Fred studied his reflection on the bathroom mirror. He felt awkward looking at himself like this. He had seen himself either shaving or brushing his hair a million times. But he had not looked at himself as he was looking at himself now, as a person. Who was this man? What happened to him? Why was he such a loser?
It wasn’t that the face was ugly or anything. On the contrary, it was a handsome face. It had a masculine jawline, thick eye brows and deep set eyes. The face had great symmetry too. A lot of men would be envious of that face. Even though the years of living had left their marks, those blemishes only made him appear more rugged.
His good looks alone were not enough to keep his marriage however. His wife wanted out and had asked for a separation. He tried to stop her but her mind was made up. He was forced to let go, and now joined the throngs of men that had to manage a complicated schedule of when and whose turn it was to have the kids. This change of fortune was not something that he had seen coming. He was furious.
His jaws tightened, nostrils flared and frown deepened as thoughts of his wife came up. How could she do this to him? Marriage was supposed to be forever. She was doing the wrong thing by him. Fred gripped the edges of the basin hard to steady himself from his rage. When he couldn’t hold his rage, he slapped the sides of the basin and quickly regretted it. He shook his hands then held them to his stomach to ease the pain from the impact.
‘STUPID FUCKING BITCH! You’ll come back to me,’ he growled at the mirror.
Truth be told, Fred would be the first person to admit that he wasn’t the best husband. He knew he could be doing more around the house and with the kids. To him, his wife was great. She was a hard worker. She was up by five am each morning. She packed the kids’ lunches; got their uniforms and school bags ready and had breakfast on the table before waking them. The kids were dropped off to school before she drove herself to work. At the end of the workday, she would pick up the kids from after school care and usher them into a bath while she cooked dinner for the family. After putting the kids to bed, she would clean up the house before heading to bed. She was fantastic.
Fred would help out if his wife asked him to. For example, if she had an early meeting at work, he would drop the kids off to school instead. He could do the groceries and even cook on weekends sometimes. All she had to do was to ask. The trouble was that she had been asking more often.
To save the fights, Fred agreed to do more. However, agreeing and doing were two different things. He tried. But he failed often. He dropped the balls a few times too many. He just didn’t feel up to it. He was too tired, too stressed or not in the mood. The kids were a handful. To his mind, the way their maternal grandmother had spoiled them, they were impossible to discipline. It wasn’t his fault.
When Fred’s wife demanded a separation, Fred was shocked. He did not see that coming. Maybe he should, but he didn’t. A thousand thoughts and questions ran through his mind. How dare she? Is she mad? Does she know that his higher income enabled them to have the more expensive home, the nicer car and the large variety of activities organised for their kids? This is ridiculous. She’s gone bonkers. It can’t be happening!
Fred started to lecture her on her responsibility as a mother and a wife. He warned her that she would be ruining their kids lives by breaking up this family. However, the moralising only drove her further away.
‘You get more flies with honey than with vinegar,’ he reminded himself.
So Fred asked his wife for a chance to prove himself. He would do whatever she asked, whether it was to cook, to clean, or to shop. He would paint the vista of what it could be. He even moved into a hotel when she asked for some space. He was the dream husband extraordinaire.
That performance didn’t last very long however. Fred felt quite miserable and hard done by after a couple of days. He needed to tell her how he felt. So he told her how wrong she was and how much harm she was causing him and their family. He told her that if she could apologise now, he would forgive her.
Fred now lived alone in his new apartment. He took a step back from the mirror and sighed. He asked himself how did all this happen? It couldn’t all be about housework, surely. Jesus, she must be seeing someone else. Bloody hell, who could she be seeing behind my back? Could it be the buff gym dude at work? What could she see in that loser? What about that fancy client from the Eastern suburbs? He’s probably a womaniser. What is she thinking? There’s no way that anyone can be better for her than me. She’s a bloody fool!
He took another look at his face in the mirror. Suddenly he felt competitive. A little smile emerged from the corner of his mouth. ‘I just needed to remind her what she was missing out on. Not everyone has this face,’ he told himself.
He recalled the many girl friends that he had before marrying his wife. This was the time to get another woman. He just needed one to make his wife jealous. He was convinced that once she saw him with another woman, she would regret her actions beg him to take her back. He would be happy to forgive her if she repented.
Fred tried on a few different smiles. The one he liked the most was when he had his head down and he looked up with a half smile. It made him look shy but interested. He practised it a few times and was pleased with himself. Then he noticed something. He pushed his face right up to the bathroom mirror to get a better look at his front teeth. There were some brown stains there. When he looked closer at his other teeth, there were similar stains scattered across them.
