Calling All Dentists (Calling All... Book 2), page 23
“Look, I’m going home now,” said Emma, sniffing as she stood up and tucked the chair under the dining table. “Thanks for coming with me today Mum. I’ll sort this mess out for myself. I’ll give you a call at the weekend – let you know how things are going.” Grabbing her bag and coat, Emma kissed her grandma and mum and then hurried out of the door – she did not want to go through any of this again when her dad and Aaron arrived home from work.
“I tried to ring you earlier,” said Ruby, as Emma walked through the door, “Andrew has been round asking to speak to you.” Emma froze on the spot, ran the words past her numbed mind and slumped down on the sofa, next to Ruby.
“Oh no – really? What did he say?”
“He said he needed to talk to you urgently. He wants you to call him when you get in.”
Emma sighed and cupped her hands over the top of her head, trying to squeeze the pain away.
“What’s happened? He looked very worried Em.”
“Oh Ruby,” breathed Emma, “What a mess this is…”
“Why? What’s happened?”
“He’s a bloody dentist for heaven’s sake.”
Ruby stopped mid-chew of her apple and looked at Emma in amazement, “Oh!”
Emma stared at her despondently and nodded as her mouth took another downward turn.
“Is that good or bad?” asked Ruby, sensitively.
“Bad Ruby – he works at the same one that I went to today – he’s going to know everything about me now.” No sooner had Emma spoken, her phone began to ring. Frozen to the spot again, she stared at her bag and waited for the ringing to stop. Moments later the message notification tone came.
There were five missed calls, two from Ruby and three from Andrew along with two text messages.
Emma opened the first message, Where are you Em? Andrew’s just been round asking for you. I’m worried – what is going on? Love Ruby xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Emma, I really need to talk to you. I know you were very shocked to see me today. Please can we talk about it? All my love Andy xx
Clutching the phone to her chest, Emma felt the burning sensation of tears again. How could she ever get out of this mess now? There was only one thing to do – she had to end their short but incredibly sweet relationship. But just the thought of doing it hurt so much.
I’m sorry Andrew. I think it is best that we don’t talk about it. Emma
“What have you said to him?” asked Ruby, finishing the last mouthful of apple and placing the core neatly on top of a piece of pre-positioned paper towel, on the coffee table.
“I think I’ve just ended it,” spluttered Emma before the tears flooded down her face again. Her mobile phone began to ring again and Emma and Ruby just stared at each other, transfixed by the jingly melody. Then it stopped.
“Oh Emma, think about this. Sleep on it and decide what to do in the morning.” Ruby could be very wise at the most unexpected of times and this was one of those times. Then the phone started ringing again and the two girls held their breaths for the duration. “You can’t let him go Emma, please answer it. He seems to care about you an awful lot,” Ruby pleaded with her.
Please think about it. I’ll contact you again tomorrow. I’m sorry if I have upset you in some way. Andy xx
It won’t work. It can’t work. I’m so sorry. Goodbye Andrew, it was lovely while it lasted. Emma. She burst in to tears again.
Colin, you’ll be pleased to hear that I’ll be back tomorrow. Emma.
Great news, your paperwork is piling up Colin.
Chapter 21
Morning Emma, I had to send you a message before I go to work, haven’t slept all night, thinking about you. Please talk to me tonight, we CAN work this out, I just don’t understand??? Andy xx
The warm water was comforting and Emma wished she could stay in the bath all morning to think everything through. But she had to go to work. With a dazed and muddled mind, she dragged herself from the bath and wrapped the warm towel around her. She felt angry to look into the mirror this morning. Annoyed that she had been so wrapped up in her own self pity and ignorance, and so consumed by the appearance of her teeth, she now realised that she had been incredibly foolish to allow it all to come to this.
“Have you nearly finished in there, Em?” Ruby’s voice came from the other side of the door.
“Just coming…”
The journey to work was silent, neither of the girls knew what to say and Ruby’s earlier attempt to start a light-hearted conversation at home had been flattened before it got going.
