Little Lady Briana

Little Lady Briana 1: After Christmas

Briana had never seen her family's living room so full and so quiet at the same time. The space was a good one for being noisy, running as it did from the front door to the kitchen – easily half the length of the house. Though there was technically a foyer by the door, and a dining room outside the kitchen; there were no walls separating the space at the heart of the Rasmussen home. It dominated the house vertically as well, with the native-stone fireplace on the outer wall, and the open stairway to the second floor opposite.

Moments ago the room had been noisy, full of the echoing, conversational rumble that was Briana's favorite sound; the noise of her family. The temporary quiet had come from sounds outside – the rumble of tires on the gravel drive, followed by a car door slamming.

Mom is nervous. Briana looked up at Veronica from her position at the slender woman's feet. Mom had dressed up for her sister's arrival like she was going to the mayor's office, replacing her simple black dress with a complicated gown that boasted a corseted bust and layers of lace for a skirt. Every inch of the dress was black, of course. There were a few unusual hints of color on Veronica, from the dark red lipstick she'd chosen instead of her usual black, to the rubies adorning her ears.

The sound of steps on the front porch dragged Briana's attention to the front door. Her dad, Jane, stepped forward and opened the door like a butler. From her spot on the floor, Briana had a window of view through a gap between her Tia Rosa and her Grandmother Michelle. Briana's diaper crinkled as she rose to her knees to catch her first glimpse of her aunt Kiara.

Kiara stepped through the door with a cellphone at her ear. She was tall, a magnificent black woman with toned arms and shoulders shown off by her sleeveless crimson dress. The tight curls of her hair were pulled back by a hairpiece that evoked a golden crown of laurels.

"Thank you so much, Madame secretary. I have just arrived home, so I will not be reachable for forty eight hours, unless it is a genuine emergency. Ciao." Kiara handed her phone to a stiff-looking blonde woman in a pinstriped suit-dress and immediately turned to Jane.

"Jane! Soon to be my sister, I hear." Kiara pulled Jane into a tremendous hug and kissed her on both cheeks.

"It's good to have you back." Jane smiled with her usual reserve – the twinkle in her eyes revealing her genuine excitement to Briana. Between Kiara's demonstrative greeting and Dad's excitement, Briana was feeling better about meeting her aunt. Her only hesitation came from her mom, who was still nervous.

"You must be Rosa!" Kiara took Rosa's hand as she stood, and pulled her in for another big hug. "It's been so long since I had a new sister, and now I have two. Welcome, Rosa, to the Rasmussen family." Like Jane, Rosa got a kiss on both cheeks.

"I've heard a lot about you." Rosa looked Kiara over appraisingly.

"We will spend time together, I promise. I want to know the woman that my mother decided our family needed." Kiara squeezed Rosa's arm firmly and turned toward Grandma. "Speaking of my mother – Mom, I missed you."

"I missed you too, Kiki." Grandma got up, managing to conceal the amount of caution she had to put into the motion. Michelle was much better, now that she was using her oxygen regularly, but still got dizzy when she stood. Briana tensed, just in case Grandma started wobbling.

Kiara took Grandma in her arms, far more gently than she had Jane and Rosa. Michelle got her cheek kisses before Kiara looked at her and said, "You scared me, Mom."

"I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean to scare anyone." Michelle reached and cupped Kiara's cheek while they took a moment to gaze into each other's eyes.

"Vonnie." Kiara turned to Veronica, who'd gotten out of her chair and was standing in the most anxious way Briana had seen her mom behave. Kiara wrapped her arms around Veronica with a deep sigh of happiness. Mom sank into Kiara's arms and laid her head on her sister's shoulder in what looked like relief.