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By Root 1107 0

and he puts on a pair of latex gloves and he examines my cheek. He picks away the scabs. He opens my mouth. His finger fits through the hole. He gets a needle and some string and tells me to clench my fists and close my eyes. I leave them open and I watch as the needle runs through. Inside and out. My cheek, my lip, my mouth. Forty-one times.

We’re through and he’s on the phone with a Surgical Dentist and I’m sitting on the bed and I’m shaking from the pain. I can taste heat and the string and the blood. He sets a date and he hangs up the phone and he starts washing his hands.

We’re gonna take you into Town in a couple of days and get your teeth fixed.

I run my tongue along the stitches.

I know the Dentist and he’ll take good care of you.

I run my tongue along the remnants of my teeth.

You’ll look as good as new.

I let my tongue sit where it belongs.

Don’t worry.

He puts on a new pair of gloves and he turns around.

Now I need to check your nose.

I take a deep breath. He steps forward and he starts looking at my nose. He touches it and I cringe. I can no longer feel my cheek.

This is bad.

I know.

I’m gonna have to break it and reset it.

I know.

The sooner the better, but if you want we can wait.

The sooner the better.

All right.

He spreads his feet and he firms himself and he puts both of his hands on my nose. I grab the sides of the bed and I close my eyes and I wait.

You ready?

Yeah.

He jerks his hands forward and up and there’s an audible crack. Cold white light shoots through my eyes and through my spine and into my feet and back again. My eyes are closed but I’m crying. Blood is streaming from my nostrils.

Now I have to set it.

He moves his hands to the side and I can feel the cartilage move with them. He moves them again. I can feel it. He presses up and it seems to fit. I can feel it.

There.

He reaches for some tape and I open my eyes. He puts the tape across the bridge of my nose and it holds the cartilage in place. It feels solid.

He grabs a towel and he wipes the blood from my face and my neck and I stare at the wall. My face is throbbing and I’m squeezing the sides of the bed and it hurts my hands. I want to let go but I can’t.

You all right?

No.

I can’t give you any painkillers.

I figured.

The Librium and Diazepam will take the edge off, but you’re gonna hurt.

I know.

I’ll get you a new robe.

Thank you.

He steps back and he throws the towel in the garbage can and he leaves. I let go of the bed and I hold my hands in front of my face and I stare at them. They shake, I shake.

The Doctor comes back with a Nurse and they help me change and they tell me about the tests they’re going to give me. Blood, urine, stool. They need to know how much damage I’ve done to my insides. The thought revolts me.

We leave and we go to a different Room that also has a Bathroom. I piss in a cup, shit in a plastic container, take a needle in my arm. It’s simple and it’s easy and it’s painless.

We emerge and the Unit is busy. Patients wait in line for drugs, Doctors go from Room to Room, Nurses carry bottles and tubes. There is noise, but everything is quiet.

I go to my Room with the Doctor and I sit on the bed. He sits in the chair and he writes on a chart. He finishes writing and he looks at me.

Except for the Dentist, the worst of it is over.

All right.

I’m going to put you on two hundred and fifty milligrams of Amoxicillin three times a day and five hundred milligrams of Penicillin VK once a day. These will prevent any possible infection.

All right.

Go to the Dispensary and they’ll give them to you, or if you forget, a Nurse will come find you.

Okay.

Thank you for dealing this morning.

No problem.

Good luck.

Thanks.

He stands and I stand and we shake hands and he leaves. I go to the Dispensary and I stand in line. A young woman stands in front of me. She turns around and she looks at my face. She speaks.

Hi.

She smiles.

Hi.

She holds out her hand.

I’m Lilly.

I take it. It’s soft and warm.

I’m James.

I don’t want to let go, but I do. We step forward.

What happened?

She glances