Actually, that’s not quite right. He doesn’t make me want to talk, but he makes me feel like he would understand anything I could tell him. And for someone who’s been keeping things to herself for so long, it feels enticing to share with someone who will listen. Especially someone who you will never see again in a few weeks.

In a split second, I make a decision.

“There’s something wrong with my brain,” I say. “Or at least, there will be.”

His frown deepens.

You can do this. Just get the words out.

I exhale sharply. “I carry the gene mutations for early familial Alzheimer’s disease.”

I don’t remember the last time I’ve said this sentence out loud. It feels strange, to hear it somewhere other than in my own head.

Aaron starts blinking quickly. “What…what does that mean?”

“It means I will develop Alzheimer’s at some point, and at an age younger than most patients. My grandfather had it, then my mother, and then my uncle. I’m next.”

His eyes are still round. “I didn’t know Alzheimer’s was inherited.”

“It usually isn’t. But we have a specific type of the disease that is passed from generation to generation and that affects younger people.” As if feeling my emotions, Molly places her heavy head on my thighs. I give her a scratch, the feel of her wiry hair grounding me. “That night at the bar, I’d just gotten the results of my genetic test. I always suspected that I’d have the disease, but the test confirmed I truly only have a few years left with my mind.”

Aaron doesn’t speak for a while, frozen in space.

Oh boy. I probably shouldn’t have said anything.

After a moment, he moves again, then says, “I’m so sorry, Wren.” His voice is so raw, it sends a shiver down my spine.

I purse my lips and shrug. I’m not going to tell him it’s okay, because it’s not, but it is what it is.

“And is there… Is there a possibility that you have the gene but won’t develop the disease?”

I puff my cheeks. “Not really, no. There are studies that show the gene doesn’t have a perfectly complete penetrance, which means that some people might have the gene but not necessarily the disease, or maybe they could develop the disease, but not as severely.” I give Molly another head scratch. “But the vast majority of people do develop it. My family all did.”

Surely, I will too. The sentence hangs in the air between us, even though it was left unsaid.

His jaw shifts back and forth. I’ve rarely seen him looking so distraught, maybe except for the time we couldn’t find Callie. I don’t like it.

“And what does ‘early’ mean here? What’s to be expected?”