Down and Dirty (18 page)

“Hello, baby.”

“Hey, Ich. How nice of you to call.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m about to start writing. The babies are asleep so I have a couple of free hours.”

“Is Dae-Hyun keeping an eye on them?”

“Not at the moment,” Shaundra said. “It’s just me and them for a while.”

“You’re alone with the babies?”

“Yes,” Shaundra answered.

Ichiro cleared his throat. “Do you want some company?”

She smiled. “Sure, come on over. I can spare a few minutes.”

“I won’t be shot at the gate, will I?”

“No, you now have an all access pass.”

“I’ll see you shortly,” he told her.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll be waiting.”

Ichiro disconnected the call and Shaundra went back to her printing.

****

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Satoshi asked Ichiro as he bounded down the stairs fixing his clothes. He stopped to check his hair in the mirror.

“Out,” Ichiro said. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“But we have a rehearsal.”

“I’ll be back on time,” Ichiro said, slipping his feet into his shoes. He darted out the door. If he told Satoshi that Shaundra was alone, Satoshi would beat him over to her. Nope, this time, he wasn’t going to let the cat out of the bag and spoil things.

Ichiro drove away from the compound like a maniac. He supposed he should stop for flowers or something. He didn’t want to arrive empty-handed. He drove to a nearby florist, got a bouquet of Baby Romantica roses, and then got back into the car. Moments later, the gates to Shaundra’s home opened and he drove through half expecting the big, hulking Korean to be waiting for him. Instead, he found the love of his life waiting for him on the porch, shivering from the cold.

Ichiro turned off the car, climbed out with the flowers in his hand, and ran up the stairs to her. “These are for you, my queen,” he said to her.

“Ooh, they’re lovely,” Shaundra said, sniffing them. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” Ichiro said, lifting her up into his arms.

She giggled. “Put me down. I’m too heavy.”

Ichiro carried her inside and Shaundra used her free hand to close the door.

“Are the babies asleep?” he asked.

She nodded. “Their bellies are full, and they should be out for a few hours.”

“Where’s your bedroom?”

Shaundra pointed to the stairs.

He carried her up in his arms without breaking a sweat.

****

“Where’s Ichiro?” Yori asked Satoshi when he arrived at the farmhouse for rehearsal.

“I don’t know, but he ran out of here like a bat out of hell,” Satoshi answered. “He said he’d be back on time.”

Takumijo came down the stairs dressed in athletic gear and ready to dance. “Let’s get this party started. Where’s Ichiro?”

“He’s not back yet,” Satoshi told him.

“Maybe you should call him,” Yori said, beginning to worry. Of the four, Ichiro was never late for rehearsal.

Satoshi was just about to pull out his cell phone when he heard a car pull up. “No need. He’s here.”

The door opened and Ichiro ran inside. He stopped dead in his tracks. “Hey, guys,” he said. He had the biggest smile on his face.

“Hey, Ich,” Yori said, walking over to him as Ichiro removed his coat. “Where have you been?”

“Out,” Ichiro said, still grinning from ear to ear. He hung up his coat.

“You have a hair out of place,” Yori told him, reaching up to adjust Ichiro’s dark locks. “And you have a bit of lipstick on your lips.” He used another finger to wipe the lipstick off. He sniffed Ichiro. “And you smell faintly of shame and sin.” He laughed and stepped back.

Ichiro pushed past him. “Laugh if you want, but I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. I’ll meet you guys in the studio.” He bounded up the stairs like a teen.

“What’s up with him?” Satoshi asked as Yori led them down the hall toward the studio.

“He’s just returning from a conjugal visit,” Yori explained. “He’s reeking of cougar.”

Satoshi’s moan echoed throughout the farmhouse.

****

Ichiro joined them a half hour later, hair still damp from the shower, and donning comfortable workout clothes.

Satoshi eased over toward him. “What have you done?”

Ichiro pushed him away. “I’ve done a man’s work,”

Yori chuckled. “Yes, I guess you did. How did you manage to get around that Korean brick wall?”

“By using my stealth skills,” Ichiro answered.

“He wasn’t there, was he?” Takumijo asked.

Ichiro shook his head. “No, not while I was there. I can say I left my lovely wife sleeping soundly with my precious sons.”

