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“I—where’s Dr. Crawford?” Gwen blurted.
The man pulled one of the rolling chairs over with his foot, sitting next to Gwen’s hip.
“Dr. Crawford is on vacation. Took the family to Silverwood,” the man explained. “I’m Dr. Monday and I’ll be checking your teeth today.”
“I’m sorry, did you just sayDr. Monday?” Gwen asked incredulously.
Fuck politeness, I guess.
The man laughed, and for a moment, Gwen was reminded of her first meeting with Ambrosius. She shook the feeling away.
“Yeah, I did,” he grinned. “I know, makes me sound like some kind of villain from a superhero movie.”
“A little bit,” she chuckled.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about any villainy here,” Dr. Monday said, lifting a mask onto his face. “The only enemy here is periodontitis. Now, I’m going to lean you back and get a look at your mouth, okay?”
Gwen nodded, and before she knew it, Dr. Monday was poking around her mouth. He was a lot gentler than Dr. Crawford. She wouldn’t think it was possible, as Dr. Crawford had always been very considerate whenever Gwen had come in with dental issues before.
“Hmm…”
Hmm? ‘Hmm’ what?!
“Did you know that the gap between your front teeth is because you have a large frenum?” Dr. Monday asked.
What the fuck is that?
At her wide-eyed stare, the dentist removed the mirrored instrument from her mouth.
“It’s a band of connective tissue. It essentially ties your lips to your gums. If you run your tongue along the roof of your mouth, you should feel that little line down the center.”
“Oh, is that what that is?” Gwen asked.
Dr. Monday nodded.
“Ordinarily, we’d offer you braces or some alternative to close that up,” he explained.
“Yeah, Dr. Crawford asked me about that,” Gwen replied. “I thought about it but…”
“You don’t want it,” he concluded.
“No…” Gwen said slowly, as if realizing it for the first time. “I don’t want it. I like my gap. I’ve always liked it but, well, y’know;people.”
He laughed, “Oh, I knowpeople,and they can be a lot, but I’m glad to hear that. I don’t think braces or any alternatives are the way to go. If you’re happy with it, I’m happy with it. But I think we should get you a night guard. That gap will get wider as you get older, and the night guard will help with that. I also noticed some significant grinding on your right side. Have you been experiencing any sort of stress? Maybe work?”
“Yes,” she answered honestly. “Quite a bit.”
“Well, hopefully the night guard will help,” Dr. Monday said. “Otherwise, everything looks good. Just try and find a way to relax, okay?”
Gwen nodded.
She hated that her first thought was of Ambrosius.
24
Tired
Ambrosius