Katie lay awake long into the night, simultaneously upset and furious. Damn Mikey for walking her home. He said he wanted to make sure nothing happened to her. He hadn’t seemed to consider the possibility that she wanted something to happen…

She turned over the little card in her hand once more. Next to a small woman in a white martial-arts jacket and billowy black skirt were the words “Control your own life. Overcome resistance without violence. Coordinate mind, body and spirit with Aikido.” On the back, that same tiny woman was pictured throwing a burly gentleman across a mat with apparent ease. She’d go tomorrow.

*

Of course, getting to Aikido would have been easier if Michael hadn’t hounded her all day with calls and text messages. Eventually, she decided to tell him that she would be going to that evening’s group gathering after all. Again, he refused to let her go on her own: he’d meet her at her house at seven.

She was gone by five.

At Aikido, she discovered that she knew no-one. Pure joy.