“Is she still alone?” Yori asked.

“Move and I’ll break your legs,” Ichiro threatened.

Yori smiled sheepishly.

The three members positioned themselves on the dance floor while Takumijo searched for the music.

“Those little monsters cleaned the floor with us the other day,” Takumijo said.

“To be fair, they are younger than us,” Ichiro said.

“Just because we’re not eighteen doesn’t mean we’re dead,” Takumijo told them. “Now let’s do this like we used to.” He put on music and joined them on the floor. “One, two, three, hit it.”

They began to dance. An hour later, they were seated or sprawled on their backs on the floor, breathing hard.

“We are so out of shape,” Takumijo said. “Damn, how can this be? We just came off tour. Did we look this bad on stage?”

“Speak for yourself, old dude,” Satoshi said. “I can still shake a hip.”

“Or break a hip,” Yori said.

Ichiro groaned the loudest. “Sex before dancing is not a good idea.”

Takumijo chuckled weakly. “Yeah. Maybe we should give up sex until after your birthday bash.”

Ichiro and Yori groaned at the suggestion.

“No problem,” Satoshi said, hopping to his feet and doing the Moonwalk.

“You’re still able to dance because you’ve been celibate,” Takumijo told him. “You should not be tired like the rest of us.”

“I’m tired mentally,” Satoshi said. “It takes a lot of energy to think.”

“That kid Kioshi has some smooth moves, though,” Takumijo said. “His hips are lethal.” He sighed. “He kind of reminds me of me in my younger days.”

“And he has a personality like Satoshi in his younger days,” Ichiro said.

“When did you change?” Yori asked Satoshi. “I think I can speak for all of us, you’re not the same Satoshi. You don’t date or leave this house unless you have to.”

“A couple of years ago,” Satoshi answered, thumbing through the records, “after you guys got married. I suddenly found myself alone and dateless.” He put on a record. It was Michael Jackson’s “Rock with You.” He began to dance.

The others crawled to their feet and joined in.

“Yes, I remember this,” Takumijo said, swaying from left to right.

Yori did a spin and joined him with the swaying. Moments later, they fell into routine and danced to the song like they used to.

They weren’t breathing quite as hard this time when they finished.

“So do you think Distraction has a chance of making it as idols?” Takumijo asked Yori.

“Yes. I’m wishing them all the success in the world. And I will bow out gracefully when it’s our turn to retire.”

Ichiro agreed. “The sooner the better.”

****

Cristal looked over the copy of the artwork the printer had done for her. A picture of Aomori sat to the left of the poster with Distraction on the right. She checked the copy for spelling errors.
Perfect
. Next she looked over the ads for Ichiro’s birthday bash. Those were perfect too.
Now, the programs
. The entire show would last about two and a half hours. Cristal looked over the names, making sure all they were spelled correctly. She looked down at the bottom.
Special surprise guests
. That would be her and Shaundra. They’d been sneaking away to practice every chance they got and had even started practicing with the orchestra. She looked for Distraction. Their names were spelled correctly too. “Mrs. Cristal Yamashita.” Cristal shook her head. “What am I saying?”

“I've never known you to talk to yourself.”

Cristal spun around to find Satoshi standing in the doorway. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop buy and invite you to lunch.”

He was trying so hard to make amends. “Okay,” she agreed. “My eyes can stand a rest. I’ve been looking over copy all morning. Just let me call the printer and give him the go-ahead.” She picked up the phone and pressed in the numbers. “Hello, this is Cristal Gentry. I’ve just looked over the proofs you delivered. Everything looks great. Print them.” She hung up a few seconds later. Satoshi was still standing, waiting for her. “Let me get my coat.” Cristal grabbed her coat from the hook and Satoshi helped her into it. They stepped out the office and walked toward the administration desk.

Barbara looked up from her typing and smiled at Satoshi.

Satoshi smiled back at the secretary, but not in his usually teasing/flirting manner.

“We’re going out for lunch,” Cristal told Barbara.

“Have fun,” Barbara said, not taking her eyes off Satoshi.

They walked toward the elevators.

“She’s your biggest fan,” Cristal told him.

“I thought you were my biggest fan,” Satoshi said.

