A Blossoming Spring Romance

Chapter One The whirring sound of Dr. Mitchells’s drill invaded the room where Sophie Chambers sat next to little Kim Lawson trying to keep her as calm as possible as she cleaned her teeth. Being a four-year-old in a dentist’s office could be scary enough with the bright light shining in her eyes and some stranger so close to her face. The fact that the person in the room next to them was getting a root canal did not make it any easier on the little girl’s nerves. Kim’s mother sat a few feet away, and every once in a while, Mrs. Lawson would reassure her daughter or stroke her arm. Sophie kept a smile on her face, even beneath the protective mask she wore over her mouth, because she had learned little kids could usually sense when she was smiling, either through her eyes or her voice. Sophie had always adored working with children, and normally having a chat with a little girl such as Kim would be one of the highlights of her day, but Dr. Mitchells was not in a good mood at all this Tuesday, and the rest of the staff were walking on eggshells. Sophie felt sorry for Mr. Clark, the poor man getting his tooth fixed. “I’m just about done shining all your pretty teeth,” Sophie explained to the blonde-haired girl. “And then we’ll rinse again. After that, we just need a quick floss and you’ll be all set.” “Did you hear that, Kimmy? You’re almost done.” Mrs. Lawson sounded upbeat but also a little relieved. Every time Dr. Mitchells’s growl of a voice came through the wall, Sophie saw the mother jump. She couldn’t blame her; he did sound menacing. Something told Sophie his assistant, Lexi, would be in a foul mood by the time this was over as well. Most of the time when the dentist was yelling, it was at her. It sounded like she wasn’t doing anything right, even though Sophie knew her friend and coworker was extremely good at her job. More than once, Lexi had threatened to walk out the door and never look back. Not to Dr. Mitchells, though. Just to Sophie. “Okay! Here comes the water. Remember, it’s gonna squirt into your mouth, and I’ll suck it right out with my little tool here.” Kim nodded, and Sophie rinsed the polish off of her teeth. “Go ahead and close your mouth around that,” she said, pulling the water sprayer out and leaving in the suction. “Nice job! We are almost done.” “I said give me the mirror!” Dr. Mitchells shouted. “Why don’t you ever listen to a word I say? Do I have to do everything myself?” There was a loud clanging sound, and Sophie was glad she’d just pulled the last tool away from Kim’s mouth as she physically jumped in her seat. “Oh, my goodness!” Mrs. Lawson exclaimed, covering her mouth. “Everything is fine,” Sophie reassured them, even though she was sure that wasn’t the case. “We just need to floss and then you can go pick a prize from the giant tooth treasure chest out front, okay?” “Okay,” Kim replied, but her voice was shaking. Pulling her mask down for a moment, Sophie smiled. “You’re just fine. I promise.” Normally, she’d call the dentist in to examine her patient’s teeth before she let her go, but that wasn’t going to happen today. Sophie could read the X-ray well enough to know Kim didn’t have any cavities or weak spots. Dr. Mitchells could look at the pictures later if he wanted to, but she wasn’t going to subject this tiny girl to the angry man next door. Sophie pulled out a large piece of dental floss and began to work it between Kim’s teeth. There were more shouts from the room next door, but nothing too disturbing. Finally, she reached the last tooth. “There we go. You are all finished!” “Yay!” Kim’s mom exclaimed. As the little girl sat up, Sophie pulled the blue paper bib off from around her neck. “Let’s go on out front, and you can get your prize while mom talks to Mrs. Wilcox.” “Okay,” Kim said, climbing down from the black chair that seemed to dwarf her. Her mom took her hand, and they followed Sophie toward the reception area. “You can schedule the next cleaning for six months from now before you leave,” Sophie said as she came to a stop at the counter. Mrs. Wilcox was presently on the phone, but she smiled and nodded, her short gray hair bouncing around her head as she did so. “Actually,” Mrs. Lawson said, stepping closer to Sophie as she sent Kim away to the giant tooth next to the receptionist’s desk to pick a price, “I’m afraid I’m not going to schedule another appointment for Kim here.” Sophie’s forehead wrinkled with concern. Had she done something wrong? Before she could even ask, Mrs. Lawrence said, “Oh, Sophie, it’s not you. It’s just… I’m afraid I don’t trust Dr. Mitchells around my child anymore, not after today. I don’t know what was happening next door, but I think all of that commotion must scare her. I can’t imagine what might happen if she ever actually had a cavity.” Mrs. Wilcox was off the phone now, and Sophie caught her eye before she formulated a response. The receptionist had worked with Dr. Mitchells for almost thirty years, having joined him early on in his practice. Even she nodded sympathetically. While Sophie had only worked here for five years, it was long enough to know the doctor’s attitude was getting worse all the time. He’d lost several patients recently because of his temper. “Well, Mrs. Lawrence, we hate to see you go,” Sophie said. “There’s a dentist office in Berryville, and I’ve heard a lot of people from church saying they’re going to start going there. Some of them have already switched.” Sophie had heard more than a few patients mention the dentist in the neighboring town. Not knowing what to say, Sophie just smiled. “We’ll still see you at church, though,” Mrs. Lawrence reminded her. “Kim is so excited that you’ll be starting rehearsal for the Easter program soon. She’s finally old enough to be in it.” Thoughts of the Easter program made Sophie genuinely smile, and she glanced over at Kim who had finally chosen a prize and was coming back. “Yes, we are starting on Sunday after church. I’ll be