"She did what?" Brad asked me when I told him about my encounter with Gretchen.
"She gave me a shot of tequila and then took one herself."
"And then what?" he insisted.
"And then what what?"
"What do you mean? And then what?" he said again.
"And then what nothing. She drilled my teeth."
"Is that all?"
"Aw, c'mon! What do you want to have happened?"
"I knew she was cute, that's why I sent you to her, but, I have to say that I'm kinda jealous. She never did any of that for me."
"Well, what can I tell ya? She likes Chinese guys."
"But you're not Chinese."
"I know, but to her I am."
"Huh?" Brad asked, confused. "What do you mean she likes Chinese guys? How do you know that?" he asked with a sense of eagerness, almost as though he felt he'd been betrayed that I had more than a chance with her than he ever would.
"She said her ex was Chinese. So I'm just assuming…"
"Did you tell her you were Taiwanese?"
"Yeah, I mentioned it, but like I said, it's not like that matters much."
"Huh," was all Brad could say as he stared straight ahead. "Well had I known this, I'd have sent you to her a long time ago."
"Yeah, that's what I kept thinking," I said.
"So why didn't you get with her then?" he asked, always seeming to forget that I was engaged.
"Margaret," was all I said.
"Oh right. Margaret."
By spring Margaret had called off the engagement, claiming it was due to some family matter or other. Luckily the time happened to coincide with my next dental checkup. Brad had started dating one of the hygienists in Dr. Pulver's office. He was, of course, hoping to land her, but he was not above taking what he could get. I'll have to admit, that it was kinda flattering, to know that Gretchen had rejected Brad, the tough, muscle-bound Marine, and instead preferred the more sensitive types like me. Well I'm speculating all this of course, since Brad never really asked her out, so therefore had never been rejected per se, and my encounter with her had not gone beyond the tequila shots from six months earlier.
"Lisa says that Gretchen is free and available, so you should go for it. She seemed to like you," Brad told me once over a few beers. Lisa was his new hygienist girlfriend who worked in Gretchen's office.
"Yeah, well, maybe," I said, as my mind marveled over the shape of Gretchen's body and curve of her bust, all the while having Margaret still lingering within me.
"What's past is past," was all Brad said to me as he sipped his beer. I knew he was trying to comfort me over Margaret having dumped me. Brad- he meant well, but was not an overly philosophical guy, to say the least, and ever since he'd been back from war he always seemed so overjoyed at the idea of taking a shower when he needed it and just feeling lucky at having lived long enough to get laid.
By the time came for my next appointment, I was feeling a bit nervous, but not for the same reasons I'd felt in the past. Suddenly the thought of pain no longer bothered me- it had been smothered by this smitten feeling. The truth was, one of my teeth was hurting me, and I was hoping Gretchen could fix it with eagerness and ease, while discussing such trivial matters such as rock bands and brands of alcohol with me. And I was hoping I could get the chance to mention to her that my engagement was off, in some discreet way. I mean, you can't just blurt something like that out right away- you'd look desperate, or pathetic, or stupid, or all three. And I didn't want to appear as any of those.
When I walked up to the window to sign in I was greeted by this brunette girl with a really soft voice. I could barely hear her each time she spoke. She had lots of freckles and looked quite young.
"Can I help you?" she asked in her polite, almost inaudible tone.
"I have an appointment with Dr. Pulver," I said. The girl told me to have a seat, and a few moments later I was greeted by this older man with white hair, who was carrying a folder that had my file in it. He brought me back and led me to another seat- a different one than I had been in the last time I was here. The office appeared more like a regular office, there were a handful of patents and a few hygienists, but oddly the noise level was not what I had expected. I felt as though I were in a library, everyone looked so somber, so quiet. Hardly anyone was speaking.
"Dr. Banister will be taking care of you today," the man told me as he wrapped a bib around my chest.
"Oh, but I have my appointment with Dr. Pulver today," I reminded him.
"She will not be coming in today," he said while looking over my ex-rays. A part of me sunk even further into the chair than I already was. I was disappointed. If I didn't see her today, it would be another six whole months, and I just couldn't have that. I wanted to see at least if I still liked her, if she still looked the same. Then I'd be able to let it go.
"Is she sick or something?" I asked.
"Something like that," he said with what I thought looked like an odd smirk.
"Is Lisa here today?" I asked, hoping she'd be able to fill in the details.
"She's with a patient," was all he said as he leaned the chair back and began to probe in my mouth with his wide, rough fingers that I did not like.
