In Deep Kimchi (10 page)

Shaundra sat down on the edge of the bed. “What am I supposed to be doing?”

“You’re supposed be home being a grandmother.”

“You mean being a baby-sitter so you can go out dancing.”

“Yes. You had your fun when you were young so now it’s our time.”

Such an ungrateful child. “You should have thought about having that kind of life before you gave birth to those twins. And as for me having fun when I was young, that never happened because I was busy being a mother and holding down a full-time job. Yes, those videos are quite shocking, but I’m a grown woman and if I want to have my ass nearly out in a mini dress, or dance with some handsome men, I can do it.”

“I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Yes, you did. You never say what you don’t mean.”

“Who is that Asian guy you’re slow dancing with?”

“His name is Yori Morioka. He’s the lead singer of Asia’s most famous pop band, Aomori.”

“How do you know him? Is that the real reason you went off to Japan?”

Shaundra shook her head. It was going to be one of those conversations. Maybe she shouldn’t have let Juanda visit her father’s people when she was younger. Most of her ways she’d obtained from them. “Harper and a man named Goro Niigata has formed a publishing partnership over in Japan. Mr. Niigata also runs this big entertainment organization in Osaka. Aomori is one of the groups that he has under contract. So, to make a long story short, the two publishing giants have decided to use four American authors, four Asian authors and Aomori to help promote their new company. We met each other earlier today and Harper suggested we all go out to get to know each other.”

“You look very comfortable in his arms.”

“He is a very good dancer and you know I like to dance. Your father had two left feet.”

“How old is he?”

“I don’t know…twenty-four or twenty-five.”

Juanda gasped. “He’s younger than I am. My mother is a cougar.”

“Don’t think I don’t know what that means. You need to stop the dramatics. There is no relationship.”

“What do you know about him?”

It was like talking to a box of rocks. “Not much, but I’m sure you’re going to look him up on the Internet after we get off the phone.”

“No, I’m looking up the group now. Oh my, they look like a bunch of girls.”

“This is one of those instances when looks can be deceiving.”

“Are they gay?”

“What difference does that make?”

“Then I could understand why he’s dancing with a middle-aged woman instead of some hot young groupie.”

“No, they are not gay. There are a lot of young men out there who like older women.”

“Oh my gawd. My mother is a damn cougar. Donald is just going to flip out when he sees these videos.”

“Donald does not know a thing about computers unless you count a slot machine. You better not tell him.”

“What difference does it make if I tell him or not if nothing is going on between you and the pretty boy?”

“So you’re going to sell out your own mother?”

“No, but I won’t lie for you either if he does find out.”

“Are you sure you are my child?”

“Yes.”

Shaundra yawned. “Listen, it’s late here and I’m getting sleepy. I’ll call you when I wake up and we can finish this conversation.”

“Are you trying to get me off the phone because you have a twenty-five year old guy in your bed?”

Shaundra laughed. “If I had a twenty-five year old in my bed I never would have returned your call. Bye.” She hung up, pissed at her daughter’s accusations and narrow-mindedness. What damn difference did it make if Yori was twenty-five and she was fifty? Shaundra groaned. “It’s a big difference.” In twenty years, he’d be forty-five and in his prime and she’d be seventy with either one foot in the grave or dead.

* * * *

Amaya’s shrill voice nearly burst Yori’s eardrum as he answered the phone in his room. “Who is that woman you’re dancing with on YouTube, Yori? I knew you were cheating on me.”

“What woman?” Yori asked as he quickly typed YouTube into his laptop and accessed the website. He groaned. “Shaundra Morrison. She’s one of the new authors working for Mr. Niigata. We were at this club to promote our upcoming concert tour and the opening of Mr. Niigata’s new publishing company.”

“You told me that Masaaki took you guys out to dinner.”

“He did. All thirteen of us…four American writers, Mr. Niigata’s new business partner, four Asian writers and Aomori.”

“That dress she’s wearing is positively shocking.”

“There was nothing wrong with her dress. In fact, she looked quite pretty. Anyway, that’s what women wear clubbing nowadays. The female Japanese authors wore similar dresses.” He knew he was digging himself deeper into a hole.

“That does not make it right,” Amaya said in a less shrill tone.

He still had the headache she’d caused earlier.

“So why did you have to dance with her and not let one of the others dance with her like Takumijo?”

“Because I am the leader of
Aomori
. Takumijo was dancing nearby and so was Satoshi. Nothing inappropriate happened.”

“Then why did only you make YouTube?”

“Maybe because it was one of my fans and not theirs. I don’t know, and I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal about it. I’ve been on YouTube before hundreds of times.”

