Ink and Ashes by Valynne E. Maetani

Author:Valynne E. Maetani
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Published: 2015-05-13T04:00:00+00:00

DAD WOKE ME up earlier than usual the next morning. I moaned and pulled the comforter over my head, pleading late-night arson interrupted my sleep. He lifted the blanket off my face, unsympathetic. “Meet me in the garage in five minutes.”

I grumbled, but I got out of bed and changed into a tank top and shorts, expecting more self-defense practice. I’m sure all the moves we went over every Saturday were beginner’s stuff, but he still insisted we practice.

In the garage, the cars had been backed into the driveway, and a padded mat had been placed on the concrete. Dad was at the punching bag. His hair might have been peppered with gray, but I was proud of the way he kept himself in great condition. Beneath his white T-shirt and navy jersey-knit shorts were well-defined muscles.

“Where are the boys?” I asked.

“I thought we’d spend some one-on-one time.” He stopped punching. “They’re cleaning up the front yard.”

What he meant: the boys hadn’t gotten boxes like I had.

We both moved to center of the mat. Dad put his hands on his hips. “What are the parts of the body where you can do the most damage?”

By now, I knew this as well as the alphabet. “Eyes, nose, ears, neck, groin, knee, and legs,” I said.

“What parts of the body are most effective for inflicting damage?”

“Elbows, knees, and head.”

He nodded. “Today I want to practice choke holds.” He faced me and placed his hands around my throat. I put my right hand on his esophagus, extending my arm to push off him as I took a step back with my left foot and twisted my body in the same direction to break free.

“What’s another way you could break the hold?” He put his hands at my throat again.

In one continuous move, I swung my right arm up and across both of his arms and used the momentum to keep rotating counterclockwise until my back was at his chest. Then I was able to direct my left elbow backward to his face. “Good,” he said. “Let’s do that a few more times, and then we’ll practice a choke hold from behind.”

“So where were you?” I asked as we went through the moves.

“Phoenix.”

“What’d you do there?” I swung my arm and broke his hold.

“Same old stuff,” he said. “I had to check out an international antiques distributor to see if it’s a worthy investment.”

I raised a brow, unable to stop curiosity from beating out reason. “What’s the name of the distributor?”

“The Copper Cactus.” He dropped his arms. “What are you really trying to ask me?” His eyes narrowed, and he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“I don’t understand why something like that would be such an emergency,” I said and twisted my body. “Seems like you’ve been gone more than usual lately.”

“That’s the job sometimes. When it comes to finance, everybody’s in a hurry. And when you’re dealing with people who have a lot of money, they expect you to be on their schedule even if it’s not during usual business hours,” he said.

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