He quickly grabbed his toothbrush and gave his teeth a good scrub. How long had those stains been there? He had quit smoking years ago and had not noticed the stains before. Then again, he had never really looked. Life was busy. He had a job, wife and kids.
The stains didn’t budge. Feeling annoyed, he pushed himself away from the mirror and went to grab his mobile phone. He dialled his dentist’s office.
Lying on the dentist chair, Fred watched his dentist with a surgical mask on lean over him.
‘How’s everything going Fred? You’re here to see about some stains?’ Peter asked and started to probe around Fred’s mouth.
Fred tried to explain to his dentist where the stains might had come from.
‘Ahh wahh ahhh dahh ah,’ Fred uttered.
Peter had his round mirror pushed against his tongue. With his mouth wide open and tongue immobilised, it was difficult to make any legible sounds. This observation did not stop him from trying though.
‘Waa waa haa yaa dah,’ Fred continued.
‘Fred, these stains can’t be cleaned or even bleached.’
‘Whaa, waa?’
‘I can get some of the cigarette stains out with a jet but the brown ones here are from antibiotics you took as a kid. They are formed from inside your teeth. The only way to deal with them is to put on a veneer,’ the dentist pulled his mirror out of Fred’s mouth.
‘Veneer?’ Fred was relieved that a proper word came out of his mouth.
‘Yes, we can place a nice cover over your existing teeth to hide all the stains. It’ look brand new and amazing.’
‘On all of them?’
‘Well, even though the stains are quite widespread across all the teeth, I think doing the front ones would be enough. People don’t notice the back ones,’ Peter suggested.
Fred paused and imagined a beautiful woman coming up close to his face. She was playful, sexy and voluptuous. She wanted him badly. She licked her lips stared lustily at his mouth. She moved closer to kiss him and he could smell the strawberry scent from her lipstick. He parted his own lips to receive her. As he opened his mouth, he stopped. From her vantage point, she could see all his teeth.
‘No, I think we should do them all to be on the safe side,’ Fred decided.
‘On the safe side?’ Peter raised his eyebrows.
‘I don’t want to have to worry about them ever. If I was going to get it fixed, let’s fix them all.’
‘I can do that but let me explain the procedure to you. It’s a little intense. I will have to shave off some of your existing teeth to make room for the veneer. As you can imagine, this is not a quick procedure. If you want veneer all your teeth, that’s going to be quite an extensive exercise.’
‘Tell me what it costs and I’ll pay for it.’
‘It’s not just the cost. It’s also time and recovery. You’re going to be on the chair for a long time. If you really want to do all your teeth, I suggest we break it up into three or more sessions.’
‘No Peter, I need this done urgently. I want all my teeth veneered as soon as possible. I am happy to have them all done at once.’
‘Sorry Fred, I’m fully booked at the moment. There’s no way that I could fit in such a long session in such short notice,’ Peter shook his head.
‘Look Peter, I can make this worth your while. Your daughter is a big Taylor Swift fan, right?’
‘Oh yes, Julie is obsessed with Tay Tay,’ Peter’s face lit up and smiled at the mention of his daughter. He would do anything for her.
‘And you know that the tickets to her concert were completely sold out within the hour?’
‘Of course I do. Julie was devastated. She made me upgrade the home internet so that she wouldn’t miss out the next time. I thought that was the craziest thing, hmm well … until your request today.’ Peter’s voice trailed off.
‘Listen, I know the concert organiser and I can get you tickets to the front row seats,’ Fred put his hand up.
‘No way, that’s impossible.’
‘Oh it’s totally possible. You just need to know the right people. Not only that, I can also get her a couple of backstage passes plus access to the after party. Peter, money can’t buy this!’
‘Oh my goodness. Are you serious?’
‘One hundred percent. I know I owe you a lot. A big favour deserves a big prize.’
‘Wow, Julie will be over the moon. Alright, I’ll see if I can shuffle some appointments and clear my calendar for you.’
‘Thanks Peter, I really appreciate this. Can we do this tomorrow?’
‘I want to see the tickets before the procedure.’
‘You got it!’
When Fred arrived at the surgery for the surgery, he had images of images of Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Zac Effron in his mind. He was looking forward to having teeth like theirs.
‘Alright Fred, are you ready to go?’ Peter wheeled over on his stool and leaned over Fred. He put his instruments into Fred mouth and started probing before Fred could answer.