glad to have her in my group.” “I get to sing at church,” Kim said, taking her mother’s hand. “That’s right, and Sophie is going to be your teacher.” “Yay!” Kim said, smiling up at her with bright eyes. Bending down, Sophie said, “We’re going to be doing a program called Amazing Grace all about how to show other people forgiveness like Jesus did. It has lots of cool songs. I think you’re gonna love it!” Kim giggled, but her mirth was cut short by another clatter of metal hitting the floor down the hall. She whipped her head around and looked that direction. “I’ll, uh, let Mrs. Wilcox help you now,” Sophie said, standing back to her full height. “It was nice to see both of you. I’ll see you Sunday.” She patted Kim’s shoulder and stepped around the visibly shaken mother and daughter. The sound of Mrs. Wilcox’s reassuring voice trying to calm them as she went away made Sophie feel a little bit better about walking away from them. Hesitantly, Sophie approached the door where Dr. Mitchells was working on Mr. Clark. In the past, rushing in to be of assistance had ended up being a bad idea that just got her into trouble. Once, she’d gotten in trouble for not rushing in to help. And then there was the time she’d asked if she should come in and help, been told yes, and then got yelled at for being in the room…. She knew she couldn’t win, and there was really no reason to try. But Lexi was in there, and Sophie cared about her friend, who she was sure was likely on the brink of tears by now, even if she had become a bit hardened to the doctor’s attacks over the last three years since she’d started working there. Sophie also felt sorry for Mr. Clark who was likely contemplating what in the world ever made him decide to come to this office to get his teeth fixed. “Can I do anything to help?” Sophie asked, leaning in the doorway. Dr. Mitchells glanced up but didn’t say anything at first. On the floor, Sophie could see the strewn contents of two dental trays. There were tools and other supplies everywhere, and Lexi couldn’t stop to pick them up because she was still trying to assist the dentist in finishing up the root canal. After a lengthy pause, Dr. Mitchells said, “Sophia, don’t just stand in the doorway like an imbecile. Get in here and clean up this mess!” Biting her tongue on both accounts, Sophie followed orders and came in to pick up the scattered tools off of the floor. Not only was she upset at being called an imbecile, it seemed Dr. Mitchells wasn’t even trying to remember her name anymore. At first, he’d at least tried to keep it straight, but anymore, Sophia was generally what he called her, despite being politely reminded hundreds of times that her name was Sophie. She glanced up at Lexi and caught her friend’s eyes above her mask. They were red and watery, and it was evident she was just barely keeping it together. Sophie gave her a sympathetic look, but she knew there wasn’t much she could do for the other woman under the circumstances, not unless they were both prepared to walk away and never look back. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Sophie needed this job to pay rent, and Lexi was trying to help her mom out who was a single mother with three kids at home. Just as Sophie finished picking up the last of the utensils, Mrs. Wilcox stopped at the door. “Sophie, dear, your 11:00 is here,” she said, with a sympathetic smile. Mrs. Wilcox was the only staff member that Dr. Mitchells never yelled at, probably because he played golf with her husband and had known them for so long. She looked at the doctor sideways as she turned to go back out front. Sophie stood and set the discarded trays on the counter next to the sink. She still needed to clean the room next door before she could bring back her next patient. As she was mentally preparing to go do just that, Dr. Mitchells’s voice caught her attention. “Your 11:00?” he asked, “What happened to the little Larson girl?” “Oh, they were in a hurry,” Sophie stammered, not correcting his misstatement of the patient’s name. She hated lying to anyone at any time, but in this instance, it was the only thing she could think of to keep herself out of trouble. “Her teeth looked great though. You can look at the X-rays….” Dr. Mitchells spun on his stool to look Sophie in the eye, and she took a step backward, hitting her back on the counter. “Sophia, how many times do I have to tell you? You are not the dentist. I am the dentist! I don’t see your name on any of these diplomas or certificates hanging on the walls! The next time you let a patient leave this office without me seeing them first, you will walk out right alongside them. Do you understand?” Even though she couldn’t see most of his face because of the mask he wore, it was evident by his beady eyes that Dr. Mitchells meant business. She imagined the foamy white goo forming in the corners of his mouth as it often did when he yelled. His bushy white eyebrows looked like two caterpillars attempting to reach each other as he scowled at her. “Yes, Doctor,” Sophie said quietly. There was no reason to say more as he returned his attention to Mr. Clark, who, by the looks of him, was ready to get up and run out, root canal or no root canal. As Sophie made it out the door, she heard Dr. Mitchells whispering, “Lazy, incompetent, self-entitled fools, the whole lot of them.” Without dwelling on the list of names she’d just been called, Sophie hurried next door to ready the room she’d just vacated. She cleaned it quickly and thoroughly and got everything ready for her next patient. At this point, she couldn’t even remember who it was, even though she’d carefully checked her schedule earlier that morning. Hopefully, she would get done quickly, and then she and Lexi could lock themselves in the lunchroom for some peace before the afternoon patients began to arrive. Dr. Mitchells always went home to have lunch with his wife, so they would have a chance to let off a little steam without fear of being overheard.