Young and Restless

by Imari Jade

  “He’s not going to give us any details,” Damien said to their father.

  “Do you guys ever tell me about your dates?” Kevin asked. “She’s a very nice young lady who I enjoy spending time with.”

  “You lose,” his father said to Damien. “I told you he was straight.”

  “That proves nothing,” Damien said.

  Kevin shook his head. “Yeah, I heard there was a rumor going around that I liked guys. You guys are a bunch of losers.” He didn’t know how he had been born into this family. His father was a womanizer, his mother was a whore, and his brother was an ass.

  “Have you spoken to Tricia?” Damien asked him.

  “Yes, we talk every day.”

  “How is she?”

  “She’s fine, despite the fact that you and her mother deserted her in a strange country,” Kevin said.

  “I have not deserted her,” Damien said. “I was just giving her time to cool off so she can apologize.”

  Kevin sat forward in his chair. “To whom?”

  “Barbara,” Damien answered.

  Both Kevin and his father laughed.

  “I think I need a drink,” Harper said. He got up and walked over to the bar.

  “Then you’ll never speak to her again after you tell her that,” Kevin said. “Why should she apologize for defending herself? You’ve been under that woman’s ass for so long that you believe her over your own fiancée.”

  “Why would Barbara lie?” Damien asked.

  “Why would Tricia?” Kevin asked.

  “Because she was jealous that I brought Barbara to that club,” Damien answered.

  Their father sat back down next to Damien with his drink. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. Why did you bring Barbara to the club when you knew you were going there to meet Tricia?”

  “I don’t know,” Damien said. “I might have mentioned I was going there and Barbara might have invited herself to accompany me. I don’t remember. It’s been weeks.”

  “So she just invited herself along when she knew you were going to a club to meet your fiancée?” his father asked.

  “Maybe,” Damien said.

  “Tricia has nothing to be jealous of,” Kevin assured Damien. “She’s prettier than Barbara and she has a better body. Barbara is the one who is jealous, you ass. And you’re too stupid to see it.” He had never spoken to his older brother like that before, but someone had to slap some sense into him.

  Damien hopped out of his seat.

  Kevin rose too. “Bring it on,” he said. “You’re nothing but a hot head that can’t stand to be proven wrong.”

  Their father stepped between them before they came to blows. “If either of you guys make me waste my drink I’m going to kick your ass. Now sit down. I didn’t invite you two over here to fight.”

  “Please don’t tell me you invited us over here because you’re about to marry Amaya,” Kevin said. He sat back down.

  “Oh, hell no,” Damien said. “The only step-mother I want is Shaundra Yoshida.”

  “Not going to happen,” Kevin said. “You two would have to kill Ichiro first.”

  Damien looked at his father like he was contemplating the possibility.

  “Don’t expect me to do something like that,” his father said. “I already got my ass kicked over Shaundra once. It’s not going to happen again.”

  Both he and Damien looked over at their father for an explanation.

  “It’s a long story and one I plan to take to my grave,” he said. “Now back to the reason why I called you both here. I thought we could talk your problems out rationally.”

  “There’s nothing to discuss,” Kevin said. “If anyone should apologize, it’s him. If I was Tricia, I’d hop back on a plane and go back to New York.”

  Damien shook his head. “She’s not going anywhere. We’re engaged, or have you forgotten?”

  “No, I haven’t forgotten,” Kevin said. “But you better check with Tricia since you took Barbara’s side.”

  “Your brother’s is right,” their father said. “Women carry big grudges.”

  “She’ll still marry me,” Damien said confidently. “She loves me.”

  “Are you sure?” Kevin asked. “She didn’t seem too pleased when you walked Barbara to her door that night. Tricia hasn’t been sitting around pining for you. She’s working at the Yoshida’s restaurant and is about to start teaching school. She’s angry with you.”

  “That’s not true,” Damien said. “You’re just making that up.”

