The Wellness We Bear

Elena watched the coaxial **cable** disappear behind the wall-mounted TV, another invisible tether to a world that kept spinning regardless of whether their marriage survived this month. The hotel room in Tulum was supposed to be romantic—**palm** trees swaying outside their balcony, the sound of waves like some promise of renewal—but instead they were watching CNN at 2 AM while Marcus arranged his supplements on the nightstand in neat military rows.

"You know what the doctor said," Marcus said, not looking at her. He shook a **vitamin** D capsule from its amber bottle. "Low levels can affect everything. Mood, energy, fertility."

"She also said stress is a factor," Elena replied, her voice flat. "Maybe stop obsessing over the numbers."

Marcus finally turned. In the harsh light of the hotel lamp, she saw how much weight he'd lost since the diagnosis. How his face had sharpened around the eyes, aging him five years in five months. He was trying so hard to **bear** the weight of it alone, treating their infertility like some personal failure that could be optimized away if he just found the right combination of pills, the right diet, the right meditation app.

"I'm trying to fix this, El."

"You're trying to fix *you*." She stood up and walked to the balcony, where the humid Mexican air pressed against her skin. Below, the pool area was empty except for a single security guard smoking in the shadows. "What if we can't be fixed? What if this is just... it?"

Marcus appeared behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder. For the first time in weeks, he wasn't holding a supplement or checking a fertility tracker on his phone.

"Then we're still us," he said quietly.

Elena covered his hand with hers, interlacing their fingers. The palm trees bent in the wind, and somewhere distant, a reggaeton song drifted from a beach bar. It wasn't the romantic getaway they'd booked, but standing there in the dark, something in the tightness of her chest finally loosened.

"Cancel the morning wellness consult," she said. "Let's just sleep."

Marcus nodded, and for once, he didn't set an alarm.