My Cobra Guy

Episode Twenty-Four

Daniel stared down at the calm faces of Sam and his son. Amanda had stood at his side to deliver the news. After talking for a while, they had come to a few conclusions about how this would work and though they were both still upset, they knew they were doing the right thing. His phone vibrated again in his sportcoat, and he hoped it was good news about Johnny. But right now, his family was more important.

"No one's moving to a new town or anything," Daniel said. "We'll all still be close."

"Whatever. I'm living with Mom," the son said, between the loud beeps made by his handheld game.

They'd asked him several times to put it away, but rather than have an argument before this talk, they'd let it go. And, he didn't seem affected by it in the least.

Sam looked between the two, tears sparkling in her eyes. "I figured this was what it was about. I knew this was coming for a while."

"Are you okay?" Amanda asked. "Are you angry with us?"

Daniel had prepared himself for all the teenage backlash to divorces he'd seen in movies. He didn't think it would be like that with Sam. They had always had an open line of communication with her. Still, he braced himself.

"I mean, yeah. If you're not happy, don't be miserable for us," Sam said. "I...I just don't want to have to choose between you two." The news may not be a surprise to her, but he knew it was still painful. She was taking it well, though. Her eyes glistened, but she was staying strong for them.

"You can stay wherever you want, honey," Daniel said. "You're old enough that you can stay with either of us as long as you want, whenever you want. I'm signing the house over to your mom."

"Where are you gonna live, Dad?" Sam asked.

"Probably with Johnny," his son snickered. "Reseda Heights though, there might not be room for you there."

Daniel cleared his throat, trying not to show his irritation. "I'll be moving into Miyagi-Do. I think it'd be good for me. Listen, you don't need to decide now, Sam. You need to take the time to process this. I understand if you don't want to—"

"I'll stay at the dojo," Sam said quickly, and cast her mom an apologetic look. "I'm sorry... It's just, all my friends are there."

"No apologies needed," Amanda said. "I understand you want to be with your friends. Though I do want you to come stay with me sometimes."

"You know I'll visit often," Sam said. She pulled her phone from her pocket. "Sorry, it hasn't stopped vibrating. I have a ton of missed calls and texts from Miguel. Something's wrong, like really wrong."

"Did something happen?" Amanda asked, turning to Daniel. They may be splitting, but it didn't mean she didn't care about his life.

Daniel frowned. "I didn't want to bring this up, not tonight. I...Johnny's apartment is vacant. He didn't tell me he moved or anything. And—"

"The texts are saying get to Miyagi-Do," Sam said. "With lots of exclamation points."

"I knew it was too good to be true. Johnny got himself in some kind of trouble. Why?" Daniel wiped his hand over his face.

"Go," Amanda said. She gave him a weak smile. "You don't need my permission. I'm not going to be angry. Honestly, I would be surprised if there wasn't some kind of drama involving the dojo. I think I'm going to take our son to a movie. There's a new one about dinosaurs..."

Why did things seem to be going too well, at least within Daniel's own family? It was almost too good to be true that things hadn't blown up between any of them. Even his arguments with Amanda had not become screaming matches. He was worried about his son's behavior. It was as if he wasn't processing it at all. Or just didn't care. Maybe some time at the theater would help him?

Sam followed Daniel out the door. How did she manage to walk and text so easily? Was it some evolutionary adaptation?

It felt good though, finally, to go to the dojo and not feel any guilt.