  “Am I?” Kevin asked. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you call her?”

  Damien pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number. He pressed another button and looked perplexed.

  “What happened?” their father asked.

  “It went straight to voice mail,” Damien said. He dialed another number. “Damn. I’ll try texting her.” He punched something into the keyboard. “Damn,” he said again. “My text isn’t going through.”

  Kevin laughed. “Told you. She blocked your ass.”

  Harper chuckled too. “She’s just like her mother. She’s not the forgiving kind. You’re going to have to pull out the big guns, Damien. Lingerie always works for me.”

  “I don’t need to buy Tricia’s love,” Damien said angrily. “I’ll go over to the Yoshida’s house tomorrow and talk to her. She’ll take one look at me and everything will be back to normal.”

  Their father looked over at Kevin and shook his head.

  Kevin chuckled to himself. “Yeah, why don’t you try that and let us know how that turns out.”

  “I will,” Damien said. “I don’t know what you told her, but I don’t like it one bit.”

  “I didn’t tell her anything. She was so excited about coming to Osaka because she was going to see you again and plan your wedding. Put yourself in her shoes. That is no way to treat a lady.”

  “Stay out of my love life,” Damien said to Kevin.

  Kevin rose and headed toward the door. “Gladly. Just remember, you left her with me in New York. That was your first mistake. I would have taken my lady with me. She could have finished her education right here in Osaka. But you were only being selfish. If you need to blame anyone, blame yourself.” He opened the door. “And tell Barbara hello for me the next time you see her. I hope the two of you will be happy together.”

  “What does he mean by that?” their father asked.

  Kevin closed the door. He just gave them both something to think about. And if Damien thought he was going to give Tricia up without a fight, he was very much mistaken.

  ****

  Damien tried Tricia’s number a couple more times last night when he got home and again this morning before he left for work and nothing. All the calls kept going to voice mail. He did manage to leave a message for her to call him. The only other recourse he had was to go to her after work.

  “Good morning,” Mr. Kehoe,” Izumi said. “The members of Kazumi are waiting for you in your office.”

  “What?” Damien asked. “Did we have an appointment?”

  Izumi nodded. “Yes.”

  “Oh, yes, I forgot.” Damien hurried to his office. Kevin had him all fucked up in the head. That little creep knew just what buttons to push. First, he’d get Tricia back and then he was going to kick that little fag’s ass. He opened the door to his office and entered, apologizing. “Sorry I’m late. Traffic.”

  “It’s okay,” Maki said. “We haven’t been here long.”

  Damien spoke to Hoshimi, Kana, and Manami. “Good morning, ladies. You’re looking chipper today.”

  “It’s too early in the morning for chipper,” Manami said. “Why are we here?”

  Damien put his briefcase away and sat down. “How would you ladies like to perform as the opening act for Notorious?”

  All three girls squealed.

  “The rap group?” Kana asked.

  “Yes,” Damien answered.

  “Are you serious, Mr. Kehoe?”
Manami asked.

  She had finally stopped calling him Damien. “Yes, I’m very serious. Mr. Niigata feels you’re ready to make your debut. We have to get working on some songs and skits and you will definitely need a couple of cute outfits.”

  They squealed some more.

  “When will it be?” Kana asked.

  “Next month on the fifteenth,” Damien answered. “There will be some other groups performing too, but you will definitely be the opening act.”

  “I’m so happy,” their manager said. “Maybe next year this time they will be sharing a stage with Distraction, or maybe Aomori.”

  “I want to sing a duet with Kioshi,” Hoshimi said. “Or with Ichiro. I don’t care which one because they’re both cute.”

  And their women are both badass black women, Damien thought to himself. “Do a good job with this and I’ll see.” He didn’t want to make any promises.

  “Speaking of Distraction and Aomori, how are they doing in Spain?” Maki asked.

  “Miss Gentry said they are having a ball. They should be leaving for Barcelona soon. I’ll call her later to check up on them.”

