The phone rings and I answer, “Thank you for calling Business Systems this is Mandy how can I help you?” The voice on the other end asks for Amanda and I reply, “This is she”. The voice says she is calling to remind me of my 4:00 PM dental appointment. I sigh and tell her I will be there.
I enter the building and walk over to the elevator; I push the up button and patiently wait. The elevator door promptly opens and I get in. I push the button with a two on it and the doors close, up I go. Once on the second floor I exit the elevator and immediately I can smell the mixture of wintergreen flavored tooth paste and bleach out in the hall even before I go into Dr. Adelson’s office.
As soon as I open the outer door, the blast of cool air from the air conditioner hits me in the face making me shiver all over. I walk in and add my name to the list on the sign in sheet.
Harriet, the gray hared women behind the white frosted glass slide window, sees me and lets me know the doctor will be ready in a minute. While I wait for the dental assistant in her crisp white uniform to call out my name, I look at the fish in the large blue tank in the corner of the room. The sleek fish dart about playing hide and seek with the plastic mermaid at the bottom of the tank while tiny silver bubbles slip to the top of the tank”s surface and break silently while I wait my turn.
Then I turn and look to see a photo album sitting on a coffee table. I pick it up only to see pictures of decaying teeth and gums. I quickly close the book and shudder at the thought as I roll my tongue over my teeth and thank God they are all there. The nurse calls my name and I enter the inner office and sit in the brown leather chair looking at all the shiny stainless steel equipment. As I sit down the bright overhead light momentarily blinds me; I feel like a deer about to meet his death…then I realize, it”s my turn.
