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“Oh. Sorry.”
He didn’t remark on the fact that they’d both experienced a loss, so she didn’t bring it up, either. Since there was more to her story than she’d revealed, she figured he’d skipped a few chapters, as well.
Her daughter saved her from having to say more by wiggling in her lap and starting to fuss. Unlike the infant Asher held, Luna wasn’t a fan of sitting still and watching grown-ups talk. Willow hoped the pacifier from her bag would at least comfort her for a while.
Anne planted her elbows on her desk and clasped her hands together, drawing their attention back to her.
“Okay, here’s why I called you in today. We’ve received an anonymous call from the concerned friend of a hospital volunteer. That volunteer was worried that she accidentally switched two newborn female infants on November 2. She couldn’t stop thinking about it, but she was too afraid to speak up. Her friend reported it instead.”
“Did you say ‘anonymous’?” Willow blurted. Could it have been related to an unsigned letter she’d received the week before at the day-care center?
“How could that have happened?”
Willow blinked as the man seated next to her posed the question she should have been asking. That threatening note back at the office probably had nothing to do with this matter, and it certainly wasn’t as critical.
“And why was a volunteer even in there?” she asked. “Why would someone not even on staff have the opportunity to make a mistake like that?”
Anne opened her mouth to answer, but Asher didn’t give her the chance.
“Doesn’t this hospital have safeguards to prevent that? At least by now?”
His last comment made no sense to Willow, but she nodded anyway.
She pointed to her bare wrist. “Yeah, those bracelets that the nurse assistant checks every time she rolls a bassinet into a patient’s room should have prevented something like this.”
Anne cleared her throat, her gaze sliding to Asher before she addressed them both. “No, volunteers shouldn’t have been involved in those critical moments. And, yes, there were safeguards in place. But there were extenuating circumstances on that November day when both of your infants were born.”
“What were those?”
Asher’s voice was tight, as if he was trying to control his frustration.
“First, we were understaffed that night. Flu season hit early. Second, it was a full moon, so all the birthing rooms were occupied.”
Willow leaned forward, startling her daughter, who’d just nodded off. “You’re going to blame this on a ‘full moon’? Isn’t that an old wives’ tale anyway?”
“Ask any labor and delivery nurse, and he or she will tell you it’s not.” Anne smiled and then shook her head. “But, no, I’m not going to blame the situation on anything. I just wanted you to know how something like this could have happened this time.”
Willow nodded and gestured with a circular motion for her to continue.
“There were five infants born on that night shift, all between 2100 and 0000. That’s between nine and midnight. The nurses, volunteers and even the on-call obstetrician were quickly moving back and forth among the rooms.”
Asher straightened and shifted his contented infant higher on his thigh. “If there were five babies, why are we the only ones sitting here?”
Anne held her hands wide. “The caller said the possible switch was between two female infants. The other three born that night were males.”
Willow blinked several times, a memory popping into her thoughts. “It’s also because Luna went into distress and had to be delivered with forceps, isn’t it? She was rushed from the room right after delivery to be examined.”
“Harper had the cord around her neck,” Asher said. “So, same situation. Rushed from the birthing room. It’s still no excuse. Never was.”
“You’re right,” Anne said. “But at least we can see how a volunteer could have been called into service and how a rushed mistake could have been made when snapping on the bracelets, right?”
Willow shrugged, and Asher did the same.
When neither spoke, Anne continued with her explanation.
“We’re going to clear up these questions quickly. We’ll be conducting legally admissible maternity and paternity DNA tests, free of charge. The tests will compare twenty of your genetic markers to those of both infants and determine the probability that either of you could be a parent of either child.”
The woman’s words sounded more like a lecture in Willow’s college biology class than any real-life situation involving her and Luna.
