Brooklyn laughed quietly, her eyes glinting with mischief. “I don’t even recognize the modern dating landscape. Are we on the moon? The surface of the sun? It all seems so foreign to me. Dating apps and all of that. I mean, I’m sure it helps lots of people, but it hasn’t worked for me.” She shifted in her seat and crossed her legs in the opposite direction, reminding Alec just how alluring any stretch of her skin cold be. “And I think it creates a lot of unrealistic expectations. That we’re supposed to look perfect andbeperfect, and know what we want but not want too much. It’s ridiculous, the limitations and constraints these things put on us.”
“Do you think that’s a product of this time? Or has it always been like this?”
“I think it’s all about expectations. My mom’s generation was expected to get married and do so in their twenties. Then have kids. So they entered every dating situation with this very big goal in mind. Whereas now, people question it more. Marriage can’t be right for everyone, right? What sense does that make? And the same goes for becoming a parent. Not everyone wants that responsibility, or can handle it. I think questioning all of this is good. But I also think it puts some of us in a bind. These are tough choices that we sometimes put off, or maybe the stars haven’t quite aligned, but you can only delay some things for so long.”
“Meaning parenthood.”
“In my case, yes…” She hesitated, then shook her head. “Although maybe I only meanmotherhood. Because that’s what I’m dealing with. A man can make babies until he’s dead. It’s not the same for women. We have a limited window of opportunity if we’re going to physically take part in the process. And I don’t care how you look at it, we’re giving up more. We’re the ones who carry a pregnancy. It doesn’t matter who you are, you’re going to pay a price for that somewhere in your life. My sister Virginia had horrible morning sickness with her second pregnancy, and she wasn’t able to work. At all. And there was nothing she could do about it. The doctors tried to help, but nothing worked. So she had to live with it, but she couldn’t come into the office, she couldn’t care for her son. What if she hadn’t had a safety net? A home and a nanny and a husband and money in the bank to pay for everything? Or what if your pregnancy goes great, but your boss sees the baby-to-be as a reason he might lose you, so he starts passing you over for promotions, raises, or opportunities? These are questions that every woman has to ask herself.”
Alec generally regarded himself as a sensitive and thoughtful guy, but Brooklyn was bringing up questions and ideas that, frankly, had never occurred to him. He also hadn’t known that bit of information about Brooklyn’s sister. “There are a lot of potential pitfalls, aren’t there?”
“A million.”
“Why is becoming a parent so important to you now?”
“It’s pretty simple. I’m forty-two. The clock isn’t just ticking, it’s a gong in my ear. If I’m going to do it, I need to make a plan.” A wistful smile bloomed on her face. “But more than logistics, it’s all about a baby. Raising a child. I have always wanted to be a mom, and I don’t think I can turn my back on that while I still have time.”
The entire studio was eerily quiet. A single tear rolled down her freckled cheek. Alec’s heart started to fold in on itself like a dying star.
“I have a lot of love to give and I like caring for others,” she continued. “It helps me get out of my own head when I can channel my love and positivity into someone else. I think motherhood will be a good thing for me, and I know I can give a child a happy life.”
This pulled at Alec’s emotions like nothing Brooklyn had ever said, leaving him with an overriding sense of immense sadness. If she had so much love to give, why hadn’t she chosen to give it to him? “Those all sound like very good reasons.”
“And so yeah, my sister made a joke and it went off the rails and ended up going to all of those men, but it wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t real. Even if thirty-seven guys thought it was.”
Alec had not planned on delving into this portion of the story, mostly because the thought of it made his stomach sour. But now that she’d brought it up, he couldn’t leave it flapping in the wind. “So somewhere in America are thirty-seven men who were open to this idea?”
“Which is kind of crazy, but also kind of awesome. I think?” She bugged her eyes at him. “I’m not totally sure what to think. It’s a crazy story.”
It sounded like dystopian fiction to Alec, but he was keeping his opinions to himself. “It’s certainly interesting. What’s next for you in your quest to become a mom?”
“I’m looking into sperm banks and donor insemination, but I’m also thinking that those thirty-seven guys at least deserve a response from me. And if any of them seem like they’re on the up-and-up, I might go out with one or two. See how it goes.”
Alec was right back to where he’d been at the beginning of the interview—at a loss for words. She not only had thirty-seven options, she was going to explore them? “I’m sure everyone will be eager to hear about your progress as you go through the process.” He was so ready to be done with this interview. His mind was a mess. Thankfully, he was getting the signal to wrap things up. “Thank you for coming on the show today, Brooklyn.” He turned to the camera. “If you’re interested in learning more about this story, you can visit our website. Thank you for tuning in this morning. We hope you have a good day, USA.”
The announcement was made that they were off air, cuing the usual clamor and commotion as talent and crew rushed to begin the process of finishing up for the day.
“Did I do okay?” Brooklyn asked. “I have no idea. It felt like I was rambling.”
“A rambler is an interviewer’s dream. You did great.” It was the truth, even if he had a lot to wrap his head around.
“You made me cry, but at least I didn’t sob.”
“Well done on that front, too.”
She sighed and smiled. “Honestly, I’m just relieved. It felt good to get some of that stuff off my chest. I hadn’t realized how much was bottled up inside me.”
“I never knew that about your sister. Was that going on when we were a couple?”
“Um. Paris is seven months old. So, yes. There was some overlap with the early part of her pregnancy.”
Over Brooklyn’s shoulder, Alec spotted Georgia Carle zeroing in on them. “Will you promise me one thing?”
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Depends on what the one thing is.”
“Please be careful. There are a lot of creeps in the world. I don’t want to see you get hurt, physically or emotionally.”
She patted his shoulder. “Alec, I appreciate that, but I know what I’m doing. I’m not going to do anything stupid. I can promise you that.”
