My Cobra Guy

Episode Twenty-Six

Life was not going Johnny's way. His van made an unremitting squealing as he drove through the twilight streets. "Come on, come on. Keep going for me, baby. At least until someone hires me." He patted the dashboard, as if for luck.

He didn't want Daniel's help now, not when Daniel proved he was all too eager to doubt him, or think the worst of him. He was going to try somewhere else tomorrow for a job. Maybe the amusement park. He just had to make sure he could be at Miyagi-Do, too.

As the van rolled toward the riverbank, he saw a shape on the shoreline. A fishing pole arced over the water.

Johnny still wasn't entirely convinced the eccentric man was in his right mind. Maybe he should Google him?

Dammit! His phone was dead. He'd have to let the poor van run to charge it.

* * * * *

Johnny had two problems when it came to job hunting. Age and lack of experience. He had mostly done construction jobs and his coma had thrown him out of employment for too long. Now he was a man in his early fifties, trying desperately to find a decent job that paid enough to cover rent for a new place. Flipping burgers wasn't going to cut it, even if he did get that desperate.

After another day of job applications, he was looking forward to time at the dojo. He could relax with the kids. He could let off steam in a healthy way. Even better, Daniel was working late so Johnny didn't have to put up with any of his bullshit this afternoon.

I wish I hadn't promised I would help him move this weekend. It's so fucking awkward with him now.

Putting Daniel out of his mind, he went over his lesson in his head and greeted the kids as they arrived. He was elbowing Regina playfully when a woman called his name.

"Johnny!" It was the woman from the arcade, Julie.

"Hey, how are you? Looks like you made it."

"I would like you to meet my daughter, Sophie," Julie said.

Johnny glanced over. And up. Sophie was a name for a petite, classy broad who wore perfume and had manicured nails. This kid was anything but. At least six foot tall, Sophie wore baggy sweatpants and a black T-shirt with video game characters on it. Her skin was darker than her mother's, a pretty caramel color, and her arms were as wide around as Johnny's head. Her hair was loose and frizzy, natural. She was huge. And she didn't look happy to be there.

Trying not to gape at her, Johnny stuck out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Sophie."

"Look, I'm only here because mom used to teach me karate, but I'm into weight lifting now." Sophie said, though she did shake his hand.

"It isn't just about the karate itself, Soph," her mom said, nudging her side with a lopsided smile.

"Exactly. We're a family here," Johnny said.

Regina snickered behind him. "Oh yeah, my two dads who are always on the outs. Typical family drama."

Johnny was tempted to smack her but he certainly couldn't deny it. As soon as he and Daniel were starting to make progress, some crap always arose that came between them. Before he could dwell on it longer, Sam was hurrying over to meet Sophie. With a warm smile, Sam led the new girl over to the others for introductions, leaving Johnny alone with Julie.

He cleared his throat and locked eyes with Miyagi's old pupil. "Listen, we've had a lot of changes taking place in and out of the dojo lately, so we may be rethinking our prices. LaRusso was offering free classes, but this was before we had so many students and before certain situations in our personal lives arose. We won't be charging you for this week, but that could change in the future."