“Careful, Jake. Old man’s dangerous.”
More laughter.
Then Jake made the mistake that changed the afternoon.
He lifted his fists.
Not seriously.
Mockingly.
A parody of a boxing stance.
“Come on, Grandpa.”
He bounced side to side.
“Show me what you got.”
I looked at the cane.
Then at him.
“You sure about that, son?”
His friends howled.
Jake pointed toward me.
“What, you actually think you can fight me?”
I set my toolbox down.
“No.”
He grinned.
Then I rolled my sleeves higher.
“I think you asked for a round.”
The laughter became louder.
People near the food stands started turning around.
Several children ran closer.
A woman lifted her phone.
I stepped onto the mat.
Slowly.
My left leg still hurt.
Jake shook his head.
“This is gonna be great.”
Maybe twenty yards away, an older martial arts instructor named Daniel Kim had been drinking iced tea beside the judges’ table.
He was sixty-four.
Korean American.
Seventh-degree black belt.
Owner of Riverdale Traditional Martial Arts.
Jake occasionally trained at his academy.
Daniel had been smiling at the foolishness like everyone else.
Then I straightened my back.
My shoulders settled.
I moved my left foot behind me.
Not straight.
Forty-five degrees outward.
My front knee softened.
Right fist rose beside my cheek.
Left hand remained open near the center of my chest.
Weight slightly rearward.
Nothing dramatic.
Just an old position.
One I had not taken seriously in years.
Daniel Kim stood up so fast his chair tipped backward.
The people beside him looked over.
“What?”
Daniel did not answer.
He stared at me.
The smile disappeared from his face.
One student asked:
“Master Kim?”
Still nothing.
Then Daniel whispered:
“No.”
Jake noticed the change in the crowd.
“What?”
Daniel started walking toward the mat.
“Jake.”
Jake turned.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t move.”
The crowd quieted.
Jake laughed nervously.
“What?”
Daniel stopped at the mat’s edge.
His eyes stayed on my feet.
“Look at his stance.”
Jake glanced at me.
“So?”
Daniel’s expression had gone pale.
“That rear foot.”
“What about it?”
Daniel ignored him.
He looked at me.
Then at my hands.
