\n\n\n\nShe was one of those women who carried herself with a certain authority that made you straighten your back and rethink your words. This had become more pronounced when Jeremy, her husband, passed away a few years ago, allowing Denise to reclaim her role as head librarian of the local library.\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy shouldn\u2019t I?\u201d she asked Andrew, my husband, one day. \u201cI have time now, so there\u2019s no need to just have my part-time role there. And I can have my book club meetings at the library, too.\u201d\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay, Mom,\u201d Andrew said. \u201cYou do whatever you want.\u201d\n\n\n\n She wasn\u2019t mean, exactly, but Denise had a way of making you feel small without even trying. But still, she lived two roads away and was always willing to babysit Leo whenever I had a shift at the hospital, and considering Andrew\u2019s unpredictable hours at the law firm, Denise usually had to step in often.\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s what grandmothers are for, right, Zoe?\u201d she would say whenever I asked her to come over.\n\n\n\n And despite how her moods could shift without a moment\u2019s notice, she was reliable and didn\u2019t complain about it once.\n\n\n\n But lately, Leo had been acting strange whenever Denise came over. At first, it was small things. He would cling to my leg a little longer than usual when I tried to leave or hide behind the couch when he heard her car pull up in the driveway.\n\n\n\n I thought that my son was just going through a phase, or maybe even a bit of separation anxiety. I had seen it all the time with the kids in my ward, especially when they woke up and their parents weren\u2019t in sight.\n\n\n\n But then, last week, right before I was about to leave for a night shift, he started crying.\n\n\n\n An upset little boy | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t want Grandma to stay with me!\u201d he blurted.\n\n\n\n Big, fat tears rolled down his cheeks, and he clutched my scrub with a grip that seemed stronger than a grown man\u2019s.\n\n\n\n I knelt beside him, brushing a lock of his blonde hair from his forehead.\n\n\n\n A concerned woman | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cBut why, sweetheart?\u201d I asked gently. \u201cGrandma loves you. And she always brings you treats. Remember the brownies and ice cream from last week?\u201d\n\n\n\n My son\u2019s eyes darted to the doorway as if expecting her to walk in at any moment.\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause\u2026 Grandma acts strange,\u201d he said, his eyes wide.\n\n\n\n I was about to press him further because I needed to know what was going on. But moments later, Denise\u2019s familiar, clipped footsteps echoed down the hallway. Leo bolted off to his room.\n\n\n\n An upset little boy | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d Denise asked as she set her purse down on the hallway table. \u201cWhere\u2019s my grandbaby?\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cNothing,\u201d I said quickly. \u201cHe ran to his room to play with his toys. Andrew is away for the next two days. He\u2019s meeting with a client and running through a case.\u201d\n\n\n\n Denise nodded.\n\n\n\n A little boy running down the hallway | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n I left for work, but I couldn\u2019t shake the feeling of unease that settled in my stomach. I spent the entire night running between patients and thinking about Leo\u2019s words.\n\n\n\n \u201cGrandma acts strange.\u201d\n\n\n\n What did that even mean to a four-year-old?\n\n\n\n When I got home the next morning, I found my son sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the TV. His favorite cartoons were playing, but he wasn\u2019t watching them. Instead, his eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying all night.\n\n\n\n An upset little boy sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cLeo?\u201d I said slowly. \u201cDid you sleep at all?\u201d\n\n\n\n He shook his head.\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, Mommy,\u201d he said. \u201cI stayed up. I didn\u2019t want to sleep.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy not?\u201d I asked, even though I could already feel my heart sinking.\n\n\n\n I pulled one of the blankets under the coffee table and wrapped Leo in it, hoping if he felt safer, he would talk.\n\n\n\n A woman wrapping her son in a blanket | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause Grandma scares me,\u201d he said, his hands clutching his teddy bear tightly.\n\n\n\n I felt a wave of panic wash over me.\n\n\n\n \u201cScares you? What happened, honey? What did Grandma say or do?\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cShe keeps trying to put something into my mouth,\u201d he said. \u201cShe chases me with it, and it\u2019s scary.\u201d\n\n\n\n An upset little boy | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is she trying to put into your mouth, sweetheart?\u201d I asked, my voice tight as I strained to show my emotions.\n\n\n\n Leo hesitated.\n\n\n\n \u201cCotton buds,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know, what you clean my ears with? She said that she wants to put my spit in the tube. I don\u2019t like it. I don\u2019t want it.\u201d\n\n\n\n A jar of cotton buds | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n My blood ran cold. Ever since Leo\u2019s accident a few months ago, where he fell off his bike and landed himself with a broken arm, he\u2019s been terrified of doctors, needles, and anything that reminded him of his time in the hospital.\n\n\n\n The thought of Denise running around the house with a cotton swab and a test tube made my blood boil. Why was she trying to get my son to take a DNA test?\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere\u2019s Grandma?\u201d I asked Leo.\n\n\n\n A close up of a little boy | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the guest room,\u201d he said.