"Ruby, I can't think of a single, solitary thing that valuable."
"Guess we'll find out soon enough." She reached for the doorknob. "C'mon - sooner started, sooner finished."
Amber rolled her eyes, but covered Ruby's hand so they turned the knob together. "That was one of my least favorite of your teaching expressions, you know."
"Of course," Ruby grinned. "Why do you think I used it?" pushing the door open and urging Amber inside with the hand still resting on her back. She snickered when Amber cut her eyes over in a glare, then followed her into the room. The hard part was over.
************
"So what do you think about all this, Mama?" Patrick asked hours later when he and Okasa were getting ready for bed. After he and the boys and their families had arrived in the city, they'd gone directly to Charisma's house to be met with the news of her divorce and her decision not to run for President in the next election. The family had been quietly supportive, knowing that Charisma and Brianna did need time to become a couple privately before their relationship was thrust into the public limelight.
Still, something about the whole situation niggled at Paddy, and he turned to the woman who for almost fifty years had been his confidante, lover and friend. Okasa frowned at him and climbed into the bed, scooting up to lean against the headboard and smoothing the covers around her. She tipped her head to one side.
"What part of all this, Paddy? The divorce? Charisma and Brianna as a couple? Charisma postponing her dream?"
"Is that what you think she's doing... postponing it? You don't think she's giving it up?"
Okasa slid her fingers under her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling her shoulders tighten in reaction. She knew Patrick was trying not to be difficult, but she wondered where the hell this was coming from all of a sudden and decided to ask. She removed her glasses and set them carefully on the bedside table, then turned to give Patrick her full attention.
"What are you thinking, Paddy? Where's this coming from?"
He set down the cup of water on his nightstand and sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing his hands over his face before sighing and slipping under the sheet beside his wife. "I'm not concerned about the divorce - it doesn't actually affect us personally, and both Kent and Charisma seem happier now than they've been in a long time. And you know how I feel about Charisma and Brianna as a couple - she's been a daughter of my heart almost since the day I met her in Charisma's dorm room. We've waited a long, long time for them to reach this point together."
"So it's the Presidential thing?" Okasa asked when Patrick stopped talking. "Paddy, you heard your daughter - she and Brianna agreed that it would be better for them to wait until they've had a little time together first. They're right... and you know it." Okasa paused when she saw Patrick's shoulders sag. "You heard what they said - it's not never... just not now."
"I know... and I want to believe that. Okasa, this has been Charisma's dream her whole life. I just don't want to see her give it up in case...." His words ceased when Okasa held up a hand while glaring fiercely at him.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Patrick Tagherty. She deserves happiness, and if Brianna makes her happy, that should be enough for you."
"It is, Okasa," he chastised with a hint of hurt in his tone. "I just don't want regret over this decision to be an issue for them later. They've waited so long to be happy."
"Do you *really* think they haven't thought of that... discussed it? Paddy, Brianna and I talked about it when Charisma and Kay went to check on Es. She'll make sure Charisma doesn't regret it, because Brianna is prepared to do what it takes to ensure Charisma follows that dream if that's what Charisma wants. But they've made a good choice in deciding to wait. This will let them be stronger together."
Patrick chuckled and Okasa twitched an eyebrow at him. He smiled and patted her hand. "Charisma should hire you to be her campaign manager. Between you and Brianna, anyone she runs against doesn't stand a chance."
Okasa laughed aloud and squeezed his hand. "Flatterer," smiling when he waggled his eyebrows at her. "Feel better?"
"Yep," he said, sliding down until he was mostly reclined on the bed. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't misreading things."
"Rest easy there, Papa. Your princess still has her eye on the prize. HER princess won't let her lose sight of it as long as they're chasing the dream together."
Patrick reached over and turned out his lamp, shifting a little until he was facing Okasa who looked down at him with a smile. "I wonder how Senator Maxwell feels about that," he commented innocuously. Okasa snorted.
"If she's smart, she'll keep any less than complimentary thoughts to herself. Pretty sure she won't survive the evisceration that will follow any unfavorable commentary she makes." Okasa flipped off her light, then sank down onto the mattress with a sigh. "I just wish Es could have lived to see this."
"Why?" Patrick asked softly. "I mean... I would much rather she and Saphira both were here to witness what's finally happening, but because it would mean they were here with us more than for any other reason. But it's not like they've been waiting decades for this to happen - not like we have."
Okasa shrugged and turned to face him in the darkness that was just highlighted by the moonlight peeking through the curtains that weren't completely closed. "Maybe. But Es did have more to do with them coming together again than all the rest of us combined." She reached up a hand to cover his mouth when she felt him draw breath to speak. "I'll tell you one day, but not tonight. Tonight I just want to sleep for a while so we can go say goodbye to Es tomorrow."
Patrick nodded and kissed her fingertips, and Okasa removed her hand from his lips. "Do you think Brianna and Charisma were right? Do you think Es found Saphira and is happy again?"
"I'd like to think so. It gives me a little peace, especially knowing what they were to one another in life."
Patrick didn't respond verbally. Instead he scooted over until he could embrace her and Okasa sank into his arms with a contented sigh. It wasn't long until they were entwined together in sleep.
************
"That was a little surprising," Brianna said as she and Charisma sat together on the small couch in her study. The wine they had poured sat practically untouched on the coffee table in front of them, and though touching along their lengths, only their hands were tangled together. Gentle fingertips of their unattached hands traced paths along smooth skin, even though neither woman was conscious of their actions. Charisma nodded.
"I certainly didn't expect it. I thought Amber had kind of written us off, given how curt we were earlier." She noticed Brianna's furrowed brow. "Something wrong, Bri?"
Brianna bit her lip as she shook her head slowly. "I'm not sure how to say what I want to convey tomorrow. Es was an amazing woman, Ri - she helped bring us together despite ourselves," garnering a small chuckle from Charisma and smiling in response. "I'm not sure ... the writer in me wants to find the perfect words to say about her, but so much of what I feel seems too personal to share... especially with people who didn't know Es like we did."
Charisma shifted so she could wrap an arm around Brianna's shoulders, smiling when Brianna snuggled closer and the blonde head tucked itself under her chin. She took Brianna's hands in her other hand, rubbing her thumb along the length of hand she could reach. "What's to say they don't, Bri? It's not like any of us have really shared what Es was to us beyond her job title. It's very likely she was the same person to everyone else that she was to us... a friend. Besides, you only have to share what you're comfortable with. Es would understand that."