Bubble Troubles (7 page)

Mom tipped her head. “What are you talking about, Mattie?”

“She’s worried that if she goes to the dentist he might pull her tooth, and then she might end up with dentures like Grandpa Troyer,” Mark spoke up.

“That’s not going to happen,” Mom said, pulling Mattie into her arms.

Mattie sniffed. “H–how did Grandpa lose all his teeth?”

“He didn’t take good care of them when he was a boy, and from what I was told, by the time he was a young man he had to have them all pulled. Soon after that, he got a pair of false teeth. But they look really nice, and unless he takes them out, most people don’t know they’re not his real teeth.” Mom gently patted Mattie’s back. “I’m sure that won’t happen to you, because you brush your teeth twice a day, and your
daed
and I make sure that you and all our
kinner
go to the dentist for regular checkups at least once a year.”

Mattie knew Mom was probably right, but she was still worried about seeing the dentist, because she was afraid it might hurt.

“I’ll go out to the phone shack right now and schedule a dental appointment for you. I’m sure Dr. Wallers will make your tooth feel better. But before I do that, let me take a look at that tooth.” Mom turned quickly to Mark. “Would you please put the lettuce I was cleaning in the refrigerator? We’re having salad with our supper tonight, and I want the lettuce to be nice and crisp.”

“Sure, Mom,” Mark said, taking the head of lettuce from her.

While he headed across the room to their propane refrigerator, Mom got out a flashlight and told Mattie to open her mouth real wide.

“It’s this one,” Mattie said, pointing to the tooth that was bothering her.

“Well,” said Mom after taking a good look at Mattie’s sore tooth, “I don’t see any infection around the gum area, so it might only be a cavity. If that’s the case, I’m sure the dentist can fix it real quick.”

Mattie hoped that was true, but in spite of what Mom had said, she was still plenty worried.

As the family sat at the table having supper that evening, Mark felt bad seeing Mattie so upset. She’d only eaten a little of her food, and when she asked to be excused so she could go to her room, he was worried.

“Jah, you can go,” Mom said, smiling at Mattie with a look of understanding.

“I’m sorry your tooth bothers you so much,” Dad called as Mattie left her chair and slipped out of the room.

“Poor Mattie,” Mom said, passing Dad the hamburger buns. “Her tooth is really hurting tonight, but I gave her an aspirin to help with the pain.”

“Did you make Mattie a dental appointment?” Dad asked.

“Jah. I’ll be taking her to see Dr. Wallers in the morning. The appointment is for ten o’clock.”

“Does that mean Mattie won’t have to go to school tomorrow?” Mark questioned, after he’d put lettuce, tomato, and a slice of pickle on his bun.

“That’s right,” Mom said. “She may be able to go after lunchtime, though.”

“I’m not gonna ride the bike by myself.” Mark squirted some mustard, mayonnaise, and ketchup on his bun and then added another pickle. “I’d have to pedal twice as hard if I rode alone, and it’s not as easy to steer when there’s just one person.”

“Why don’t you walk to school?” Dad suggested. “It’s not that far. Before you and Mattie got your bicycle built for two you used to walk all the time.”

“That’s true, but I like ridin’ better than walkin’,” Mark said.

“You can decide how you’re going to get there when tomorrow comes.” Mom motioned to Mark’s plate. “Right now, you need to eat your supper.”

Mark closed the lid on his bun and took a big bite. “Yum. This is sure good.”

Dad looked at Mark strangely, and then he pointed to the only burger left on the platter Mom had placed on the table before they’d all sat down. “Mark, did you take a hamburger?”

“I—I think I did.” Mark opened the lid on his bun and removed the lettuce, tomato, and two pickles. When he got to the bottom of the bun and discovered there was no hamburger there, he snickered. “Guess I must’ve forgotten about the burger.”

Dad leaned his head back and laughed so hard there were tears running down his cheeks. “I think you had so much stuff on that bun that you didn’t even notice the meat was missing.” He forked the burger off the platter and plunked it on Mark’s plate.

Mark looked at Dad and grinned. “Danki. I’m sure it’ll taste even better now.”

“I should think so,” said Mom.

Mark ate every bite on his plate, but he didn’t eat too much, like he had when they’d gone to Grandma and Grandpa Troyer’s for the birthday party. He didn’t want to end up with another stomachache. He’d realized since then that eating more food wouldn’t help him grow any faster. He’d just have to be patient and wait until he caught up to Mattie. After all, she wasn’t that much taller than him—just a few inches. And so far, none of the kids at school had even mentioned his height.

When supper was over and Mark had been excused from the table, he hurried upstairs and knocked on Mattie’s door.
Tap! Tap! Tap!

“Come in,” she said in a squeaky voice. Mark wondered if she might have been crying.

When Mark entered the room, he found Mattie sitting at the foot of her bed, rocking back and forth as she hugged one of her dolls to her chest. As he drew closer, he noticed tears in Mattie’s eyes, so he knew for sure she had been crying.

“Are you okay?” he asked, feeling concern for his sister. “Want me to tickle your feet or tell ya a funny joke?”

