Two Thirty

So this last Saturday morning at 11:12, my tooth falls out.  Well, not my tooth exactly- a crown from my upper back left molar.

Pronto I call my dentist’s office in Glenview- knowing full well Dr. Toraason- my artistic genius of a dentist- doesn’t work on Saturday.  (And that’s not a typo.  Those two “a’s” in the middle of his name signal some Scandinavian background I’m thinking.)

Uh oh.

Sure enough his voice mail sends me to the phone number of his associate – a new guy I have never met, a Dr. Storti.  I’m a wee bit panic-stricken over this tooth thing.  What does this mean? Will I be toothless over the weekend? Do I need a new crown?  Can I wait until Monday?  Will this all end in a root canal?  Ow.  How much will this set me back?  I want Dr. T. Ow!

I patiently wait approximately ten seconds, and since the emergency dentist hasn’t called me back yet, I hit my next go-to number.

My brother, Kenny.  My sister-in-law Mary Lu answers the phone.

“My crown or something just fell out.  And my dentist doesn’t work on Saturdays.”

“The same thing happened to me.  I went to a great guy as an emergency.  Oh, where is that number?  We’ll call you back.”

She hangs up and I call 1-800Dentist.  As the gal on the other end is trying to find a dentist nearest me, Kenny calls back.

“I can’t talk.  I’ve got 1-800Dentist on the phone right now and…”

“Hang up.  I found the good emergency dentist.”  And he gives me the number,

I call.  No luck.  They can’t see me until Monday.  I report back to Kenny.

Kenny gives me another number, but it’s the same sob story.  Then I try another dentist, and that office is already closed for the weekend, too.

I just about make peace with the fact that I’m going to be tooth-less until Monday when my phone rings.  It’s that guy on emergency duty from my dentist’s office.

“Is this Ellen Ross?  This is Dr. Storti.  Dr. Toraason is out of town.  What seems to be the problem?” asks a cheerful voice.

“Something just fell out my mouth, Doctor,” I explain.  “And I don’t know if I can wait until Monday to have it replaced.  What do you think I should do?’

“Is is an inlay or a crown?” he asks.

“I don’t know.  I can’t tell.  What’s the difference?”

“Does it look like a tooth with some metal inside it?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a crown.  We need to put that back in.  I can meet you at the Glenview office in at 2:00.”

A huge wave of relief washes over me- but there is one problem.  I’m car-less, and getting out to the Glenview office is going to be a logistical nightmare.

“Can you hold on a minute, Doctor?  I live in Lincoln Park and I don’t have a car today, and I’m going to have to call my brother to see if he will be able to take me.  I’m sorry but this came out of the blue and…”

“That’s ok.  I understand.  Why don’t you see if you can make arrangements and call me back.”

I call Kenny.  Again.

“The dentist can see me at two.  (Although light years had seemed to pass from the moment my tooth fell out, it was now just 11:48.)  Can you drive me out to Glenview?  I’m sorry to ask.  Are you busy?  I know.  I know.  It’s Saturday and I’m a pain in the ass.  It’s just that my mouth is starting to hurt and…”

“Hold on.  Mary Lu’s car is being serviced.  Can you Uber over here, and then we can take her to her car, or maybe I’ll pick you up or maybe…  You know what?  Just call the guy back and tell him you’ll be there.  We’ll figure it out.”

Nice.

With another sigh of relief I call the dentist back.

“My brother can take me out there,” I say.  “I will see you at the office at two.  And thank you so much for doing this on a Saturday,” I added.

“No problem,” he says.  “I’ll see you there at two.”

I now go into the kitchen to shut off the chili I’m cooking.  But no sooner do I take the pot off the stove, when my phone rings again.

It’s that Dr. Storti calling me back.

So soon?

Uh oh.

This can only mean bad news.  Something has probably come up, and now he can’t make it after all, and now I will have to cancel Kenny and Mary Lu who have just texted me that they will pick me up at 12:45, drop her off at her car, and then take me on to Glenview.

I answer the phone with a sinking heart.

“You know what, Mrs. Ross?  You said you live in Lincoln Park and that you were having trouble getting a ride.  Well, I live in Lakeview (Author’s Note: Actually I live in Lakeview too, but I figured a suburban dentist was more likely to understand where I lived if I said “Lincoln Park.”)

Why don’t I just pick you up and drive you out to the office with me?  It will save you all that hassle.”

I’m floored.

‘You’ll do that for me?  Wow, that would be great.  You’re right.  This was going to be a goat*%&$ (Author’s Note: Excuse my lingo, but that’s what I said) because my brother was down to one car today. This is SO awesome.  Are you sure?”

He laughs.  “Yeah, I’m sure.  Now what’s your address?”

I tell him.

“I’ll see you at 12:45 or so.  I’ll call you when I’m close.”

“This is the nicest thing ever. And Doc, if you’re single, you just made my year,” I add.

I mean it.

He laughs and hangs up.

Nice.

I text Kenny.

“Who needs you?  Seriously. The dentist is driving me out there himself.  If he’s single, I’m going to marry him.  Thanks any way.”

Kenny texts me back.

“Does he like destination weddings?  I’m thinking Cabo.”

When the Good Samaritan dentist calls that he’s five minutes out, I go downstairs to meet him.

When I open the passenger door, this is who shows up.

Handsome, young and smiling.  Just what the doctor, I mean, dentist ordered.

He extends his hand.

“Hi, I’m Chris.”

“Do the words ‘American Dental Association’ mean anything to you?” I ask suspiciously.

(I just want to make sure I’ve got the right guy.)

He laughs and off we go.

The traffic is terrible (Kenny dodges a major bullet) and over the course of the hour commute, I learn that Chris:

1. Went to Northwestern for undergrad.

2.  Likes to play ball (shortstop) and ski.  He’s partial to Big Sky in Montana. (Nice.) And Vail. (Boo.)

3. Went to dental school at the University of Maryland at Baltimore.  (I went to Goucher, so we reminisce a little about about Baltimore.  Since I lived there before he was born, Chris assures me it’s changed a little.)

4. He’s a newlywed.  Just got married to his college sweetheart in August.

We get to the office, we go in the back way, and he takes a good gander at that crown.

“It’s cracked.  You’re going to need a new one.  It’s pretty old anyway,” Chris informs me. “But I’ll fix you for now.  Call the office on Monday and we’ll set you up for a new crown.”

In a flash, he’s gets the old crown anchored in place.

It feels perfect.

Nice.

There’s only one more thing I have to do.

I text Kenny the bad news.

“He’s thirty and perfect for me.  But he’s married.”

Kenny texts back.

“Does he have a younger brother?”

Nice.