Flickering Memories

Chapter 44

"What do you want, Victor?" I asked coldly.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking, Copter, how about you?" He sounded just like Emily, still trying to maintain the formalities shamelessly.

"Let's do away with the hypocritical greetings and just cut to the chase," I said, maintaining the coldness in my voice.

"Copter, I know that Emily has contacted you to claim that you have a son by her," he said, "but she's doing it to spite me because we had a fight recently and I know that she's trying to pass off my son as yours."

The claim of Victor that the cute little boy I had in my phone was his and not mine suddenly put me into a competitive mood.

"How do you account for the dimples which I have and you don't?" I challenged him.

"I do have dimples myself, Copter," he said, "just not a prominent as yours. You were just not observant enough. Dimples run in my family, Copter. My mom has the deepest dimples and that's where my son must have inherited it."

"I will insist on a DNA test just in case he's mine," I told Victor coldly, and cut his call.

I could no longer stand talking to him. He was no longer my buddy.

"That was the guy with whom Emily cheated on me," I informed P'Kim.

P'Kim did not respond to that but continued looking down at his whiskey glass without drinking from it.

"His name is Victor and he is claiming that the little boy is his and not mine," I continued.

That made him look at me.

"Don't take his word for it," he said, "let's do a DNA test and settle the paternity issue once and for all."

"I agree," I said.

In the next few days, I tried to focus on my hospital work while P'Kim used his community influence to ensure that Emily and Victor cooperated with the court order to have a DNA test performed on the little boy that Emily claimed was mine but whom Victor was claiming was his.

To Nurse Juliet's eternal credit, she was very professional throughout the shifts that she had to work with me. Never did she mention about Saturday night's embarrassing incident.

By Thursday morning, I informed Dr. V that I would not be able to come in to work due to a personal emergency. Dr. V told me not to worry. He was going to assign another doctor to take my shift until I was able to come back to work.

P"Kim wanted to accompany me to the DNA clinic but I told him it was best that I went by myself.

When I arrived at the DNA clinic both Emily and Victor were already there, with Victor carrying the cute little boy in his arms.

Shit, they looked like a tightly knit family. The little boy had its chubby little arm curled around his father's neck. Wait, I cannot yet assume that he is Victor's son until the DNA tests have been performed and the results are out.

As soon as I arrived, I went straight to the receptionist desk.

"Yes, we have been waiting for you," the receptionist informed me after I gave her my name.

We were all ushered through a door that led into a small hallway flanked on either side by small doors.

The receptionist let us in through one of them where we waited for a few minutes before the medical technician came in with the materials needed to perform the test.

She swabbed our inner cheeks individually.

The little boy protested a little when she tried to take the swab out of its mouth. He probably thought it was something to eat and didn't want to let go.

"We will send you a letter informing you of the results," the technician informed me and Victor.

I left the clinic without looking at Emily and Victor and without saying a word to any one of them.

I could not resist patting the little boy on its head. When he looked up at me, my heart sank. He had the eyes of Victor and now his dimples could be accounted for. 

I called P'Kim even as I was walking out of the clinic.

"We will be informed of the DNA results in about a week through a letter," I told him, "but don't get your hopes up. I am 99.9% sure that the boy is not mine."

"Shit."  I heard P'Kim mutter under his breath before cutting the call.

Did he really want to have a child that much? I could picture him as a loving, caring father.