Page 12 of A Kickin' Karate Christmas
“But you always got through it,” I affirmed.
“Yes. Sometimes, it took a lot of sacrifice on our part. We took out a second mortgage on this place once, because the economy wasn’t great and a lot of students had to drop. Then I had to raise rates to help make up some of that difference, but I didn’t’ want to raise them too much and risk losing my other students.” I could relate to that. David looked at me again, and his face softened. “Is the dojo having troubles, Mat?”
My stomach sunk as I nodded. He’d taken out a mortgage on his house to keep the dojo afloat, and then he entrusted it to me when he retired. I’d bought the brand from him. I’d made the decision to carry on his teachings to another generation, and I was failing him. “I’m really trying, Sensei.”
“I have no doubt about that,” he assured me. “I wouldn’t have sold my business to just anyone. I trusted you with it for a reason, because I know what you are capable of and that you were the best person to teach my students.”
I smiled at his comforting words, but I still felt like I was letting him down. I felt a burning need to reassure him, to make sure he knew that he’d not made the wrong choice. If I hadn’t already taken Jake up on his offer, this conversation would’ve had me driving right to his house. “I’m working with someone to hopefully fix some of the problems,” I told him. “One of the dad’s at the dojo, Jake. His daughter joined about six months ago, and he works in marketing. He’s come up with some really good ideas already.”
“What kind of ideas?”
“Mostly some basic stuff like revamping the website and moving more of the marketing digital.” I fought the urge to laugh as my sensei scrunched his nose at that. “Different times,” I reminded him. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing once he let out a bark of laughter at his regurgitated words.
When we calmed down, I told him about the other things that Jake had suggested. His face lit up at the idea ofBuddyWeek, and I could almost see him wishing that he’d thought of something like that in his tenure as the dojo’s owner. He volunteered to help with the competition teams once a month, if I wanted him to come in and help that was. I accepted that help without any hesitation. I didn’t know if that was growth from working with Jake or if I would have accepted that no matter what. After all, this was the man who taught me almost everything that I knew. He seemed the most excited about the event I was putting on.
Then I began telling him about Jake.
If he’d been attentive while I’d talked about the dojo, it was nothing like the level of attention he paid to my every word about the man who was helping me. His eyes twinkled, and he was leaning forward in his seat, just like Sophia did when she was listening to a bit of particularly juicy gossip.
I didn’t understand his reaction at first.
“Jake seems like he’s becoming very important to you.”
His words were slow, and I recognized the tone. He’d used it on me more times than I could count in the twenty-plus years I’d known him. It was the voice he took on when he was trying to lead me to reach conclusions that were already obvious to him. Unfortunately, like every time he used that tone, I didn’t quite understand what point he was trying to make.
“He’s becoming a really good friend.”
“Justa friend?”
“He’s one of my student’s parents. That’s all he can be.”
“But you’d like him to be more?”
There it was. The point he was trying to get to. At least it didn’t take me as long to find it as it used to. He used to beat around the bush a lot more than he did now.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “He’s nice. He’s really attractive. He listens to me, likereallylistens to me. There’s also this…” I sighed. I sounded ridiculous, but David was looking at me withthat look that said not talking was not an option. “There’s this spark between us. I think I felt it the moment I met him.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“He’s my student’s dad.” Surely, if anyone could understand that it would be Sensei David. He knew how important it was to keep a professional relationship with the parents at the dojo. He had to see how even admitting my feelings to myself could damage that. I sighed. “It’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible.”
The words were simple. I just wished I could believe them. I could only see the ways that it could go wrong. I’d had my share of relationships, and they’d all gone wrong in the end. The guy hadn’t been the right one, and after, it was always awkward. If that happened with Jake, the dojo would suffer. More importantly, Emerson would suffer.
I’d seen the ways that little girl had changed from day she’d stepped into the dojo for the first time six months ago and now. I could imagine the powerhouse she’d be in another year, and I didn’t want my reckless heart to derail that.
“You’re overthinking it, aren’t you?” David asked, pulling my thoughts from my fears.
“I don’t think I’m overthinking it. I think I’m thinking about it enough.”
David laughed and took a drink of his beer. We sat in silence for a few moments, just drinking our beers and watching cars pass. It was peaceful, but my mind was racing with the reasons this was a bad idea.
“Let me tell you a story,” David said suddenly. I looked over at him and motioned for him to continue with the hand holding my beer. “I didn’t always own the dojo. I used to work at a different one, when I was in my twenties. This beautiful woman came in with her daughter and signed her up for classes. For the next year, me and this woman? We flirted. We talked, but I neverworked up the nerve to ask her out. I was afraid that it would ruin things.” That sounded familiar. “But then I dominated at this competition I’d gone to, and I felt like I was on top of the world. She came in while I was working the next day, and I asked her out. She said yes, and we went on a few dates before deciding to go steady.”
I had a hard time imagining a younger version of my sensei who didn’t own his own dojo, who wasn’t married to Nancy.
Then it clicked.