Emma steered through the traffic absent-mindedly, re-living the events of her chance encounter with Andrew, the dentist, frame by frame. What must he have thought about her strange reaction? Did he talk to Dr Davey to find out why she was there? She cringed at the thought of him finding out about her dreadful condition. Perhaps he didn’t know yet. Maybe he would find out today and not bother contacting her again.
“Emma – where are we going?” asked Ruby as she pointed to Webb’s car park, disappearing behind them.
“Oh shit, I’ll turn at the next roundabout. I wasn’t on planet Earth then.”
“Are you going to be all right today? I mean, can you cope with all of this?” Ruby looked worried and sat staring wide-eyed at her troubled friend.
“I’ll be ok. I wasn’t thinking, that’s all,” said Emma, chewing her bottom lip and feeling quite anxious.
Everyone was going to notice her in the store, and more so because she’d been off for a while. But her missing tooth would give more opportunities for strange stares or whispering behind her back or even blatant ridicule from the office men. As she pulled in to the car park she heaved a sigh and parked in her usual place, at the rear of the building.
“Come on, I’ll make you a nice mug of coffee,” said Ruby, linking arms with Emma. “I’m sure everything will be fine. Once you’ve seen everyone you’ll feel better.” Emma smiled at her friend’s kind-hearted words of encouragement and headed through the back door.
“Bloody hell, glad you could make an appearance, part-timer!” shouted Dave, “That was a long-winded hangover Em.” Emma rolled her eyes at him and smirked sarcastically.
Laughing to himself, Dave brushed past the girls and whispered in Emma’s ear, “Only joking hun, good to see you back,” before he trotted off down the stairs.
A straggly piece of tinsel still hung from one of the light fittings but Emma thought how clean everything else looked. Hesitantly, she went over to her desk and found two new letter trays, still wrapped in cellophane, sitting on top of piles of paperwork. Someone had been tidying her desk, she noted, as she scanned the new office stationery items piled in one corner behind her desk. “Is this all for me?” she asked, noting that the other desks were looking well-organised and tidy with their new pen holders, racks and trays.
“Yes, nice isn’t it. Jeff brought it all last week. I forgot to mention it to you,” said Ruby as she busied herself making coffee and herbal tea.
“Good morning,” called Pete, as he walked through the doorway, looking directly at Emma. Turning his head towards Ruby, who was pouring hot water into three mugs, he smiled and softly said, “Hi.” Ruby reciprocated with a shy smile and then passed a steaming mug of coffee to him.
“Emma, how are you?” asked Pete, mouthing the words ‘thank you’ to Ruby as he popped the coffee on to his desk.
“I’m ok, thanks Pete.”
“Good to have you back, there’s a pile of paperwork for you to sort out there,” he said, eyeing the mounds on her desk and smirking.
Somehow, Pete seemed to have changed, Emma thought as she smiled at him tight lipped, of course. He seemed to be more assertive and confident. She couldn’t help wondering if sleeping with Ruby was his first time too. There was definitely a spark between them, which had become apparent within seconds of Pete walking into the office.
“Yeah, great,” replied Emma, “Nothing’s changed then.”
The sound of Dave’s feet, thumping up the stairs made Pete turn around and return to his desk. Ruby carried a hot mug of coffee across the room and carefully placed it on the new brown, leather coaster on Emma’s desk. “Thanks Rue,” said Emma as she removed her coat and placed it over the back of the chair.
“So, how ya been then Em?” Dave breezed around the room, looking more like a fairy than ever before, thought Emma as she watched his arms floating around in the air. “Oh shit, I’ve just remembered, your grandad… err… sorry Em. I’m so up my own arse sometimes I forget things.”
“You can say that again,” replied Emma, with a harrumph. Ruby sat down and buried her nose in the papers on her desk to avoid getting involved in a potentially crude conversation, while Pete sat across the other side of the room, watching her work.
“Don’t worry about it Dave, I’m ok.” Emma grinned.