“No, I’m your best buddy. Now where are you taking me for lunch?” The elevator arrived and they stepped inside.

“Somewhere nice and secluded. I don’t feel like dealing with a bunch of fans today. He put his dark sunshades on.

Satoshi sounded kind of depressed, Cristal noted. But she didn’t pry. She had her own demons to deal with.

Satoshi took her to a place nearly on the outskirts of town. He helped her out of his sports car and then helped her inside the restaurant.

“This isn’t a Japanese restaurant,” Cristal said as they entered the waiting area.

“No, it’s American,” Satoshi said. “I found it a couple of years ago. You know, you can take the Japanese guy out of America, but you can’t take the American food from his memory.”

A waiter arrived and showed them to a private table overlooking a snow-covered garden. He handed both of them menus. “I’ll be back shortly to take your orders.” The waiter walked away.

“This is so great,” Cristal said, looking down at the menu. “Is that a real cheeseburger and fries?”

“Yes,” Satoshi answered. “Not soy.”

“Ooh, they have macaroni and cheese.”

Satoshi chuckled. “You sound like you’re five years old.”

“Macaroni and cheese is hard to forget,” Cristal said.

The waiter returned a few minutes later bringing water and utensils. “Are you ready to order?”

“We’ll have cheeseburgers and fries with a side order of macaroni and cheese,” Satoshi ordered for them.

“And would you care for something to drink?”

“Pepsi,” they both said together.

“I’ll be right back with your orders.” He smiled at them and left.

Cristal looked around. “Why haven’t you mentioned this place before?”

“I like to think of it as my little piece of heaven. Yori and the others aren’t too big on American cooking, and well, you and I have never been on a date, except for the one time I took you home to meet my parents.”

“And whose fault is that?” Cristal asked.

“Mine,” Satoshi admitted. “It’s my fault. I have learned a very valuable lesson in the last two years.”

“Which is?” Cristal asked.

“Never be the emissary between your best friends and women. It always backfires.”

The waiter returned with their plates, drinks, and two bottles of ketchup.

Cristal opened one of the bottles, dousing her burger with some of the sauce and then drowning her fries with ketchup.

Satoshi did the same thing. “This is the only way to enjoy.”

They spent a most pleasurable afternoon and then Satoshi drove her back to her office.

“You have visitors,” Barbara told her once she made it back to their floor.

“Who?” Cristal asked.

“It’s a surprise,” Barbara said.

Cristal shrugged and walked toward her office. She opened the door, stepped inside, and groaned.
Distraction
. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Mr. Niigata sent for us,” Hiroyuki told her. “We just got finished with the meeting with him and just stopped by to say hey.”

“Hey,” she told him. “Now leave. I have a lot of work to get done by the close of business today.”

“Maybe you should not have gone on a lunch date,” Kioshi told her. He had his butt planted in her chair behind her desk.

“I did not go on a date,” Cristal insisted. “Who told you that?”

“Miss Barbara,” Izanagi answered from his place aside Kioshi. “She knows a lot of information.”

“She’s a gossip,” Cristal told him. She turned to Kioshi. “Get your little narrow behind out of my chair.”

Kioshi rose and stared her in the eyes.

“Have you grown taller?”

“Just a little,” he said. “Soon I’ll be taller than you.” He walked away from her. “And for the record, my behind is not narrow.” He raised the hem of his jacket and gave her a peek. “It’s adequate.”

Cristal stole a second glance as he walked away from her desk. It was adequate. “How is your rehearsal coming?”

“Excellent,” Izanagi said. “Aomori has been very helpful and Ichiro is teaching Hiroyuki how to cook and set a table properly.”

Cristal chuckled. “He is the best at keeping house.”

“It is woman’s work,” Kioshi said.

“Says who?” Cristal asked.

“Says any man,” Kioshi answered.

Cristal sat down. “And what do you consider man’s work, Mr. Smarty-pants?”

“Making the money and sexing the women up in the bedroom.”

Cristal shook a finger at him. “Stay away from Takumijo. And for your information, women are capable of making the money and sexing their men up in the bedroom.”

“I don’t believe this,” Kioshi said. “You will have to prove this to me.”

Cristal almost fell for his challenge. “Maybe when you get older, sweetheart, but right now, I only sex up
men
.”