Small

X-Ray

Seeing all of my teeth in a picture was the coolest. The X-ray scanned my teeth and gave the dentist a black-and-white image of all of them. I didn't know what was wrong with them though. To me, they all seemed fine.

Dr. Barry sat down on the stool and rolled over to sit beside the chair I was in. He pointed up at a TV screen above my feet. "It looks like we have some broken teeth that will need to be removed. Three cavities need filled. And there's lots of plaque. But tackling it now, while you're young, will ensure that you have healthy teeth for the rest of your life."

"Can you do all of that now?" I asked.

He laughed. "I'm afraid I cannot. That's something we'll have to do in small increments. You'd be in too much pain if we did it all at once."

I put my hand on my cheek and raised my eyebrows. "Is it gonna hurt?"

"We use numbing so it doesn't hurt. When you have the teeth removed, you'll be asleep so you won't feel it."

I looked over at Darren. Knowing that there could be pain made me not want to go through with fixing my teeth.

"It's over faster than you'd think."

The dentist looked at Darren as he spoke next. "Jewel can help you set up further appointments. I'd suggest you reach out to an oral surgeon to schedule a consultation. I can give you a list of some local options."

Darren nodded. He got to his feet and took the piece of paper Dr. Barry handed him.

Dr. Barry smiled at me. "It was nice to meet you, Aly. Take care."

I watched him leave the room before I sat up in the weird dentist chair. "I have to get teeth pulled out? I won't be able to eat if I don't have any teeth."

Darren smiled. "You'll still have plenty of teeth to eat food with. They're just taking out the ones that cause you pain."

"Oh."

Jewel walked back into the room and sat down by the computer. "Seeing an oral surgeon can take a month from consultation to the end of the recovery period. We'll schedule the next appointment with Dr. Barry for a month and a half out. Is there a day of the week that works best?"

"Any day is fine."

She nodded to herself and started typing. "Let's do October 14th at 2."

Darren nodded and started typing into his phone. I wasn't sure what he was doing. I just watched as they talked to one another.

"Alright, you're free to go. We'll see you at your next appointment."

Darren held out his hand for me and I got to my feet. I followed him out of the room and into the hallway that led to the waiting room. He talked with the woman behind the glass window before he told me we could leave.

As we walked out to the truck, I looked over at Darren. He seemed so calm about the current situation. I wasn't sure how he wasn't overwhelmed or freaked out by everything that needed to be done.

"Am I gonna have to have a lot of appointments?"

Darren unlocked the truck and held the door open for me. "I'm sure there will be a lot but that's to be expected when you have a lot to catch up on. But we'll get there soon enough."

"It doesn't worry you at all?"

He smiled at me. "No. I know you'll be taken care of and that's all that matters to me."

It made me feel better to know that he trusted the dentist and all his workers. Darren wouldn't put me in harm's way if he didn't have good reason.

I trusted him to do what was best for me.