The Cost Of Love And Sanity (21 page)

“All right, you guys. Showtime.”

She opened the doors for the candidates and they filed in. They hurried over to the table where the reps verified their names on the check-in sheets and handed them a number matching their number on the form.

The candidates underwent an interview with their appointed employer. If the employer found them interesting, they were given a background check and a urinalysis. Those that passed all three—interview, criminal check and test—were given a date to report to the employer's office for training.

Before the candidates left the center, they checked back out at the reps table and reported if they received a training date from the employer. Some candidates left the center very happy; others left very angry. Alex kept tabs on the hired count all day but, as the relentless heat from the early afternoon gave way to more subtle warmth of the sun, she begin directing her attention to winding the event down.

While the last group of candidates exited the building, Alex stood outside on her final task—lunch. Since Dan did such a good job securing sponsors, finalizing the center and putting out fires during the fair, she thought she'd take over making sure the pizza arrived for all the employers and agency staff. It turned out to be harder than she thought because the pizza delivery guy hadn't arrived.

Alex held her cell phone to her ear and repeated the same directions over and over again trying to guide him but he kept passing the same bank building. He'd put her on hold for the fourth time.
If he would listen to me, he wouldn't be lost.
Alex breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the delivery guy's dark blue sedan turn the corner.

Finally.

Once he set the pizza, cinnamon sticks and soda in one of the front rooms, the employers filed in and swiped a few slices. Alex gave them about fifteen minutes and then she headed back to the lobby, where the call center reps from the agency were helping to break down signs and move tables back to their original place.

Alex smiled at them. “How's it going?”

“Good,” the reps said in unison.

“Where did you want these tables?” the shorter one asked.

“You can push those up against the wall. They'll be out of the way there.”

They followed instructions.

“Fantastic. Well, you guys have done an excellent job. Thank you for coming out to help with the physical labor.” She chuckled.

“No problem,” the taller rep said.

“Come on to the back and get some pizza.” Alex motioned for them to follow her.

As the pizza disappeared, the employers begin to leave, also. The agency staff hurriedly cleaned up so they could go home. Pleased with the outcome of the four hundred fifty candidates present, Alex felt like she and Dan had done a good job. She grabbed her bags of spare supplies and walked toward the exit. Halfway there, she ran into Dan.

“Hey! You're ready to go?” he asked. “Gotta a hot date?” He raised his eyebrows twice in rapid succession.

She smiled and tooted her lips to the side. “No. I'm tired.”

“Me, too but that doesn't mean I'd skip a trip on Operation Love Boat. You gotta stay motivated.” He snapped his fingers.

Alex laughed.

“How are things on that front?” Dan asked.

Alex had managed to go the whole job fair without thinking about Nathan. It sucked that Dan had to bring that up but at least the fair was over. She smiled to try and cover up her sadness. “It's fine. Thanks for asking. Look. I'm gonna head on out of here.”

“Do you need some help?”

“No. I got it.”

“All right. Well, I'll catch up with you later. And great job,” Dan said, throwing her the thumbs up.

“You, too.”

Alex stepped outside and rounded the corner. As soon as she neared her car, her cell phone rang. She sighed. She couldn't answer it and carry the bags. She unlocked her car and placed her bag on the back floor. Once she climbed into the front seat, closed and locked the door, she checked her phone, hoping to see Nathan's number. She saw Izzy's number instead. Disappointed, she hit the screen to dial her back.

“What's up, girly?” Izzy answered.

“Not much. How's it going?” Alex asked.

“Fine now that I'm home. Finished wrapping an up do. I thought it would take forever and the girl was so impatient.”

“Well, it's only been a couple of months since you started doing hair professionally. It'll take time to get used to it.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Other than that, how's it going? Is it everything you thought it would be?” Alex asked, cranking up her car.

“It's cool. I love the freedom and the money.”

“I'll bet. You're already racking up a big clientele.”