Stopping dead in his tracks, Dave peered at Emma’s mouth, “What’s happened to your tooth?” he said, moving closer to her desk. Emma froze and stared in his direction, then flicked her eyes across to Ruby – then Pete, both of whom were looking directly at her.
“It fell out – ok. Any more questions?” snapped Emma, just as Colin and Jeff entered the room. Stunned by Emma’s sharp reaction, Dave stepped back, held his hands up as if he was about to be shot, then walked backwards to his desk. “Look, I’m sorry Dave. I didn’t mean to snap like that.”
“Bloody hell, are you two arguing already? She’s only been back 5 minutes,” said Colin, staring hard at Dave. “What’s going on?”
“It’s my fault Colin,” said Emma, standing up at her desk, “I’ve lost a tooth and I’m a bit over-sensitive about it at the moment – that’s why I was at the dentist yesterday.” Amazed by her own revelation, Emma perched on the edge of her desk and continued to blurt out everything. “I’ve got a major problem with my teeth and I need to have extensive treatment to put them right, but I’m sure you all, or at least one of you, knew that already, judging by the secret Santa present I received for Christmas.” Unable to believe what she was saying, she continued anyway, “I do not wish to talk about it, be ridiculed about it or have you all stare at me in pity. I just want to come to work, do my job and then go home so don’t even bother trying to talk about it – just leave me alone – all of you!”
The atmosphere in the room turned to ice, one swing of the ice-pick and it would shatter into a million pieces. Ruby looked almost close to tears as she held a sheet of paper in her hands, poised and ready to be thrown into the bin behind her. Pete’s eyes darted across, from Ruby to Emma and then back again to Ruby, before he examined the reaction of every other member of the office. Dave stood beside his desk, transfixed on Emma’s face. Jeff too, had halted mid-stride and looked anxiously around at his colleagues. Motionless, with his jaw hung slightly ajar, Colin looked at Emma with a glint of empathy in his eyes.
“Emma, get your coat, you’re coming with me,” he said, in his voice of authority, as he scooped up a folder from his desk and tucked it under his arm.
Emma did exactly as she was told, grabbed her coat and bag, mouthed a message to Ruby, ‘I’m sorry Rue’ and followed Colin out of the office, down the stairs and out of the back door of Webb’s DIY Store.
“Where are we going?” asked Emma as they climbed in to Colin’s top-of-the-range BMW.
“I’ve got a meeting in London, you can come with me and then I’m taking you to lunch,” said Colin, firmly. Then he pulled away from the car park, smoothly and silently, and headed for the motorway.
“So…” Colin paused and looked right as he left the slip road and headed out to the central lane of the motorway, “What’s been happening in your world Emma?” Colin wasted no time in always getting straight to the point of any subject. His quick thinking and expert, snap decisions had earned him the position he currently and rightfully held at Webb’s. He was a kind and thoughtful man, who knew his staff well enough to know when something was wrong and he would be the first to show genuine concern for his workforce.
“I’m losing my teeth Colin, I’m losing everything. I’ve lost my grandad, I’ve lost a tooth, I’ve lost my phone and now I’ve lost my boyfriend… I’ve nearly lost the plot!” Emma couldn’t believe she was blurting it all out. Tears welled in her eyes but she blinked them back.
“Calm yourself down Emma and tell me all about it – one thing at a time,” said Colin, calmly.
“Ok,” said Emma inhaling a deep breath, “Well, I’ve had a problem with my teeth for a long time but I’m so terrified of the dentist that I won’t go – well not until recently when my teeth started to get really loose and I was so scared of them all falling out and I keep having horrible nightmares and some of those include everyone in the office and I was so upset about the present, but I’ll find out which one of you did it and I know you must all be talking and laughing about me and my teeth, which makes it all worse and I keep getting really bad abscesses and I’m too scared so I don’t go and get them sorted out, so I do it myself which I know is really bad for my health but my fear of the dentist has been much worse than the fear of a dangerous infection.” Emma breathed in sharply, “I’ve looked it all up on the internet so I know all about it and there’s no point in my family or friends saying to me, ‘Ooh – why don’t you just take some calming herbal tablets’ and ‘Aah – I felt like you but once I plucked up the courage to go, there was nothing to it’ and then the other day one of my front teeth fell out and when I went to the dentist the worst thing ever happened, my boyfriend was a dentist and I then knew that my nightmares were turning into reality and…”
“Whoa! Slow down!” hollered Colin, “What do you do yourself? What nightmares? Nightmares don’t become true Emma. What present? You’re rambling and making no sense at all. Slow down, we’ve got all day!”