“But not like this. You’re slow dancing with an older African American woman. Think about your reputation and your career.”

“What about it do you have a problem with? Is it because she’s older or is it because she’s an African American?”

“Both,” Amaya answered honestly. “She is not Japanese. What can you two possibly have in common?”

That was true on so many levels and he had just learned that his future bride harbored some deep prejudices. “We both work for Mr. Niigata.”

“Are you going to see her again?”

“Yes, later on. We’re all doing a photo shoot for a magazine.”

Amaya cursed in Japanese.

“It is part of my job. She is a real nice lady and please don’t make a scene.”

“Nice ladies don’t dance with other people’s fiancés.”

“To be fair, she does not know that I am engaged. I do not know her well enough to discuss my personal life with her. It was just a dance. Satoshi danced with her too. We were just being courteous.”

“Well, if you say that’s all it is, I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“Believe me. That’s all it is. I will be seeing her and the rest of the authors until this promotion tour is over. Hopefully, this YouTube thing will blow over quickly.” He yawned. “I’ll call you later after I get some sleep. Mr. Niigata has planned a full day for all of us later.”

“Okay,” Amaya said. “Call me later after the photo shoot.”

Yori disconnected the call, feeling like a cad for deceiving Amaya and knowing full well she wasn’t going to let this drop any time soon. He walked toward the bathroom. If he got his hands on whoever took that video, he’d break their neck. Another disadvantage of being on the top of the charts—someone was always trying to make you tumble down.

Yori relieved his aching bladder, and then turned on the shower. After he washed, he put on his pajamas and crawled into bed, wondering if any of the others knew about the videos. Takumijo and Satoshi were going to tease him unmercifully for this, if Mr. Niigata and Masaaki didn’t kill him first.

His mind drifted to that little scenario in the hall with Shaundra earlier. What had made him do something so forward, and why did he enjoy it after he’d done it? Was he attracted to her or simply jealous of her attentiveness to Ichiro? Both probably.

He’d lost women to both Takumijo and Satoshi before, but never Ichiro. Hell, what was he thinking? He was not in competition with his fellow band member. So what if she brought out the best in Ichiro? They were friends, and he wanted Ichiro to be happy. Anyway, it would all be over in a month. He could last that long and things would go back to normal.

But there was the American tour. Would he see Shaundra again when Aomori arrived in New York? No, they’d probably be too busy and she’d be back to her life with her four children.

Yori closed his eyes and sleep overtook him quickly.

Chapter Seven

Shaundra drug herself out of bed around nine and went into the bathroom for a quick shower. While she was in there, she removed every strand of hair from her body except for the ones on her head in preparation for the photo shoot. She didn’t know what she would be wearing, but she didn’t want to gross anyone out with unsightly body hair.

She pinned her hair up while she dressed casually in a pair of tan slacks and a crème-colored blouse. She topped the outfit with a tan, short-sleeved blazer before slipping her feet into a pair of sandals. “Not bad for an old broad,” she said as she checked out herself in a mirror. She really didn’t feel fifty…she just felt like Shaundra.

The telephone rang. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Dorothy. Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Good, meet us down in the lobby.”

“Okay.” Shaundra hung up the phone, grabbed her purse and left her hotel room. She found the others in the lobby talking to Harper.

“Aomori left already,” he announced.

“Good,” Shaundra replied, hoping he hadn’t made that little announcement for her benefit. She was glad to see that everyone else was casually dressed, except for Harper who always looked like he fell out of the pages of
GQ
magazine. They had been instructed not to put on makeup or do their hair. She looked over at Dorothy. The older woman really needed her makeup. Without it, she looked a bit pale.

“I hope they have some nice strong coffee waiting for us,” Dorothy replied as Harper led them out of the lobby. “I’m still dragging ass from last night.”

“Don’t be disappointed if you only get tea,” Shaundra teased to lighten the moment.

“It will do as long as it has caffeine in it.”

They loaded into a van this time, but with the same driver. He turned on the music. Shaundra sat back in her seat and listened to the song. It was a nice ballad. “I like this,” she announced. “Do any of you know who is singing that song?”

She was met by blank stares.

Harper pressed the button for the chauffer.

“Yes, sir?”

“Do you happen to know who is singing that song?”

“Aomori,” the driver announced.

“Thank you,” Harper replied. He turned his attention back to her. “Satisfied?”

Shaundra just smirked at him. She looked out of the window. The windows weren’t tinted this time, to her delight, and she finally got a chance to see what Tokyo looked like by daylight.