Deena sighed. "Well it's not like I want to go. I want to stay here. With you," she added miserably.

His face hardened. "Then do that. Call her back and tell her we're wiring money to a Western Union. She can pick it up if she wants to or not."

Deena looked at him doubtfully. Sure, it made sense, but, well...she just didn't know.

"Tak, please. I'm not strong like you. It's hard for me to stand up to people."

He sighed. "What're you talking about, Dee? You're as strong as they come. Just look at all that you've done with the little you've had."

She shook her head, slowly. He just didn't get it. This was Grandma Emma. Telling her no meant...well, she didn't know what it meant.

Tak stood. "Listen to me. Life's not fair, believe me, I get that. And I know a lot of things have been beyond your control,"

He rounded the bed to her. "But not this. You decide how this turns out. For better or worse."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO.

With the sun perched hot and obnoxious in the sky, the Hudson River meandered at the side of Tak and Deena, Allison and John. It was a pleasant day, especially warm for New York, warm enough even to shirk sleeves. The Tanaka cousins walked side-by-side, steps ahead of the girls, careful to speak low.

"You seem to be taking life a little more seriously these days," John said.

Tak shrugged. "I guess. I don't know if 'more seriously' is the term I'd use."

John raised a brow. "I would. The last time I saw you, your biggest gripe was that Ferrari had discontinued the 360. We've been out here for half an hour now and you haven't mentioned your car, your art or a piece of a.s.s once."

Tak grinned. "Speaking of a.s.s, how's that weird a.s.s brother of yours?"

John snorted. His older, Mike, an MIT grad with a major in computer science was the painful sort of geek usually reserved for cinema and stalking-type cases.

"Good, I suppose. Still in Seattle. Ma's wants him to settle down."

"Yeah," Tak said. "Good luck with that."

"I know, I know," John rolled his eyes.

While Mike was similar enough to John and Tak, he still managed to diverge from them radically in appearance. The bulky black frames, the pointed and protruding ears, the inexhaustible supply of tucked in screen tees- Ghostbusters, Marvel Comics, Star Trek-good Lord, he had enough Star Trek to leave with excess after a geek convention.

"Mike's of the opinion that he'll meet a beautiful woman with a brain to match his." John said.

Tak frowned. "I'm not sure there is a brain to match his," he said, considering his cousin's near perfect SAT score.

John shrugged. "Well, if she does exist, I'm not sure she'd want to spend her days watching B-rated horror."

Tak paused at the inverted railing for a view of the Hudson at the promenade in Battery Park City. The World Financial Center was in their sights; a mega complex of power corporations like Merrill Lynch, Dow Jones, and American Express, all cl.u.s.tered in this concrete-laden, carefully constructed prism of nature.

He caught a glimpse of Deena and Allison a few yards back, their arms entwined like two old ladies as they talked. He thought of Deena standing up to her grandmother and wiring the money with a declaration of "it'll be there if you need it," and smiled.

John followed his gaze.

"I think they've given up on us. My guess is that they're seeking solace in each other's arms."

"Yeah. I could see why Allison would give up on you. She's had enough time to see you're not worth it. But me, what have I had? Three days?"

John smiled. "Well, your shortcomings are painfully obvious."

Allison stared at her boyfriend of three years and scowled, before turning back to Deena.

"So I told him, Deena,. I said, 'John, I'm no bimbo. You either commit to me or I'm out of here."

"And that worked?"

Allison smiled. "I'm still here, aren't I?"

Deena lowered her gaze.

"Still, Tak's such a free spirit. He's always talking about how he needs to live untethered."

"And what about what you need?"

"I'm not sure I know what I need."

"Okay, fine. Let's clarify." Allison turned to Deena, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. "What would you do if this absolutely stunning woman, and I mean stunning-big b.r.e.a.s.t.s, narrow waist, long beautiful hair-if she just walked up to Tak and kissed him?"

Deena recoiled. "Cry."

Allison sighed. "Cry."

"Go home?" Deena tried again.

Allison stared at her. "Jesus, Deena. You're in love with this guy. I'd like to think you'd kick some a.s.s. His, hers, somebody's!"

Deena lowered her gaze. "I've never hit anyone before."

