Page 25

NOW

August 2023

Lily

DNA Clinic, The Docklands, Dublin

Lily stood outside a tall office block on the quays in Dublin City. The afternoon sun flooded the cement pathway, reflecting on the chrome door of the DNA testing centre. Though they could have ordered an online test, but both had decided that going in person to a clinic felt safer and gave them more control.

‘Hey,’ Zach said as he approached her. He leaned in as if he were about to kiss her cheek, but Lily panicked and pulled back, almost tripping over her own feet. His kiss landed between her ear and the back of her head.

‘Sorry. Awkward,’ he apologised, his cheeks flushing pink.

‘No, I’m sorry,’ Lily quickly interjected, feeling bad for making him feel bad. ‘It’s that I’m not sure what the protocol is for greeting a client, who may or may not be my missing brother.’

‘I’ve heard a kiss on the ear is the preferred method of greeting. So nailed it,’ Zach said with a lopsided grin.

Lily smiled back. It felt less awkward all at once. ‘Will we go in and get this over with?’

Zach pulled open the double doors, and she walked before him.

They checked in with the receptionist, and within a few moments they were ushered down a hall into an office.

‘Come in – don’t be shy,’ a woman said, standing up to greet them both. Hands were shaken, and then Lily and Zach took a seat side by side.

‘I’m Ciara Shanahan, your technician for today. I see you are booked in for a family DNA test, to confirm if you are siblings. Any questions before we begin?’

Zach and Lily both leaned forward to speak. Zach gestured to Lily to go ahead.

‘Erm, I suppose I’d like to understand how accurate the results are?’ Lily asked.

‘Our DNA tests are conducted in a laboratory with a team of fully qualified scientists. Oh, and naturally we meet the ISO 17025 requirements for testing.’ Ciara smiled warmly, saying almost conspiratorially, ‘We’ve done over one million tests since we opened our doors in 2004. They are a hundred per cent accurate. You can trust us.’

Lily exhaled deeply. Ciara had managed to allay her concerns with her speech. She wondered how often she’d rattled that sale pattern off each day.

‘You believe you share the same mother, but your mother is not here?’ Ciara asked, glancing down at her notes.

‘Yes, that’s right. And, no, Mum isn’t here today. It’s just us two. Does that matter?’ Lily asked, her stomach lurching. Had they messed up by not bringing her mother with them? But that would have meant introducing Zach to her mum, and it was too early for that.

‘We do prefer the mother’s sample for the most conclusive result, but it’s not mandatory. We should be able to calculate a sibling DNA index with likelihood ratio with your samples.’ Again, Ciara flashed her most reassuring smile.

‘How long do the results take?’ Zach asked.

‘Five to seven working days,’ Ciara replied.

Lily shifted in her chair before asking, ‘And what if we need the results for legal purposes?’ Lily flushed as she felt Zach’s eyes on her, his body stiffening at the word ‘legal’.

‘We offer a legal test service. It’s slightly different than the family testing service. We can do both today if you like.’

Lily looked at Zach, who fidgeted uneasily in his seat.

‘Zach?’ Lily asked.

‘I’d prefer to do the family testing, and if we need the legal validation later on for any reason we can come back.’

‘Okay’ Lily said, although she didn’t agree. Zach was still in denial about the consequences of him being Robert, for his mother in particular. But he would have to catch up to that soon.

Ciara nodded solemnly, then scribbled a note on her pad. Lily guessed she’d seen all sorts of complex family dynamics in this room. Then she handed them a document and pen each.

‘You’ll need to fill in a form giving permission for us to use your DNA samples.’

They both took a few moments to fill in their details and sign their permission.

‘The test is straightforward. I’ll collect cheek cells from your mouth using the cotton swabs. Who’d like to go first?’ Ciara said, putting gloves on.

‘Ladies first,’ Zach said, nudging Lily with a cheeky grin.

‘Wimp!’ Lily teased back.

It took mere minutes for Ciara to collect the sample and place it in a sealed tube and bag. She pulled a label from the form that Lily had signed earlier, then repeated the process for Zach.

‘That’s you both all done. We’ll be in touch as soon as the results come in. We can send them by email or registered post. Or you can come into the office to collect them.’

‘I’d like to collect them together,’ Zach said. ‘I can’t imagine opening mine alone.’

Lily realised she felt the same way. Over the past half hour, she’d begun to feel more comfortable in Zach’s presence.

‘If they are positive, you’re buying lunch,’ she said.

‘If they’re positive, I reckon I owe you a couple of decades of birthday gifts,’ Zach replied, and they were back to grinning at each other like idiots again.

‘That’s nice,’ Ciara said in approval. ‘I think you have a look of each other, you know. I’m not meant to say that, but there’s something about your smiles . . .’

Lily caught Zach’s eye, then looked away, feeling shy. Because a new feeling had crept into her that felt a little like hope.

They returned to the reception, and Zach pulled out his credit card as Lily tapped her smartwatch to activate Apple Pay.

‘I’ve got this,’ Zach said.

‘Let’s split it,’ Lily countered.

‘It was me who brought this to your door, so I think it should be me,’ Zach further argued. His jaw was set, and Lily could see he wouldn’t change his mind. This was something else she’d noticed about him: he was a determined man who liked to get his way. A trait that he shared with her mum.

‘I’ll wait outside,’ Lily said, and she made her way out into the sunshine. She looked up at the blue sky and searched the clouds for a shape – a silly pastime she’d enjoyed ever since she was a little girl.

‘See anything?’ Zach asked, looking upwards when he joined her.

‘I always see things in the strangest of places. Which incidentally is called pareidolia, some useless information for you! The false perception of seeing faces and shapes in everyday objects. It used to be considered a sign of psychosis,’ Lily said in a dramatic voice, as her eyes moved to the left. Then she paused when her eyes rested on a large shape in the clouds – it had a round body, with a smaller head, and two long ears.

‘Can you see it?’ Lily asked in almost a whisper.

Zach’s hand reached out and lightly touched Lily’s arm. He gulped loudly, then said in his own whisper, ‘It’s a rabbit.’

‘Like the one you had as a baby,’ Lily replied tremulously.

‘It’s like the universe is sending us signs to confirm I am Robert . . .’

Then they turned to each other and embraced.