Mum said the son isn’t mine
“I want to do a DNA test!”
John stood in the doorway, his stern expression making it clear he wasn’t joking.
Mary was washing the dishes at the time and thought maybe she had misheard over the sound of the running water. So, turning off the tap, she asked her husband again.
“What did you say?”
“I want to have a DNA test done for our child.”
“Why?” Mary asked, drying her hands.
“Because I think our son isn’t mine.”
This was unexpected news… Their son, Thomas, was already four years old. Sure, you couldn’t label John as the father of the year, but he’s always been warm towards his son. He spent time with him, bought him toys, and even stayed alone with him some evenings when Mary had to step out.
In all that time, he’d never hinted at doubting his paternity. He had no reason to. Mary and John had married six years ago, and a year later, she found out she was pregnant.
They were happy during that year, and Mary definitely had no one else at the time. So, what was going on?
“Can I ask why you’ve decided this?” Mary pressed.
John smirked and then glared at his wife suspiciously.
“There! You’re already trying to talk me out of it! If your conscience were clear, you’d have nothing to fear!”
This all seemed like nonsense. Mary and John weren’t madly in love, but Mary figured love was mostly a fairy tale. If you’re good with someone, respect each other, and stay faithful, isn’t that what love is?
Yet never had her husband demeaned her like this during their marriage. They had mutual respect and trust, and now he was openly accusing her!
“I’m not trying to dissuade you,” Mary replied as calmly as she could. “I just find it curious that four years after Thomas’s birth you suddenly began to think he isn’t yours.”
“He doesn’t even look like me!” John presented what he believed was undeniable evidence. “I have blonde hair, and everyone in my family does, but Thomas has dark hair and brown eyes!”
“What about the fact that I have dark hair and brown eyes?” Mary pointed out. “He’s the spitting image of my dad, and you see that!”
“I don’t see it,” John quickly countered, even though he’d remarked just six months ago how Thomas resembled his granddad. “But I do see how much he resembles your colleague!”
“Which one?” Mary asked, amused.
“Which one, which one?” her husband mocked. “That Martin guy!”
Mary couldn’t help but chuckle. Before her pregnancy, she worked in a furniture store as a manager, and there was a stockman named Martin. As it happens, Thomas didn’t resemble him at all, aside from having dark hair.
“John, this is ridiculous,” Mary shook her head. “You know very well I’ve never cheated on you!”
“Mum and my sister said you’d deny it. In any case, whether you like it or not, I’m doing the test!”
Oh, so that’s it… Everything made sense now.
Mary was the kind of person who got along with everyone. She was kind, easygoing, and always ready to lend a helping hand. But she also had a firm backbone, preventing others from taking advantage of her. If something bothered her, she’d voice it. She was never one to flatter.
The relationship with her mother-in-law didn’t go smoothly from the start. Initially, John’s mum seemed pleasant. She always set the table when they visited, showered Mary with compliments, and frequently mentioned how lucky her son was to have such a smart and beautiful wife. Mary felt fortunate to have such a charming mother-in-law, considering many others had nightmare stories about theirs.
But it wasn’t long before Mary discovered that behind her friendly demeanor, her mother-in-law spoke poorly of her – calling her dumb, a bad homemaker, and worse. It was particularly painful because Mary was objectively quite attractive.
Naturally, Mary didn’t ignore this. During their next visit, she laid everything out and advised her mother-in-law to make up her mind about her.
That’s when the woman’s true nature emerged. Yet Mary resolved the matter easily by cutting off contact. John continued visiting, taking their son along, but Mary stopped inviting her to their home.
John’s sister was much like her mother – fond of gossip and quick to criticize everyone. She always found others at fault: her husband leaving her (he’d discovered her infidelity), her job loss (caught stealing), and her electricity being shut off (six months of unpaid bills). Initially, Mary tried to find common ground with her, but couldn’t bring herself to silently endure her complaints or agree with her blindly – honesty mattered more to her, even if it wasn’t welcome.
Now it turned out that John’s beloved mum and sister had influenced him. They likely had been filling his head with nonsense long enough to achieve their goal.
Mary decided to give John a chance to reconsider. She sat at the table and invited her husband to join her.
“John, you know your family doesn’t like me much. They’ve put these ridiculous ideas in your head that could break up our marriage.”
“If there’s nothing to hide,” her husband said, ignoring her words, “then we’ll do the test.”
“Fine,” Mary surrendered. “We’ll do it. But there’s one condition.”
“What’s that?” John smirked.
“When the test shows the child is yours (and it will), you’ll pack your things and move in with your mum. We’ll get a divorce.”
“What’s brought this on?” John frowned.
“I won’t live with a man who doesn’t trust me when there’s no reason for it. If your mother’s opinion means more to you, go right ahead! But if you use your own head, you’d know I’d never betray you.”
John pondered. Mary hoped her husband would come to his senses and stop this nonsense. But it seemed they’d done a good job of brainwashing him, as a couple of minutes later, John stated, “We’re doing the test. End of discussion.”
“Alright,” Mary nodded.
Perhaps John was convinced the boy wasn’t his, or maybe he simply didn’t take his wife’s words seriously. The next day, samples were collected from both John and Thomas.
The test took a week. During that week, John and Mary didn’t speak, and she observed John’s coldness towards their son.
Mary found herself eagerly awaiting the test results, ready to confront her husband with them. She’d firmly made up her mind – if it were John himself who started suspecting her, she might have considered it differently. But things were fine between them until he listened to his mother. What if his mother thought up something else just to drive them apart and tarnish her daughter-in-law’s reputation? Mary wouldn’t tolerate it.
When the result arrived in her email, Mary called John over. She opened the result without looking at it, already knowing the outcome. She simply turned the screen towards her husband.
He examined it intently, and then he smiled.
“Turns out Thomas is mine! Whew, that’s a weight off my shoulders! We should celebrate!”
“Certainly, we should,” Mary agreed. “But not for your paternity – we knew that when I got pregnant. Let’s celebrate our divorce.”
“What divorce?” John frowned. “Mary, are you serious? Yes, I had doubts! Do you know how many men raise children that aren’t theirs?”
“I don’t know, nor do I care,” Mary cut him off. “But I do know I won’t live with someone who doesn’t think for themselves. Someone who’s ready to hurt a loved one just because someone else said something. Someone who avoided his son for a week just because he made up some story. You need to leave, John.”
John tried for a long time to save the marriage. He even apologized and promised not to listen to his family again.
But Mary was resolute. It seemed like a small matter, yet it revealed the true nature of the man she’d lived with and had a child with.
Mary couldn’t help but feel for whoever might end up with John in the future. They’d likely face challenges too, given the nasty tongues of his family. But perhaps he’d learned something from this and would make wiser choices in the future. Though, probably not. People don’t change easily.