Izzy chuckled. “I'm still working on it. The salon is fairly new. Anyway, what's going on with you?”

“My job fair is officially over.”

“Yay! How did it go?” Izzy asked.

“It was excellent. We managed to get a lot of candidates and make it look easy.”

“Congrats. What are you doing to celebrate?” Izzy asked.

“Sleeping,” Alex lied. She had every intention of calling Nathan as soon as she returned home.

“No, you won't. You're coming to this new club with me.”

“What club?”

“I can't remember the name right now but the rest of the salon is going over there after work tonight. And we should go.”

“Don't you think they only expect you to show up?”

“No. Everybody's inviting people.”

“I can't stay out late tonight. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning.”

“Alex, you're coming.”

Great. I'm really not in a partying mood.
Realizing that Izzy wasn't going to let up, Alex mentally searched her closet for something
to wear. She settled on a purple dress with matching purple and green shoes. She hoped this night would be more bearable than New Year's. Clubs really weren't her thing but maybe this one would be different. She could even leave early.

“Give me a couple of hours to get ready.”

B
y the time Alex pulled into her garage, her energy was low. She lacked enthusiasm for the night ahead of her. She enjoyed hanging out with her friend but Alex felt like she had some unfinished business to take care of first. After she pushed the remote to let her garage door down, Alex pulled out her phone and dialed Nathan's number. The phone rang and rang until his voicemail came on. She hung up. She wanted to talk to him, not leave a message for him to ignore.

She sighed and gathered her purse and box to take inside of the house. Before she could step outside the car, her phone rang. Alex set the box down and grabbed her phone. It was Nathan. She put her finger on the screen and slid it down.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Alex. You called me.”

“Yes.” She paused for a moment, suddenly drawing a blank on what to say next. “How are you?”

“I'm all right.”

Alex cleared her throat. “Nathan, I'm calling because I wanted to talk to you.”

“Yeah. I was thinking about calling you today,” Nathan said.

Well, why didn't you?
“Izzy and I are going somewhere shortly but, afterward, is it okay if I come over?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. I'll be there later tonight,” she said.

When they hung up, Alex felt a little bit better. She didn't know how her talk with Nathan would turn out but they had to get a better consensus on the relationship. Maybe he only saw this as a short-term affair. She did not see it that way. She was thirty-five. Alex had no time to play around and, though she didn't want to put pressure on him, she certainly wanted and needed to know where she stood. Alex picked up her purse and a box of job fair supplies. Temporarily pushing the situation out of her mind, she went in her house and proceeded to get ready for her night out with Izzy.

•••

Alex's heart almost stopped when she saw the neon lights and brick building. She and Izzy pulled up to Spears, the same club she and Nathan had gone to a couple of weeks ago. The same club where she met A.J., his unsavory friend. Alex looked around as if searching for an escape route.

“What's wrong?” Izzy asked.

“This is the club.”

“Yeah, the new one I was telling you about. Remember?” Izzy asked.

“No. This is the one Nathan took me to. You know the one where A.J. performs.”

“Oh!” Izzy covered her mouth. “My bad, Alex. You never told me the name of it.”

“I didn't remember. Great. What if he's here?”

“We're in luck. There aren't any performers scheduled tonight. Just a DJ,” Izzy said.

“I don't know, Izzy.” Alex wanted to believe her but, as she glanced over at the building, a gnawing feeling developed at the pit of her stomach.

“He's not here. This isn't a night for amateur performers. The only music played will be off the record. It'll be fine. C'mon, let's go.”

Izzy popped out of the car and Alex slowly followed her. While Izzy bopped along carefree, Alex's mind ran down the list of worst-case scenarios. A.J. could end up seeing her across the room and confront her in front of everyone for snitching to Nathan about his slip up. She hated to cause a rift between the two friends but she wouldn't tolerate A.J. in her face either. Steam rose under Alex's face as she thought about the possible altercation.
Wait. Don't jump to conclusions. 1…2…3…

Izzy interrupted Alex counting to five. “So, other than the A.J. issue, how are things going with you and Nathan?”

