Down and Dirty (20 page)

“But she moved out of here and is shacking up with Dae-Hyun.”

“I don’t like the situation either. But to be fair, I left my seven month pregnant wife alone in a strange country while I went off to Europe.”

“But it’s your job,” Takumijo argued.

“Yes, it’s my job, but she is my wife. It took me a long time to figure it all out. I blamed her too at first, but when it comes right down to it, I blew it. But I won’t ever again. Nothing is more important than my wife and kids. Not even Aomori.” He walked out of the dining room.

Satoshi sipped his coffee. “Our baby has grown up, Tak. He is never going to feel for you what you feel for him. Let him be a man.”

Chapter Nine

Cristal hardly recognized the farmhouse after Kenshin pulled up. He had picked her up first and now she had to help him get Aomori out of the house and into the van so they could go to Ichiro’s birthday bash. Distraction would be arriving with Mr. Niigata and Saburo, and Shaundra was driving over after she got the babies settled in with the sitter. “Who’s been decorating?”

“Ichiro hired some guys to come in,” Kenshin answered as they got out and walked up the stairs.

The inside of the farmhouse looked equally festive too. “Will you look at this tree,” she said as he stepped into the den. It nearly reached the ceiling and had been decorated from tip to trunk.

“It’s for the boys,” Ichiro said, entering the den. “It’s their first Christmas.”

“Are you expecting Santa Claus?” Cristal asked him.

“He’s already been here,” Satoshi said, entering the den. “I don’t think we can get another present in this house. And for the record, I think Harper bought out every toy store in town.”

“We better get going,” Yori said as he entered also. “Takumijo is pacing the foyer.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Cristal asked Yori.

“He has preshow jitters. He’s always like this before we perform.”

Funny, she’d never notice that before. They met up with Takumijo in the foyer. “Where is Amaterasu?” Cristal asked.

“On her way to the studio,” Takumijo answered. “She’s traveling with the other dancers. I didn’t need her fine ass distracting me before I perform.”

“Spoken like a true man,” Cristal said, moving past them and heading toward the door.

Everyone crawled into the limo bus and Kenshin drove them off the compound.

“Oh, I forgot.” Cristal turned to Ichiro and handed him a box. “Happy Birthday,” she said.

“Thank you,” Ichiro said, accepting the present.

“I hope you like it.”

Ichiro opened the box and gasped.

“What is it?” Yori asked.

Ichiro pulled the gift out. “It’s a snow globe.”

“It looks like the farmhouse,” Satoshi said excitedly.

“It is the farmhouse,” Cristal said. “I had it commissioned especially for Ichiro because I know what that place means to him.”

Ichiro peered into the glass. “Is that a cherry tree and a bench?”

“Yes. It was the place you and Shaundra first fell in love.”

“How do you know this?” Satoshi asked her.

“Girlfriends talk,” Cristal told him.

Ichiro passed the snow globe around for the others to see. “I love it,” he told Cristal. “I will treasure it always.”

Satoshi leaned toward her. “I have a birthday coming up soon,” he told her.  “See if you can guess what I want.”

Cristal faked a guess. “I don’t think that will fit into a snow globe,” she told him.

“No, but if you tie a ribbon around yourself, I will appreciate the gift even more.”

Cristal punched him on the arm. “You are so dirty.”

“No, he isn’t,” Ichiro told her. “He’s had a very good bath and now he’s as loose as a goose.”

Yori and the others chuckled. Cristal didn’t think Ichiro’s joke was that funny.

“Look at all the traffic,” Kenshin said when they finally made it to Osaka Proper. “There are vans and cars everywhere. How am I supposed to get through all of this? People are just getting out the backs of cars and walking into the studio.”

“There’s Harper and Damien,” Cristal said, pointing out the window. “And Amaya. Why didn’t she come with us?”

“I don’t know,” Yori answered. “She told me she had a ride.”

Cristal gazed back at him, but Yori just avoided her glance.
That’s okay, big brother. I already have the four-one-one from Barbara
. The secretary might be a gossip, but she usually knew what she was talking about.

Kenshin managed to maneuver his way through the traffic. A black limousine van pulled into the employee parking lot ahead of them.
Distraction
. He heart thumped in her chest. She hoped she wouldn’t have to deal with them until later. And besides, Satoshi was acting friendly toward her again and she wasn’t going to mess this up by tampering with Kioshi.

