Dearly Beloved (Siren Publishing Allure) (8 page)

“You don’t even know me. How can you say that?” Ebony tried her best to keep her cool and not raise her voice to the older woman.

“I know enough. You don’t have any family, you’re ill-bred, and you’re not Japanese.”

So that’s what it was all about. Her family or her breeding had nothing to do with the matter. “You don’t like me because I’m black. I can’t help being born this way any more than you had a choice in being born Asian. That does not make you better than me, just different.”

“I don’t really want a black daughter-in-law or grandchild,” Setsuko insisted. “You disappeared once. I’m sure you can do it again. Pick a place and I’ll send you there.”

“I would choose hell, but I’m already here,” Ebony said. “Plus, I tried to disappear, but Tomio found me and brought me back. Do you think I want to remain here and be a punching bag for you? And by the way, if you ever touch me again, I’ll not hesitate to knock the taste from your mouth.”

Setsuko gasped. “You wouldn’t dare lay a finger on me.”

“Try me,” Ebony said. “You are in my house now.”

“How dare you be so disrespectful?”

“Respect has to be earned, Mrs. Nakamura. And don’t think I didn’t hear you talking about me to Takara and Haruka that night Hajime invited me to dinner. Tomio would be so disappointed to know how you are behaving toward his wife and the mother of his child.”

“And you think he would not be disappointed if he heard how you are speaking to me?”

“You started it, and the first thing you need to learn is not to judge a person by the color of their skin.”

Setsuko stood up abruptly. “I will never accept you as a part of my family.”

“I really don’t care about things like that,” Ebony said. “What is so great about your family anyway? And don’t believe I don’t know what they do for a living. There are a lot of things worse than being black. You ought to be glad that I want to associate with you. At least I can go to bed at night without blood on my hands.”

Setsuko turned on her heels and stormed toward the door. Ebony heard it open and slam shut. She was so angry that she picked up Setsuko’s teacup and threw it against the wall.
How dare she?
Not good enough for her son, or to be a member of her family. They are the mother-fucking yakuza, not a royal monarchy
. She was so busy cursing Setsuko out in her head that she did not hear the front door open and close again.

“Was that my mother’s car I just saw driving away from here?” Tomio asked.

Ebony looked up. Tomio stood in the room looking at the mess she had made with the teacup. “Yes,” she answered as she tried to control her emotions.

“What happened?”

“Why would you think something happened?” she asked sarcastically. She had not moved to embrace him or to welcome him home.

Tomio walked over and began picking up the broken pieces of porcelain. “Did she throw it at you, or did you throw it at her?”

“Neither,” Ebony answered. “I just got a bit upset.”

“That would explain why you look like you want to destroy the world. What did she say to you?” He tossed the broken teacup in a wastebasket in the room, then sat down on the sofa.

“She told me to annul our marriage.”

“What?” Tomio asked, sitting up straight.

“She wants me to end our marriage and for me to leave you and Japan.”

“Why would she suggest such a thing?”

“Because she hates me,” Ebony answered. “She doesn’t like me because I’m black.”

Tomio didn’t refute the allegation. “I will talk to her.”

“I don’t need you to speak for me,” Ebony said. “I already told her no.”

Tomio rose and walked over to her. “Good. I’m glad you stood up to her.”

Tomio was lucky she hadn’t strangled his mother. She’d come across narrow-minded people before, but Setsuko was by far the worse. Ebony didn’t plan to make it easy for Setsuko to do her harm. She planned never to step foot in that home again, or allow her in hers. Ebony frowned. She’d dealt with bitches badder than her before. “Why don’t you let me run you a bath? You can soak while I prepare dinner.” She needed something to do before she threw something again.

“Okay,” Tomio said. He loosened his tie and walked toward the bedroom.

Ebony followed him.

* * * *

“Your blood pressure is elevated, Mrs. Nakamura,” the doctor said to her the next morning when Tomio accompanied her to her prenatal visit. “Is something causing you stress?”

Tomio looked at her and waited for her to answer. “No, sir. I just haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

“Try taking a warm bath before you go to bed at night. That should relax you. And try not to let anything upset you.”

Ebony didn’t comment. He didn’t have Setsuko Nakamura as a mother-in-law. “I’ll try.”

“I will make sure that she gets the rest she needs,” Tomio said.

“Yes, you do that,” the doctor said. “Stress is not only bad for the mother, but the baby, too.”

Tomio walked her out of the doctor’s office like a good boy scout and helped her into the car. Akira pulled away from the curb. “Under no circumstances are you to pick my mother up and bring her to my apartment,” Tomio said to him.

“Yes, sir,” Akira replied. He continued to drive.

Ebony didn’t know why Tomio was saying this to Akira since he hadn’t been the one to bring Setsuko there the other day.

“Also, my wife will need to take it easy until the birth of our child. So I may need you to run errands for her.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Ebony said. “I’m sure Akira has better things to do with his time than go to the grocery store for me.”

“I’d be honored,” Akira said. “There’s a cute butcher at the market near your apartment.”

Tomio chuckled, but didn’t comment.

Ebony turned up her nose. “How cute?”

“Six feet tall, jet black hair, and lots of muscles,” Akira answered.

Ebony had seen the guy. So that was Akira’s preference.

“Just make me a list and I will get everything that you need,” Akira said to her.

“Then you can at least join us for dinner. You can bring a date.”

Akira chuckled from the front seat. “Thanks, maybe I’ll do that.”

Ebony tried to hide her smile. She wrote the grocery list for Akira after they arrived back at her apartment.

“You wrote in kanji?”

“Yes, I’ve studied hiragana and katakana, too,” Ebony said.

