“We’re going to be late. No need for you girls to drive onto Fort Benning. Why not come with us?” Nate suggested.

“Who’s going to give us a ride back?” Emma Lynn teased, batting her dark brown eyes.

Nate tossed his keys upward, catching them in midair. “Don’t worry, we’ll give you a ride if you can’t lure one of those nice soldiers to take you home.”

“You’re awful! Darby can have you,” Emma Lynn joked, appearing to be insulted.

Jorden followed Darby into the Officer’s Club with Emma Lynn on her heels. Nate led them through a maze of tables before they reached the one reserved for the engagement party. In no time, recently commissioned officers joined them. Three bottles of Champagne along with bowls of nuts were on the table. Emma Lynn gleamed while flirting with the young soldiers close to her. Looking around the room, Jorden wondered if Matt would come, but then she forced the thought away.

Nate stood up to propose a toast but stopped himself. “Wait, here comes Matt.” Nate pulled out a chair from the table behind them while Matt wound his way through the room, reaching Jorden’s side of the table. She was glad Nate had put the seat next to her. She couldn’t help finding Matt funny and interesting.

By then, all the Champagne glasses were filled. Nate continued his toast. He tipped his glass toward Darby. “To the love of my life, to the woman who will soon be my bride.” He beamed as he pulled Darby next to him. “Cheers!” Glasses clinked. “Age of Aquarius” played in the background; Darby and Nate swayed to the music.

Jorden could hear Emma Lynn laughing. She appeared to dazzle the two officers on either side of her. An hour later, the gathering began to thin out. An officer named Kyle must have won over Emma Lynn as Jorden watched him lead her to the door. A few minutes later, Jorden and Matt also walked outside the Officers’ Club under the cover of the awning. Well-groomed shrubbery and trees were planted next to the entrance.

“Do you need a ride?” Matt asked.

“I do. Thank you.” Jorden pointed to the building across the street. “This looks familiar.”

“Maybe you’ve seen it on television. Lieutenant Calley has been in the news a lot. His military inquiry is going on right now. I’ve even seen him coming into our building.”

“You’re kidding.” After a moment it came back to Jorden; she had seen it on television. Scott O’Brady, the local newscaster, carried the latest details on the events surrounding the My Lai tragedy. Lieutenant William Calley had been charged with killing over one hundred civilians in the hamlet of My Lai in the Quang Ngai Province of South Vietnam. The story finally broke early in September, almost two months ago.