“What’s wrong?” Satoshi asked her.

“Nothing,” she lied. “I’m just excited about the show.”

He leaned over and kissed her. “I’m excited too.”

“It’s starting to snow,” Kenshin whined. “I hope it doesn’t last too long because it’s going to be hell on the roads trying to drive back to the farmhouse.”

“A white Christmas would be nice,” Ichiro said, glancing out the window. “The boys’ first white Christmas.”

Kenshin found a spot to park and everyone got out. Luckily, their costumes had been delivered earlier. A guard let them in through a side door and people ushered Aomori into several dressing rooms to change.

She and Shaundra wouldn’t be on until the end of the show. Aomori still did not know this so she escaped to find her seat out front.

Mr. and Mrs. Niigata had front row seats along with Shaundra. Masaaki also sat in the front row with his date, Hiromi Inoue, who chatted with Kenshin’s girlfriend, Kaede Shimizu.

Daichi arrived with his sisters, Hana and Estuke, his uncle Mashuu, and his wife Kameyo. Why they were there, she didn’t know. Maybe Mr. Niigata invited them because they were Ichiro’s family and he was just returning the hospitality from the christening.

Barbara and Damien sat next to each other chatting, and she was just about to sit down when she saw Osamu Nakamora walk in with Amaya.
Oh shit. This is going to be so good
.

Cristal sat down in her seat. The rest of Aomori would be sitting next to her before and after they performed. The studio filled quickly. Cristal looked around. Everything was decorated and festive. Technicians rolled huge cameras down the aisles and put them into place. Cristal looked down at her watch. It was almost curtain time. The door opened and Aomori exited, walked down the aisle, and sat by her while Ichiro joined his wife on the front row. Mr. Niigata left his wife and walked backstage. At six fifty-eight, the doors closed and the lights were lowered. The curtain opened and the show began at seven. The MC came out, welcomed everyone to the show, and the festivities began.

Mr. Niigata had arranged a lot of opening acts and comedians who entertained them for the first hour. Cristal kept looking down at Ichiro who seemed to be enjoying himself. He had his best girl at his side, and friends and family from all over the world appeared on the big screens to wish him a happy birthday and a merry Christmas. And then there were other videos from the fans. They too sent him greetings in every language.

Aomori disappeared during the first intermission and returned during the second hour to perform some of their songs and to sing Christmas carols. Kenshin sang a medley of Japanese Christmas carols and receive a lot of applause. Sometimes it was hard for her to remember that he was the same idiot who argued with her about her coffee every morning when she’d lived at the farmhouse.

Mr. Niigata appeared on stage to a large round of applause. He introduced himself, thanked the good folks at the studio for making it all possible, and then he spoke about Ichiro. She didn’t think there was a dry eye in the house when he finished. No doubt, Mr. Niigata favored all of Aomori and thought of them as his kids.

“I have a couple of surprises for you all,” Goro said. “First up is a new group I discovered several months ago while in America. They’re making their television debut tonight right here on this very stage. Please make them feel welcome. Ladies and gentlemen, Distraction.” Goro left the stage and moments later, the lights dimmed, the curtains parted, and a spotlight beamed on a romantic setting of a farmhouse with a cherry tree and a bench in the side yard. Fake snow fell on the scene and the orchestra began to play Cristal’s favorite Christmas carol, “Oh Holy Night.”

Hiroyuki came out first from stage right dressed in a forest green formfitting suit with a white ruffled shirt, singing the lead and the first verse of the song. Izanagi came from stage left dressed in a festive red and white and began singing the second verse, and Hiroyuki joined him for the chorus, harmonizing beautifully.

A second curtain opened and the voice of an angel began to sing the last verse. Kioshi appeared moments later dressed in winter white, and with the platinum blond hair, he did look perfectly angelic.

Apparently, every young lady in the audience thought so too and they rushed to the edge of the stage to get a better look with the security guards hot on their heels to keep them under control.

Cristal listened and enjoyed the song. Her favorite part approached. Could Kioshi hit that very special high note that made her shiver every time she heard it? “Yes!” Cristal shouted. He nailed it perfectly. She sank back into her seat, exhausted. The audience went wild with applause and the young ladies tried to get at them, but the guards still kept them under control.