‘Ahh daa maaa faa haa,’ Fred replied anyway. Then Peter got to work.
‘BTW, thanks very much for the concert tickets. They are going to make me Father of the Year to my daughter.’
‘Ahhh haaa waa’
‘Just out of interest, why are you wanting this done in such a hurry?’
‘Ahhwaa aha faaa daaa ma. Daaa ahhh faaaa ahhh haaaa.’
As the surgery entered its second hour, Fred started to feel uncomfortable. While Fred couldn’t feel the pain, he could feel everything else. The vibration from the tooth grinder rocked his head like endless road works. He could feel his brain sloshing around his skill. The odour of teeth dust filled his nostrils and he could taste blood at the back of his throat. His jaws had been opened wide for so long that he was starting to find it hard to breathe. This stress was becoming unbearable.
Fred shut his eyes tight and tried to take a deep breath. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay lying there. It would be too embarrassing to admit that he should have taken Peter’s advice to do it in stages. Perhaps he could just ask Peter how much longer this would take. By this stage however, he felt too weak to even make a noise. He was feeling dizzy and sick. As he tried to raise his hand, his hand went limp and fell by his side. Then he blacked out.
‘Peter, something is not right,’ the dental nurse called out over the grinding noise.
‘What?’ Peter asked but continued working without looking up.
‘The patient doesn’t look well.’ The nurse tapped on Peter’s arm.
Peter pulled the drill out and looked at his nurse to see what the interruption was about. He had so much to do still and he really didn’t want to be distracted.
‘Peter, the patient has passed out.’ The nurse grabbed Fred’s hand and then dropped it to prove her point.
‘Jesus!’ Peter dropped his tool and put his hands on Fred’s face. He tilted his head left and right to see if Fred was still conscious. He was not.
‘Hey Fred, mate. Fred, can you hear me?’ There was no response. He pressed his fingers on Fred’s neck to check for a pulse. It was weak if it was one.
‘Call an ambulance!’ Peter shouted to the nurse. He then cleaned out the blood in Fred’s mouth and removed his mouth prop. He then took off his mask so that Fred could hear him better.
‘Hey Fred, wake up. Can you hear me?’ Peter tried again to feel for his pulse. His mind was racing. Did he just lose consciousness or is he having a heart attack? He leaned closer to Fred to see if Fred was breathing. As he came face to face with Fred, he was greeted by the metallic smell of the blood from his mouth. He wanted to gag and Fred wasn’t breathing.
With all his might, Peter pulled Fred off the dentist chair and laid him on the floor. He placed both his hands on Fred’s chest and started to pump. This is shit! He thought to himself. He knew that the procedure was going to be long but he didn’t expect this to happen. Peter worked on Fred until the ambulance officers took over.
Fred’s wife, Jenny, arrived at the emergency department of the hospital. She followed the direction given by the receptionist and walked up to Fred’s bed. She was shocked to see how poorly Fred was. He was grey and motionless. Before she could recover the the shock of seeing Fred in this way, she was met with another shock.
‘Oh my God, Peter, what are you doing here? You can’t be here. We can’t be seen together. Fred’s here,’ Jenny started to panic.
‘I know Fred is here. I came to the hospital with him.’ Peter grimaced.
‘What, and what happened? Oh God, did you try to kill him?’ Jenny covered her mouth with both her hands.
‘No, I did not. I was trying to save him as a matter of fact. He just had a heart attack.’ Peter explained.
‘Why was Fred with you?’
‘He was in my surgery as a patient. He was getting veneers for his teeth.’
‘He was getting veneers?’
‘Yes, he wanted all his teeth veneered.’
‘Then he had a heart attack?’
‘Yes, right on the chair!’
‘Are you sure that you didn’t…?’
‘Jesus, absolutely not. I love you but I don’t hate him. I mean, he didn’t even know that you and I are together.’
‘But it would be a lot more convenient if he wasn’t around anymore.’
‘Please, don’t even think it. I could be in deep shit if other people think like you do.’
‘So is he dead?’
‘I hope not.’
‘He looks dead.’
‘Stop it! If he was dead, the doctor would have told me.’
‘Why is he so grey then?’
‘Oh Fuck!’ Peter looked at Fred and he was greyer than before. He looked at the monitor and the numbers didn’t look good. He ran off to get a nurse and returned with a medical team. The group of doctor and nurses then got Peter and Jenny out of the way and closed the curtains around the bed.
