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“I’m really looking forward to returning to work,” he added for good measure.

“Please, take a seat,” Peter suggested after doing his best to form three chairs into a circle. “Dinner is on its way. Can I get you some coffee or tea while we wait?”

Matthew looked confused. “Is this it? Just three of us?”

“Yep!” Peter confirmed, carrying an empty kettle to the sink. “I expect our counterpart to arrive any minute now. Are you sure I can’t get you something to drink?”

Matthew thought about asking for a shot of whisky but said a gracious “no thank you” then got up to remove his jacket, taking the moment his back was turned to collect himself. He needed to stay calm and not look irritated by the minuscule size of the group. Even though there’d be no hiding in a gathering this small. And it made him think that maybe he should’ve agreed to see the shrink instead.

As Pastor Peter joined Matthew in the pseudo circle, they made small talk while the kettle came to a boil.

“Alright, buddy,” a voice called out. “Tonight’s the night for you to relinquish that Connect Four title. And because I’m such a nice person, I brought you a consolation prize.”

Standing in the doorway of the kitchen, holding a stack of take-out boxes from The Copperwall, Katherine’s smile instantly faded when Matthew rose from his seat and turned to greet her.

“Katherine, you know Matthew.” Peter smiled, waving her into the room. “Come on in and take a seat. Matthew and I were just getting to know one another.”

Katherine looked from Pastor Peter to Matthew, then to the dreaded yet painfully familiar cluster of chairs.

“Uh… okay,” she said, setting the boxes down before shaking Matthew’s hand. “Nice to see you again. How are you and Libby doing?”

Before he could answer, Katherine was already regretting her words. They were basically in the same mundane vein of things others said when her world had been turned upside down.

“Fine,” Matthew replied with a stiff expression as he quickly shook her hand before backing away as the atmosphere between them grew more awkward by the minute.

“Well… okay then,” Peter said, rubbing his hands together like an excited kid in front of a pile of Christmas presents. “Shall we get this party started or what?”

Katherine swallowed, as her heart was racing from the dread of what was about to happen. And by the look on Matthew’s face, she was pretty sure he was feeling the same.

“Do you really wanna do this?” she blurted out. “What aboutourgroup? The onewe’vebeen having all this time. Can’t we just go back to doing that?”

Immediately, Matthew glared in her direction. “Are you saying I shouldn’t be here?”

“What? No. I didn’t say that. Why would you think that?”

“You just said—”

“Hold on, hold on!” Peter jumped in between them, lifting his hands like a referee separating two heavyweight fighters. “Let’s keep it neighborly, okay neighbors?”

Matthew tried to relax his scowl.

“I think what Katherine was trying to suggest is that we keep it casual,” Peter explained. “We haven’t been sitting in a sharing circle for a long time. And it can be intimidating having those kinds of sessions with a small amount of people. So, I’m willing to compromise.”

Katherine brightened, but Matthew’s expression stayed the same.

“We can have a few sessions our way,” he said, motioning to Katherine. “But at some point, I think it’d be good for us as a growing group to remake the circle and share the way we’re supposed to.”

Katherine concealed her satisfied smile by dashing off to get paper plates and plastic utensils from the cupboards even before Matthew agreed to Peter’s plan.

“Hey, Matthew, do you want coffee instead of tea?” she offered after noticing that only the hot water kettle was going. “I could make a quick pot if you like.”

“No thanks, Katie,” Matthew replied in a clipped tone before realizing Peter was watching him. “I don’t drink coffee this late if I don’t have to,” he added begrudgingly.

“But it’s Friday night… live a little.”

Katherine knew she was trying way too hard, and when Matthew didn’t respond, Pastor Peter intervened by asking him for help putting the chairs away. “By the time we get that done, Katherine should have the food prepped to eat.”

“Hey, can you grab one of the puzzles while you’re in there?”