Tomio kissed her on the head. “My wife is brilliant.”

Akira put the list in his pocket. “You might just fit in this country yet.”

Ebony took it as a compliment.

Tomio kissed her goodbye. “I have to get back to work. Get some rest.”

“Okay,” Ebony said walking them to the door. “I’ll see you when you get home.”

* * * *

“What happened between your mother and your wife?” Akira asked as he and Tomio headed toward the office after leaving the apartment.

“My mother wants Ebony to get an annulment.”

Akira sighed. “I suspected as such. Does she have any idea what you went through to find Ebony and bring her back to Japan?”

“No,” Tomio answered. He’d spent a fortune and hired the best investigator he could find.

“So is she going to do it?”

“No, and even if she tried, I wouldn’t allow it,” Tomio said. “I married Ebony because I loved her, and not to spite my mother, as I’ve heard.”

“I know that,” Akira said. “So how are you going to bring peace to the valley?”

“I have no idea,” Tomio admitted. “I just know that I have to keep the two of them apart for the time being. Maybe my mother will come around and see how wrong she is.”

“You know better than that. She’s tough and from old stock. She will not back down.”

“Ebony won’t back down either. I’m dealing with two very stubborn women here.” They arrived back at the office and Akira let him out.

“I’ll go do the grocery shopping and return for you later,” Akira said.

“Try not to sweep the butcher off of his feet,” Tomio said. He closed the car door and entered the building. He spoke to the secretary and entered his office. There were several messages for him. Tomio removed the coat to his suit and hung it on a hanger. Loosening his tie, he got busy. Trapps had reopened after the police had closed it down, and he had to check on the food and supplies since they were working with what was left on hand. Once that was done, he began working on a plan to escape, just in case his mother refused to back down and leave Ebony alone.

By the end of the day, he was dead tired, but Eiji and Gina were coming over to dinner. Akira picked him up at five and drove him back to the apartment. Akira decided to stay, too. Ebony seemed back to normal, and she looked like she had rested. Gina and Eiji arrived at six-thirty, and they all sat down to dinner. Ebony had outdone herself with
Tonkatsu,
a kind of fried pork served with spicy mustard, raw cabbage and sweet fruit sauce as an appetizer and curry as the main dish. For dessert, she had baked a cake.

“Is this from a bakery?” Gina asked as Ebony served the cake with tea.

“No, I baked it,” Ebony said.

“It’s very good,” Akira said.

“Thank you.”

“No, I mean it. You should open a bakery.”

“Funny you should mention that. I used to help my grandparents in their bakery when I was young. My grandmother taught me how to make this kind,” Ebony said.

It was a white cake topped in coconut and plenty of fresh peaches. He wasn’t really into sweets the way Akira was, but he had to admit that it was delicious.

“How are things at home?” Tomio asked Gina.

“Fine,” his sister-in-law said.

“Is Mother well?”

“Yes, she came home upset yesterday, but she seems okay now. Your father’s okay, too.”

“Good. I haven’t had time to stop by for a visit for a while, but I plan to very soon.”

“You don’t talk very much about your family,” Eiji said to Ebony.

“That’s because there’s nothing to talk about. Everyone is deceased. My grandmother was the one who encouraged me to come to Japan. She actually stayed here for a while when my grandfather was in the army. She spoke well of this place and always wanted to return.”

“Is that one of the reasons you came?” Gina asked.

Ebony nodded. “Yes. She made it sound so romantic, especially the cherry blossoms and all of the temples.”

“I would like to visit America one of these days,” Gina admitted. “I want to visit your home town. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about it.”

“I’ll take you on the grand tour and show you where I grew up and went to school,” Ebony said.

“I’d like to visit some of the universities too, and see the French Quarters.”

Tomio chuckled. “Well, maybe some of it, but I’m afraid that Bourbon Street may be off-limits.”

“I am not a child, Tomio. I have read about it. Mardi Gras would be a great time to visit.”

“We’ll see,” Eiji said. “But not next year. Our child will just be a couple of months old.”

“And I need to get my figure back before I go there,” Gina said.

“Are you going there to pick up a boyfriend?” Akira asked.

“No, to eat the good food and to drink some Hurricanes.”

His sister-in-law knew more about New Orleans than he’d ever imagined she would. After dinner, the men moved to the living room to discuss family business while Ebony and Gina indulged in more cake and tea.

* * * *

“How are you really doing?” Gina asked Ebony once they were alone.

“I’m okay,” Ebony said. “My mother-in-law wants me to annul my marriage to Tomio.”

Gina gasped. “What? Why would she ask such a thing?”

Ebony shrugged. “I guess because she hates me.”

“But the baby wouldn’t have a family.”

“That just lets me know that she doesn’t want or care about my child either.”

Gina lifted her teacup and sipped. “Have you told this to Tomio?”

“Yeah. He was upset. Maybe it would have been better if I never met him. Then he would be married to someone his mother could respect.”

Gina sighed. “Not necessarily. I’ve met some of the women he dated, and you’re far nicer than them. He dated this one name Rika Fukushima. She’s beautiful on the outside but a total bitch on the inside. She even stole Tomio from her best friend.”

Ebony turned up her nose. Tomio had mentioned that one’s name, but he’d left out the juicy details. “And he dated Eriko Ayase.”

“Yeah, she was the one Rika stole Tomio from.”

“Did Mother get along with either of them?”

Gina shook her head. “To her, there’s never going to be a woman good enough for him.”

“I love Tomio so much, but I would step aside if he decided to choose another woman for his family. But not without a fight.”

“Tomio wouldn’t do that to you. And where would you go? Back to America?”