Chapter 16:

Mina woke up restless. She hated surgery of any kind, she only ever had minor things done like a torn ACL in high school and stitches a few times and she was 40 but the thought of getting teeth pulled was freaking her out. Madison had fixed her schedule and was going to be her “nurse” for the day. Mina rolls over and checks her phone *6:17A* it reads. Normally she was an early riser but she was attempting to relax today

“So much for that” she mumbles to herself. She rolls out of bed and staggers to the bathroom. 

After a nice hot shower, she dresses as comfortable as possible and heads downstairs to enjoy a nice cup of coffee while she waits for Madison. Mina was finishing up her second cup when the doorbell rings. It was quarter past 9, Madi was a bit early, but she always just lets herself in. Mina heads to the front door. Her face falls as she opens the door to reveal JC standing before her in a pair of grey joggers and a black tee. He was wearing his glasses again- making her heart flutter. 

“Josh- what- uh- what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to take you to your appointment” he answers as she wanders back to the couch. He follows, closing the door behind him. 

She flops onto the sectional and just stares at JC. 

“Do you want me to leave?” he asks

“No… I just...Madison would” she mutters to herself 

“What’s that?”

“Oh nothing. I’ve gotta go finish getting ready, have a seat and I’ll be right down.”

Mina heads upstairs and immediately calls Madison. 

“Madi! What the hell?!” 

“I know, I know…you’re mad but I had to tell you a little white lie or else you would have refused to go” 

“Fine-”

“He actually was concerned when I mentioned I needed a favor for you” 

“Really?”

“Min, the guy cares about you- he’s your friend, you’re just gonna have to deal” Madison laughs “He’s taking time out of his day to drive you to the dentist” 

“Okay, okay… as always you’re right!” 

“You know I am and you love me!” 

“I do- even though I’m still a little mad at you right now” 

“I’ll stop by after work to relieve Nurse Chasez or should I say “Doctor Chasez”” Madi jokes

“I hate you” Mina replies with a laugh. She hangs up and finishes brushing her teeth.

“My appointment is at 10:30 and the dentist isn’t far but I’m ready” Mina announces as she rejoins JC downstairs. 

“You sure? You seem nervous” he chuckles

“I’m ready as I’ll ever be” she grins as they walk outside. 

Driving to the dentist takes no time at all. Mina gets herself checked in while JC sits in the waiting area, flipping through an old magazine. They never do update these in waiting rooms, he laughs to himself as Mina sits down next to him. A few moments later a hygienist comes out to take Mina to the back. 

“Are you coming back with her?” she asks JC as Mina stands up 

“I was just gonna...stay…” he begins at the same time as Mina says “You can come back.” 

The look in her eyes said please even though she didn’t say it out loud. 

“Okay… I’ll uh come with you” JC answers and follows them to the back. He waits in a recovery room while Mina has her procedure so he can be there for her when she gets done. 

45 minutes later two dental assistants lead Mina into the recovery room. 

“She’s still a little under but she should be waking up soon and take it easy in here for a while after she wakes up” one tells him as they help Mina into the chair. Once they get her settled they turn back to JC. 

“Here’s a list of do’s and don’ts of after care. She should have little to no pain but if she does have anything in the next few days here’s some pain medication to ease it just a bit” one assistant explains as she hands him a pill bottle and a pamphlet. 

“Thanks” JC replies as Mina starts to wake up. She turns her head in his direction and starts giggling. 

“I know you!” she slurs “Josh-ua!” she calls out, putting a strange emphasis on his name. It all comes out sounding like a bunch of gibberish due to the gauze in her mouth. 

“Hey Willie, how are you holding up?” JC asks as she starts laughing hysterically again. 

“Sorry, she may be a bit loopy for a few hours but once she gets home she may sleep most of it off” the second dental assistant explains. “Let me just change her gauze and give you some extras and she should be ready to head home!” she adds.

The hygienists switch out Mina’s gauze and give JC a few more instructions. They help her out of the chair and JC catches her as she almost falls to the ground. 

“She’s really unsteady on her feet” he laughs and he helps her into a standing position

“You smell good” Mina mutters, leaning into him. JC just shakes his head and walks with her out of the dentist office. 

15 minutes later they arrive back at Mina’s. JC struggles getting Mina out of the car but after a while he finally gets her out of the car and into the house. He gets her settled on the couch and sets about reading the information pamphlet. 

“Joshua!” Mina mumbles from the sofa. He turns to look at her and can’t help but laugh. A bit of drool dribbles out of the left corner of her mouth. 

“Are you experiencing any pain? Says here you can take this medication if you’re having any pain or just regular tylenol but I bet this would help more” he tells her, waving around the bottle the dentist gave him. Mina moves her head back and forth, in an attempt to shake her head. 

“Okay good no pain. Let me check your gauze. The lady said we should change it periodically. I know she just changed it before we left but let’s just make sure” JC states, moving towards Mina. “Open” he asks with a chuckle. Mina opens wide and JC sees that everything still looks good. Moving his finger out of her mouth, she bites down and laughs. “You bit me! Seriously?” 

Mina chuckles as JC goes to wash his hands. He returns to the living room and Mina is lying against the throw pillows. “Let's get you comfy, I brought you some water…the pamphlet says you should drink plenty but you can’t use a straw, so this should be interesting” he explains, setting the water down on the coffee table. 

“What do you want to do, watch a movie, some TV, listen to music?” JC asks, covering her with a throw blanket. Mina snuggles underneath it as JC sits down next to her. He picks up the remote waiting for her reply. She places her cheek against his arm and looks up at him with her big brown eyes. A bit of drool dribbles onto his sleeve. 

“Sing to me” she mutters. 

“What?” 

“Sing to me” she attempts to smile. 

“Okay… what do you want me to sing?” 

“The song you wrote for me” 

“The song I what?” JC stammers, sitting up a bit 

“You wrote for me” Mina repeats, pointing to herself

“You really want me to sing to you?” 

“Sing me” she mumbles again. JC pauses and glances around the room, trying to figure out if he really wanted to go down this road. He spots the daffodils on her end table and smiles. She got them. 

“Those are nice flowers” 

“Alex sent them cause he loves me” Mina states

“Of course… Aldo” 

“Aldo” Mina laughs hysterically as she leans back against a throw pillow, pulling her blanket back over herself. “I don’t love him though” she mumbles. JC looks over at her and could tell she’s getting sleepy. 

“Really? You don’t love Aldo?” JC asks, trying to get her to open up more

“No” she shakes her head

“Who do you love?” he asks as she pauses. 

“I love…Josh! Josh is my friend. He’s pretty and he smells good and he’s pretty” she exclaims, reaching over to touch JC’s face. Confusion crosses JC’s face. Didn’t she know she was talking to him? She’d been saying his name all morning. Her eyes slowly close as her head hits the throw pillow. 

“She dreams in color, but does she know that I love her?” JC sings softly, just looking at her, mostly making sure she doesn’t turn and hit the side where she just had surgery. 

“Joshua” she mumbles in her sleep, a slight smile spreading across her face.