Finding My Baby Daddy

Looking back at her marriage, Pandora could see that Derrik was always baiting her into arguing with him. He was searching for reasons to walk out on Pandora but had never gotten around to leaving her. Why? He saw her as his income provider, cleaning lady, and chef. Moreover, he got to bang her as a perk. There was no love there.

It wasn't finding out that Derrik had cheated that made her realize how poorly he had treated her since they got married. It was a month after. Derrik came to her work with a bunch of flowers, wishing her a happy twenty-eighth birthday in a loud voice before slapping the signed divorce papers on her desk. He had then promptly turned and left with his head held high.

It had been a year since then and the only thing remaining to be finalized was his last name which she was still using.

“Let's get you lingerie for your Vegas tour,” Kiera sang as she pulled Pandora into a luxury underwear store.

Pandora scoffed and reminded her friend, “I will be in and out of business meetings while I am there. What use do I have for fancy lingerie?”

“Pandora, it's Vegas. Vegas! If you don't open your box, how is everything going to come out?” Kiera stated, wriggling her brow.

Pandora rolled her eyes at her friend. “Such a witty comment.”

“Listen to me. No one will know you in Vegas, so you can have as much fun as you want. Get laid with some hot guy on your birthday to make up for the shitty birthdays in the last decade. It's the beginning of a new era… you have to celebrate it by getting railed politely!”

“That sounds like an awful idea.”

Keira slapped her arm and picked up a baby doll. “If you had listened to me and not married Derrik, you could have said my idea was awful. And you will look hot in this.” She put the baby doll in front of Pandora's body and gave her a little wink.

“Well, I am thinking of changing my surname back to Leonard. Remove every trace of Derrik from my life,” she said. Keira went silent for a few minutes.

“About time. Nice to have you back, Leonard!” She hugged Pandora tightly.

“I won't be Leonard until after I come back home. Everything is booked under Preston for the trip.”

“You best believe I will have it set up for you as a coming-home gift.” Then Kiera dragged her to the nearest salon and gave her a complete makeover.

When she got home, she checked her mail. She only found a letter which must have been hand-delivered. She knew it was from Derrik the moment she saw the handwriting. Dealing with her ex-husband always made her groan.

Derrik was unhappy with the division of property. Pandora had been awarded the house, its contents in the entirety, and their newest luxury car. All Derrik got was his meager belongings, the second older car they had brought right out of high school, and the bed that Pandora refused to touch even with a ten-foot pole.

Derrik thought he deserved more and tried to blame Pandora for his mistress Mackenna's miscarriage. He even told the judges that he cheated because Pandora couldn't have a baby. She had to explain to the judge that she had been diagnosed with scar tissues in her ovary. The doctor had told her she had a chance to be pregnant, but that it would be a long try.

But no matter how much they tried, she never became pregnant. It caused her a lot of pain, but she would never wish something to lose their child because of what they did to her.

Pandora dropped the letter in the trash without even opening it. There could be nothing important in it that affected her life any longer. Maybe to Derrik and his mistress, it meant something, but to Pandora… it was trash.

- - - - -

Pandora tiptoed, trying to get her bag into the overhead compartment, She was a slip of a girl, and the only thing her giant ex was good for was lugging around luggage.

“Let me,” a male with an English accent said. Pandora let go and his hands took over. She turned to the man and only saw his chest. When she looked up at his handsome face, she smiled and nodded.

“Thank you.”

“It's alright, love,” he said.

Pandora slid into her seat and buckled in. The man slid in next to her and turned.

“I should introduce myself if we are going to sit next to each other. I'm Milton.” He held his hand out and Pandora glanced at the other one and noticed the wedding ring.

“Pandora,” she replied and Milton grinned at her.

“Going to Vegas for business or pleasure?” he asked.

Pandora cleared her throat and eyed the strangely friendly man. “Business,” she said promptly.

He pressed his lips together and nodded. “I am going to meet my wife and her family in Vegas,” he told her happily.

Pandora bit back a groan as she realized this man would eat her ear out throughout the flight. At least he spoke about his wife… he wasn't trying to hit on her.

“This is my wife,” he carried on, showing her a picture of a tall woman. “Her name is Alexis and she is the love of my life.” The conversation carried on and Pandora slowly eased into it. Milton revealed that he was a police officer and he could tell she was divorced by the little white line on her ring finger and that she had a messy divorce.

At the end of the flight, Pandora laughed when she found out they would stay in the same hotel. “I am telling you, Pandora. You should come by and I will introduce you to my family,” he said and handed her a card. “Remember to have fun.”

He winked at her and bolted off towards the exit, where his wife would be waiting to pick him up.

“Sure, if I can get out of bed after working all day,” she told herself.

In the end, Pandora was so frustrated after a grueling day of business, that she showered off the grime and picked one of the outfits Keira had stuffed into her suitcase. She headed down to the bar and slid into a lone seat.

“What can I get you, sugar?” the bartender asked.

“A gin and tonic please,” she said coolly as she looked around the many couples and groups around her. The bartender placed her order down and charged the bill to her room. She walked into the casino and sat down at the poker table. Surprisingly, she met Milton once again there.

They got into a conversation with Pandora spilling her guts about how upset she was her ex-husband wasn't as sweet as him. At that moment, the two of them decided Pandora should meet a stranger and finish her dry spell. Still, Pandora had yet to meet Milton's wife and family. Something about coming to Vegas being a yearly family holiday.

The next few days were a constant struggle of trying to prove to chauvinistic men that she knew more about her specialty than then. She also knew how to pick her battles because she allowed a few jokes to slide. She couldn't die on every hill she felt uncomfortable on.

“What are you doing today?” Kiera asked on the third night.

“Having dinner in my room,” she sighed.

“I sense some sadness in that sigh of yours. What's wrong?” Kiera asked.

“Just that the guys I have met so far haven't made me want to spend time with them.”

“As happy as I am that you want to pick up a man, I need to remind you that you are not picking a guy to date, Pandora! You just have to bang them once!”

Pandora chuckled.

“Stop sulking. I am not telling you to fall into bed with just anyone. Dang, you don't need to sleep with anyone. But have fun. Get some guy to buy you drinks and make you feel like the goddess that you are.”

“Kiera, how will I find a guy who makes me feel like a goddess when you already do it for me?” Pandora joked.

“Stay back, woman. As happy as my boyfriend would be to watch us together, I don't swing that way. And it's been a year. I think it is overdue for you to get out there.”

Pandora didn't respond.

The bitterness in her heart hadn't lessened in the slightest. Everything that had happened up until today filled her with pain.

She wanted to let go, to get rid of all this messed-up nonsense.

“I will talk to you tomorrow. Now go out and have fun.” The words made Pandora smile. After hanging up, she looked at her watch. It was after six. The perfect time to walk into the night.

“Let's do this!” she told herself and headed off to the bathroom to get ready. When she was done, she took a selfie and sent it to Kiera.

[Damn it. You're making me reconsider my previous words. Make me proud, girl!]