“Alejandro,” he said, “is not the biological father.

He is not related to that child at all.”

Chapter 13 — Four-Hour Leave

Two days later, my physician cleared me for a four-hour leave from the step-down unit.

He objected at first, as he should have, and relented only when I promised him faithfully that I would not exert myself — that I would sit in a chair, and let other people do the talking, and attend nothing more strenuous than a legal disclosure.

It was, technically, the truth.