Emma sighed and turned to look out of the window at the frosty countryside passing by, as a single tear filled her eye and then plopped down to her cheek.
“Right, one thing at a time and slowly. You’ve had problems with your teeth for a long time…”
“I’m sorry Colin, I’ve been such a mess lately and that’s without losing my grandad on top of everything else.”
“Why didn’t you come and talk to me Emma, before you got yourself in this mess. You know I’m always there to listen.”
“I don’t know… I guess I feel so ashamed and pathetic,” said Emma, beginning to calm down again.
“It’s not pathetic, I know how you feel Em… exactly how you feel.” Colin turned his head sharply, stole a glance at Emma and then returned his gaze to the road.
“Why do you know exactly how I feel?” she asked, inquisitively.
“Because I’m petrified of the dentist as well…”
Silence fell in the car and the seconds turned into minutes as Emma peered out of the windscreen at the busy motorway and Colin rested his hands over the steering wheel and stared straight ahead.
The meeting was over quicker than Colin expected. Gathering up her scribbled, shorthand notes, Emma joined him at the double oak doors, smiling and nodding politely at the other members of the board as they slowly departed, one by one.
“You did a great job, they would never have guessed that you weren’t my secretary,” whispered Colin as they too, left the conference room and headed down the stairwell to the street below. “How about over there,” he said, pointing to a Thai restaurant across the road, “Fancy that?” Emma nodded, walked towards the kerb and waited to cross the road with him.
The restaurant was relatively quiet for lunchtime in the heart of London. Colin secured a table for two and they followed the waiter to a small table by the front windows. “Perfect, thank you,” said Colin, accepting a menu from the baby-faced man. The waiter scuffled around the table and pulled out a chair for Emma to sit down and then he stood by their side with a notepad and pen poised.
“You like drink sir? Madam?”
The next hour rushed by so quickly that Colin and Emma hadn’t noticed the time ticking away as they chatted about Emma’s major teeth issue, her grandad and her new or x-boyfriend, Andrew the dentist.
“Bloody hell, I can see why you’ve got yourself in such a state Em, what a mess. And it’s pretty ironic that your new chap is a bloody dentist!”
Emma raised her eyebrows and nodded her head as she stuffed a forkful of noodles into her mouth. It was great to eat soft food and plenty of it. Emma didn’t have to worry about crunching down on anything too hard that would cause her further problems with her delicate teeth.
“You’re right about the calming tablets too, I’m sure they would probably be of no use to you now that you have got yourself in to such a state about this. However, I’m still not convinced you’re making the right decision.” Emma shrugged and continued to eat, “Having them all removed is pretty drastic Em.”
“I know it is but it’s the only option for me. I’m in a different place than you were Colin. You didn’t require major work when you had to go, so calming tablets helped you out.” Emma said, in her defence, “The dentist can’t even guarantee that he can save them all anyway, so I might as well be done with them…” she paused and thought for a moment, “I would be so much happier if I didn’t have teeth. I really, really don’t want them anymore, however hard it might be to deal with. They consume my every waking thought Colin.”
“Ok… I do understand. What are you going to do about your boyfriend though?” Emma shrugged again and felt a sudden pang of sadness fill her. “I think you should talk to him. At least give him a chance Emma – he’s done nothing wrong here except gain a very good profession for himself.”
“I know but I really can’t see it working out now. How can it?”
“It can if you get your head sorted out. You’ve got the problem with this – not your boyfriend.”
“Yeah, I know.” Emma had to agree but it didn’t make it any easier.
