Linda & Greg Morris's Arc

Chapter 7 of 11

Linda walked alone to the old chapel on the hill. The building had stood empty for years, but its doors still opened. Inside, stained glass windows cast colored light across the wooden floor. She sat in the front pew and looked up at the patterns dancing on the walls. Her phone buzzed with another cancellation text. She turned it off and just breathed. The silence felt different here—not lonely, just quiet. After twenty minutes, she stood up and walked back outside. The chapel had given her what she needed: space to remember why the support group mattered. Linda walked down the road until she reached a tall red rock formation standing alone in the desert landscape. The stone changed colors as the sun moved across the sky—deep red in some spots, soft orange in others. She climbed to its shaded side and sat against the cool surface. The rock blocked the wind and the noise from the road. She thought about the couples who'd canceled and the ones who'd stopped coming. She thought about Greg sitting at home, probably worrying too. But here, with her back against the ancient stone, the problems felt smaller. The rock had stood for thousands of years. Her support group had only existed for weeks. She drove into town as evening approached. The Ink & Beans Literary Cafe had its lights on. Linda pushed through the door and saw bookshelves lining every wall. A few people sat at small tables with coffee cups. She ordered tea and found a corner table. The place felt neutral, like nobody was judging anyone else's problems. She pulled out her phone and started texting the couples who'd disappeared. "If meeting at the community center isn't working, we can try here instead," she typed. "Small groups, just conversation." Two people responded right away. One couple said they'd felt too exposed in the big circle. Another said they needed somewhere that felt less formal. Linda finished her tea and walked back to her car. She stopped at a small plaza where an old iron bell hung from a wooden frame. The metal had detailed patterns carved into its surface. A sign next to it read "Ring for victories." Linda reached up and pulled the rope. The bell's sound filled the air, clear and strong. She hadn't fixed everything tonight, but she'd figured out what was wrong. The community center wasn't the right place for everyone. Some couples needed coffee shops. Some needed small groups. Some just needed to know they could walk away and come back. Linda rang the bell one more time before heading home to tell Greg what she'd learned.