Redemption: AmBw Romantic Suspense

“And additionally.” I cleared my throat. “I don’t want any of you all going out and killing people or—”

“Oh my God, Mommy.” Kia rolled her eyes. “We’re not going to suddenly become serial killers.”

“Death and killing is a big deal.”

“We’re going to be fine.” Jalen smiled at me. “Especially now that. . .he’s gone.”

“Yep.” Poppy munched on her last piece of pancake. “Daddy was a very bad man.”

Yoshiro looked at me.

I quirked my brows as if to ask was talking to them the right thing.

He shrugged and ate his pancakes. “So. . .Christmas is in a few days. What are we doing? Laying out cookies for Santa or—”

“Santa doesn’t exist,” Jalen corrected.

“He does.” Poppy glared at Jalen. “Santa is real.”

“Mommy said Christmas is not about Santa, it’s about Jesus.”

Poppy nodded. “Jesus and Santa make the presents and bring them to us, when we are sleeping.”

Kia laughed. “Jesus is not helping Santa make presents.”

Poppy wasn’t having it. She went back and forth, battling Jalen and Kia. And I sat there in shock at her light conversation. Today had marked the first time she had said so much and in a continuous span.

O-kay. I guess we’re done talking about my killing your dad.

Surely, there would be more questions later. Somehow I would have to find constructive ways to give them answers. Even more, I had to make sure I wasn’t traumatizing them or teaching the kids that murder was an option.

How do you google this?

“And Jesus is with baby Jesus.” Poppy used her hands to hip her older siblings understand better. “They ride in the back of the sleigh with Santa.”

Kia and Jalen laughed, giving up on arguing with her.

“All the Jesuses help Santa.” Poppy glared at them. “That’s how Santa’s reindeers have magic.”

Nodding, Yoshiro munched on his pancakes. “The reindeers fly because of baby Jesus and adult Jesus? This is an interesting theory.”

Kia turned to him. “Do you celebrate Christmas, Yoshiro?”

“I do, although my parents didn’t make a big deal of it. We’re a mixture of Shinto and Buddhism. Christmas is a Christian holiday. But when I was a child we would do a big meal and exchange presents.”

“Wow. What did your mom make for dinner?” Jalen asked.

“Well. . .that’s when things get interesting.” Yoshiro laughed. “She’s from Japan of course. It’s still not seen as a religious holiday or celebration, but schools are closed and there are some crazy customs on that day.”

I leaned back in the chair and smiled. “Like what?”

“It’s seen as a day to spread happiness. So you have the Christmas cards and presents. Christmas Eve is considered a romantic day. Couples treat it like Valentine’s Day.” Yoshiro laughed. “But the funniest part is the amount of KFC chicken that’s eating on that day.”

“What?”

“I don’t know how KFC or America did it, but since the 70s KFC is packed with orders for Christmas in Japan.”

“Oh my God.” Kia giggled.

“So my mother usually made a big thing of fried chicken for dinner.”

Jalen shrugged. “That settles it. We have to make fried chicken for Christmas now. No turkey. No duck. Just a big old bucket of fried chicken.”

“There’s also a Christmas cake,” Yoshiro added. “It’s not like the fruit cake here. It’s more of a sponge cake decorated with strawberries and whipped cream.”

“That sounds yummier than fruit cake,” Kia admitted.

Yoshiro opened his arms. “So, we’re doing a big dinner for Christmas. Whatever we have, we should at least do the Christmas cake—”

“And the fried chicken.” Jalen licked his lips. “You can’t ever go wrong with fried chicken.”

I laughed. “That’s fine. And we’ll do presents. I get paid today. We can. . .we can actually go to the store. The SUV is fixed and. . .”

Your dad is dead.

I cleared my throat. “And it’s a nice day outside.”

Yoshiro gave me an intense stare. “Christmas shopping sounds good.”

Kia rose. “Okay, Jalen. We have to clean up.”

Jalen put his hand into a stop sign. “Wait. This time you won’t get me. I’m drying the dishes.”

“Cool. I wanted to wash this time. I’ll get everything out of the way and can get ready to go. Put my shopping list together. Perfect.” She headed to the sink with her dish.

Jalen glared at her and muttered, “I despise you.”

“What?” She glanced over her shoulder. “Do you want to wash the dishes or what? I’m here for you.”

“I don’t know what I want.”

“Because you’re over there trying to spite me instead of simply getting stuff done.”

“Fine. I’ll wash the dishes.”

“Good. I’ll dry.” Kia smiled and muttered, “Sucker.”

Jalen pouted. “Mommy!”

“I’m out of it.”

The rest of the day went well. No one asked about Wyatt or the murder anymore. I finally got to drive my SUV. Yoshiro followed in the truck. Jalen actually rode with him, proclaiming that only men could be in that vehicle.

Tenino was too small for good shopping.