10. Misery
The next day left me in complete misery. I can tell by the pain that my braces are working. Now I understand the whole starting wire thing. Dr. Johnson put me in braces, but my first wire didn't do much for me. It was more or less there to make me comfortable wearing braces. Now the real treatment has begun.
I am working on the pros and cons of this approach. The pro is that I learned to brush my teeth and wear braces with my first wire. With this starting wire I did not have the amount of pain and so I am kind of used to wearing braces now. The cons may be that the soft wire may have increased my treatment time and given me a false sense of security about my treatment.
Now I know why all my friends at school hated their braces. The pain I have now is what they experienced. There is not a single tooth in my mouth that does not hurt. And when I open my mouth, the pain increases because the rubber bands are stretched and pull even more. So these are the famous rubber bands that my friends were talking about. I never really understood their complaints, but now I do.
And there is another thing that adds to my misery. My son has started talking about braces even more. He has told me so many times how he is trying to find the optimal time to start his treatment. He has told me every detail of what his future treatment will fix. But I know he will never get braces. It is just a way for him to add to my misery.
He also keeps telling me about his girlfriend's treatment. He has opinions about her orthodontist's decisions and does not agree with all of them. I now know that she will soon be getting fixed braces on her upper teeth. In fact, she already has something behind her upper teeth and that is an expander. I am informed about every detail of what the expander has done for her so far. Not that I really want to know.
She will be entering the passive phase of her expander and that is the right time to start fixed braces, he says. However, he does not agree with the rubber bands for her overjet. He thinks she should get a headgear like his sister. In his opinion, she would do much better with a headgear. Knowing how embarrassing a headgear can look, I doubt she agrees with him.
Another annoying thing he does is his training sessions. I do not know how, but he has tooth models with real braces attached. He uses them to practice taking the wires off and putting them back on. His skills have improved because of that, he keeps telling me. But I do not want to know. He must really enjoy seeing me suffer.
So, he has found ways to prank me even more. I do not know how much longer I can take this. I have failed to put him in braces twice, and after each failure, it gets worse for me. I have to stop his prank, but I do not know how.
I cannot stand the orthodontic books scattered around my house. I cannot stand his talks about his future treatment. And I cannot stand his lectures about his girlfriend's orthodontic treatment. Why is he so cruel to me?
I decide to spend the next night with Deborah. This keeps me out of the house and out of the reach for Marc’s pranks. Marc now knows about my new girlfriend and has even shown some support. I also told him that I want to divorce his mother. He agreed to that as well. He even told me that he doesn't know why I didn't do it before. He feels that she has treated me badly over the years.
When I arrive at Deborah's house, she welcomes me. It feels so good to be with her. I still do not know why this amazing girl prefers me. There are a lot of better looking guys out there. Guys who do not wear braces. And guys who are not still married and waiting for their divorce. She must see something in me, but right now I cannot see what.
The greeting is soon followed by some long and passionate kisses. She is an amazing kisser. I cannot get enough of her kisses. I have also noticed a change in her appearance. She is now wearing her retainers. I know she has them since yesterday, but I did not know she wears them during the day.
Of course, I have to ask her, "I see you are wearing your retainers. Do you want to support me?" She thinks for a moment, "Yesterday I wanted to support you by wearing my retainers. But when I put them in, I found that it was very hard to get them in. My teeth must have shifted after my treatment. So I decided to wear them again. I should never have stopped wearing them at night or at least some nights. I am such an idiot."
I ask her, "So, do you think they will work? Or will you have to get braces again? I really hope you will not have to. I can tell you that they can be very painful." She replies, "I certainly hope it is not too late. I had braces for three years as a child and then another two years as a teenager. I know how much they can hurt. I really do not want them back."
The retainers give her a slight lisp, which I think is a little cute. However, I hope she can avoid getting braces again. I assure her, "Please wear your retainers as much as possible. I really hope for you that they will fix this little relapse." She does not answer, but initiates another kiss. She sure knows how to kiss.
Kissing her while she wears her retainers feels a little different, but not to my dislike. It is just different from a normal kiss. I can feel the wire of her retainer with my tongue. And when I go deeper with my tongue, I can touch the plastic. Deborah has some problems using her tongue in my mouth while wearing her retainer. They seem to restrain her a bit and that is kind of cute.
This evening ends in her bed, as the other evenings have ended. I cannot remember a girl being so passionate. She gives me so much. She is certainly the best thing that has happened to me in recent years. She could be the right girl for me and I think that Sandrine and Marc will like her too.
Speaking of Sandrine, she is very happy with our matching colors. She wants us to continue this father-daughter thing. I agreed with her. Why shouldn't we wear the same color? If it strengthens the bond between us, then it is certainly a good thing.
Sandrine is coming to see me next weekend. I will have to talk to her about her mother. I am absolutely sure about the divorce and I have to tell Sandrine about my plans in person. I hope she has no problems with it. And I think I have to introduce Deborah to my two children.
I think Sandrine will understand me, and she will like Deborah too. Who could not like Deborah? It seems impossible to me. And I think she will be happy for me that I have found someone. I am not sure if my wife has another partner and I do not care.
So I am looking forward to the weekend where I will be together with my two children. Although one of them is constantly pranking me. Maybe he knows how to behave as long as his sister is with him. On Sunday I will take them to an amusement park and Deborah will accompany us. Saturday will be a relaxing day at home.
