However, today, was different. It was the first Thursday of the month, which meant, I had a dreaded appointment to keep with the dentist. About a-year-and-a-quarter ago, I decided to get braces, although, everyone including the dentist said it wasn't necessary. Having made my mind up, I went through with it. And so since then, the first Thursday of every month was the slot assigned to meet the doctor. So, if this was my decision, why the dread now, you may ask? Well, as all things, after the initial delight and excitement(??) of wearing braces faded, I began to see the flaw of my choice. It meant I had to go through with this resisting strain put on my teeth no matter what, until the dentist himself was pleased with his work. Last February, I was finally relieved of the braces and quite honestly i felt no different than when the whole process began. I must, however, remind you that the braces never once during the time I had them on, brought me any discomfort or pain. The mouth did feel unusually full, but otherwise everything was fine. So now when I was through with the braces, the doc gives me my retainers and say I have to put them on. And this I did not like one bit. For one, they kept jumping out of place when I spoke and for another it was just pure irritating. And so after one or two days of faithfully wearing them, it reduced to nights only and then eventually I just kept forgetting and the retainers rested in a box on my shelf. A visit to the dentist in the following months caused me some trouble as he reprimanded on my slacking off with the retainer. Not that it made me change; once again, after the initial fire was put out, I went back to not wearing them, until today. As I had to meet the dentist and there was no skipping it. Well, so now I guess you understand why I'd dread this appointment with the dentist.
Today, I woke up and got around by my everyday routine, had breakfast and settled to read the novel I was presently lost in- "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet. The morning went by as such, till noon, when mom reminded me of the appointment I had to keep. After lunch, I stole a couple of moments to finish the chapter I was reading as the hero was just making his comeback and defining his territory. Once that was done, I started to get ready for the appointment. Mom had a couple of stuff to buy as well, so she handed me the list and I walked off into the sun hoping the afternoon would skip by as fast as possible.
The weather was lovely. A sunny day, no less. As I trotted away up the street to the dentist's, I saw a familiar face making her way down. She was an elderly woman, maybe in her early fifties, elegant and there was something about the way she carried herself that gave her a touch of aristocracy. I remember seeing her at church on Sundays, and some loose talk about her being into matchmaking and stuff (kind of typical of the women her age around here). As we neared, I smiled acknowledging her, but boy, was I shocked when she addressed me asking of my family. (But then it isn't all that astonishing. If you've seen me once with my family, the height is kind of gonna stick in your head forever). She assumed I was on my way to college, and I should have left it that way, but NO. I had to open my retainer filled mouth to mumble I was on my way to the doc's. She smiled, we walked on our ways. It then struck me as to how stupid I was. Sometimes, I clear real silly things for no reason. But anyway, what's done was done and I walked on.
Approaching the dentist's I saw it was empty, and figured I reached quite early. However, the nurse informed me the doctor would be unavailable today and make it only next month. I thanked her, and inside I let out a sigh of relief. I thought to myself, I had one month to wear the retainers regularly and minimize the possible dosage of scolding.
I, then, took a look at my mom's shopping list and she needed- bananas, bread, snacks for the evening, milk and some band-aid. I figured I'd go to the supermarket that was just less than half a mile up the road I was on. A supermarket would be easy, since I'd get everything I wanted there, but on the other hand if I chose a particular way back home, I'd find small shops on the way to purchase the items on my list. And so, my first stop was at the grocer right next to the dental clinic. I asked him for half a kilo of small bananas and smiled. He showed me two bunches of bananas, one kind of over-ripe and the not-so-ripe, and asked me which I wanted. Since I was no expert in identifying the ripeness, I told him we needed it for tomorrow morning. And so he cut off some from the not-so-ripe bunch and told it'd be fine for tomorrow. I thanked him and asked him how much it cost. He said Rs. 9 only. Now Mom gave two crisp notes of 100 thinking I'd go to the supermarket. So I had no change and handed him a 100 rupee bill. He jokingly said why not give me a 1000 rupee bill and I smiled candidly and replied: "I will, once I start earning". We shared a polite laugh and I thanked him again and went on my way.
A couple of feet from their was a bakery. I stopped by and bought some bread and snacks. So now all I had left was the milk and band-aids. Across the bakery, was a small medical store which would get me my band-aids. Crossing over, I asked for a packet of band-aid but they were out of packets and asked if I would like them loose. I was contemplating it in my head, when the old fellow there translated his question in English. I smiled and answered back in Malayalam I'd have 20 of them. He was still looking at me, and I said "Yes, 20 of them please" in English. He counted the strips and handed it to the lady there. And she mumbled the amount. It wasn't quite clear if she said 50 or 80 as the two sounds kinda similar in Malayalam. So, the old fellow there, proud to show of his English, once again butts in to say "Fifty, five zero". I handed him the 100 rupee bill I had. He smiled and asked putting together his broken English, "You don't have less money?". I didn't understand at once what he meant so he tried again saying "You don't have a smaller currency--uh, note?". And then it hit me, he was asking if I had change. But I smiled apologetically saying I didn't as he handed me my change. I thanked them again and left the place.
Now there was a house nearby on the same route who were dealers of milk. So I went there and rang the bell. An unfamiliar face greeted me as I asked for milk and I found out that the family had moved and they stopped selling milk there. So much for everything on my way home, I thought. Now, I'd have to go all the way to supermarket just to buy the milk. But then it dawned on me that a small detour on the way would get me to a small shop that sells milk. I took the path and walked till I reached that shop which was in my neighborhood itself. I stepped in and asked for milk and guy there asks me back, "Smart or Jersey?". I was flabbergasted. Huh, what did he mean Jersey shore and stuff. So I said, still confused, "Um, no. Milma Milk?". And he laughed at my ignorance and said, "Yeah. There's two kinds. Which do you want?" . At this point the only distinction I knew was the color of the packets and I said that I wanted the red ones. So he nodded, "Yeah, those are Jersey." . Well, I now know that I thought, and paid him for the milk and set back on my way home.
Well, and so these meeting with people an sunny afternoon kind of lightened the day a bit more and was a welcome change from my routine. Coming home, I shared it with my Mom and we had a good laugh about it. That was when she suggested I write it down as an afternoon shopping experience. And so I came here and did just that.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Maryann
