Mel went to bed with the uncomfortable knowledge that he had an 8:30 morning appointment with Dr. Bromberg. A dental visit is bad enough. But he would get up early and skip breakfast, as though a day without coffee might make his teeth more presentable.
For a while, he was gripped by massive pliers, yanked from side to side in a cheap motel room: that was his first dream.
Then, he was at sea, in a leaky lifeboat, watching a cruise ship sink beneath the green waves: his second dream was as unpleasant as the first, and left him sea-sick.
He didn’t want to chance a third, so at 3 AM he was up.
“Well, how’s she hanging, Mel?”
That was Dr. Bromberg, with his usual opening salvo, as Mel squeezed into the dental chair.
The office was brightly lit and antiseptic.
“I don’t suppose you’ve had any coffee this morning, Mel. But let’s see what kind of damage you’ve done anyway.”
Sam Bromberg began his customary inspection.
“Open a little wider, please…”
“You know Mel, in the old days, we’d use pliers on a tooth like that.”
The white-coated dentist tapped with his probe on a lower right molar.
Later, when he stopped drilling for a moment, he mentioned to Mel that he’d just returned from an enjoyable Caribbean cruise.
“After a little more dental work, you might want to try one of those cruises yourself.”
First, a follow-up visit?
Then, the dental bills?
And a cruise?
It was more than Mel could afford, or dream about…
David Sydney is a physician who writes fiction in and out of the EHR (Electronic Health Record).