Small

Surgery

Hi, everyone! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. If you haven't seen the posts I've been making on my profile, the past three months have been rough for me. I've had a hard time writing and finding the motivation to work on my stories. It's taken me a while to get back to this story and I apologize to all of you who follow this story. It means a lot to me that you like my work and enjoy the stories I create. You guys keep me going. That being said, if you have any ideas for this story going forward, please let me know. I'm all ears! Thank you guys again.

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I wasn't seeing Lisa for another week so the only appointment I had that week was for my teeth. Apparently, this new dentist could help remove my bad teeth better than the first dentist. I just wanted to be able to eat pancakes again.

The office was in a tiny house. I wasn't expecting a house to be a dentist's office so I thought we were in the wrong place when we got out of the truck.

Darren walked ahead of me as we walked through the main entrance. The small waiting room only had four chairs with a small coffee table in the center and some magazines on the tabletop.

To the right of the door was a counter where a woman sat behind it at a desk. She had a computer in front of her and was chewing on the end of a pen. Her blonde hair was pulled back with a clip but a strand lingered on her face. She was a pretty woman with bright green eyes.

She looked up at Darren as he approached. "How can I help you today?"

"We're here for an appointment with Dr. Andrews. It should be under Aly Smith."

The woman typed something into the computer. "Alright. Can I have an insurance card to update in our system?"

Darren nodded and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. He handed the woman a blue card.

She put the card on a machine and then hit a button. After a beep, she pulled the card off and handed it back. "Okay. And relation to her?"

"I'm her guardian." Guardian. I made a mental note to ask Darren what that meant after we left.

The woman typed something else in before she stood. She grabbed a file folder and tucked it in her arm. "Follow me."

We walked down a narrow hallway and entered a room at the end of the hall. The nurse told me to sit in the chair in the middle of the room. "Dr. Andrews will be right with you."

Darren nodded. "Thank you."

I sat down in the chair and propped my feet up on the footrest. The chair was pretty comfortable but I knew I wouldn't be in it for very long considering what we were there to do.

"This should be a short appointment today. The doctor is just going to look at your teeth and see which ones need worked on."

"Isn't that what happened at my last appointment?" I didn't understand the difference. Why did I have to see a new dentist when he was just going to do the same thing as the first?

He laughed. "It is. But this dentist needs to look, too."

I sighed. "I just want to eat again." It was taking too long to get better again and I hated the long process.

An older man with glasses over his eyes and white hair walked into the room several minutes later. He had a white lab coat on over his dress shirt and tie. He carried a folder with him as he entered the room.

He looked between Darren and me and smiled. "Hello. I'm Dr. Andrews. I understand you're having some pain due to some bad teeth. Let's take a look at it so we can get you back to better health."

I watched him set the file folder on the counter behind him and then wheel over to me on a stool. He pressed a button on the chair I was in that laid me back so I was staring at the ceiling. He clipped a paper towel to my shirt and then moved so he could look into my mouth.

The dentist grabbed silver tools and started digging around in my mouth. After several minutes, he was finished. He helped me sit up and unclipped the towel from around my neck.

"There are four teeth I'd like to remove. The molars in the back aren't a problem and will have room to move once the other teeth are out. I see two molars further in that need removed as well as a premolar on each side that needs to be taken out. Several cavities can be repaired and should hold for several years. We can tackle all of this at once so there won't be a need for any further appointments. After the teeth are removed, she can go back to her dentist to get the cavities filled."

Darren nodded. "Okay. Is there anything we should do to prep her for the surgery?"

Surgery? It was that serious?

Dr. Andrews pursed his lips. "Try to avoid anything gummy. Like gummy bears or worms or candies of that nature. It'll only get stuck in her teeth and make it harder for me to do my job. Other than that, I would just suggest making sure she has her medication after the surgery so she doesn't have to go home in any pain."

"Will I be able to eat pancakes once I'm all better?" I asked.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "You like breakfast foods, huh?"

I nodded.

He patted my knee. "I think you'll be able to eat them again once we remove all the bad teeth. Just make sure you take care of your teeth so this doesn't happen again.

I nodded. There was no way I wanted to go through that pain again. I wanted to keep my teeth in good shape so I could keep eating what I wanted.

"Alright. You're all good to go. My receptionist, Holly, can help you schedule the surgery."

Darren nodded. "Thank you."

Dr. Andrews smiled. "Have a good day."