The words began to spill out as Darby caught her breath. “Nate . . . he . . . thinks he’s going to be sent back to Vietnam. Rumors are going around, and he’s scared. This would be his third tour. He’s even received medals, including the Purple Heart. He didn’t think he would be sent back again and wants to postpone the wedding. I’ve never seen him so distraught.” Darby’s voice cracked with another sob.

“Maybe he’s wrong. Has Nate gotten his official orders?” Jorden asked.

“I don’t think so. But . . . even the possibility is putting him over the edge.” Darby sobbed along with a hiccup.

“You know my friend, Madison, she married Luke before he left for Nam. Lots of couples marry before they’re sent over there. Can’t you talk some sense into Nate?” Jorden persisted.

“I tried! He says he can’t go and feel responsible for a wife back home. He’s seen the horrors of war and other things which happen. He wants to postpone the wedding. We went back and forth. I couldn’t budge him. Exasperated, I finally called it all off—the engagement, the wedding, everything!”

“Is that what you want?” Emma Lynn looked directly at Darby.

“No!—Yes! I don’t know what I want . . . only . . . I felt like I was put on hold with no end in sight. I hate this! It’s killing me!” Darby’s hands flew over her face.

“What do we say? You know people will want to know,” Emma Lynn asked.

“Just tell them there won’t be a wedding and the engagement is off. If they ask more, tell them you don’t know anything else.” Darby looked from Emma Lynn to Jorden.

“Okay. We can do that,” Jorden agreed.

The next day, Jorden and Matt changed their plans from tennis to see a movie, The Sterile Cuckoo, starring Liza Minnelli. The outside temperatures were in the twenties, too cold for tennis. Jorden had forewarned Matt on the phone about Darby and Nate’s broken engagement. She could tell he was shocked. After Matt arrived, Jorden tried to persuade Darby to join them but she declined—wanting time alone.

“Did Nate say anything at work about the broken engagement?” Jorden asked as Matt drove away from her apartment.

“Not a word. They seemed happy. Do you know what happened?”

“Darby didn’t say much—just the engagement and wedding were off.”

The movie turned out to be depressing. The story centered around two freshmen college students who fell in love then the relationship turned sour. The young couple split in the end. Jorden was relieved Darby hadn’t joined them. She didn’t need the same message again.

Matt pulled into a parking space close to Jorden’s apartment entrance. He looked up at her second floor window. “Do you think there’s a chance Darby and Nate might get back together?”