Four cotton swabs
The doctor’s office, which the couple had visited many times, felt like a place they had never been before, and the unusual purpose of the DNA test was making them both terribly nervous. The doctor took out a cotton swab and took turns rubbing the inside of the couple’s cheeks. He then rubbed the inside of the twins’ mouths in the same manner, placing each in a container labeled with their names. Emily looked at the container as if in prayer. Four swabs, that’s all it took for the family’s future to be at stake.
