“You’ve got a beautiful son,” the man said to Veronica. “You’re a lucky woman. Take good care of him.” He looked longingly at Leon.

“Thank you,” Veronica said, “but…” She stopped talking in mid-sentence. Dorcas had come to the door with a big smile on her face.

Her smile faded when she saw Jason standing in her doorway. Her cheeks burned. He was the last person she expected to see in her new home.

“Dorcas! My word – it’s you. I can’t believe it!’ He went to take her hand but she pulled it away.

“Jason,” she murmured, still stunned by the sight of him standing in her doorway. “Where on earth did you spring from?”

Veronica looked at Dorcas questioningly. Dorcas nodded her head slightly and she walked away. It was time to put Leon down for his nap. Dorcas clearly knew this man so Veronica knew she would be OK.

“I’ve just moved in upstairs,” Jason said. “I’m still unpacking.”

“Really?” Dorcas felt a knot tightening in her stomach.

“How have you been?” Jason asked. “I’ve often thought of you and wondered where you’d gone.”

“I’ve been well, and busy at my new job,” she said. “What are you doing in Grahamstown?”

“I just needed to get away from the city, and Penny. You know she wasn’t even pregnant.” Dorcas was surprised to see tears springing to his eyes.

“She fooled me all along. I just couldn’t get over the fact that she could lie about something like that. She knew how much I wanted a child.”

“Like the way you lied and cheated on me, Jason. It’s good to know sometimes that what goes around comes around. You hurt me very badly.”

He had the grace to look shame-faced. “You’ll never know how sorry I am for what I did to you, Dorcas. It was unforgivable of me to treat you the way I did.”

“Yes it was,” she said, unwilling to let him off the hook so easily.

“I must say you’re looking really well,” Jason said. “You’re still beautiful, Dorcas.”

Dorcas looked at him long and hard. Had he really changed? Could Jason ever change his ways, she wondered.

“Do you live here in this flat?” he asked. “I decided to rent here for a few months. I got a nice contract here in Grahamstown. I’m not really sure in what direction my life is headed. All I obsessed about for a long time was having a child.”

“I know,” she murmured. She opened her mouth to tell him about Leon.

“Mama, Mama!” a voice yelled from his cot.

“Excuse me a moment. My son is calling for me.”

“Your son,” he gasped. “I thought you couldn’t…that you were…”

She looked at him and shook her head. “Well I wasn’t, was I? I think you’d better come in, Jason.”

Dorcas took him into Leon’s bedroom. She picked up her son and hugged him close to her.

“Do you remember the last night we spent together?”

“Yes,” Jason said, as he looked at Leon. He was surprised he hadn’t seen the resemblance straight away. “He’s my son!”

“Yes,” Dorcas nodded her head. “You’re his father, Jason.”

“I’m just so sorry I wasn’t there for you, Dorcas. You were very brave to have Jason all by yourself. He’s a beautiful child.”

“Thank you,” Dorcas said, nodding her head. After a long pause she said: “Do you want to be a father to our son?”

“Yes, I’d like that very much,” Jason said. He smiled at mother and son. He didn’t think he had ever seen anything quite so beautiful in his life.

“Are you seeing anybody?” Jason asked.

“Yes.”

It had taken Dorcas a long time to recover from the way Jason had treated her. She wasn’t about to allow him into her life so easily again.

But she knew she had done the right thing in telling him Leon was his son. She knew how much he wanted a child. He’d be a good father to Leon. They could still be friends. And that way Leon could have both his parents.

Who knew what the future would bring? Dorcas thought there was no point in looking ahead to one which never worked out as you planned.

“Thanks.” A tear slid down Jason’s face. He rested his hand gently on his son’s arm.

Dorcas smiled. It felt good to see her son and his father together. And, indeed, who knew what the future held?

* * *

Tell us what you think: Did Dorcas do the right thing telling Jason that Leon was his son? Do you think it is possible for them to rebuild their relationship?

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