  “I can’t wait to go to Spain,” Manami said. “I hear the guys are so handsome there.”

  The difference between Distraction and Kazumi—Cristal didn’t have to hear those young men talking about meeting cute guys. He would just have to suffer through it. Kazumi would have to work their asses off if they expected to be a primo act like Distraction and Aomori. They had to build up a fan base and even that didn’t guarantee success.

  “When do they begin rehearsing?” Maki asked.

  Damien pulled out his calendar. “Tomorrow at nine. And I’ll have a seamstress here to take their measurements for their costumes.”

  The girls squealed again.

  “We’re going to be famous,” Hoshimi said.

  Damien sure hoped so. He needed this job if he planned to marry Tricia and start a family.

  The day just seemed to drag after that. Damien managed to get a hold of Cristal. She told him that they had arrived safely and that the members of Aomori were at rehearsal and Distraction was out with Saburo at the shopping mall. They were still in Madrid.

  “Let me guess, Izanagi needed things,” Damien said. He laughed. Cristal had told him yes. After speaking a few minutes longer, he got off the phone with her.

  Barbara showed up at his office and invited him to lunch.

  “Sure,” Damien said. He had to do something to take his mind off of Tricia. He put on his jacket and followed her out of the building. They went to a restaurant near the mall and were seated quickly.

  “Why are you so glum?” Barbara asked once their meal arrived. They had both ordered ramen.

  “I’m just thinking about a conversation that I had with my father and my brother last night.”

  “What about?” Barbara asked.

  “My defending you in the fight you had with Tricia,” Damien answered. “Kevin seems to think that you started it.”

  “I did not,” Barbara said. “You have to believe me. I’m not a violent person.”

  “I do believe you, but neither is Tricia. I’m going over to see her tonight to get her to apologize to you.”

  “Do you really think she will?” Barbara asked.

  Damien shrugged.

  “And if she doesn’t?”

  “Then I will have to keep the two of you apart,” Damien answered.

  “I have no problem with that.” Barbara said. “Don’t even waste your time going over there tonight. She’s not going to apologize.”

  Damien still had to try.

  “I bet she’s not sitting around moping,” Barbara said.

  “Kevin said she’s working at Ichiro’s restaurant.”

  “Don’t you think it’s odd that your brother knows more about Tricia than you?” Barbara asked.

  Damien picked up his chopsticks. “What are you trying to say?”

  “I bet the two of them are seeing each other behind your back,” Barbara said. She picked up her chopsticks too and started eating her ramen.

  “I don’t believe that. Kevin had a date last night.”

  “Did he happen to mention with whom?” Barbara asked.

  “No, but it wasn’t Tricia. And even if it was, they were probably just going out to eat dinner. They always did that in New York.”

  “But this isn’t New York, and he isn’t babysitting Tricia for you anymore,” Barbara said.

  “I’m going to prove you wrong on this one,” Damien said. “Tricia would never fall for Kevin. He’s a geek.”

  “A handsome geek,” Barbara said.

  “You think he’s handsome?” Damien asked.

  Barbara nodded. “He looks just like you, but with brown hair.”

  Damien lifted some noodles and sucked them into his mouth. Barbara thinks I’m handsome. He cleared that thought. He would try calling Tricia again as soon as he returned to his office.

  Chapter Seven

  Tricia decided to make the most of her day by going shopping for a new outfit for her weekend trip with Kevin. Afterwards, she decided to get some lunch at a little restaurant she had passed, but then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Damien entering with Barbara. She counted to ten to ward off the anger she felt, turned on her heels and walked back to the bus stop. She decided to return to the Yoshida home to wash her hair and soak her feet and forget about what she had just witnessed. She had been in Osaka a while now and she was getting used to the neighborhoods on the bus route. People still stared at her like she was an alien, but at least most of them spoke to her after she wished them a good day.

