Page 5 of Born to Make You Smile

He let out a deep chuckle, adjusting his striped red tie. “I know. I'm a disgrace to my family.”

It wasn’t often a man born in England hated tea. Since my early days working here, I teased Gavin by calling him Denis. A dentist without the tea or the letter “T.”

He thought it was hysterical.

Thankfully, these off jokes were between us. I doubted the others would handle our absurdities without cringing.

Gavin was born in England. He came to Canada when he was sixteen, alongside his parents and two siblings. The combination of growing up with his family and spending summers in Londonmeant he retained his English accent. Although after being in Canada for so long, his charming lilt had become slightly watered down and transformed into something so distinctly him.

He blew on his coffee, then took a sip. “Oh, I wanted to ask you. What do we think about that new x-ray film?”

“Eh.” I wobbled my head. A strand of blond curl strayed from my messy bun, and I tucked it behind my ear. “I preferred the old ones. I know these are cheaper, but they have this annoying ridge. A few patients have been complaining.”

“Agreed. Don't order them again.” He gave me a firm nod.

“But most offices are moving to digital radiography these days,” I said, urging him to keep up with the times. Before working here, I’d been an assistant at a modern dental office downtown. I tried to incorporate some of the new tech into Gavin’s practice. However, he was always a bit stubborn and set in his ways when it came to change.

“As long as it's not complicated. You know how I am with new things.” He spoke with an apprehensive furrow in his brow.

“You need to be more patient and not get flustered so easily.”

Flustered was an understatement. He was more like a disgruntled toddler on the verge of a meltdown who was barely holding it together.

“Besides, you know I’ll help you,” I assured.

I glanced down at my phone to see an email notification. The same mortgage increase letter sent electronically. As if I needed another reminder.

My stomach tightened.

“Everything all right?” asked Gavin, concerned.

Forcing a smile, I waved a dismissive hand. “Just spam.”

He groaned. “They are getting completely out of control lately.”

I heard Tina greeting a man from reception. Bill had arrived fifteen minutes early.

“I'll see if Bill wants to come in. I’ll try to settle him.”

“Set him up, then come have a quick coffee with me.” Gavin ran a finger over his clean-shaven jawline, flashing me his warm and charismatic grin. His teeth were pristinely straight and just the right shade of white. His smile was essentially a walking advert for his practice.

With a wink, I pushed myself away from his desk, then walked out to the reception area to see a seated gray-haired man bouncing his left leg at an aggressive pace.

“Good morning, Bill. You’re a bit early. Is there anything I can get you? Some water? A magazine? Perhaps a tranquilizer?”

He belted out a nervous laugh. “Grace. No, I'm good, thanks. But I'm sorry I'm so early. I just…I couldn't sleep at all last night, and sitting in my car was doing no good. Figured I'd come in.”

“We’re just about set up, so you can come into the room if you'd like. I can start the water fountain, and I’ll give you a set of headphones. You can relax until Dr. Brinley is ready for you.”

Bill enjoyed listening to classical jazz music during dental work, so I always had a playlist ready for him.

“Sure, thanks. You’re the best.” He flashed me an appreciative smile.

Something was so rewarding about making an overly anxious patient feel more at ease in a very fearful situation. I truly loved my job. The patients were wonderful, and my coworkers were like family. However, while Gavin paid me a very generous salary, the paychecks never seemed to go as far as I needed them to lately.

THREE

On Friday evening, Iheaded over to my best friend Dorina’s place. She lived with her older sister, Vanessa, in a spacious two-bedroom condo downtown. With its ten-foot ceilings, upgraded finishes, and breathtaking view, it screamed luxury. Financially, I’d imagine they were both doing exceptionally well.

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