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Back One Winter Morning Save as PDF
Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. By the same author
  4. Dedication
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. Acknowledgements
  54. Read More
  55. Two Years Later
  56. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

‘She had to know. I don’t think she ever would have agreed to it all had there not been a chance that David really was your father. They decided not to find out for sure because it was more fair, more equal, but as far as the official channels were concerned, you really were his.’

‘His name is on my birth certificate,’ I say, even though I know she is well aware of the fact.

‘Yes, and perhaps that is exactly where it belongs.’

‘Do you really think David could be my real father?’ I ask.

‘What I think,’ says Bonnie, putting a tentative hand on top of mine, ‘is that he already is.’

‘But can you see him in me?’ I implore. ‘Can you see any trace of Seth?’

‘It was so long ago.’

I can tell that she is being deliberately vague.

As a child, I was so often told how much I looked like my dad, and all those times I dismissed our similarities. Like him, I enjoy reading, but that could just as easily have come from Seth, who was studying English when he met Bonnie. David had dark hair, but so does Bonnie. His skin is fair, but Seth was blond, so presumably he would have had a similar complexion.

‘You could do a DNA test,’ suggests Bonnie, breaking a dry twig into several pieces then wiping the residual dirt on to her leggings.

‘David said the same thing.’

‘That would give you a definitive answer, if that’s what you need. And you would be well within your rights to find out,’ she says.

‘I need time to think,’ I tell her. There has been too much information to take in over the past few days, and not enough time to act.

‘That’s fair,’ she agrees, bringing her feet up out of the water. ‘Shall we start heading back?’

‘There’s just one more thing,’ I say, reaching for my socks. ‘You said before that you were too scared to come back to England and find me, and that you had no idea about the accident until you got there?’

‘That’s all true.’

‘What was it that made you get on the plane, then? And why, after all this time, did you write down that story for me?’

Bonnie turns her face so it’s pointing towards the sun, her shadow falling away behind us.

‘That,’ she says, ‘is a whole other story entirely.’

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45

Bonnie

It was the new tumble drier that did it.