He had told Beatrice that Elena’s initial workup looked difficult.

He had also mentioned, he admitted, that Alex’s own numbers were questionable, that the problem was very likely shared.

But Beatrice had begged him, explicitly, not to tell Alex that part.

“Why?” Elena asked, her chest aching with the effort of staying calm.

The doctor removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, an old man confronting an old sin.

“Alex’s father had suffered from a similar issue, early in his own life,” he said.

“Beatrice was terrified that Alex would feel emasculated, that he would believe the failure was his and be destroyed by it.