She flapped her hand at him. “Go away, Mark. I’m not in the mood for tickling or joke telling right now.”

“Sorry, Mattie. I was only tryin’ to make ya feel better.” Tickling or telling a funny joke was the best way Mark knew of to cheer someone up. He guessed when people were in pain, like Mattie, they probably didn’t want to be tickled, though.

“I’m not gonna feel one bit better till my tooth stops hurting,” she said.

“Guess I’d feel the same way if my tooth ached,” Mark commented, unsure of what else to say. He hated to see Mattie sitting there with tears in her eyes.

Just then, Mom stepped into the room, holding a small dish. “I hope you’re not bothering your sister,” she said, looking at Mark.

Mark shook his head. “I was tryin’ to make her feel better.”

Mom sat on the bed beside Mattie. “Is the aspirin I gave you earlier helping your toothache?”

Mattie nodded. “But I’m still worried about going to the dentist tomorrow.”

Mom set the dish on the table by Mattie’s bed and took Mattie’s hand. “Let’s pray and ask God to calm your fears. Then you can eat the strawberry yogurt I brought you. It’ll go down easy and shouldn’t hurt your tooth.”

As Mom and Mattie bowed their heads, Mark closed his eyes, too.
Dear Lord
, he silently prayed,
please be with Mattie when she goes to the dentist tomorrow, and help her not to worry or be afraid
.

When Mattie woke up the following morning, her stomach felt queasy. She’d be going to the dentist today, and he would look at her tooth. She hoped that whatever he had to do to correct the problem wouldn’t hurt.

I guess it can’t hurt any more than it does right now
, she thought, frowning as she touched her mouth.

Mattie hurried to get dressed and went downstairs, where she found Mom in the kitchen fixing scrambled eggs for breakfast.

“Guder mariye,”
Mom said. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Good morning,” Mattie replied. “My tooth still hurts, and I’m
naerfich
about going to the dentist.”

Mom’s forehead wrinkled. “I thought after our little talk last night, and then our time together in prayer, that you would feel better about things and wouldn’t feel so nervous.”

Mattie nodded. “I did then. But when I woke up, I felt naerfich all over again.”

Mom patted Mattie’s shoulder. “It’s going to be all right. Try not to worry, Mattie.”

Watching as Mom dished out some scrambled eggs for her, Mattie was glad they were soft and would be easy to eat. She liked ketchup on her eggs, so after shaking a little over them, she took her first bite. Her stomach growled noisily, and the sound was more pronounced than the knot she felt there.

Dad chuckled. “Hmm … Sounds like someone’s hungerich this morning.”

Mattie forced a smile and looked over at Mom. “Thanks for making me scrambled eggs. They taste good and don’t hurt my tooth when I chew on that side.”

“I’m glad,” Mom said as she poured Mattie a glass of orange juice.

Mattie took a drink, hoping Mom was right about how things would go at the dentist’s today. This good breakfast Mom had fixed seemed to help Mattie’s nervous stomach. Still, she would be relieved when her appointment was over and the pain in her tooth was gone.

It seems weird going to school without Mattie
, Mark thought as he trudged along the path that led to the schoolhouse, kicking at small rocks with the toe of his boot. He’d decided not to ride their bicycle built for two today, since it would be harder to pedal on his own. Since Russell and Calvin had their own bikes, they were way ahead of him, which was always the case anyway. Mark didn’t care. He still had plenty of time to get there.

Mark had just entered the schoolyard when Mattie’s friend Stella bounded up to him. “Where’s Mattie?” she asked. “And how come you walked to school today instead of riding your bike?”

“Mattie has a zaahweh, so our
mamm
is taking her to see the dentist this morning,” Mark replied.

Stella frowned. “That’s too bad. She didn’t say anything about her tooth hurting yesterday.”

“Well, it did. By the time we got home from school, Mattie was almost in tears because it was throbbing so bad.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope everything goes well at the dentist for her,” Stella said.

“I’m sure it will, but Mattie’s worried that Dr. Wallers might have to pull her tooth.” Mark shook his head. “Ever since we went to Burton for Grandma Troyer’s birthday, Mattie has been worried that she might lose all of her teeth.”

“Why would she think that?”

Mark told Stella about Grandpa Troyer’s false teeth falling out and onto his plate when he’d laughed so hard at Grandma trying to blow out the trick candle on her birthday cake. “It was pretty funny to see Grandpa’s teeth lyin’ there like that,” Mark added with a snicker. “ ’Course Mattie didn’t laugh, and now she’s concerned that she might end up with dentures, too.”

“If she takes good care of her teeth, she should have them for a long time,” Stella said. “My mamm makes me brush my teeth twice a day—in the morning after breakfast, and at night before I go to bed.”

Mark bobbed his head. “That’s what everyone in our family does, too.”

“How come your grandpa lost all his teeth?” Stella questioned.

Mark told her the details, and then he spotted his friend John, who’d just arrived at school. He was about to go talk to John when the school bell rang.

“Guess we’d better get inside,” Stella said. “When you see Mattie, tell her I’m thinking of her.”

“You can tell her yourself,” Mark said. “She’s supposed to be here later, after she’s done at the dentist’s.”