In Deep Kimchi - By Imari Jade Page 0,22

Her fingers touched the link.

"Oh my God." She clicked on another link...the one with her and Yori.

"I'm dead." Shaundra went back to the phone. "Are you still there?" she asked Juanda.

"Where do you think I'm going?"

Sometimes she wondered how she'd given birth to such a smart-alecky child.

"Did you see the videos?"

"Yes," Shaundra replied. "What do you want me to say? We all went out clubbing tonight. I had no idea someone was taping us."

"Mother, this is scandalous. You are fifty years old. You should not be out dancing and having a good time."

Shaundra sat down on the edge of the bed. "What am I supposed to be doing?"

"You're supposed be home being a grandmother."

"You mean being a baby-sitter so you can go out dancing."

"Yes. You had your fun when you were young so now it's our time."

Such an ungrateful child. "You should have thought about having that kind of life before you gave birth to those twins. And as for me having fun when I was young, that never happened because I was busy being a mother and holding down a full-time job. Yes, those videos are quite shocking, but I'm a grown woman and if I want to have my ass nearly out in a mini dress, or dance with some handsome men, I can do it."

"I didn't mean it that way."

"Yes, you did. You never say what you don't mean."

"Who is that Asian guy you're slow dancing with?"

"His name is Yori Morioka. He's the lead singer of Asia's most famous pop band, Aomori."

"How do you know him? Is that the real reason you went off to Japan?"

Shaundra shook her head. It was going to be one of those conversations. Maybe she shouldn't have let Juanda visit her father's people when she was younger. Most of her ways she'd obtained from them. "Harper and a man named Goro Niigata has formed a publishing partnership over in Japan. Mr. Niigata also runs this big entertainment organization in Osaka. Aomori is one of the groups that he has under contract. So, to make a long story short, the two publishing giants have decided to use four American authors, four Asian authors and Aomori to help promote their new company. We met each other earlier today and Harper suggested we all go out to get to know each other."

"You look very comfortable in his arms."

"He is a very good dancer and you know I like to dance. Your father had two left feet."

"How old is he?"

"I don't know...twenty-four or twenty-five."

Juanda gasped. "He's younger than I am. My mother is a cougar."

"Don't think I don't know what that means. You need to stop the dramatics. There is no relationship."

"What do you know about him?"

It was like talking to a box of rocks. "Not much, but I'm sure you're going to look him up on the Internet after we get off the phone."

"No, I'm looking up the group now. Oh my, they look like a bunch of girls."

"This is one of those instances when looks can be deceiving."

"Are they gay?"

"What difference does that make?"

"Then I could understand why he's dancing with a middle-aged woman instead of some hot young groupie."

"No, they are not gay. There are a lot of young men out there who like older women."

"Oh my gawd. My mother is a damn cougar. Donald is just going to flip out when he sees these videos."

"Donald does not know a thing about computers unless you count a slot machine. You better not tell him."

"What difference does it make if I tell him or not if nothing is going on between you and the pretty boy?"

"So you're going to sell out your own mother?"

"No, but I won't lie for you either if he does find out."

"Are you sure you are my child?"

"Yes."

Shaundra yawned. "Listen, it's late here and I'm getting sleepy. I'll call you when I wake up and we can finish this conversation."

"Are you trying to get me off the phone because you have a twenty- five year old guy in your bed?"

Shaundra laughed. "If I had a twenty-five year old in my bed I never would have returned your call. Bye." She hung up, pissed at her daughter's accusations and narrow-mindedness. What damn difference did it make if Yori was twenty-five and she was fifty? Shaundra groaned. "It's a big difference." In twenty years, he'd be forty-five and in his prime and she'd be seventy with either one foot in the grave or dead.

Amaya's shrill voice nearly burst Yori's eardrum as he