Searching for Home
by Chelle & Nikki

~ Chapter 21 ~

Brianna slowly walked down the hallway and to her office door. It felt strange to her to be back. It seemed like she had been away from work for a month. She unlocked her door, walked inside and shut the door, letting out a deep sigh. She hadn't seen anybody except for Helen, who had greeted her with a smile and a cheerful 'Hello.' She stepped over to her desk and sat her purse on the chair. She saw that Jessica had left a note for her on top of a stack of letters with a sheet of addresses.
Hi Brianna. Welcome back! Please mail these as soon as possible. Catch up with you later. -Jess
"Hmm." Brianna said. She stepped behind her desk and opened the curtains and the blinds. She looked outside for a moment. Her thoughts began to wander back to her conversation with Taylor and she wondered if she'd see him. She reached up and pulled her necklace out of her shirt collar. She sat down at her desk and began to fold the letters to be mailed. It took a while to get all of the letters in the envelopes and get them addressed. Once she was done with the task, Brianna picked them up and walked out of her office to take the letters to the mail room for them to be mailed. As she walked back to her office she saw Avery stepping out of her door. "Hi, Avery." Brianna said with a smile. Avery slightly jumped and then giggled. "Hi Brianna! We missed you. Ike said you and Taylor had gone to Georgia." Avery and Brianna hugged briefly. "Yes. I was going to go alone but Taylor..."
"Uh huh. Taylor talked you into letting him go with you."
"Right."
"Well, did you find out anything about your mother?"
Brianna was surprised that Avery knew about the reason for her trip but the feeling quickly wore off. She realized that nothing was ever a secret with that many kids in a family. "Yes, a little." Brianna answered.
"Good, that's great." Avery smiled. "Well, listen you got a delivery a minute ago. I was coming in the guy was leaving. Helen asked if I'd bring it upstairs to you. It's on your desk. I saw that your door was cracked open but you weren't in there. I didn't see you out here anywhere so I just put them on your desk."
"Ok, thank you. Do you know who it's from?"
"Uh-uh. I didn't read the card. Just had your name on it." Avery shrugged, and with a smile walked back to her own office.
Brianna pushed open her door and was stunned at what she saw. A huge bouquet of roses, half a dark shade of pink and the other half a lighter shade of pink, in a crystal vase sitting on her desk. Brianna blinked, almost trying to clear her vision of what she saw. She slowly closed the door and walked over to her desk. In the middle of the bouquet were two small cards. "Different shades of pink carry their own significance. Dark pink roses are symbolic of gratitude and appreciation, and are a traditional way to send a message of general thanks. Light pink roses are associated with gentleness and admiration, and can also be used as an expression of sympathy." Brianna read out loud. She placed the card down on her desk and then pulled out the small white envelope that had her name written on it. She smiled as she opened it and pulled out the card. Meet me this afternoon at Santino's. 2:30. - Taylor. Brianna smiled. She leaned down and smelled the roses, which had a sweet smell. She bit her bottom lip, and read the card again. "Hmm, Santino's... nice choice Tay." She said out loud, thinking of a previous lunch date with Taylor at the restaurant. She glanced at the clock... 10:30. Brianna put the card down and quickly walked out of her office.

********************

"Excuse me, Isaac." Brianna said, knocking on the partly opened door. "Yes, come in." Isaac said. "Hi Brianna. Glad you're back in Tulsa." Isaac walked over and hugged Brianna. "Hi. Glad to be back."
"So, I talked to Taylor and he told me about your trip. I'm sorry you didn't get to talk to Pam."
Brianna shrugged. "Well, I did get to talk to her husband. So, ya know, it's alright."
"Yeah, Taylor said he gave you some pictures and stuff."
"Uh huh." Brianna nodded. "I found my mother's grave and Pam's too."
"So, do you feel any better?"
"I guess so. I know the whole story now. At least she wanted me. Before, I just thought they never cared."
"Gosh," Isaac said with a shake of his head as he walked over to his desk and motioned for Brianna to sit down. "I can't imagine what that must have felt like. I mean, thinking that your mother didn't want you. But," He sighed," you know better now."
"Yeah. It's closure of some sort. Um, listen Ike, I was wondering," Brianna began to absentmindedly play with her fingers. Isaac leaned forward and raised his eyebrows. "Wondering what?" He asked. "Well, have you talked to Taylor at all since last night?" Isaac smiled and glanced down at his desk. Brianna had an uneasy feeling as he glanced back up at her. "Uh-huh." He finally answered. "And from what I heard, the two of you had an interesting chat last night." Isaac smiled. "Isaac, I don't want to do anything that could possibly jeopardize my job. So, if you think this is a bad idea, just tell me. I mean, we agreed that he'd talk to you and Trixie. I told him what you told me about not wanting anything like that going on at work. And Trixie, well... I just don't want her to have a hard time."
"Brianna, first of all, as I told Taylor, you're both adults. If you want a romantic relationship, that's between you two. Second, Taylor was right about me. I am a perfectionist and a work-aholic. And my concern is you guys being able to get your work done. As long as nothing interferes with that," Isaac smiled and threw his hands up in the air as he leaned back in his office chair. "And third, you don't have anything to worry about with Trixie. But if it makes you feel any better, Taylor will talk to her. She's, it's amazing but she understands him."
Brianna sighed with a smile. "Thank you Isaac. I'm supposed to meet Taylor for lunch. And I want you to know that even if things, um, get started between us, ya know, romantically, that nothing will keep me from doing my job. I promise. And I won't purposely distract Taylor. Of course..."
"Taylor gets distracted by a bug on the window." Issac said rolling his eyes. They both laughed.
"Well, I'm going to get back to work now." Brianna said as she stood up. Isaac stood and walked her to the door. "Thank you." She said with a smile. "No problem." Isaac returned her smile as he opened the door. Brianna walked down the hall to her office, stepped inside and closed the door. With a grin, she moved the roses to the other end of her desk and tucked the two small cards into her purse. Then she sat down and got to work organizing appointments.

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