Alex's mood softened but only a little. “Um, it's kinda tough right now,” she responded, trying not to allow herself to lapse into worry.

Izzy caught a glimpse of her friend's hesitance. “Why?” She sucked her teeth. “Don't tell me A.J. put that much of a damper on your relationship cuz he's not worth it.”

“After that issue, we seemed to have come to terms with everything. We seemed okay but we fell out the other day.” Alex sighed. “I don't know.”

Izzy stared at her. “Every relationship hits a tough spot. This is yours but it's not time to give up. Not yet.”

I can't believe it.
What made Izzy so sure that everything would work out? Nobody can be that optimistic. Alex rolled her eyes. “I appreciate your support but this isn't exactly a slam dunk.”

“No. I'm telling you, Alex. Nathan is the one. Watch what I tell ya.” Izzy wagged her finger at Alex.

“What does that even mean?”

They approached the door where groups of people were scattered around talking. The big burly man behind the rope stared at them. “We're with the salon party,” Izzy said as she showed her ID. He scanned the list. After spotting Izzy's name, he moved to the side to let them in. They entered the club and Izzy faced Alex to resume the conversation.

“It means that he's it. He's the man you'll marry.”

“I still don't understand what has happened to make you so sure I should marry him.”

“I don't know. Maybe it's the way you light up when you talk about him. Or maybe it's the fact that he's been so persistent in getting you back. Please tell me you can see this, Alex,” Izzy said, rubbernecking through the crowd to find their party.

When it came to Nathan's gestures, he had impressed and affected her, though she didn't want Izzy to know it. She was still trying to keep her head above water with him. His presence soothed her Type-A soul and she enjoyed being with him but they had some serious kinks to work out of their relationship. She had no way of seeing whether they were headed down the aisle.

“I see his flowers, picnics and heart-to-hearts as a step in the right direction. A chance to see where things are going,” Alex said, trying hard to maintain some objectivity. Deep down, she hoped that they would be able to work through things when they talked later.

Izzy chuckled. “Wow. You are amazing…And in denial. I want you to take notice soon.” She playfully nudged Alex. “See? That's why I hate you. You always get what you want.”

Laughter erupted from a group to their left. Alex and Izzy turned to see two women licking salt off the back of their hands and taking shots, while another three cheered.

“Thank God for babysitters. Right, Portia?” the loudest one asked.

One of the women who took a shot nodded.

“There they are,” Izzy said, smiling and pointing.

They walked over to the booth. The loudest woman saw them approaching and smiled even wider.

“Hey! Glad you made it.” She stood, towering over Izzy to give her a hug.

“Melinda, this is my best friend, Alex. Alex, this is Melinda. She's the owner of the shop.”

The two women hugged. “It's good to meet you. Please, come join us,” Melinda said, motioning toward the group with her burgundy nails.

Izzy and Alex sat down with the women.

“Why don't we go around the table and have everyone introduce themselves?” Melinda suggested.

The introductions started from the left with a woman dressed in yellow. “I'm Jill Thompson, I'm a stylist and I'm single.”

Alex cocked her head to the side. She never understood that. What would make a woman talking to a group of women introduce herself as single without being asked? Out of all the things she could say about herself, Jill made sure they knew she was single.
What are we supposed to do? Introduce her to somebody.
Alex listened to the rest of the women describe themselves in similar terms: single, married, divorced. When her turn came, Alex cooperated so she wouldn't seem standoffish.

“I'm Alexis Carter. I'm a recruitment manager and I'm single.”

For the next hour, the women, including Jill, Melinda, Karla, Ursula and Portia, drank alcohol and laughed at each other's raunchy jokes. Alex slowly nursed a Strawberry Daiquiri, preferring to stay lucid in case she needed to drive. By the way Izzy giggled excessively—a
telltale sign that she'd reached a “higher” state of mind—she would probably need to take over driving duties.