Brie couldn't have been happier. She had her man, she had her kids, and she had her best friend and mentor all under one roof. It wouldn't last forever, Brie knew that. Still, it was nice while it lasted.
Angela stayed for a little while. She had seven new nieces and nephews to get to know. Jeremiah, the shy one of the group Angela had discovered, came up to her and tapped her ever so lightly in the knee. "Auntie Angela?"
She looked down at the little boy. "Yes, Jeremiah?"
"Do you and Mommy both give massages?"
She nodded. "Yes. As a matter of fact, Jeremiah, I taught your Mommy HOW to give massages. Your Mommy was a student of mine a very long time ago."
David looked at Angela. "You know something, Angela?"
"What's that, David?"
"Seeing as you taught my wife so well her massage techniques, I would love to receive one from you. It would be nice to see what the similarities between your routines are, and the differences." All the guys echoed David's sentiments.
"Well, gentlemen, I'd rather clear that with Brie before I agree to it." She looked at the woman she called sister and friend. "What do you say about it?"
"Only ONE, Angela. You know I love you, but you're NOT stealing my clients", Brie laughed.
Angela laughed with her. "Oh, honey, you know I have more clients than I can handle. You remember the mess I was when you were my student."
"Oh yeah, I remember. I remember when I did my first eval on you, you were running late because of some problem you were having with your finger and you had to talk to one of the other student at the time because you were looking into surgery. How is your hand, anyway?"
"Well, I had surgery to have that ulcer in my finger removed, if you recall. After you and Malachai fell of the face of the planet, I had to have one more operation on another finger. Same problem; localized Scleroderma."
John blinked at the two of them. "What the hell are you two talking about? What is Scleroderma?"
"It's hardening of the skin caused by necrosis of the tissue due to lack of blood flow", Brie said.
Dan shivered involuntarily. "That sounds harsh. And this was on your fingers?" he asked Angela.
"Yep. I have all kinds of weird conditions that would just confuse the hell out of all of you but Brie."
Brie laughed. "I've been lucky that I've had all healthy clients the past seven- eight years, but if something pops up I still have all of my text books plus the Internet is a wonderful tool."
"That it is", Angela agreed.
"Have you had any problems with the ulcers since?" Brie asked.
"No, actually. I've been keeping my hand warm. Occasionally, I have to put them in front of a heater, but not often. My entire trip here, I was alternating which hand I drove with so that I could keep the circulation in my hands going."
Brie sighed. "That's great news. I'm glad you haven't had any more problems." She took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "You can give one of them a massage, but, on one condition."
"What's that?"
Brie smiled. "Me first. I haven't had a massage since before we went into hiding.
-------------
Brie and Angela went up to Brie's massage room to get ready for Brie's massage. They talked as they adjusted the table. "So, how is Romeo?"
"I'm a widow, Brie. He was heading into work one day and got pulled over by the Utopians at a check point. He passed that same check point everyday without any problems. But, people knew that we're Malachai's god parents and they had just started really looking for David. We knew that David Draiman and his wife had adopted our godson, but we didn't know where you guys were living. The Utopians took him into custody and interrogated him for days. When they didn't get the information they wanted and thought he had, they shot him."
Brie jumped to her feet. "WHAT?!" she shouted angrily. "No, not your Romeo. Not that sweet man I met as a student. Not Romeo. Those bastards!"
Angela stood and walked around the table, placing her hands on Brie's arms. "Brie, it was years ago. I've moved on since. I haven't found a new man because no one can replace Romeo. There's no way.
But, I have accepted it."
"Angela, you lost your husband because you know me. The Utopians were using you to get to Malachai and through Malachai, David and me. I'm so sorry. More than you will ever know."
Angela hugged Brie. "You know I would never blame you. I blame these bastards that have taken over our government. True, it was shit before but this is too close to a dictatorship for most people's taste."
Brie squeezed Angela, then pulled back from the hug. "Did you hear about that impromptu speech David gave in Austin?"
"The 'Never Again' speech?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Honestly, it's one of my favorites. You know me, I'm not one for heavy metal music, but I have to hand it to your husband. He can inspire people. The reaction to that speech was massive."
