These Kids Aren’t All-Seeing Because Mom Is Not All-Knowing

This was a while ago, so I don’t remember all the details of the conversation. A woman walks in with her preschool-aged identical twins.

Me: “How can I help you today?”

Mom: “I got my daughters’ glasses last week, and [Twin #1] can see fine, but [Twin #2] says it hasn’t gotten any better.”

Me: “I’m sorry to hear that. We typically don’t allow returns, but it is possible that someone made a mistake while making the glasses. Do you have a copy of the prescription? I can check the glasses against it.”

The mom hands me a copy of the prescription.

Me: “This is [Twin #1]’s prescription. Did you say it was [Twin #1] who was having the problem? I thought I heard another name so I just wanted to be sure.”

Mom: “No, it’s [Twin #2] whose glasses don’t work. I mean, they’re identical, though, so to save money, we just got [Twin #1]’s eyes tested and then got two pairs based on that prescription. Then last week, when we went to get the glasses, [Twin #2] had a fever, so we just got the frames adjusted for [Twin #1].

Me: “…Just because they’re identical twins doesn’t mean everything is identical. Eyesight is often environmental.”

Mom: “But they’re identical!”

Me: “I think you ought to schedule another appointment for your other daughter.”

Mom: “It should work. They’re identical.”

Me: “…”

Mom: “I’ll check with my husband.”

She walked out muttering “but they’re identical,” and I never saw her or her kids again.