The testing was scheduled for Monday of the new week. I left for the hospital with Finn at exactly 8 AM, after I’d taken permission from his teacher. We waited till ten for Max, which didn’t surprise me one bit. I knew he could’ve gotten here sooner, but didn’t want to make small talk with me or Finn. He still couldn’t face us.
As I scanned the half-filled waiting room, my heart pounding wildly in my chest, I wondered if there was a woman like me among these people. One who’d kept the news of a child away from the father for two, probably three years, and now she told him, he wanted a paternity test also. God, I would never wish that sort of fate even for my enemy. The only thing that kept me afloat was the little man beside me. He was so engrossed in the book he was reading to be aware of his surroundings, or the gravity of the situation that brought us here.
My eyes flicked over to the door, locking with Max’s familiar cerulean blue ones. I had no idea how long he’d been standing there, watching us. My heart pounded faster as he made his way over and plopped down on the empty seat beside me. “Hey,” he mumbled coldly, barely sparing me a glance.
“Hello,” I muttered shakily, turning to Finn. “Finn, love. Say hi to Uncle Max.”
Finn glanced up from his book, his chubby cheeks pulling up into a wide smile. “Hi, Uncle.”
Pain crossed Max’s face as he sighed, then forced a smile to his face. “Hello, Finn. How are you doing today?”
“Fine.”
That was all there was to it. He turned away and buried his face in his hand, tapping his foot idly, his fingers shaky.
He was nervous.
I whipped out my phone and began scrolling through my social media trying not to care about how hard this was for him. Finn plopped his book over my screen, pointing at a word he wanted me to explain to him. I felt Max’s heated gaze on us as I explained. A tall, dark-skinned doctor walked in, swiveling around, his eyes searching the small crowd. “Mr. Max Sturm?”
Max raised a hand. “Here, Doc,” he stood up, his eyes flickering to me to do the same too. The doctor strode over to us and shook hands with him. “Doctor Jenkins, this is Elaine,” he introduced.
“Good morning, Doc,” I tried my best to put on my most genuine smile as I gestured to Finn. “This is Finn. My son.”
He beamed. “Hey, there, Finn. What book are you reading?”
Finn looked up at him with a toothy grin. “It’s Peter Pan. He doesn’t grow old, and remains a young boy forever.”
“Ah, yes. Peter Pan,” Jenkins chuckled, motioning toward the door. “Come on, now. Let’s head to my office.”
It was quite an awkward moment as we all trudged after him, into his basic, spacious office. There was a huge picture of a skeleton in a corner. Finn clambered onto my lap and pointed at it in wonder. “Is it real, Uncle Max?”
Max nodded with a smirk. “It’s a skeleton drawing. You have a real one in you.”
“Oh,” Finn gaped at him, not at all understanding anything.
“Okay, so we’re here today for DNA paternity testing, right?”
“Yes, Doc,” Max said quickly.
“We would need some hair and saliva samples from the both of you, then we’ll run it in a computer at our lab.”
“How long does it take before the results are out, Doc?” Max asked.
“A few hours. Or less. It’ll be emailed to both of you before evening.”
Max exhaled, running a hand through his hair. He was visibly uncomfortable, which was not my business. I wasn’t the one trying to be a blind Thomas here. If he wanted to disregard his resemblance with Finn and go through this ordeal, who was I to object?
Jenkins pulled out a swab from a white container underneath his table and handed it over to him. “It’s simple. Brush it around the inside of your mouth.”
Max nodded, taking the swab from him. Jenkins turned to Finn. “Finn, my boy. Watch what your uncle is doing so you’ll do the same after.”
“Okay, Sir,” Finn mumbled, his brows knitting together in concentration as Max rubbed the swab around the inside of his mouth and handed it over to Jenkins.
“Good boy,” Jenkins said in praise, passing me the swab. “Now, it’s your turn.”
Finn hesitated, averting his eyes from me. “Mommy?”
“It’s alright, Finn,” Max assured him. “Just open your mouth and let Mommy do it for you. It’ll be over before you know it.”
I snorted, eyeing Max derisively. Shut up and don’t tell my son what to do.
You’re better than this, Elaine, a small voice chided me. That’d be hard.
Finn opened his mouth obediently, his eyes fixed on me the whole time. It was getting harder to hold back my tears. The test would change his life in so many ways.
I swiped the swab around his mouth and handed it over, watching as Jenkins bagged them in a plastic, transparent bag. “Now, the hair. Just a little snip from the both of you,” he pulled out a pair of scissors from his wardrobe again and stood up, coming around the table to halt in front of Max and cut off a few strands. He did the same to Finn and went back to his seat.
Max sighed, supporting his jaw with his hand. “Are you absolutely certain, Doc, that this testing will be accurate?”
“It’s not a debate. If it’s over 95% then it’s a positive match, which means he’s your biological son. If it’s over 80% then it means it’s a family match, perhaps to a relative, not you. That’ll require even further testing as it’s complicated.”
I nodded along, trying so hard to sit still.
Jenkins’gaze sifted between both of us. “Is there a chance that he’s a relative’s child? Like a brother or cousin?”
“That’s absurd,” Max snapped, annoyed by the offensive insinuation. I shook my head as well.
“I’m certain that it’s a positive match, Doc. Really certain,” I said, turning my eyes to Max who was staring at Finn silently, his forehead creased.
Jenkins shrugged. “If you’re sure, then it’s fine. That’ll be all, then. Expect an email approximately three hours from now.”
Max stood up, and I forced myself to look up at him. He patted Finn’s back. “See you later, boy,” he headed for the door without even nodding at me. Tears filled my eyes instantly and I cleaned them off with the hem of my shirt, glancing back at the doctor. He squeezed my wrist in understanding.
“It’ll be alright. This is just temporary.”
I ruffled Finn’s hair, kissing his forehead gently. “I hope so.”
“Yeah. Mark my words, it will.”
Nodding, I scooted my chair back to stand, pulling Finn up with me as well. “Thank you once again for this. I’m grateful.”
He shook my hand warmly. “Don’t mention.”