Brooklyn Monroe Wants It All by Karen Booth
Chapter Eight
Alec had committedhis interview notes to memory. It wasn’t a hard thing to do, since there were only a few. He intended to let Brooklyn tell her story. He wasn’t about to steer it. Instead, he had a very long mantra running through his head right now: You can do this. It might be your one and only chance with the news division, but you can walk the tightrope of being kind to the person you once hoped you’d marry while asking her tough questions.
If only she hadn’t dropped the bomb that thirty-seven men had responded to the now-infamous Posh Male note. He vacillated between jealousy and concern—there were likely a few super handsome, capable (cough) men on that list. There were also probably a few skeevy jerks. If it were up to him, he’d keep them all away from Brooklyn. Even when he was in no way entitled to an opinion about the matter.
It felt like he was baking under the studio lights as he waited for them to go live. Somewhere off in the murky depths of the studio, Georgia Carle from the network was standing, silently readying her keen eye for weakness, waiting to make a ruthless appraisal of Alec. Across from him sat Brooklyn, legs crossed and foot bobbing. She was just as nervous as he was, or so it seemed, but even then she managed to smile at him. It was such a kind and genuine expression, reminding him of just how nice it was to wake up next to her, with her warm skin, sweet scent, and gorgeous hair tumbled across the pillow.
“We’re back in four, three…” the stagehand said.
Alec reflexively turned to the camera, but now the segment notes he’d memorized were gone. His mind was blank. No words. None at all.
The stagehand held up two fingers. Then one.
Alec froze. He’d never done this. Ever. Not even his first time on camera. Think, dammit. Think.
Brooklyn cleared her throat and something about it kicked his brain into gear.
“This morning, we have a Good Day USA exclusive. An interview with Brooklyn Monroe, the founder of successful beauty subscription service Posh Post. One week ago, Ms. Monroe’s company supplied nearly twenty-thousand men across the United States with a box of free luxury grooming products.” That first line probably sounded fine on TV, but to Alec, it felt as though he was coughing up his words. “That box contained an unusual note, suggesting that Ms. Monroe, an overworked CEO, wanted to find someone to get her pregnant. She’s here today to set the story straight about how that note came into being, and how she’s been dealing with the fallout.” He turned to Brooklyn, the difficulty of the task before him suddenly becoming a nearly unbearable weight. He had to be gentle with her. He didn’t know another way. But he also had to get to the meat of the matter if he was going to make the most of this chance. “Ms. Monroe, welcome to the show.”
“Please. Call me Brooklyn. My fourth grade teacher called me Ms. Monroe and it was usually in the context of scolding me for talking too much in class. I’d rather keep it informal.”
Alex silently breathed a sigh of relief. She had such a way of diffusing tension. “Then Brooklyn, why don’t you tell us what exactly happened with that note.”
She smiled and smoothed her skirt, sitting a little straighter. “Like a lot of stupid things, it started with a joke and got completely blown out of proportion.” She went on to explain how she and her sister were always giving each other crap, and how that bit of innocent sibling ribbing ended up at the bottom of a letter to their mailing list. “So that’s really all there was to it. It was a joke. And I guess I’m the punchline. Or, at least, that’s what it’s turned me into.”
“How do you feel about the attention? There are memes about you. People have called you desperate and pathetic.”
“I try not to take myself too seriously, but it hurts. There’s no doubt about that.” She shrugged. “I think it’s a little funny how people are in such an uproar about it. I have a feeling there are a lot of single women out there who feel the way I do. Probably lots of single men, too. You want to become a parent, but your love life hasn’t worked out the way you thought it would. Maybe you’ve put your career first for a while, but how else are you supposed to be successful in this day and age? It doesn’t matter what field you go into; everything is incredibly competitive. And if you’re an entrepreneur, the pressure can be even worse, because then you have other people relying on you, counting on you for a paycheck, and of course there’s your own livelihood, too. If you make a mistake, you feel like you’re never going to be able to recover.” She sucked in a deep breath and her sights landed directly on Alec, her expression one of embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I get a little worked up about it.”
“Please don’t apologize. I’m sure our viewers want to hear your side of it.” He took a beat and prepared himself to ask his next question. The one that tangentially had to do with him. “Do you think it’s harder to meet someone and fall in love now, given the modern dating landscape?”
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 and be perfect, 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 mean motherhood. 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.”
He was going to have to take her word for it, but the whole thing still made him incredibly nervous. “Just take care of yourself, Brooklyn. No matter what, I care about you.” He wanted to kiss her, at least a peck on the cheek, but Georgia was about to insert herself into the conversation.
“Ms. Monroe.” Georgia stuck out her hand. “I’m Georgia Carle from the network news division. Thank you for coming in today and speaking with Alec. We appreciate the chance to have your very first interview.”
Brooklyn looked Georgia square in the eye. “I hope you finally give Alec the job in news he deserves. You’d have to be an idiot to ignore the talent that’s right in front of your face.”
Alec stifled a snicker. God bless Brooklyn and the moments when she threw her filter out the window.
“I’ll take that under advisement. Thank you,” Georgia said, forcing a super fake smile. “I believe our producers would like to speak to you. We’re hoping you’ll come back on the show for perhaps an appearance with a lighter tone. Something a bit more fun, but still baby related.”
“Oh, okay. Not sure what that might be, but I’m game for anything.” Brooklyn cast Alec one final glance. “Bye, Alec. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, Brooklyn. Thanks again.”
And just like that, Brooklyn sauntered over to one of the show’s segment producers, then disappeared with her through the studio doors.
“Well? What did you think?” Alec asked, turning to Georgia.
“You did a solid job. Not the most probing questions.” She bunched up her lips and her vision narrowed. “I can’t help but feel like you could have put her on the spot a little more than you did.”
Alec shoved his hands into his pockets, if only to disguise his balled-up fists. “And more than eighty percent of our viewership is female. I don’t think they want to see me get pushy with a woman, especially one who’s so clear about her desire to have a baby on her own terms.”
Georgia let out a tut, which Alec swore was accompanied by a wispy puff of smoke. “I suppose you have a point.”
Alec knew he had to take advantage of the road Brooklyn had started paving for him. “All I’m saying is that it was your call to have Brooklyn appear on Good Day. If you want a probing interview, this isn’t the place for it. Now if you give me a shot at an interview for The Sunday News Hour, then we can talk about something that has a little more teeth to it.”
“Fair enough. I will speak to the producers and see if we can come up with something. But I want to make sure you understand that a correspondent job is not like what you have right now. Good Day USA is cushy compared to that. This show gives you time for an actual life.”
“No point in having an actual life if I don’t do something meaningful with it. I want this. Bad.”
“Okay, then. Message received, loud and clear. But let’s not get carried away. We’ll see how the story goes over with viewers.”
Georgia walked off set, leaving Alec alone with his thoughts—never a good idea. He wanted this shot at the news division more than anything. But he couldn’t stop thinking about everything Brooklyn had said, and about how disappointing it was that they couldn’t get it right when they’d had a chance. Now she wanted a baby, and there were thirty-seven guys vying for a chance to make her happy.