Clint slipped his wallet into the pocket of his Levis and walked out of the bedroom while strapping on his watch. When he looked up, Lauren was standing right in front of him. "I changed my mind," she announced matter of factly.
"About what?" Clint asked as he finished adjusting the dressy-looking, silver Seiko watch his wife had given him on his 55th birthday. She always told him a nice shirt and that watch could dress up any pair of jeans and since she was always right about those kinds of things, Clint accepted it as the gospel truth.
"About the dentist, of course," Lauren said with a faux pout. That was a side of her he hadn't seen yet. It gave him mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was cute and it was also good in that showed she wasn't depressed. On the other, it reminded him of just how young she really was. He brushed it off and said to her, "Okay. Well. Let's see. I'll give Dr. Hansen's office a call and see when we can get you in. You know, I'm really glad to hear this. I can't imagine how much you're going to like your new smile. It'll light up your already very pretty face."
Lauren just stood there smiling back at him. It was as if she'd decided it didn't matter anymore. Or was it perhaps that she felt comfortable enough around Clint that she didn't care? Regardless, it was good to see her smiling. Her nose was still slightly swollen from where the break had been reset but it wasn't serious. In fact, she should be able to get the small splint removed a couple more days. "One thing at a time," Clint said to himself.
He pulled out his cell phone, punched the dentist's number, and in seconds he was on the line with Lorraine Hanley, Dr. Hansen's secretary.
Administrative assistant
he silently reminded himself. He hated political correctness but understood why people took offence at certain things so he played along. Lorraine was 40-something and very attractive. She'd always been a little flirty when his wife was still alive, but the last time he went in with Lauren she was so serious it was unnerving. Then again, she hadn't seen him since the death of his girls and she was very sweet expressing such genuine concern for his loss. Were he not so over-the-top into Lauren, Lorraine was the kind of woman he'd love to get to know better.
As he was asking her about appointment times, he found himself feeling confident again. It was so foreign—all these feelings that were returning in such a short period of time were a bit overwhelming. If he had to put a label on it, he'd have to say he was
happy
.
"You're kidding. You can see her at 10 o'clock? No way!"
"Yes,
way
," she said emphatically. "We just had a last-minute cancellation, Clint. I tried calling another patient who was on standby, but I couldn't reach her. If you bring Lauren in, Dr. Hansen can take care of her veneers this morning."
"Wow. That's amazing! Thanks, Lorraine. We'll be there in half an hour."
"I'll look forward to that, Clint. We need to catch up."
Clint was so excited this was going to work out he didn't even respond to Lorraine's subtle hint. He just thanked her and hung up.
"I have good news!" he exclaimed. "He can see you
right now
!"
Lauren squealed with delight. "Really? Are you serious? Right now? No way! I can't believe this. I'm
never
lucky. Things
never
work out for me." She paused, looked away, then said with a coy kind of look, "Well, not until I met you anyway."
It was all he could do not to walk over and kiss her right then and there but he was old school and that just seemed wrong to him. It was too fast. Instead, he settled for telling her, "I feel like my luck is changing recently, too, Lauren. You ready to have a dazzling new smile?"
They'd already done the standard new-patient paperwork on their first visit, and Clint had paid for the chipped tooth repair in full. This time, Lorraine made it clear there would be no charge. She said it in a whisper as though she divulging some kind of state secret or something. Then she added, "Between you and me, Clint, I think Dr. Hansen might be a little bit sweet on your new 'daughter.'" Lorraine ended her statement with a wink and a smile, but it took Clint completely off guard. He wasn't a jealous man but then he hadn't been single in so long he wasn't really sure who he was or how he should feel. He just nodded and went to take his seat in the lobby when Lorraine said, "Clint? Say, listen. I was wondering if maybe you might like to get together for coffee or something sometime. You know, do that catching up I mentioned before. Yes? No? Maybe?"
Clint was still reeling a bit from her innocently-made comment and didn't really hear what she said. "I'm sorry, Lorraine. What was that?"
"Look at you. You're a million miles from here." Her pretend scolding ended as she said in an understanding tone, "I can certainly understand. I can't imagine how hard the last two years have been for you. I was just wondering if you'd like to get together sometime and talk."
Clint hesitated and then said, "Uh, sure. That sounds nice, Lorraine. I'll give you a call sometime."
"If I didn't know you better I'd think that was a brush off. But because you're such a great guy, I'll take that as a 'yes.'" Lorraine's smile was amazing. Her face was still youthful and pretty and her blue eyes and naturally blonde hair made her the kind of woman any guy would love to be with. She was obviously in great shape. Clint knew she worked out regularly doing yoga and Pilates. She was also smart and as of a about six months ago, recently divorced.
"No. No dodge. I'm just a little preoccupied right now is all. I'd love to get together. I will definitely call you."
The next 90 minutes dragged on endlessly as Clint wrestled with his emotions. Finally, he heard the sound of Lauren's voice along with that of Dr. Hansen's. As they approached the lobby, he could tell the Novocain had numbed her tongue and entire front lip as she was having a really tough time pronouncing words. Her "esses" sound lispy as though she'd had way too much to drink.
"She's all set, Clint. Take a look," Dr. Hansen said proudly as Lauren stepped in ahead of him as he held the lobby door open for her. "Smile for the camera, Lauren."
Although she couldn't