"Oh, yeah. We were on tour at the time. They were only playing rallies, but it got them out of the safe house and back on the road for a little bit. David gave that speech, and we got off the road really quickly. We've been here for a couple of months now."
"Well, now that I know where you are, I'll try to be out here more often."
"I'd feel better if you had an armed escort if you do make a return visit. I'm sure that the Utopians will be keeping a close eye on this house now that one of their scouts went poof."
Angela laughed. "Went poof, Brie, or died?"
"You don't want the answer to that question, Angela. It's better that you don't have it. Safer for you in case the Utopians DO get a hold out you. Plausible deniability is best."
Angela shrugged and let the topic drop. "Has anything changed since I last saw you?"
"Not really other than the fact that I've had three pregnancies, one of which miscarried, and that I have eight kids instead of one. I still like good deep pressure, I have nasty trigger points in my rhomboids and upper traps, my ankles suck, and I'm getting old."
Angela laughed. "YOU'RE getting old? How do you think I feel?" Brie laughed with her. Once the laughter died down, Angela gave Brie a few instructions. "Ok, you know the drill. Undressed to comfort level, under the top sheet and blanket."
"Do you want me supine or prone?" Brie asked sarcastically.
"You know better than that, Brie. Supine", Angela said and walked out so Brie could get ready.
--------------
The entire hour that Brie and Angela were upstairs, David and the guys argued over who was going to get a massage from the legendary Angela. "It was my idea and she's my sister in law", David said.
"And that's exactly why you shouldn't get a massage from her", John said.
Nicole and Kristen got sick of listening to the arguing. "Why don't the four of you draw straws?" Kristen suggested.
"Or let Angela decide. She is the one that has to GIVE the massage, you know", Nicole suggested
"Yeah", Mike agreed. "Why don't we just let Angela choose?"
"That's the best idea you've had in a long time, Mikey", Dan teased.
"Go to hell, Donegan."
"I'll see you there, brother, because you'll be there before I will."
--------------
At the end of the session, Brie felt like butter. It had been a very long time since she'd felt that good. She damn near fell asleep on the table, which had been a rare occasion when she got massage regularly. But that had been in a different life, or so it seemed.
Angela gently rocked Brie to wake her up. "How are you feeling, Brie?"
Brie sighed. "Like butter. OH MY GOD! I haven't felt this good in a long time."
Angela smiled. "I'm glad. I'm going to go wash my hands and see which of the guys I'm putting on the table next. I'll see you down stairs", she said and left to room.
When she got down to the Kitchen to wash her hands, she was automatically bombarded by the guys with the same question. "Who do you want to put on the table next?"
She laughed. "Geez, fellas, let me wash my hands first. Then I'll choose." She turned on the water and scrubbed her hands and arms. Nicole handed her a towel to dry her hands and arms off with. "Thank you. What was your name again?" she asked.
"Nicole. Dan's my husband."
She looked at Dan, then back at Nicole. "I'm sorry", she said with a laugh.
"So am I sometimes, but I love him."
Angela smiled. "I can tell." She looked back at the men surrounding the kitchen table. "Ok, boys. Let me think here." She looked at each other them, giving them a quick once over before naming who would follow Brie on the table. "David looks like he needs the most help, to be honest with you."
David laughed. "Ha ha, fuckers. She picked me."
She laughed. "No, David, I didn't. I just said that you look like you really need one. I didn't say that I was going to give you one."
"Damn", he said, sounding disappointed.
Her eyes caught John's. "Just thought I'd throw this out there, but I love your dreads, John. They're awesome."
"You think so?"
"I love dread locks. The nappier the better."
John smiled. "Thanks. Does that mean I'm the one getting the massage?"
"No, I still haven't decided". She looked at each of the men. "You know what, guys, it's only fair that I give it to David, and here's why. One, it WAS his idea. Two, his posture sucks and needs to be fixed badly. And three, dealing with the three of you plus eight children has to be stressful."
David laughed. "Stressful, hell. My eight kids are a cake walk compared to these three jack asses. But, they're my brothers and like it or not, I'm stuck with them."
All Angela could do was laugh and shake her head.
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