Doctor Parks

Keira helped her sit on her couch and walked away. Pandora knew she was still in the house because she could hear the other move around the house. She was speaking to someone, but Pandora had no idea who it was.

“Here, have some tea,” she said, placing a cup in Pandora’s hand. Her hands lingered. “You got it?” she asked and Pandora looked down before tightening her grip on the cup.

“I’m going to have a baby?” she questioned, still thinking that the universe was playing a cruel joke on her.

“You are,” Keira confirmed. 

“This is real, right? It’s not a joke.”

“No, it’s not a joke.” Keira rubbed her shoulder.

“I’m going to be a mom?”

Keira squinted, reevaluating Pandora’s sanity.

“Derrik and I tried for years and nothing happened. I didn’t even mistake myself to be pregnant. But I sleep with a random guy and I am immediately pregnant?”

A stranger whom she didn’t remember, whose face she had forgotten, let alone what his name was.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Keira asked, worried.

“I don’t know who my baby’s daddy is. I am going to end up like those girls on reality television whom we laugh at to relieve stress.”

“Stop, Pandora. It’s going to be okay. What do you know, we could place an ad on Craiglist or F******k and find the man,” Keira stated bluntly.

Pandora’s sobs stopped abruptly and she glared at her friend. “What are we going to write? A recently divorced woman went to  Vegas for work. She wanted a good time and went out to club, got drunk, and slept with a stranger whose name she doesn’t know. She does remember what his eyes and his body look like.” Pandora scoffed. “Give the date and ask him to call the divorced slut because she has some shocking news for him?”

Keira frowned at her, but Pandora raised her head and stared at the ceiling.

“How am I supposed to find him? I don’t know how I could do it without feeling any cheaper than I already do. He should know, even if he runs away after hearing the news. He has a right to know that he has fathered a child, right?”

Keira sighed and pulled Pandora into her arms. She didn’t have any of the answers, so all she could do was comfort her pregnant and distraught friend.

- - - - -

“I have an appointment with Dr. Parks?” Pandora said to the woman behind the desk of the hospital.

“What’s your name?” she asked without looking up.

“Mrs. Pr—” She cut herself off and cleared her throat. “Leonard,” she said as the woman looked at Pandora over the rim of her glasses.

“Well, Mrs. PrLeonard…” Pandora frowned at the snide sound of her voice, but because she felt terrible, she chose to let it go. “You will need to fill out these forms.” She shoved a clipboard into her hand and then looked back down at her screen.

Pandora sat down and filled in her details. At the mention of her next of kin, she put down her father’s name. Her father who had another family. She wrote and let out a small groan, knowing she would have to tell her father. She knew her father would support her, but the man was conservative. Marriage came before babies in his mind.

“Mrs. PrLeonard?” a nurse called and then confusion overcame her. “Am I reading your name right?” she said. 

Pandora cast a disdainful look at the woman behind the desk. She clearly knew it was a slip of the tongue, but she still screwed with her pregnant patient. “My surname is Leonard,” Pandora said as she stood up. 

The nurse nodded before motioning for her to join her down the hall. Pandora followed her into the room.

“Doctor Parks will be with you for a new patient consult. Please wait a few minutes.”

The nurse walked back out and Pandora started looking around. Her usual doctor had retired and Dr. Parks had recently taken over her position. She didn’t know the man but she did see a picture of him on the desk. She lifted it up unconsciously and ignored the pang of pain in her heart as she appraised the picture. It looked like the doctor’s wedding photo. She doesn’t look old enough to be married but the stunning man next to her looks at her with fondness. The man was definitely older by a few years.

“Sorry I took so long,” a man says, making Pandora jump. She turned to see that she didn’t have the woman in the photograph. Instead, the handsome man who looked fondly at the woman stood before her.

“Hello,” Pandora stuttered and stood up quickly as he walked in her direction.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Parks,” he said immediately, holding his hand out for her to take. She went to take it and groaned inside when she realized she was holding his photograph.

“I’m so sorry,” she muttered before placing the frame down and then going back to shake his hand.

“I’m Leonard… Uh… Pandora Leonard,” she cleared her throat. She pressed her eyes closed when she heard him laugh. He must have known about the little slip-up outside.

“Please take a seat, Mrs. Leonard.”

“Pandora,” she told him quietly. It had been almost a month since she had changed her name but it still sounded weird to be called by her maiden surname.

Doctor Parks nodded and picked up her paperwork. He looked through it while Pandora appraised him. He didn’t look much older than he did in the photograph, so it must have been taken a year or two prior. His head tilted up and she got the feeling that he was looking at her, but with his thick, tinted glasses, Pandora couldn’t be sure.

“All your paperwork is in order. I see a history of severe endometriosis, so we will need to keep a close eye on how your pregnancy proceeds. Today, I will look you over and check everything. I would also like to perform a scan and draw a blood sample. How does that sound to you?” His smooth voice made her feel dizzy and weak.

“Sounds good,” she agreed quickly. With how good his voice sounded, she would agree to anything he asked her to do.

“Please get changed in the small room there. Once you are done, go through the other door into the examination room,” he ordered while pointing to a door.

Pandora got up quickly and changed into the ugly down. When she walked out, she saw him and the nurse already in the examination room.

They charted her vitals and the nurse walked away momentarily.

“Do you mind if I draw your blood myself?” Dr. Parks asked and she frowned at him. “Most people don’t like doctors to draw their blood because we don’t do it as often as nurses. I like to keep my skills up to par and do it once a day. One never knows when it will come to use.”

“Carry on,” Pandora urged, feeling at ease with him. When he stuck the needle into her, she turned her head to the nurse. The woman was definitely swooning because the expression on her face was dreamy.

“With that done, I can examine you and then we will perform the scan. Most doctors sent patients to a tech, but I like to do it myself for my higher-risk patients. Please lie down on the table,” he said, offering her a hand to help her lie down on the bed.

She followed his words. Even the part where she had to put her legs up on the stirrups. She was well-groomed but that didn’t mean she wanted to be stared at.