\n\n\n\n I marched to the guest room and found Denise sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the screaming match that was about to come. Without hesitation, I shook her awake.\n\n\n\n \u201cWake up, we need to talk,\u201d I said.\n\n\n\n A sleeping woman | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d she asked, blinking away her sleep.\n\n\n\n \u201cLeo just told me that you\u2019ve been trying to swab his mouth for a test? Why are you traumatizing my son? Why do you want him to have a DNA test?\u201d I demanded.\n\n\n\n Her eyes widened, and for a moment, she looked like she was going to deny it.\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she said, sitting up. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to frighten Leo. I\u2019ve just been wondering about something\u2026\u201d\n\n\n\n A home DNA kit on a counter | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat? What would possibly be so important that you\u2019d do this behind my back?\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cHis hair,\u201d she said simply. \u201cNobody has had blonde hair like that.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cYou think that my son isn\u2019t Andrew\u2019s because of his hair color?\u201d I asked.\n\n\n\n \u201cI know it sounds crazy, but it\u2019s been gnawing at me. I just needed to know, but I didn\u2019t want to accuse you\u2026\u201d\n\n\n\n A newborn baby | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe that you would go to such lengths, Denise.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know what to think. I\u2019m sorry, Zoe,\u201d she said.\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease leave, Denise,\u201d I said. \u201cI need time to process this. And I need to focus on Leo.\u201d\n\n\n\n She nodded, looking defeated.\n\n\n\n A close up of an older woman | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Over the next week, things were tense between Andrew and me. While she drove home on the day of the confrontation, she had phoned Andrew and told him everything, firmly securing some seeds of doubt.\n\n\n\n \u201cI think we should do the test,\u201d he quietly said one day, not meeting my eyes.\n\n\n\n I stared at him, hurt.\n\n\n\n \u201cYou really think that\u2019s necessary? You believe what your mother is implying?\u201d\n\n\n\n A couple sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that I believe it,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if we do the test, we can put this all to rest. No more doubts, no more accusations. What if Leo was switched at birth?\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cI had a home birth!\u201d I exclaimed. \u201cYou would have remembered if you were here and not in court.\u201d\n\n\n\n I sighed.\n\n\n\n \u201cAlright,\u201d I said after a moment. \u201cI\u2019ll do the test for Leo, but on one condition.\u201d\n\n\n\n A close up of a frowning woman | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat condition?\u201d he asked.\n\n\n\n \u201cIf I\u2019m going to do this to prove our son is yours, then you\u2019re going to do a test too. To prove that your father is really your father. Denise needs to know what this feels like.\u201d\n\n\n\n Andrew\u2019s eyes widened, shock registering on his face from my request. \u201cWhat? Why would you even suggest that?\u201d\n\n\n\n I could feel his brain overthinking it, but I also knew that he was trying to view the situation from my point of view.\n\n\n\n I leaned forward, my voice firm, \u201cBecause your mother is the one who\u2019s throwing accusations around. If she\u2019s so obsessed with bloodlines, then maybe she should be sure of her own. So, if you want me to take a test, then you\u2019re going to take one too.\u201d\n\n\n\n A close up of a man | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Andrew hesitated, clearly taken aback by my demand. But after a moment, he nodded. \u201cOkay. If that\u2019s what it takes, I\u2019ll do it.\u201d\n\n\n\n A few days later, the test results came back. As expected, the test confirmed that Leo was indeed Andrew\u2019s son.\n\n\n\n But there was also another revelation that nobody saw coming.\n\n\n\n It turned out that the test results for Andrew showed that his biological father wasn\u2019t the man he had called Dad his entire life.\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat the hell, Zoe?\u201d he said out loud.\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a conversation for you and your mother,\u201d I said offhandedly.\n\n\n\n A close up of a shocked couple | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n As much as I wanted to know the truth and to know about Leo\u2019s biological grandfather, I didn\u2019t want to get caught up in Denise\u2019s drama any further. No, thank you. I had a son to focus on. And there was just something about how Denise acted that I wasn\u2019t going to forgive soon.\n\n\n\n But eventually, my curiosity gave in and I asked Andrew about his conversation with his mother. It turned out that she had an affair in her youth, resulting in Andrew.\n\n\n\n \u201cShe said that she had always suspected it, but she didn\u2019t dare do a DNA test while my father was alive. Just imagine, I\u2019ve gone my entire life thinking that my father was just that, my father. But he wasn\u2019t, not biologically. I can\u2019t forgive her, Zoe.\u201d\n\n\n\n An upset man | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n My heart broke for him.\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, what does this mean?\u201d I asked.\n\n\n\n \u201cIt means that we take our time and space away from my mother. And we focus on our son. She\u2019s the one who betrayed our family. Not us,\u201d he said.\n\n\n\n I nodded, ready to move on and focus on our family.\n\n\n\n Apparently, Denise\u2019s guilt had eaten away at her for decades, leading her to project her insecurities onto me and our son.\n\n\n\n A smiling mother and son duo | Source: Midjourney\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Working as a nurse, Zoe often relied on her mother-in-law, Denise, to babysit Leo, her son. 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