Fortunately, {it's} Friday

• The day began with burnt popcorn smelling up the house -- my failed attempts at multi-taking so very early on a Friday morning.
• That cup of coffee I'd made? Well, that got left on the counter right next to the coffee pot. And when the girl remembered it, she was halfway down the driveway and the thought of turning around was an impossible one.
• The box of Gingerbread people I had decorated the night before had been neatly tucked into a tupperware box and the moment they hit the back room, they were demolished one by one. And a random, sweet old patient brought in a big {like, REALLY big} plate of homemade brownie squares that were to die for. And yes, this is what happens behind closed doors at Dentist offices around the country. But shhh, 'cause you didn't hear it from me. You didn't.

I round the corner, glancing at my watch and smiling to myself. The next patient would be my last, the phone having just rung and a cancelation cutting my afternoon short. Did I mind? Of course I didn't. I almost collided with Dr. Jay, Peanut Butter sandwich in hand. The office is always smelling of clove oil for temporary fill-ins & the peanut butter sandwiches half of us bring for lunch.

"Hey, don't let me forget to get you set up that CPR class for you."

I thumbed through a stack of charts, "Which class did you want me to do first?"

"Probably, well  ..." Jay contemplated for a moment, thinking of the two classes I'd be needing soon. I personally didn't have a preference, so it was up to his discretion and Johnna's opinion. "I'm thinking CPR first."

Before I could even respond or nod my head in agreement, a voice from the next room beat me to it. "CPR? I'll be your first victim, you can try it out on me!" And the girl inwardly gagged at the thought just then, because she couldn't erase the image of the man in the next room. Big and burly, and bearded and odd in every little way. Something about him unnerved her the moment he'd walked through the door and had attempted flirtiness with the receptionists.

Both women were practically old enough to be his mother, and the moment he'd looked at me and said "I don't have an appointment. I just came to hang around and help out" I had smiled politely, and walked away in short order. Very short order.

There have been many benefits of having a boyfriend, one of them being that while with them for any short amount of time, they offer endless amounts of information on the ways of man and how to avoid people, and in some cases being rude. At first, the girl was utterly and entirely horrified to think of simply walking away from such people, but the moment I did I never regretted it once.

And so, with a very indifferent attitude, I had shown him to his chair and made short order of looking his charts over. I was kind, but not out of my way kind like I was with all the older wrinkled, smiling patients that cheered me through my day. I was more civil than charmingly sweet. * winks *

Apparently, he "bites" too.

I have not become all that familiar with taking X-rays just yet so when I do this, I'm ridiculously anal and nervous about getting everything just so. Johnna has talked me through several so I get it right, and she's a life-saver truly. But this man ... the moment he opened his mouth for me, he almost bit my finger. Can you imagine my attempts after that? Suddenly, sticking that thing in his mouth and rendering him immobile momentarily sounded like a good idea.

Glancing over him at Johnna, I offered half a smile. She read my mind, that dear woman. And within two seconds, she was working around me and swapping places to get it in quick. I had just finished developing the PA when Jay had come down the hall with his peanut butter sandwich, remembering my classes.

So there I was just down the hall from the patient that had earned himself no points, wondering what on earth any of us would say to that? Johnna popped in from the other room carrying a trash can, "What'd he say? I didn't hear him."

"Wants to be my first 'victim'." I said dryly. And Jay saved all of us from thinking of having something brilliant to say. He informed me he'd need a PA as he walked past, to which the man had reminded me that he bites. This is BEFORE the X-Ray, mind you ...

Dr. Jay grinned at Johnna and myself, knowing the guy could hear us and wouldn't really care. "Okay, so you're gonna want to get the ones with spikes on the end." He was teasing of course, and the patient thought it was so funny, he was still laughing when Johnna and I walked in there.

Of course, part of my heart secretly wonders if that's his natural defense against nervousness, but I really couldn't say! Still, it definitely made for an interesting afternoon. But we wrapped it all up with those brownies, and a few hours spent with my grandparents decorating for Christmas.

My cousin and I strung lights on the bushes in front of their house, the munchkins decorated the Christmas tree and all was Merry & Bright. Amen.