Dearly Beloved (Siren Publishing Allure) (5 page)

“No,” Hajime said. “She came here as a teacher, but her contract wasn’t renewed. Kazuhiko offered her a job so she wouldn’t be out on the streets.”

“She wouldn’t have survived a night,” Kazuhiko replied. “I would like to think someone would show my daughter a bit of kindness if she ever found herself alone and unemployed in a foreign country.”

“What daughter?” Makoto asked. “Is your wife pregnant?”

“Hell no,” Haruka answered. “I don’t want to get fat.”

“Well, I would like to meet her,” Gina said.

Setsuko didn’t seem too thrilled to have her favorite take a side against her. “Don’t get too friendly with her. She just wants to take your position as senior daughter-in-law.”

“She is a part of this family, Mother,” Gina said. “Give your son credit for thinking with his brain and not his below parts.”

Takara giggled at Gina’s choice of description of the male anatomy. Hajime shook his head. Gina had more sense than anyone at the table.

“Put yourself in her position,” Gina continued. “She has no living family in this world. I think that it is wonderful that she thinks enough of our country to want to live here.”

“Have you forgotten that she ran away from here?” Haruka asked.

“No, I haven’t,” Gina answered. “She found out about her husband’s position, and then found out that she was bringing her child into a world of organized crime. We knew what we were getting into when we married into the family…she did not. I think we should give her a chance. She is not a threat to us, and from where I sit, she’s a hell of a lot better than you two.”

“What do you mean by that?” Takara asked angrily.

“When was the last time you helped around the house?” Gina asked. “The maids have to pick up behind you and Haruka every day. How can you look down on someone when you can’t even look after yourselves?”

“That’s what they get paid for,” Takara said. “And how do you know that she isn’t a slob too?”

“Because Tomio wouldn’t stand for it,” Kazuhiko answered.

“This is all your fault,” Setsuko said to her son. “If you wouldn’t have taken her in and introduced her to Tomio, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“You’re right, Mother. We’d be talking about how many people we killed, or wondering who is going to stab us in the back next. It’s time for you to realize that everything is not twinkling stars and lotus blossoms. The world is changing. You and everyone at this table better realize that. Tomorrow could be the last day on earth for any of us. Why begrudge Tomio a bit of happiness just because you don’t like a person because her skin is dark?”

“To set the record straight, her skin isn’t dark,” Hajime said. “It’s like the color of honey, and she has very beautiful light brown eyes.”

“And a great ass,” Kazuhiko said with a laugh. “You should have seen Tomio’s expression when I introduced them. And she can sing, too. She was on stage singing a love song when he first laid eyes on her. It was love at first sight for him.”

“Yeah, but what about her?” Setsuko asked. “Was it love at first sight for her, too, or did it come after she found out about his money?”

Hajime sighed. This was going to take longer than he thought to get Setsuko to come around.

“Her smile lit up the moment I introduced him,” Kazuhiko said. “Seriously, I don’t think she knew he was rich. He told me she was always inviting him to dinner in the beginning and cooking for him.”

“She can cook?” Gina asked.

“Yeah,” Kazuhiko said. “She’s a very good cook. That Tomio bragged to us about it.”

“I like her already,” Gina said. “Maybe I can get her to invite me to dinner. I need a break.”

Hajime smiled. Gina was okay in his book, and she really did deserve a break.

“When is the baby due?” Setsuko asked.

“September,” Hajime answered. “We have five months to make amends.”

“I’m going to throw her a baby shower,” Gina said.

“You would,” Haruka said sarcastically. “Maybe you and Eiji should think about having a baby.”

“We have,” Eiji said. Until now, he had been eating and ignoring them.

“Can I tell them?” Gina asked.

Eiji nodded.

“Tell us what?” Setsuko asked.

“Eiji and I are expecting a baby too,” Gina announced. “A December blessing.”

Setsuko hopped out of her chair and danced joyfully. “I hope it’s a boy.” She hugged Gina. “You let me know when taking care of this house gets to be too much for you.”

