The Cost Of Love And Sanity by Jaye Cheríc Read Free Book Online Page A

to my schedule and I’m ready now.”
    â€œWho is the father of your baby?” Quincy asked, leaning forward. Alex leaned forward with him.
    â€œI don’t want to say his name.” Roxie shifted in her seat.
    â€œIs it your co-star, Greg Long?”
    â€œI will not talk about the father of my child.”
    â€œOkay. Why go this route?”
    â€œWhich route?” Roxie cocked her head to the side.
    â€œThe route that would mean having and raising a child on your own?”
    â€œOh, well. Simply, I wanted a child now.”
    â€œBut you know people are criticizing you for it.”
    â€œI can’t live for the ‘people.’ I can only do what feels right for me.” Roxie leaned forward. “Look. I could wait five more years to meet the right man or I can do what I want right now. I chose not to leave my life up to fate.”
    Roxie’s words pierced Alex to the core. Roxie had received flack for her decision to have a child alone but the more she talked about it, the more Alex understood her position. Sometimes you have to make things happen for yourself.
    â€œIs there anything that you would like to tell someone who may consider becoming a single mother?” Quincy asked Roxie.
    â€œThat no matter how scared you are, if you really want this, you can make it happen. I did it and I’m very happy with my decision.”
    Alex muted the show and stared at the screen. Although Roxie had disappeared, her confident and poised demeanor lingered behind. Alex and Roxie had two different vocations but they were fundamentally in the same situation. They both wanted a family. Roxie simply chose to take her dreams into her own hands. What was wrong with that? Nothing, in Alex’s opinion.
    Roxie didn’t really need a man in her life to have a child. She had more than enough to support the child financially. So did Alex. With forty right around the corner, she couldn’t wait forever. Not if she really wanted a child.
    Besides, why should she wait? Love? Roxie didn’t. The more she thought about it, this sounded like a viable option for Alex. She took comfort in the idea that even if her relationships bombed, all was not lost.
    Alex leaned her head against the headboard and closed her eyes. In spite of her alternative, sadness fell over her like a dark cloud. Before she could succumb to it, her phone rang. She looked at the phone as if it were an alarm. It rang again. She didn’t want to answer it but when it rung a third time, she decided to pick it up.
    â€œHello.”
    â€œHey, Alex. It’s Nathan.”
    Alex sat up in her bed. I can’t believe he finally called. I thought he’d never call. Butterflies gathered in her stomach, while she glanced at her clock. Eleven thirty-two. “Hi. I wasn’t expecting anyone to call this late.”
    â€œSorry. Is it a bad time?” Nathan asked.
    â€œNo, I was just watching TV.”
    â€œReally? What were you watching?”
    Alex cleared her throat. “A news show.” She should not be talking babies right now. He did not need to know how desperate she had become. “So, uh, what’s up?”
    â€œI wanted to touch base with you. I meant to call you a couple of days ago but I had a lot of things come up. I’ve been absolutely swamped,” Nathan said, sounding apologetic.
    She smirked. Nathan’s apology irked Alex a little. For all he knew, she’d been busy as well. Yes, thoughts of his impending call had lurked through her mind but she couldn’t let him assume his call mattered to her. She preferred to pretend she hadn’t even thought about it. “Me, too! I’ve been up to my hair follicles in work.”
    â€œI guess it’s that time of year, huh?”
    â€œYep,” Alex said.
    â€œWell, I wanted to ask you if it would be all right…I mean. Would you like to go to dinner with me sometime?”
    A faint sense of resentment made