## The Chance Meeting
Over the next few meetings Olivia saw the dark eyed man attending the group. He always took a seat at the back. He was always quiet, always calm. He seemed to be too strong to be there, showing so little emotion as he sat silently.
She supposed it was a mask hiding his anger, sadness or grief. The ones that were quiet were always the ones with the most pain, she thought. Still he seemed so out of place here, most of the men that attended the group were wrecks, lost and disheveled, but this man seemed almost at peace like he was here for entirely different reasons. Sister Maggie noticed him and Olivia's obvious interest in him and so made a point of mentioning him after each meeting to Olivia, and insisting that Olivia say something to him before Maggie took matters into her own hands and forced them to speak.
Finally, filled with trepidation, Olivia decided to stand at the back of the room one evening. She wasn't sure what to expect but she had to try. When he walked in shortly after the start he saw her by the door, and she smiled warmly at him. He nodded and moved to a seat on the back row again, this time Olivia followed and sat down beside him.
He didn't seem to mind her presence or intrusion, he almost seemed like he had been expecting it. He still seemed aloof as he sat silently. Olivia steeled herself and dived in introducing herself and continued, "I've been watching you for a while and noticed you..." She stopped embarrassed at how it had sounded and tried again. "I'm sorry. I mean I've seen that you come in a bit after we start and slip out early, I mean. I'm really bad at this." she paused again, "Did you lose someone close to you recently." He sat silently for a moment then, then sighed slowly.
She panicked, afraid she had offended him with her fumbling and directness. She was about to get up when he placed his hand on her forearm to stop her. Her arm burned and tingled at his warm touch and he finally spoke. "You aren't that bad at it. I'm not sure why I've come here," he admitted slowly. "I lost my wife a few years ago. I went through a hard time and I stopped living my life a few years ago because of it." He shrugged, "I've been wondering if I'm punishing myself."
He trailed off, they sat in their silence for another moment, Olivia felt like she had intruded into his private thoughts. Then he said, "I came here because my wife told me to." He shrugged and held a hand up in a quiet show of agreement as he nodded his head, "I know, it's crazy. I just... I felt like she wanted me to turn things around, stop blaming myself, or God, or her and just start to live again." He didn't look at her as he spoke, he just kept looking forward at nothing in particular.