BABY MAMA

Two weeks after the birth of their second child, Dennis Paul married his baby mama. His OTHER baby mama. Alicia had heard the rumors about Dennis and Paula but Dennis always had a good excuse for the whispered tales of her and him together. After all, Paula was the mother of his first two kids and the third little girl who’d come just weeks after the birth of his and Alicia’s little girl together. Even that little faux pas wasn’t enough to convince Alicia that Dennis wasn’t quite the guy she kept telling herself he was. In fact none of the abuse she suffered at Dennis’ hands was enough to convince her that Dennis really wasn’t much of a catch at all.

To hear Alicia tell it, Dennis was just misunderstood. He really did love her and their family and wanted them all to be together. So much so it had taken very little to convince her to cross state lines and follow behind him. Upending her life and sacrificing her dreams was well worth all that love Dennis was known to lavish on her when he came to visit those two, maybe three days per week.

But then he got married. The news came via Twitter. It was a quick shout out to the happy couple with pictures of the decorated church and the wedding program posted on Instagram. It came from a mutual friend who either assumed Alicia already knew or who purposely wanted to break the news to her.

With less than thirty minutes to make it to the chapel, Alicia was grateful that she and her children had all had their baths. So Alicia put on a new dress purchased for the next date night she and Dennis had planned, put bows in the little girl’s hair and a new outfit on the new baby. When her own hair and makeup were perfection she packed her small family into her car and pointed it in the direction of the church.

The bride had already made her way down the aisle by the time Alicia found her way inside. She sat on the edge of the back pew and watched as Dennis said his I do’s. Dennis and Paula stood with loving looks on their faces, family and friends wishing them well. When the pastor asked if anyone had any objections, Alicia’s baby boy let out a loud wail, moving everyone to turn and stare in their direction. Standing, Alicia didn’t say anything at all, only turning an about face as she headed out the door. Returning to her apartment Alicia packed all of her belongings, called her parents and asked if she could come back home.

Dennis wasn’t fazed by the unexpected intrusion. Alicia knew better than to make a scene in front of his mother. Dennis figured by the time the honeymoon was over Alicia’s hurt feelings would be a faint memory. Her missing him would be enough to overlook the fact he now had a wife. Dennis had been playing both women for so long that he figured he’d be able to do so even after legalizing his relationship with Paula.

But Dennis didn’t expect to find his second home abandoned when he finally made his way back. Being unable to reach Alicia, her cell phone number changed, gave him reason to pause. He also didn’t like that he’d been unfriended and blocked on Facebook as well. And the restraining order and court summons demanding child support came as a complete surprise.

Alicia isn’t the first woman to have this happen to her. But she is the first who read a similar tale on my blog a few years ago and was determined that her story would have a very different ending.

“I hope that my heartbreak will be a lesson for any woman who isn’t being treated the way she deserves,” Alicia wrote. “I thought having this last baby would make him love me more. I realized I needed to love myself instead. And my children needed to see me do better.”