The History of Helena Gorton, DDS

Part 4: "Let's Get Down to Business," and Side Story #1

Howdy y'all!

Big thanks to everybody who's checked out this story so far, as well as my followers here, as well as on Twitter and Instagram! Also, big thanks to IRL friends and family who have shown their appreciation for my
art. Love all of you! Anyway, here's more "History of Helena," with the following two parts discussing some of the trials and tribulations of Helena's business/dental practice, as well as a side story about how she became a musician. As usual, to start with, there will be a list of characters important to these pieces of the story. Here, I introduce a new character, Marla Matoi, and there will be more of her, as well as other new characters, so stick around for more, which should come soon. Here we go:

Important characters:

Helena Gorton:
-Basics:
  -Type/Species: Fish woman
  -Where is She From? Unknown, other than the sea. She was found by a fishing boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
  -Occupation: Dentist
  -Hobbies/interests: travel, alternative music, going to concerts, playing bass, driving
  -Where does she live? San Francisco
  -Diet: Exclusively raw fish and seaweed
  -Relationship status: lives with her partner, John Gorton, the fisherman who caught her in the Pacific Ocean

Marla Matoi:
-Basics:
  -Species: Human
  -Where is she From? She was raised in Concord, but she moved to San Francisco because she always loved visiting the city growing up. She regrets moving, but she has her practice there, and makes a lot of money.
  -Occupation: Founder of and Head Dentist at Marla Matoi, DDS
   -Hobbies/Interests: Going to jazz concerts, ornithology, writing poetry, tending to her garden, coffee
  -Where does she live? San Francisco, California
  -Diet: Omnivorous
  -Relationship status: she lives with her girlfriend, Jean

Now, back to the actual story:

Part 4: Getting Down to Business

Helena successfully registered her business, and was able to use the money from the lawsuit for this, renting a space, acquiring initial supplies, as well as advertisement in local publications/online. At first, the promotion was helpful, though her ads did not include her face (not necessarily unusual in ads for dental practices). Her ads did emphasize the variety of procedures available, affordability, effectiveness of treatment, and a soothing environment. Helena had worked hard to create a calming atmosphere, having extensively researched ways to do so, from furniture arrangements to decor to wall color to accommodations/refreshments to music.

Despite her efforts, and the initial comfort of early patients when coming into her office, many other people were either unnerved, went speechless, or walked out when she came in to work with them. Most never returned, even if they stayed through the whole appointment, and despite Helena making the effort to interact with them in a comforting manner. There were a few people who stuck with her, appreciating her service, consideration, and her skill in dentistry. It was quite difficult to get or keep new patients, however. Most never really directly said it, but Helena suspected that people mainly took issue with her looks, considering the types of reactions people had to her, as well as body language and tone of voice when they did talk to her. There were people who were very blunt, and one person even threatened to sue for false advertising, as Helena being a "fish-tailed hellbeast" sent her into a panic, creating a "terrifying" atmosphere. This person even said as much in a Yelp review, along with making claims of the office feeling like a "dirty asylum" and Helena being "completely rude and callous." This almost led to a lawsuit, but Helena threatened to countersue for "horrendous libel," with her and her lawyer from her previous suit gathering proof in opposition to the plaintiff's claim, and the matter was quickly settled out of court.

Unfortunately, Helena's reputation was in the toilet after this, with many other people openly speaking ill of her for similar reasons to the person who had recently tried to sue her. Many thought of her as frightening, but also aggressive toward anyone who would give her "reasonable criticism." Plus, a new practice run by her old colleague from dental school, Marla Matoi, opened near her practice, and quickly got more traffic based on similar promotion strategies to Helena. Both were highly skilled in their field, and made a point to create a "soothing atmosphere" for clients. While neither of them really had any issues with each other in school, Helena quickly felt a searing resentment toward Marla due to this situation. They would even run into each other around town sometimes, and Helena would usually be silent, glare, or grunt and walk away when Marla tried to talk to her. Marla did not understand why this was the case, and would repeatedly try to give her friendly greetings, offer to catch up, and otherwise build a rapport with her.