Finally Cristi felt more at peace. He told Diana the truth about that final time, suggested a test as well, and she agreed. Their doctor ran all the tests again to make sure she could carry the pregnancy to term. When they had met, Diana had had serious health problems. She had been anorexic and had not fully recovered. Because of that, her health was monitored regularly—and now, with the pregnancy, it was checked twice as often.
Samples were also taken for the paternity test, and Cristi was asked to bring an additional DNA sample from Bogdan. A strand of hair, a toothbrush—something, anything. Both of them had to be tested to determine which one was actually the father of Diana's child. He couldn't wait for the result, so once he got home, he replaced their toothbrushes with new ones. He placed Bogdan's toothbrush carefully into a bag given to him by the doctor, a ziplock one like those forensic teams use for evidence. That same day, he returned to the clinic and handed over the sample to the lab so it could be sent for test.
Every day, his routine was the same: in the morning he picked Maya up from home, they went to the university, he stayed until she finished working on her project, then took her back home, then he would go home himself, where he often isolated himself in his room. It was the ideal place for him to spend his days. Ever since he had told Diana everything, he did everything he could to avoid being around her.
His mother always made sure to bring food and wafer biscuits to his room (wafer biscuits had been his favorite ever since he was little). Once, Diana came—supposedly to ask whether he needed anything from the grocery store. But she didn't leave when she found out Cristi didn't need absolutely anything. He heard her approaching the bed; he could feel her watching him.
He was lying halfway across the bed, on his back, with his left arm bent and resting over his eyes. He felt the mattress sink under her weight and jumped as if burned. Now he was sitting upright, staring at her. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking back at him.
-Cristi, listen…
-I don't want to know.
-But it's important.
-Fine, then say it. Say it.
-I was shocked to learn everything I've learned. What you feel for me, what you did in order to be with me… and honestly, I'm truly sorry for this whole mess. Not because we were together, but because now you're left with doubt. I know I wasn't fair to either of you, but all I can do is hope that everything will be forgotten. In time. The child isn't guilty of anything. He doesn't know…
She wanted to continue, but Cristi interrupted her.
-Diana, never think that I would treat your child badly. Even if it turns out he's my brother's, I'll treat him as if he were my own. Because he's yours. And because I love you. It doesn't matter whether you'll be with Bogdan or with me. I will always take care of you and the child you're carrying. You can be sure of that.
Diana's eyes filled with tears, and she let the hot drops wash over her cheeks. It was hard. She had in front of her the boy she loved, but couldn't have. She too was waiting, just like Cristi, holding her breath. She flinched every time she heard Cristi's phone ring. She waited and hoped to receive the answer that would bring her life back onto the path she dreamed of.
She stood up from the bed and headed for the door. Before grabbing the cold handle, she turned back to Cristi.
-What will you do if it's yours?
Cristi answered without hesitation. It was, in fact, all that had been on his mind in recent days—how he would react if it turned out he was the father. And once the question was spoken, his answer came simply. Five words were enough to melt Diana's heart:
-I will be the happiest.
Diana swallowed hard and left, leaving Cristi behind in complete silence, watching her as she closed the door behind.
Two months later, Cristi was at the clinic, holding the envelope he had received from the doctor. Two months, he thought to himself. The results that were supposed to arrive within a maximum of twenty working days had reached him only after forty. The doctor apologized for the delay, explaining that the samples had been "misplaced."
The winter holidays had passed; it was exam session. He had kept the promise he made to himself—to attend university in Bogdan's place. He had one exam left to finish the semester. And there he was, overwhelmed by stress, standing in the clinic hallway and staring at the envelope that would bring him either happiness or eternal suffering.
Over the past two months he had waited, hoped, cursed, cried, even said prayers—he never prays. He kept waiting for the call telling him to come to the clinic for the results. He hoped that by Christmas he would know whether or not he was going to have a child. He had even given Diana a pair of yellow baby booties, because at the time they didn't yet know the baby's sex, and he thought something neutral would be best.
But the truth was that genetically, the baby would be their baby. Being identical twins, means they share the same markers.The complex test the lab had to make in order to determine the paternity in twins cases, took much longer than that.
Lately, he had been imagining his life the way it should be. He could see everything: a two-story villa in the same neighborhood as his parents' house, a neatly trimmed lawn, a swing on the back veranda, tricycles and a trampoline in the inner yard. Diana waiting for him inside with freshly cooked food, the smell of roast meat, and children pouncing on him the moment he stepped through the door.
And now he was finally about to find out.
With trembling hands, he opened the envelope and pulled out the two sheets of paper inside. He positioned them so he could see both at once. And after reading the result, he fell to his knees. Sick people, doctors, and nurses passed by him, and he just stayed there, on his knees, his cheeks wet with tears that refused to stop flowing.