"Well then, let me tell you, sister. It's one of those wrong things that feel absolutely great. You know what I mean?"

Deena thought about her grandfather, calling interracial couples an abomination, and then remembered Tak making love to her.

"Uh, yeah. I do."

"Alright then. So, you'd probably sock him."

"I could never hit Tak."

Allison watched John out the corner of her eye. "I bet you could if he stumbled home drunk one night with lipstick on his collar."

John leaned over the railing, watching as the two women stood just out of earshot, Allison's hands on Deena's shoulders.

"You'd better get her," John warned. "Allison's probably sullying the Tanaka name right now."

"Why? What do you think she's saying?"

John shrugged. "I don't know. Probably that you're a gigolo and she shouldn't waste her feelings on you."

Tak drew up to full height.

"And why the h.e.l.l would she say that?"

John grinned. "Cause you look like me."

"Bulls.h.i.t," Tak said. He relaxed a tad. "You look like that balding father of yours."

John laughed. His father Yoshi's hairline had gone from receding to retreating these last few years.

"Well, you know, Tak; people have always thought we looked more like brothers than cousins."

"They were trying to make you feel better."

Tak watched Allison as her arms flailed and thought back to John's comment. "Jesus, John. What did you do?"

John shrugged. "I don't know. That's the problem."

"I don't follow."

"Well, here's the gist. Buddy of mine had a bachelor party. I got wasted and came home in a taxi I don't remember flagging down. But I sobered up real quick. Allison found lipstick on my collar and gave me a black eye."

"s.h.i.t, John. But you're still...together. Right?"

"Due to no small amount of begging on my part."

"Well, s.h.i.t, what'd you expect? What were you thinking?"

"I'm pretty sure thought wasn't part of the equation. More like scotch, t.i.ts, testosterone and a bit of encouragement from the guys."

Tak stared at him. "So you don't love her?"

A flash of irritation crossed John's face. "It's all ways so d.a.m.ned black and white with you, isn't it? Of course I love her."

Tak turned back to the water. "Just scotch and t.i.ts get in the way sometime, huh?"

"Listen!" John spat. "Here you are in your first serious relationship for all of, what? Twenty minutes? And you want to judge me? I can remember when you were f.u.c.king girls from here to San Diego. No dinner. No relationship. Just you, her and a bed."

"Yeah, o.k., can you keep your voice down though?" Tak glanced around surrept.i.tiously. "Anyway, that's not me anymore. Before the other day I hadn't had s.e.x in over a year."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't expect you to do anything."

"You're telling me during that whole 'friendship' stage you weren't somewhere getting laid every once in a while? "

"Didn't want to."

John blinked. "Wow. What the h.e.l.l did she do to you?"

Tak stared at the dark waters and beyond it, to New Jersey.

"I just love her. She's everything I'm not. Brilliant, driven, and resilient as h.e.l.l. And she's solid, you know? You know what you're going to get from her every time."

"And beautiful. That doesn't hurt," John said.

Tak grinned. "h.e.l.l no, it doesn't hurt."

"And those t.i.ts are like, what? Good solid D cups?"

"All right. Settle down."

John grinned. "I forgot. You're in love with this one. So, before we were skating around those Playboy bunny t.i.ts you were talking about how reliable she is. Proceed."

Traffic blared loud behind them, New York loud, and the temperature continued to soar.

"Back to you," Tak said. "You never answered me."

"Yes. I love her. Of course," John sighed as if expecting the question.

"So, it's just the problem of forgetting when you're drunk then?"

John shot him a look of impatience. "Listen, this is my neck of the woods, samurai. I'll dump you in the Hudson and it'll be like an episode of Law & Order around here."

"Right," Tak said. "They'll be drawing a chalk line around your a.s.s right about here."

"It's just s.p.a.ce and opportunity, itoko. s.p.a.ce and opportunity," John's palms touched, bowing with the challenge. The gesture was a relic from their childhood, deference to the karate films they imitated as children.

Allison sighed, watching as two overgrown men tussled on the sidewalk.

Deena glanced at her. "Should we do something?"

She shook her head. "If we're lucky they'll fall in the river."

She took in Deena's shocked expression and snorted. "I'm kidding. If we're lucky, John'll fall in the river."

"You don't mean that either," Deena said.