‘Jenny, I did warn him about the procedure and asked him to spread out the procedure over multiple sessions. But he doesn’t listen.’ Peter scratched his hair forcefully to stop the tingling in his scalp as the team of doctor and nurses worked on Fred. His breaths were audible.
‘I know that. I was married to him for God’s sake. He is terribly stubborn and is bloody good at getting his way,’ Mary folded her arms and gave them a squeeze to ease the tension in her body.
‘He offered me Taylor Swift tickets,’ Fred said regretfully.
‘For this procedure?’
‘Yes. I refused to do the procedure initially but then he made the offer,’ Fred sighed.
‘Wow, Taylor Swift concert tickets?’
‘Yes, the works too with access to the after party.’
‘This must mean a lot to him. Did you ask him why he wanted this so much?’
‘Yeah, of course I did.’
‘What did he say?’
‘I don’t know. I couldn’t understand what he was saying. Patients don’t speak very well when they are on the chair.’
‘Who knows, maybe he’s seeing someone. Lord have mercy on whoever he’s seeing. But it’ll be really good for me to have him get a life and get off my case,’ Mary shook her head and sighed.
‘If Fred survives this, should we come clean with him?’
‘Oh no, No and NO! Remember, you’re our family dentist. My kids know you for goodness sake. They must not find out.’
‘Oh God, I hope none of my patients find out either.’
‘About us?’ Jenny widened her eyes to stare at Peter.
‘No, not us. About a putting a patient in hospital. He’d better not die. By the way, does Fred have a heart condition?’
‘No, not that I am aware of. He’s as fit as a fiddle.’
‘Could he have developed one since the separation? Like with all the stress and everything?’
‘I don’t know. We’ve split up already.’
‘Surely he must have one or he wouldn’t be like this. Come to think of it, you know, why don’t you just say that he has a heart condition?’ Peter gestured to chaotic scene in front of him.
‘You mean, like lying?’
‘I could lose my practice over this incident,’ Peter’s brow furrowed and his lips were downturned like a child about to cry. There was fear in his eyes.
‘Oh Peter, what are we going to do?’
‘The best case scenario is that the doctor uncovers that he has an undiagnosed heart condition. It clears my name and my practice. His heart is a time bomb and it could have happened anytime, anywhere. He could’ve been at his gym or dining in a restaurant. He just happens to be at his dentist when it happens. It’s not my fault.’
‘I don’t actually know what to wish for. If he doesn’t make it, I am liberated from the torrent of abuses that I get from him everyday. I’m really tired of being told that I was wrong, I was a bad mother and I have destroyed my children. It’s really hurtful and sometimes, I start to believe it even though I know it’s not true. But I’m also terrified that if I push back or retaliate, he could do worse. Ultimately, it’s about my children. He’s their father and I don’t want to take that away from them. They should be able to have a relationship with their father,’ Jenny sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes.
‘Tt’s a tough situation to be in. I’m really sorry. He’s horrible to you. From my perspective, I’d rather he lives for my business’s sake. But if he doesn’t make it, listen Jenny, I want you to know that I can be as good a father to your children as I am to my own.’ Peter smiled gently at Jenny.
The curtains opened and one of the masked man in scrubs emerged. He was tall man, around thirties with piercingly intelligent eyes. He removed his masked and approached the pair.
‘Hi, are you the patient’s wife?’ The man looked at Jenny.
‘Ex-wife. We have separated.’ Jenny replied.
‘Right, I’m Dr. Hutchison, the ER doctor. We’re able to stabilise him and he is out of immediate danger. However, he will need to be followed up by a cardiologist as soon as possible to avoid another incident like this one. I’ll arrange for him to move to a ward for monitoring and further testing. He will not be able to go home tonight.’
‘Thanks Doc. I’ll inform his parents. They are his next of kin now.’ Jenny said quietly. The doctor nodded and left. The place suddenly felt quiet. Jenny looked at Fred’s sleeping body and felt a surge of adrenaline.
‘Peter?’ Jenny turned to Peter.
‘Yes Jenny,’
‘You know the offer that you just made before the doctor came out, will you honour it even if Fred is alive?’
‘I will treat your children like my own Jenny. That’s not a problem. I can promise you that. What I’m not sure about is whether Fred will let me. Based on what you tell me, he is likely to turn against me, call the police on me, sue me and make sure that I am ruined,’ Peter grimaced.
‘Yeah, he probably will. But I know now what I would wish for. ‘ Jenny smiled.