“Are you going to hire a housekeeper?” Takara asked her mother-in-law.

“No, you and Haruka are going to get off of your fat asses and help out around here,” Setsuko answered after she sat back down in her seat. “We’re finally going to have the pitter patter of little feet in this place again.”

She failed to mention that Ebony was due to deliver three months ahead of Gina, and by right, her child would be the legal heir. He went back to eating. With two grandchildren on the way now, maybe it was time to retire and become legitimate.

Chapter Six

True to his word, Tomio found her a doctor and went with her to her first appointment with him. She was now five months pregnant and really starting to show. The baby had also begun to move, and Tomio found that out while resting his head against her stomach last night. Ebony smiled. She never saw a man smile so much.

“Your wife and baby are doing just fine, Mr. Nakamura,” Doctor Mizuno said to him after he finished examining her. “The baby is going to be big, so I’m counting on you to help Ebony watch what she eats.”

“How big are we talking?” Ebony asked him in Japanese.

“Nine, maybe ten pounds,” the doctor answered. “Or larger.”

“What?” Ebony said.

The doctor chuckled. “You’ll be okay. Both you and your husband are above-average in height, so the baby will be long, too.”

That was easy for him to say. He didn’t have to try to give birth to a sumo wrestler.

“How soon after this birth can we consider having another child?” Tomio asked.

Ebony pushed up on her elbows and stared at him. “Are you crazy?”

“What?” Tomio asked. “You don’t want to have other kids?”

“Of course I do,” Ebony answered. “Maybe in five or six years.”

“Our children need to be close enough in age so they can have a playmate,” Tomio insisted.

Doctor Mizuno chuckled. “Maybe I shouldn’t have let him witness the ultrasound. The miracle of birth makes some men giddy.”

Tomio was a yakuza warlord. Men as powerful as him did not get giddy.

“Would either of you like to know the sex of your baby?”

“No,” Ebony answered quickly. “I want to be surprised.”

“What about you, Mr. Nakamura?” the doctor asked.

“No, sir. I’m with my wife. We want to be surprised.”

Damn, she’d won an argument. That never happened before.

“You can get dressed, Mrs. Nakamura,” the doctor said. “I’ll see you next month.”

Tomio helped her sit up and off of the examining table. Ebony went behind the curtain to dress. The outfit she had on was getting tighter. She supposed she would have to start wearing some of the new ones Tomio had purchased for her.

They left the doctor’s office and went grocery shopping. Tomio had invited his brother Eiji and his wife, Gina, over for dinner, and Ebony wanted to make sure to prepare a meal for them they would remember. This was the first time she’d cooked for anyone but Tomio and Akira, and Akira was a very picky eater. Tomio went off to work after they brought the groceries home, but promised to return early to greet his family.

The doorbell rang around seven that evening and Tomio went to answer the door. “Welcome to our home,” she heard him say just as she put the last server of food on the dining cart. The next few minutes they joined her in the dining room.

Tomio made the introductions. “Ebony, this is my brother Eiji and his wife, Gina.”

Ebony bowed to them. “Welcome to our home. It is so nice to finally get the chance to meet you.”

Gina gave Ebony a big hug. “Welcome to the family,” she said. “You are so beautiful.”

“And pregnant,” Ebony said.

“Me too,” Gina said. “We’re due in December.”

Ebony sighed but kept smiling. That still meant she was the carrier of the first Nakamura grandchild. “Please be seated. Dinner is ready.”

“Do you need any help?” Gina asked.

“No, everything is here,” Ebony said pointing to the cart.

“Wow, did you cook all of that?” Gina asked.

Ebony nodded. “I love to cook.”

The four of them sat down and Tomio said the blessing. Ebony put the food on the Lazy Susan so everyone could serve themselves. Before long, they were all talking as if they were old friends.

Eiji was just a year younger than Tomio. Shorter by two inches, but just as handsome. Tomio had a little more upper body muscles, but she could certainly see the resemblance.

