When Carmen announced it was time, they took their seats in the loose circle formed by their chairs. Carmen welcomed them and asked who wanted to share. Unity tried to listen but kept finding her attention slipping back to her fight with Ellen. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if she’d been wrong.

Just considering the possibility made her sick to her stomach again.

“Unity?”

Unity realized everyone was looking at her. She glanced at Carmen. “Sorry. I was lost in thought.”

“I could tell. Want to talk about it?”

“She’s thinking about Stuart,” Veronica, a short, plump woman in her seventies said with an eye roll. “It’s what she’s always thinking about.”

“I wasn’t thinking about him,” Unity said, surprised by the harsh statement. “Although this is a grief group. Isn’t dealing with the loss of my husband the point?”

The pain of missing him joined her regret and guilt about Ellen. None of this was supposed to have happened, she thought bitterly. She was supposed to be happily married and the mother of two or three kids by now. But she was left with nothing but memories and the flag that had draped his coffin.

Veronica sighed heavily. “No, it’s not. Because you’re not dead yet, despite how you act. Yes, you lost your husband, and it’s tragic, but come on. You’re not the only one. We’ve all lost someone. You’re acting like this is some unique event only you have experienced. It’s not like your pain is any bigger than ours, no matter how much you love reveling in it.”

“All right,” Carmen said. “That was a little bit more of a response than I was hoping for.”

“I’m not wrong, am I?” Veronica asked, motioning to the group.

To Unity’s surprise and discomfort, several people murmured words of agreement.

Unity folded her arms across her chest as if she could protect herself from the biting assessments. “But Stuart was my husband.”

“Like Veronica said, we’ve all lost someone,” Edward reminded her. “That’s why we’re here.”

“It’s called moving on after loss,” Veronica said. “Be grateful for what you were given. Not living your life is a dumb ass way to spend your day.”

Carmen sighed. “Veronica, we’ve talked about this.”

“What? I can’t say dumb ass? Really? Is anyone here genuinely offended?”

Unity wanted to say she was, but she was too focused on surviving the unexpected attack.

“I’m not stuck,” she whispered.

Carmen gave her a sympathetic look. “Are you sure?”

Unity wanted to say she was happy loving Stuart, even if he wasn’t with her anymore, but knew that would open her to another round of blunt statements she couldn’t stand to hear. She felt raw and exposed and she wished she’d stayed home.

“Your points are good ones,” she lied, just wanting them to focus on someone else. Their words made her feel raw and unwelcome and way too close to losing control.