Page 62 of Embattled Ever After

Duncan looked at the classic yellow Tonka construction toy, and he laughed. “Yes, I did, actually. A little beat up after my older brother got done with it.”

Chad nodded, his bright blue eyes shining with nostalgia. “Yup, me too. I’m going to get Mercy one.”

He’d given Chad a worried look. “Are you sure she’ll like it?”

Chad snorted. “Oh, absolutely. She’s a little grunge girl at heart. I love that kid, Duncan. She reminds me what it’s like to live.”

Those words came back to him now, clear as a bell, and he wondered if somebody hadn’t been trying to give him a message then.

Deep down, he knew Alex was nothing like Melanie. He’d kept his head down and just plowed through life always expecting the worst for such a long time, but he’d finally met a woman who made him feel positive about what was yet to come.

Would she come back out here if he asked her? It would mean a complete relocation from her job and friends. Would she be willing to do that for him? Did he have the courage to ask her? She may have completely written him off by now. No, he didn’t think so. There had been too much emotion in her voice on the phone.

With a sigh, he swung the chair round to look out the window at the cityscape. They would figure out what was going on with Shannon and go from there. Maybe he could call Alex in a few days.

***

Alex called her bossat home and gave her a truncated version of events. Basically, she’d had a serious medical issue and needed to take a leave of absence. The woman was shocked, but understood and promised to send her the appropriate paperwork so they could get it approved quickly.

Alex kind of didn’t care if it got approved. She was taking time off to get her head on straight. There’s been too much crazy shit going on in her life recently.

She ordered a new mattress online and wondered if she could burn the old one on the roof. As ridiculous as it was, she was embarrassed to just send it out as trash. The place she’d bought it from promised to dispose of the old one, so she left the room and didn’t look at the men when they retrieved it. Although she tipped them well before they left.

Then she brooded. Chinese takeout and pizza were her new friends. Garrett, the pizza delivery boy smiled when he saw her the first night. “Hey, doc, here’s your pie.”

She paid him and gave him a ridiculously nice tip. He’d also gotten her a bottle of wine from the shop down the street. If she hadn’t been friendly with the kid, getting to know him over the past year, she never would have asked.

The young man looked at the money in confusion. “You sure doc? It wasn’t that much.”

“No, but you saved me going out. Thanks, Garrett.”

With a jaunty wave he left.

Alex moped for several days, wondering what the hell she was doing with her life. The position she held at the hospital was needed, but not integral. They had five hundred other doctors who could take her job. She had acquaintances there, but no truetruefriends. Hell, she’d been sick for a week and only two people had called to check on her.

Though she hadn’t known her long, she had a feeling Shannon would have been at her apartment with a care package. Or she would have at least called. Alex saw potential friendship there.

The only good thing about her week was hearing her father’s voice.

Alex knew as soon as she answered the call. The line sounded different, coming from all the way across the globe.

“Hey, Pumpkin!”

Tears started in her eyes, and she finally felt like she had someone in her corner. “Hey, Daddy.”

They talked for the better part of thirty minutes, just chattering about inconsequential things, world events. But her father was intuitive. “What’s going on, sweetheart?”

Alex sighed, knowing that she had to tell him about Duncan and the baby, and her indecision about her career. He listened carefully, then sighed over the line. “I’m so sorry I’m not there to hold you, honey. I know this has to be so hard for you.”

Alex wiped away the tears and nodded, though he couldn’t see her. “It is,” she cried.

But just having him there to comfort her over the line as she cried about her loss was incredible. It really helped to get everything out to a compassionate ear.

“It sounds like this Wilde has had some history too. Don’t give up on him just yet. And if you’re not satisfied in your career, now is the time to change it.”

As always, his words were grounded in common sense.

“Okay, Daddy. I’ll think about everything. I love you.”

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