Cristal nervously paced the den floor. It was ten at night, and still there was no word from Satoshi or the other two.

Amaya sat on the sofa watching a drama, so unconcerned it was frightening.

Cristal's cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Cristal, its Yi-jun. Have you heard anything from the hospital yet?"

"No, and I'm getting a bit nervous."

"Don't worry; Satoshi is a pretty levelheaded fellow when he needs to be. I'm sure he'll call when he finds anything out."

"Well, thank you for calling. I need to clear the line in case he or the hospital calls. I promise to call you as soon as I find anything out."

"Okay," he said, and he hung up.

"You guys are worried about nothing," Amaya said. "She'd just hopped up on Valium. She'll be okay once they get it out of her system."

"Shaundra is not hopped up on Valium. I personally saw her flush that bottle of stuff down the toilet when she made it here without using it. The hypnotist cured her. Why do you want to make her out to be some kind of junkie?"

"Why do all of you want to make her out to be some type of princess, when in fact she's just an old woman living in a fantasy world?"

Cristal walked over to her and snatched Amaya up off the sofa. "Listen. I don't know who you think you are, but you have no right to talk that way about her. I've only known her for a short time, but Shaundra is kind and sweet and a very intelligent woman. Did you know she singlehandedly raised four children after her first husband died? Or that she volunteered at her church and at nursing homes before she moved here] Or that she gives part of the proceeds from her book to the Cancer Society?"

Amaya shook her head.

"Just because she's not Japanese that doesn't mean you're better than she is. Sure, she's had a rough life and she's older than we are, but that doesn't mean her life has to stop just because her kids are grown. It's time for her to enjoy her life.

I figure the Lord sent her Ichiro at the right moment. So why don't you lay off of her." Cristal released her, and Amaya flew back over to her seat.

"What part of 'she was belly bumping with my husband' don't you guys understand?"

"He wouldn't be your husband if it wasn't for her. She stepped aside when she found out that you two were engaged and let you have Yori. Had she chosen him, he would have dropped your self-righteous selfish ass and married Shaundra. And honey, for the record, if she wanted to screw your husband she'd have been smart enough not to dance with him in public. It was just a dance, and you and all the others need to get over it. So before you jump down on her, you'd better check your husband first. He asked her to dance and not the other way around."

The front door opened and closed.

Hello, is anyone home?" It was Masaaki.

"We're in the den, Masaaki."

Masaaki entered the den accompanied by a white man about forty years old. "Where is everyone, and why is Takumijo's car parked all willy-nilly in front of the house?"

"They're at the hospital," Cristal blurted out. "Satoshi found Shaundra unconscious on the floor of her room."

"Shit," the good-looking man said.

"Excuse me, Cristal Gentry, this is your other boss, Harper Kehoe from the United States. Harper, this is Cristal Gentry, Aomori's publicist."

Harper bowed. "Nice to meet you." He turned on his heels.

"Come on, Masaaki. I have to get to Shaundra."

She looked so tiny and helpless lying there in the big hospital bed. Satoshi pushed a reddish-brown curl away from the bandage on her forehead. Shaundra had awakened only briefly and then drifted back off to sleep.

"Stop torturing yourself," Takumijo told him. "You got to her as quickly as you could."

"No I didn't. I should have gone up and checked on her when she didn't come down to lunch. I promised myself that I'd look out for her."

"That's Ich's job," Takumijo said bluntly. You have to let it go."

"It's not as easy as you think," Yori said from his position leaning against a wall. "Once you talk to her and she slips into your heart, it's hard to let go. I should know because I've been struggling with this for months."

"And failing miserably," Satoshi replied. "What possessed you to ask her to dance?"

Yori sighed. "It was her favorite song. No other reason. I seized the moment."

"And probably screwed up four lives. You've also angered your fans again. Did you happen to read the latest posts? A lot of them want you to explain your actions."

"To hell with them," Yori said. "I'm a grown man and I don't answer to kids."

"Those so-called kids buy our records and pay to see us perform in concert," Takumijo told him. "Remember that."

"Would you be so understanding if they decided to dig into your private life?"

Takumijo didn't answer.

"I guess not. We all have our little secrets."

Ichiro entered the room looking a little lost. Satoshi relinquished his spot next to Shaundra for him and walked around to the other side of the bed. Ichiro walked up the bed, grasped Shaundra's hand and looked down at his unconscious wife.

"She opened her eyes for a couple of seconds," Satoshi said. "But then she closed them again."

"The doctor said she might do that for a couple of days,"

Ichiro said.

"What's wrong with her?" Satoshi asked.

"They really don't know. All they do know is that her blood pressure was high when they tested it. They're going to run some other tests, but we might not know the results for a couple of weeks."

"We'll be in China by then," Takumijo said.

The look in Ichiro's eyes said he might not make the tour, which worried Satoshi because they had signed contracts for four singers, not a trio. And who would sing Ichiro's solo?

They were behind schedule as it was, and they'd have to get back to rehearsing soon if they wanted to be ready in time for the concerts.

Shaundra stirred on the bed.

Ichiro stroked her hand, and Satoshi took her other hand in his. Ichiro looked over at him, and then Satoshi reluctantly released it.

"Shaundra, it's me, Ichiro. Can you hear me?"

Shaundra's eyelids slid back, revealing brown eyes, a little bloodshot but still beautiful. She didn't answer but stayed focused on Ichiro.

"I'm so sorry for what I said to you earlier. If I could take it back I would."

Still no comment.

Shaundra's eyes moved from Ichiro to Satoshi. She smiled at him and then drifted off again.

Satoshi's heart fluttered in his chest.

Ichiro looked at him oddly but didn't say anything. His body looked so rigid, as if it was about to break.

"I think I'd better call Cristal to let her know how things are going," Satoshi replied.

"Yes, maybe you should," Ichiro replied, still staring at him.

Satoshi moved away from the bed and stepped out of the room, well aware that Ichiro's blue eyes followed him all the way out of the door. Why did she smile at me? Could it be she remembered the kiss? Satoshi pulled out his phone. The reception wasn't very good, so he stepped outside the hospital.

"Hello, Satoshi."

Satoshi looked up. "Harper? What are you doing here?"

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