Dinner was ready twenty minutes later. There was a batch of steaming corn-bread fresh from the oven, and the tureen of hot chili con came. All homemade. All delicious. Riley eyed the table with appreciation, complimenting her.
They ate in silence, and once again Riley noted how she continued to glance his way several times, as though expecting something. What, he wasn't sure. He complimented her once more on the excellent dinner and made some fleeting remark about never having eaten better, which was true. Before he'd married Hannah, dinners had consisted of microwave specials or something he could grab on the run. Nothing like the home cooking he'd enjoyed since their marriage.
When they'd finished, he helped clear the table. He rinsed the dishes and set them in the dishwasher. With only the two of them, the task was complete in a matter of minutes.
Hannah stored the leftovers in the refrigerator and wiped down the counters. The evening news was on, and Hannah sat on the chair across from Riley's recliner and picked up her knitting. The sight of her needles working the soft pastel yarn into a blanket for their child had a curious effect upon his heart. It warmed him in ways he was only beginning to understand. It dawned on him suddenly that she loved and wanted this baby.
Glancing up, Hannah found his eyes on hers. She openly glared at him before looking away, as though she deeply resented it was him sitting across from her and not Jerry, the real love of her life. The good feelings he'd experienced a few moments earlier drowned in a sea of resentment.
A heavy dose of anger simmered in him for several minutes before he stood and made himself a cup of instant coffee. Reaching for the evening paper, he worked the crossword puzzle.
"I'd like to visit my father over Christmas," Hannah said, working the knitting needles with a vengeance. She jerked hard on the ball of yarn, then looked up at him as if she fully expected an argument.
"Fine." He rarely made plans for the holidays. Frankly, they didn't mean that much to him. "Am I included, or would you rather I stayed away?"
Once again she glanced upward, obviously surprised by his question. "Included, of course. We are married."
Riley didn't know what to read into that comment, if anything.
Following the brief snatch of conversation, the only sound in the entire house was the gentle hum of the dishwasher and the noise coming from the television. Riley thought of several topics he wanted to discuss, but dismissed them all. It was apparent Hannah wasn't in any mood to chat.
Looking away from her, Riley realized that despite everything, he wanted this marriage to work. For their child's sake, for Hannah's sake, for his own peace of mind, Riley was determined to do everything he could to ensure its survival.
He'd taken the biggest gamble of his life by agreeing to marry Hannah. He'd done it without realizing he was playing with a loaded deck, but he was coming to grips with her love for Jerry. The stakes were too high to back down now. Something told him, something deep and primal, that Hannah and their child represented his one chance for finding happiness, and he was taking hold of this opportunity with both hands and holding on tight