Distraction nodded at the applause and then went into a number that showcased their dancing skills. They had their entire audience on their feet singing and dancing along to “Jingle Bell Rock.”

Finally, it was time to perform their last number; the one Mr. Niigata said was going to put them on the charts. It was a slow ballad, and they sang it in Japanese. The guards had to get the teens back in their seats as Distraction left the stage with mics in hand and came down to sing to the audience. Their voices sounded beautiful and the spotlights followed them around. Finally, the end of the song neared with Distraction back on stage. They bowed to a thunderous applause. “Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas, Ichiro,” the demons said together and on cue. They even had their bow perfected. “Merry Christmas, everyone.” And then she heard it. “Merry Christmas, Cristal.”

Cristal looked up, totally shocked, as the boys waved and left the stage amidst another roaring applause. Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Cristal slipped it out. It was from Shaundra. It was a smiley face. Another text came through shortly after. It was from Satoshi, and he was seated right next to her. This one had several question marks going across the screen. The last one was a text from Kioshi.
Saranghae
. Cristal quickly deleted the message before Satoshi saw it. She stuffed the cell phone back into her pocket. The lights were raised and people got out of their seats for another intermission. “Excuse me,” Cristal said to the people in the row with Shaundra.

Shaundra rose.

“Where are you two going?” Ichiro asked.

“I’m taking her backstage to congratulate Distraction,” Cristal lied.

“Okay,” he said, and he went to talking with Mrs. Niigata.

“It’s not easy to move in these shoes,” Shaundra told her as Cristal dragged her backstage.

“Come on. We need to get into wardrobe.”

“Don’t you think Ich will get suspicious if I don’t return when intermission is over?”

“Don’t worry about him,” Cristal told her. “It’s his surprise, remember?” She pushed Shaundra into a dressing room.

There were a lot of ladies backstage to help them out of their clothes and into their costumes. Hers was green, and Shaundra’s was red.

“Where you get them breasts from, girlfriend?” Cristal teased Shaundra as one of the wardrobers fit Shaundra with a pushup bra.

“Mother Nature’s been generous lately,” Shaundra answered while the young lady tightened the bra. “Oh lawd, I can’t breathe.”

Cristal laughed, until it was her turn to be put in bondage. Then they were rushed into makeup.

Mr. Niigata was on stage again.

“Come on,” Cristal told Shaundra.

They climbed the stairs together.

“Aren’t you nervous?” Shaundra asked.

“Hell no. I’m flying high on aggravation.”

“Oh, you mean Kioshi’s little Merry Christmas to you at the end of the song?”

Cristal nodded. “I’m going to sing first and kill him afterward.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I promised you more surprises. This one is bound to make headlines. Also, performing for the first time on the stage, Sass.”

“Who’s that?” Shaundra mouthed as she walked over to the piano.

Cristal did a hand gesture to indicate that it was them.

Shaundra turned up her nose.

The orchestra began playing the intro to “Landslide.” The curtains opened and Cristal exited and began singing.   She continued and a piano appeared on a slow twirling platform at the center of the stage. Shaundra played the piano and sang the next line.

Cristal heard the applause and she got a bit of the jitters, but only momentarily. She focused on Shaundra, who was playing the piano beautifully. She sang next line and Shaundra joined her for the chorus. Cristal smirked. She bet Ichiro had no idea his wife could play the piano. Hell, it even surprised her, Harper, and Mr. Niigata. The orchestra backed them up to the very last word. The crowd applauded wildly. Cristal bowed first and then Shaundra rose from the piano bench and bowed.

“Happy Birthday, Ichiro,” Cristal said to him. She waved and left the stage.

Shaundra sat back down at the piano and Cristal watched from the side.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mrs. Shaundra Morrison Yoshida,” Mr. Niigata announced from off stage.

The orchestra began to play and Shaundra accompanied them by piano for her solo version of “Ave Maria.”

Cristal peeped out at Ichiro. The big dummy had tears in his eyes. Hopefully, tears of joy. Shaundra ended the song and rose. She bowed to the thunderous applause. Cameras flashed in her face, but Shaundra didn’t appear to even notice it. Maybe she did. Only a fool couldn’t see she was professionally trained and made for performing. Maybe she had to give up her dream when she married her first husband. Cristal didn’t know if that was true, but she felt it in her gut. She also had a feeling she would be the one penning that little story for KiNii.