The Adventures of Frankie – 11 – Toothy Grin

Frankie’s fingers were dug so deep into the cushions of the armrest, surely they would leave an indentation. Probably on the wood underneath as well! His mom hadn’t been in the dentist’s chair for more than fifteen minutes, but that was long enough. Frankie was ready to bolt. It wasn’t anything the hygienist was doing to his mom. In fact, the dentist hadn’t even been in to see her yet. It was that guy in the next room. The moaning and groaning were bad enough. Every so often Frankie could make out that the guy was kicking his feet on the foot rest followed by the dentist telling him to relax. What really got to him was the sound of that person’s fists coming down hard on the industrial strength chair. Even through the wall it sounded like the chair was coming apart. Whoever was in that next room was big, powerful and unhappy!

When the dentist said, “I’m going to give you another shot of Novocain,” Frankie hoped the painful sounds would stop. Then he heard the dentist say, “I’ll be back in a few minutes once this takes effect.” Frankie gripped his chair hard again as he imagined the needle sinking into his own gums.

“Well, hello Frankie, Mrs. Dwyer, how are you two today?” Dr. Franklin couldn’t possibly be the one working on the poor guy in the next room. They’ve been coming to him as long as Frankie could remember. He was the nicest, most gentle man in the world. He couldn’t hurt a fly! “Let’s take a look at those pretty pearly whites.”

The examination of mom’s teeth only took a couple of minutes before Dr. Franklin gave her a goodie bag full of tooth care stuff and a clean bill of health for her mouth. That’s when he turned his attention back to Frankie and said, “I’ll be back to check on you in a little bit.” He winked then walked out the door.

By the time Frankie climbed into the big chair, the horrible noises from the next room started in again. Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde popped into his head. Why did he stay up late watching those scary movies mom forbid him and his brother to see? Then his imagination conjured up its own little movie of Dr. Franklin changing into a mad scientist outfit before entering into the next room. That’s when he made a mental note to check the doctor for blood splatters when he came back.

The hygienist noticed Frankie wincing each time a new sound came from the other room. When the dentist’s drill started up again she offered him a set of headphones. He quickly accepted, but it didn’t take long before he reached up to yank them off. She leaned back, pulling her instruments out of his mouth long enough for him to say, “Seriously, Frankie Avalon?” Mom let out a little snicker. Before letting her continue cleaning his teeth he asked, “What on Earth is going on over there?”

Her eyes widen as she raised a finger up to the blue surgical mask covering half her face. “Shhh,” she said pulling the mask down so he could see her lips as she whispered, “Yuck mouth,” before slipping the mask back over her mouth full of perfect teeth.

Mom picked up a magazine and started flipping through it. At that point there was nothing she could do to ease her son’s mind. Besides, the thought that he was subjected to the "Grease" soundtrack on top of all the screaming from the room next door had her just about ready to bust out laughing.

“Well, let’s see how our little man is doing.” Dr. Franklin wheeled up a stool, grabbed a few shiny steel weapons then leaned in.

That’s when Frankie spotted the drop of blood on the man’s collar. Freaking out he tried to get out of the chair but the hygienist was in the way. Mom dropped her magazine in her lap then hesitated, deciding not to jump to action.

He blurted out, “I don’t have yuck mouth! Stay away from me!” His hand shot to his mouth to protect his teeth. The doctor scooted back. Somehow the blood spot on his collar appeared even bigger. Frankie pointed an accusatory finger.

“Oh my,” the hygienist tried not to giggle, “Doctor, did you cut yourself shaving this morning?”

They all had a good laugh at Frankie’s expense then Dr. Franklin leaned in close to explain quietly that the boy in the next room had never been to the dentist before. Unfortunately, now he has several cavities that had to be filled today. And that was something none of the Dwyers’ had to worry about. He flashed a wink at mom, gave Frankie his own bag of goodies and a pat on the head for taking such good care of his teeth.

Brad the bully was sitting in the waiting room holding a towel to his face, no doubt to catch the drool from his numbed mouth. Frankie couldn’t help himself; he flashed a toothy grin, showing off as many perfect teeth as possible.

Peter Berry was born and raised in Baldwinsville, but long since moved to the much warmer climate of North Carolina. Unable to forget his roots, he writes novels based in Central New York. In his spare time he also writes the weekly column, The Adventures of Frankie. If you have any story ideas, drop him a line at [email protected] or visit HappyEndingsPublications.com.