The Sound

Epilogue - 5

I flipped through a magazine, bouncing my leg nervously as I sat in the waiting room. He was going to be fine. This was no big deal. He was going to be just fine. I sighed as I read about what hairstyles were in this season, why I should start wearing blue eyeshadow, and which celebrities we were supposed to think were hot. I could barely pay attention as my thoughts were swirling around my anxiety about my boyfriend.

"Who is here for Eddie Munson?"

I nearly shot up at his name and looked up to smile brightly at a pretty dental assistant. I tossed the magazine on the coffee table and hoisted my bag over my shoulder before crossing over to her. She grinned at me and gestured for me to follow her.

"You are...?" she asked.

"His girlfriend," I answered quickly. "Jules."

"Well, Jules," she started, looking down at her clipboard. "Eddie did well – all of the wisdom teeth came out without much issue, and he should have an easy recovery."

"Good," I sighed with relief. She smiled at me. "Sorry, I knew he was going to be fine, but I was still worried."

"It's understandable," she answered kindly. She made a face that made my panic pick up. "He is, however, having a hard time coming out from the anesthesia."

"Is it going to hurt him?" I asked, trying to temper my nerves. She laughed and shook her head.

"No, not at all – it just impacts people differently. We find it helps if we bring the loved ones back while they wake up to make it a little easier on them," she explained. I let out a shuddering breath, relieved again.

Eddie had been putting this off for months. He knew his wisdom teeth had been coming in, and they had been coming in painfully. On more than one occasion while we were fooling around, he would hiss in pain and pull away to grab at his jaw. I was patient about it, cooing sweet nothings and kissing his jaw sweetly until he felt better. This was until one night we were having a particularly good time together, and he yelped in pain, making me worried I had done something to hurt him. I broke my normally patient demeanor and told him that I was no longer going to kiss him or touch him or fool around with him until he got his teeth sorted out.

He had a dentist appointment scheduled the next day.

The dental assistant guided me to a room and opened the door. I couldn't help but smile at my pathetic boyfriend leaned back in the chair, eyes shut, and mouth open with cotton sticking out. The dental assistant pulled a chair up for me so I could sit next to him.

"I'll give you some time together," she said kindly.

"Thank you," I replied, sitting down and waving at her. Eddie let out a groan, and I felt my heart catch. I set a hand on his chest and rubbed it softly. "Hey, grumpy."

"Grumpy? Am not grumpy," he replied. My smile grew and I brushed his hair with my fingers softly.

"Not always. You are just my grump," I said. "Do you feel okay?"

"I feel fahntashtick," he answered. I snorted and traced his features, trying to be gentle with him and help pull him out of the anesthesia.

"Yeah? Maybe you can open your eyes for me then, baby?" I asked, getting close to his face.

"Lishen here, laydee," he slurred, his eyes still shut. He furrowed his brows, and I tried not to laugh. "You butter schtop toushing me like dis, becaush I hab a girfran. And I lof her."

I let out a soft giggle and kissed his forehead.

"I'm not johking, laydee!" he exclaimed. His eyes were screwed shut as he admonished me. "No toushing. I lof her berry mush. I hab lofed her sinsh I was firteen."