Gina was a lovely young woman, shorter than her by at least five inches, but heavier. She had long ebony hair and very dark brown eyes. The yellow dress she had was becoming to a woman twenty-nine years old, and fitted her nicely. She wore comfortable looking shoes with a flat heel, and Ebony was glad she didn’t try to make herself look taller to impress her.

“This food is delicious,” Gina said after they moved on to the second course. “Where did you learn to make oden?”

“From a recipe book,” Ebony answered honestly. Oden was a nabe dish made with various fish cakes, daikon, boiled eggs, seaweed, and soy sauce, and made into a soup.

“It’s better than mine,” Gina said.

“Thank you.”

“Wait until you taste her sukiyaki,” Tomio bragged. “It’s to die for.”

“Mother is missing out on a fine meal,” Eiji said. “I don’t know why she is so stubborn.”

“She is just being a mother,” Ebony said. A bitch, she thought. “She is welcome to come to dinner any night.”

“I’ll remember to tell her that,” Gina said.

After dinner, they sat around getting acquainted and discussing their upcoming deliveries while the men went outside to smoke cigars.

“Do you want a boy or a girl?” Gina asked her.

“I would be happy with either,” Ebony said. “I just want a healthy baby.”

“Me too,” Gina agreed. “But I think Eiji wants a son.”

“I think Tomio does too,” Ebony said. “But he hasn’t said it to me.” She paused. “What is it like being in the house with the family?”

Gina patted her hand. “Not as much fun as you would think. It’s a lot of hard work being responsible for everything. Had I known what I was getting myself into, I would have ran for the hills.”

Ebony laughed. “I think you are a very honorable woman. I don’t think I could do what you do and not put up a fuss.”

Gina sighed. “I knew what I was getting into when I married Eiji. It’s not always bad.”

“Do you get along with your sisters-in-law?”

“Not all the time,” Gina said. “They are two lazy bitches.”

Ebony chuckled. “Really?”

Gina nodded. “They don’t lift a finger around the house to help, but Mother promised to make them lend a hand when I get too big to walk around.”

Ebony smirked. Maybe being an outcast wasn’t all bad.

Ebony promised herself that she’d never set foot in the Nakamura house again, but here she was, entering the front door of the mansion with Tomio. The invitation had come from Hajime, who thought it was high time she meet the rest of the family. Even though she had met and dined with Eiji and Gina, she doubted that she’d like any of the others.

“Don’t be nervous,” Tomio said to her. “They’re just people.”

That was easy for him to say because they were his family, and he wasn’t the enemy. She would have been perfectly happy never meeting any of them, and to just pretend that they didn’t exist. Ebony had decided not to get upset by what the others might say to her, but she couldn’t promise that she wouldn’t slap the shit out of Tomio’s mother if she slapped her again.

The manor home was a lot larger than she expected. The last time she was there, she was rushed inside, sent to Tomio’s old room, and then whisked out of the front door again without getting to see much of the place. It truly served her right for falling in love with a Japanese citizen, instead of dating some nice working-class Joe back home in New Orleans. Tomio did give her the grand tour of the bottom level as they walked to meet with the others in the receiving room. There were a couple of servants who peeked at her when she and Tomio walked past them. The house had seen some renovations, but it still had some traditional things about it. There was a
genkan
, an entrance where they had to remove their shoes and put on slippers, and some of the rooms were partitioned off with sliding doors made from wood and paper.

“We’re here,” Tomio said as he stopped before one of the sliding doors. He opened it and stepped inside first.

Ebony followed him inside. All conversation ceased again. She was so glad she had worn one of the new outfits that Tomio had purchased for her. Everyone there was dressed in suits and beautiful dresses. The women had their hair done and were wearing jewelry. Most of them were sitting around on fancy sofas and chairs, while a few of them remained standing. Besides the bodyguards near Hajime, she also noticed several other men. She and Tomio bowed respectfully. Ebony felt like a lamb being brought in to be slaughtered.