The gala moved into its early program. The mayor, a soft-spoken man named Ellis Thorne, gave a short speech thanking everyone for coming. There was a slideshow of the year’s accomplishments. New playground equipment at the county park. A wheelchair ramp built for a widow on Birch Street. Forty-three grocery deliveries made to homebound seniors that winter alone. The room applauded warmly for each one. This was the part of the evening Cedar Falls did best, remembering out loud that they took care of their own.
Then it was time to set up for the demonstration. Derek’s assistants finished laying out the mats. A small crowd had gathered near the stage already. Curious, mostly seniors who’d come specifically for the self-defense portion of the evening. Word had spread that there might be free one-on-one lessons afterward, and several folks had already claimed front row seats. Pauline approached Emily, who was refilling a water pitcher near the side table. “Emily, honey, could you help move those extra mats over? Derek’s team looks a little short-handed.” “Sure thing,” Emily said.
She set down the pitcher and walked toward the stage where two heavy blue mats sat stacked against the wall, each one thick and awkward, the kind of thing that usually took two people to carry. Derek noticed her approaching and gave a short laugh, mostly for the benefit of the small crowd nearby. “Careful with those,” he said, loud enough for a few heads to turn. “Wouldn’t want you to throw your back out.” A couple of people chuckled politely. It wasn’t cruel, not yet. Just the kind of easy joke a confident man makes when he assumes nobody’s paying close enough attention to notice how it lands.
Emily didn’t say anything. She bent down, gripped the edge of the top mat, and lifted it in one smooth motion, carrying it across the stage like it weighed nothing at all. It weighed almost forty pounds. Derek’s eyebrows lifted just slightly before he covered it with another easy smile. “Look at that. Stronger than she looks.” “I get that a lot,” Emily said quietly, setting the mat down exactly where it needed to go. She turned to grab the second one.