  Tricia checked her cell phone. Damien had called again. Tricia didn’t know if she was ready to talk to him just yet. She still couldn’t get over the fact that he didn’t believe her and continued to hang out with Barbara. Sure, she had been upset that he had brought Barbara along to the club, but she would never start a fight over a man. That just wasn’t mature. Barbara had started it in the ladies room by accusing her of messing with Kevin and then pushing her aside. And then she had smacked Tricia across the face. Tricia had just been defending herself. She was ankle deep in water when someone rang the doorbell.

  Everyone was at work except her so that meant she had to answer it. Tricia stepped out of the water and wiped her feet on a bath towel and then headed to the door. She looked out of the peep hole. Damien? What is he doing here? She contemplated just walking away, but decided to open the door on a whim. “Yes, what is it?”

  “Can we talk?” Damien asked.

  Tricia sighed and let him in.

  “Did I catch you at a bad time?” he asked as she led him to the kitchen for some tea.

  “Yes, I was soaking my feet.”

  “Did you hurt them?” Damien asked.

  Tricia shook her head. “It’s from standing on them all day at the restaurant.” Of course Damien knew nothing about manual labor since he’d been born into a rich family.

  Damien sat down at the table. “Kevin mentioned that you were working.”

  “Yeah, I figured I should help out and I needed the money to take care of myself.”

  “You need money?” Damien asked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I’m okay,” Tricia said. Both he and her mother had forgotten the fact that she had just graduated from college and had no other income coming in when they deserted her. Even back home in New York she had to work a part-time job. “The tea will be ready shortly,” Tricia said trying not to look directly at him. He was still so handsome and blue was definitely his color. She did notice that he had adopted the tight-fitting suit that most of the idols now liked to wear. It didn’t really suit him since he was older and had more muscles. It was the same suit he’d had on earlier when she spotted him with Barbara. Every hair was in place and he smelled like expensive cologne. Tricia put water into the pot and began steeping the tea. Since arriving in Osaka she had embraced some of their customs whole-heartedly and had g
iven up coffee. And she had started taking her Japanese lessons again and practicing writing kanji. It surprised her how fast she caught on. Kevin helped out a lot by drilling her on the basics every now and then. “How have you been?”

  “I’ve been busy,” Damien said. “I’m managing a three-member female J-Pop group called Kazumi.”

  “Really? Are they any good?” She could do small talk.

  “Yes, and I’m not saying this because I’m managing them,” Damien said.

  Tricia finished with the tea and placed a cup and saucer in front of him. “What are they like?”

  Damien chuckled. “They’re a handful, especially Manami Ota. She’s the leader and quite a diva. The other two are Kana Muira and Hoshimi Sokamoto, and they are all twenty-one years old.”

  “I’m happy for you,” Tricia said. Apparently, he hadn’t let their separation get him down. She cut a piece of cake and placed it before him. Unlike some Japanese men, most American men liked sweets. “I know how much managing a group means to you.” She knew about his dreams, but he didn’t give a fuck about hers. She had given up the idea of being a struggling journalist to get a more lucrative job to support their family.

  “Thank you,” Damien said. “Did you bake this?”

  “Yes,” Tricia said, sitting down with her cup. She had hung out in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother when she was a child and knew how to cook and bake.

  Damien sampled it. “This is delicious.”

  “Thank you,” Tricia said, watching him from across the table. For some reason she felt nothing, not even a bit turned on like she used to get in his presence.

  Damien picked up his cup and sipped his tea. “Mr. Niigata entrusted Kazumi to me. They will be the opening act at a concert next month. You need to come and check them out.”

  “Maybe, if I’m not busy,” Tricia said.

  “Have you heard from the school system?”

  Tricia nodded, wondering why he was there. “Yes. I start as soon as the summer break is over. I’ll be teaching English at an elementary school right here in Osaka.”

  “That’s wonderful news,” Damien said. “What grade?”