On the morning of the wedding Joseph went to the hotel where the bride and her bridesmaids were staying. The weather was fine and Joseph suggested Malou to go to a small park opposite the hotel.

´You're not dressed yet either?´ Malou redundantly asked.

´No. I will go back home to change.´

They walked in silence for a few metres.

´How are you?´ Joseph inquired.

´I'm fine. The baby's fine too.´

Joseph wasn't tempted to look down at Malou's sweater clad belly.

´I heard your father is angry at you. And at me.´

´Yes.´

´I am sorry for that. That you were hurt I mean.´

Step. Step. Step. Step.

´Malou, I thought that you wanted a child and that I was -´

´I know! Pilar told me.´

Malou hadn't been offended when her friend had told her that Joseph believed her to have used him. She had been relieved for it allowed her to attribute his reaction to her news to something or other than his feelings for her.

´Getting pregnant is not what I had planned to happen Joseph. It's not what you had planned to happen. But here we are.´

´Pilar said that your father wants you to give up the child for adoption.´

Malou cast a glance at Joseph.

´What do you think of that?´ she asked.

Joseph had pictured Malou to bring up the child. The thought that his kin would be raised by strangers was unbearable to him. He planned to have a man to man talk with Malou's father to convince him that in 21st century Madrid being a single mother wasn't a shame. He would also tell him that he would offer generous financial support for the child.

´I don't like it,´ Joseph admitted. He was about to tell Malou about his plan, when she said: ´Nor do I.´

Malou glanced at the man she loved and admired. Perhaps he still thought that she had used him. Perhaps he worried about their age difference. Perhaps he worried about the age difference between him and their child. She grabbed his hand before other perhapses could ruin her mood.

´Malou.´

Joseph freed his hand. He cleared his throat.

Malou wouldn't have been surprised had a violin player stepped from behind a tree to play something dramatic. She reached into her bag to play her trump-card.

´The baby is growing according to schedule,´ she said, handing him a picture.

OoOoOoO

Joseph felt the tension as he entered the mansion. Since his arrival the previous evening it had been clear to him that his relatives knew about Malou. Judging from the way they eyed him now they didn't doubt whom he had gone to see this morning.

Adella run toward her uncle and jumped in his arms.

´You look handsome uncle Joseph,´ she said.

´And you look lovely my lady,´ Joseph replied. His mind was in turmoil but somehow he registered that his little niece would grow to be the spitting image of his mother. To prevent the others from questioning him he praised Adella's beautiful dress and the way her hair had been arranged.

Adella touched the fabric of her uncle's morning coat. When she took out his silk pocket square something fell on the floor.

Nadine picked it up. She stared at it wide-eyed and for a moment she hesitated. Should she pretend not to have seen it? But perhaps her normally confident brother-in-law was nervous to announce his news?

´Oh Joseph!´ she exclaimed. Before Joseph could ask her to return the picture Nadine had handed it to Luis who was standing near her.

´You old fox you!´ Luis said, passing the picture to Fernando.

Nadine took over her daughter and kissed Joseph's cheek. Luis gave his brother a bear hug.

One after the other Romero congratulated him. They talked about Elena's and Carlos's plans to let him know that he was most welcome in their midst. They took his grave face and his silence for suppressed emotion.

OoOoOoO

The wedding was in full swing.

Pilar, on her way to the dance floor, spotted Malou. They had not yet had the chance to talk and she walked toward her. Malou was listening to Raquel's brothers but she only had eyes for Joseph who was part of another group of guests. Pilar whispered in her friend's ear: ´Morning dress looks good on him, doesn't it?´

Malou nodded. She had a hard time enjoying the wedding.

´He showed us the echo picture,´ Pilar continued, for that was how she remembered it, ´We're all so happy for the two of you Malou.´

With a kiss on her friend's cheek she left to disco with Andreo, leaving a confused but hopeful maid of honour.

When Malou had gathered the courage to go and see Joseph, he was gone.

OoOoOoO

In a toilet where the Bee Gees had gone silent, Joseph stared into a mirror. He saw a stranger.

He looked at the echo picture Malou had given him.

´Dios mio,´ he whispered. He blinked away his tears and bent his head.

´Forgive me. Forgive me.´