Archibald brushed his hand across the yellowed newspaper.

Tears began to well up in his eyes.

Did he conceive this little nugget on that preposterous night? Was she the fruit of his mistake?

It took all of one second for him to make that grave mistake.

He reflected on his past life and thought about his future and reputation that evening. He fully understood that the entire Templeton family would be thrown into a state of disarray if he reconciled with his estranged daughter.

…

The last traces of evening light were consumed by the impending darkness.

Marisol came to the gazebo with a cup of tea and turned on the stained glass pendant light. “It’s dark in here, Dad. Why didn’t you turn on the light?”

The light came on.

Archibald was still drowning in the past. After a brief moment, he said in a hoarse voice, “It’s you, Marisol! Where’s Saul?”

“He’s gone back to the government office.”

Putting down the new cup of tea, she took away the old one. That was when she noticed th