It was a rainy, cold morning on Thursday, and Hannah had just put some kidney beans on the stove to soak, thinking she'd make a batch of chili for dinner, when there was a knock at the front door.
She opened it to find a tall, slender woman with bright brown eyes standing on the other side. "Hello," she said, grinning broadly. "I know I'm supposed to wait for our husbands to introduce us, but I couldn't stay away a minute longer. I'm Cheryl Morgan, Steve's wife." She extended her hand to Hannah.
They exchanged a brief handshake while Hannah led the way into the kitchen. "Steve," she repeated, then remembered. "He helped us move."
"Right," Cheryl said with quick nod. "I would have come along, too, but I was working." Hannah noted they were around the same age and knew immediately that she was going to like Cheryl Morgan.
"When Steve came home and told me Riley was married, I couldn't wait to meet you. I hope you don't mind me stopping in unannounced this way."
"Of course not. I've been bored to tears all morning." Hannah put the teapot on to boil and brought down two cups and saucers. "I suppose…Riley's marriage must have come as a shock."
"I'll say," Cheryl agreed, reaching for one of the sugar cookies Hannah had set on the table and crossing her long legs. "I plied Steve with questions, but he seemed rather close-mouthed about the whole thing."
Not wanting to explain their marriage and the pregnancy both at once, Hannah busied herself readying the tea, attempting to disguise her uneasiness. "It happened quickly."
"A whirlwind courtship. How romantic."
Hannah wasn't sure how to respond to that. A whirlwind was right, but it hadn't been much of a courtship. Not with her father and Chaplain Stewart running the show.
Once the water was boiling, Hannah added it to the teapot, leaving it to steep a few moments before pouring. "I'm so pleased you stopped by. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to meet anyone on the base."
"I'm glad I stopped by, too." Cheryl paused and slowly shook her head. "That Riley is a sly dog. He had me worried sick he was going to marry – "
"Judy," Hannah supplied for Cheryl when she stopped abruptly. For a moment her newfound friend looked as though she wanted to stand up and grab back the words.
"Then you know about her?"
Hannah nodded without elaborating. She knew her name and that Riley claimed she didn't mean a thing to him, but beyond that she was in the dark.
Cheryl slapped her hand over her chest. "You'll have to forgive me. I have this terrible habit of saying whatever's on my mind. I can't seem to stop myself."
"Don't worry. You haven't offended me." Hannah smiled as she added sugar to her tea and stirred lightly. "I'll admit I don't know a lot. Riley hasn't said much. But from what I gathered, they'd been seeing each other regularly."
"They were pretty thick in the beginning of the summer," Cheryl explained, sipping from her cup. "Then the relationship cooled. Judy is… nice, don't get me wrong. But she's accustomed to getting what she wants, and she'd set her sights on Riley. I don't think she took kindly to his sudden loss of interest."
Hannah wasn't sure how to comment, so she simply nodded, hoping that would suffice.