu as a blue plate special?"
"I'm thinking about it. Opinion?"
Esmeralda chewed slowly, her eyes thoughtful. "I would," she finally said. "But I wouldn't do it too often. This should be a special blue plate special - you know... the kind that only gets offered once in a while because of the work involved in preparing it. Because if I'm guessing right, this took hours, if not a couple days, didn't it?"
Joe nodded. "It did." He looked at Saphira who was methodically making inroads on her portion. "What do you think?"
"I think this is really good, and I would like to selfishly keep it all for myself," she replied with a grin. "But I think it will do well if you put it on the board."
"All right then," Matilda said. "You two finish up while I wrap you up a piece of pie to go. You need to get home and get to bed and so do the old man and I. We don't want you losing that color in your cheeks," she added, shaking a finger at Esmeralda.
"You're a sweetheart, Matilda. God will be good to you for looking out for us."
"Maybe. I'll just be happy for you to keep coming round. That's thanks enough."
Esmeralda smiled. "You just like hearing all the good gossip," she teased.
"That too. Now c'mon," noticing Esmeralda had stopped eating. "Let me box this up so you two can go home. I'm sure you've got more interesting things to do than talk to old folks like me and Joe all night." And in minutes, she had shooed them out the door headed home.
"I doubt this is the interesting Matilda had in mind," Esmeralda said as they soundlessly entered the house and made their way straight to the kitchen. "But do I have a lot to tell you."
Saphira chuckled. "You heat the water and I'll go turn on the blanket. Then we can curl up together while you share what happened tonight."
"You've got yourself a date, Sweetheart."
Chapter XLII
"So things are moving satisfactorily then?" Saphira asked as she set their cups on the nightstand. Esmeralda nodded slowly.
"At least things are moving forward. They're at different places with this whole state of affairs between them - Charisma seems nervous and unsure and yet she's become the pursuer, determined to have Brianna as part of her life again. Brianna is more resigned to the whole situation; she's not moving away from it, but she seems unwilling to advance it at the moment either. She believes it will eventually come back to bite her in the ass, so she's willing to take what she can get from Charisma until Charisma learns the truth. She's convinced that circumstance will remove her from Charisma's life completely and for good."
"I don't understand why she doesn't stand up and fight for what she wants. Isn't she sick and tired of always giving in to what she thinks is best for Charisma? Why not fight for them to be together if it'll make them both happy?"
"I dunno, love," Esmeralda shrugged. "Maybe we'll be able to figure it out a little better next Sunday. We've been invited to Charisma's and Brianna is supposed to be there. Charisma thinks our presence will make it easier for them to become friends again."
Saphira pinched the bridge of her nose. "I feel a headache coming on," she mumbled, smiling when she felt Esmeralda's lips brush against her temple.
"I totally understand," tugging gently on Saphira's arm until they were laying flat on the bed. "On the plus side, it is progress."
"And on the down side is they're gonna drive us all nuts in the meantime," Saphira postulated darkly.
Esmeralda snorted. "Not a very far trip for most of us, Phira."
"I know - I wouldn't even make it out of the driveway most days."
Their chuckles were silent and they fell asleep with smiles on their faces.
************
It was Thursday before Charisma and Brianna had the chance to get together for lunch again, and Charisma blessed her foresight in having Opal and Indi coordinate things between them. There was a big push to get as much done as possible before the upcoming holiday break and every minute of the day seemed to be crowded with things that just couldn't wait. Even lunches became more like meetings and less like mealtimes, so Charisma was especially thankful to have a little time carved out that *wasn't* dedicated to more politics.
It floored her to realize she was more than a little put out by the political machinations that seemed determined to keep her and Brianna apart and wondered when and why her priorities had changed so drastically. After all... politics had been her life her whole life, and she'd done without Brianna's presence for almost twenty years after only having it for four.
Still, she was honest enough with herself to recognize the resentment she felt. She didn't take the time to examine it any further, but she knew it for what it was.
So it was with a big smile on her face that she entered the dining room on Thursday afternoon to find Brianna there ahead of her and waiting at what was quickly becoming their usual table. She nodded to their regular attendant and made her way across the room....