Un-named novel #2

         Jason White was a little early for his dental appointment hoping to see

more of Millie Donavan, his dental hygienist. Glancing eagerly at the clock every

two minutes, Jason waited for his name to be called.  He tried looking at a

magazine, but ten minutes later he still didn't remember what he was looking at. He

looked down to see it was National Geographic, a report on solar powered vehicles.

He originally picked it up because of Mt. Everest being on the cover, but it made no

further impact than that.


         "Mrs. Whitmore? How are you?" a young hygienist said as a graying

lady in a blue suit hobbled towards the counter.  Jason waited while his stomach

started doing summersaults.  Being nervous in the dentists’ office wasn’t a new for

him. The idea of his soft tissue being ripped into made him cringe. For once in his

life, though, he was not dreading going to the dentist office; he was going to see

Millie.  Now instead of his normal nervousness, which could be compared to

butterflies, he felt overwhelmed as if the butterflies had morphed into a large flock of

birds.  Today, he decided, was the day he was going to finally ask Millie Donavan

out on a date.  ‘Not so hard’, he thought as he bounced his leg against the coffee

table, ‘just keep your cool and don’t act desperate.’           


"Mr. White?” He looked up and his stomach dropped. Millie was standing in the

door way smiling at him.

“Come on back." She said as Jason quickly, plopping the National Geographic on

the coffee table and followed her to her cubical. She looks pretty today, Jason

noted as he stared at the soft curve of her neck.

“Go ahead and take a seat, Mr. White.” She said pointing at the mint green chair. 

He sat down awkwardly before saying, “Call me Jason.” 

"Okay… Jason. How have you been?" she asked as she pulled a blue

bib around his neck and reclined the chair so he was staring up at two dinosaurs

with toothbrushes and a blinding light.


"Good, been brushing." he said, ‘Yeah, that was really cool’, Jason

thought sarcastically as she put on her eye glasses, mask and gloves.  ‘Sound like

a school kid again. ‘Good, been brushing.’

"Well, let's have a look, shall we?"  Millie said picking up a dental tool. 

As Jason opened his mouth he realized his plan had a flaw in it...and a really big

one.  ‘How am I supposed to ask her out with my mouth wide open?’  He clenched

his eyes shut when he noticed the sharp tool, heading towards his mouth, looked

like a hook.

"Does something hurt?" she asked before cleaning his teeth.

"No, I just get nervous, that's all," he said, feeling more and more like a

wimp. 


"I’ll try not to hurt you.  I can’t make any promises though. You might

feel a pinch once in awhile, but that's all." she said, her mask bobbing up and

down. ‘Come one, man!  Get some guts!’ Jason thought as he said, "I just have bad

memories, I’m okay. I know you won’t hurt me."  ‘Lame…’          

Millie grinned, her mask to go up on the sides.  ‘I couldn't be any cheesier than

that,’ Jason thought sarcastically.  With nothing else to do, he relaxed and tried to

find something interesting to look at to keep from having a panic attack from the

tools entering his mouth.  He found her shirt entertaining, 'Don't forget to floss'

written in dental floss, until he realized he had been staring at her breast for a good

five minutes.  Blushing, he turned his eyes to stare at the dinosaurs on the ceiling,

thinking about the solar powered cars from the National Geographic being crushed

by toothpaste addicted dinosaurs. 


Twenty minutes later, Jason started to get disappointed that he still hadn't asked

her out. He had been daydreaming about her since he met her. It was one of his

most painful visits; she walked into the room and took his breath away.  She had

bright green eyes and long chestnut hair that made one big spiral in a pony tail. 

She smiled at him, burning a memory into his mind.  Six months later, he still felt

the same twinge in his chest when he saw her.


"Iwawauningeffoouuiiiikyurrrrrjoobbb," Jason said around the dental sucker.

"Yes, I do like my job," she said, clearly understanding him, "I feel I am

improving the health of others, one tooth at a time."  She laughed causing her mask

to rise again.

"What do you do?"

"Immmaaammmas..." She pulled the dental sucker out of his mouth to let him

speak. "I’m a…well, I work at a ski resort," he said struggling to find words to

describe his job. 


"And what do you do there?" Millie asked after she had finished cleaning

his teeth, handing him a cup of water and the dental sucker to rinse and spit with. 

"Basically," he sat up and swished the water around his mouth before

letting the sucker do its job, "I am in charge of promoting a ski and ride school …

and in the summer I’m a tour leader."

"A ski and ride school?” Millie said seeming impressed while she took

off her protective gear.  She had marks on her face like big laugh lines and a red

mark on her nose.


"I feel that I am helping improve people’s lives one mountainous slop at a

time,” he laughed, teasing her.

"Oh, well when you look at it that way..." she smiled, the laugh lines

made by the mask accentuating her cheek bones, "but how do you promote the

school?  Are you a web designer or something?"

"Uh, well no,” Jason said blushing, the birds in his stomach taking flight

again. “I’m more or less a…‘symbolic figure’ at the resort.  Let’s just say people

recognize me."          


"Oh, so you’re famous, huh?  What kind of tours do you lead?

“Mostly mountain biking and kayaking tours.”

“Oh wow!  You’re a busy guy. Sound like a lot of fun." Millie said, rolling her chair to

the computer, "Okay, well you’re all done. Do you want to make an appointment for

next six months? I have June fifteenth available, at one o'clock again?"

"Sure..." Jason said pulling himself out of the chair, glad that she wasn't

watching him, "Um, Millie?"


"Hum?" she had just finished typing in his appointment and turned to

look at him.

“I was wondering when you got off work?" Jason said bravely.

"Oh," she said, her eyes widening, "Mr. White, I um...I don't think..."

"It’s Jason and what I meant to say was," he said trying to recover as

quickly as he could, "I … I was wondering if you would like to… to get a cup of

coffee or something?" Millie didn't say anything but looked down the hall to make

sure no one was there.  Jason put his hands in his pockets and felt defeated.  He

stood there not knowing whether to wait or leave when suddenly he had a burst of

confidence.


"I understand with the holidays and all, you might be busy, but if you

change your mind,” He pulled off his blue bib, “just give me a call." Quickly he

picked up a pin off her desk and wrote his cell number on the corner it.  His hand

trembled on the seven but other than that it was readable.


"Uh, thank you Jason," Millie said as he handed it to her.  ‘Smooth,’ Jason thought

sarcastically as he walked out into the waiting room one minute later, grabbing the

National Geographic off the coffee table. ‘Really smooth.’



***


Millie had just finished cutting lettuce when a knock came from her door.  Quickly

she wiped her hands on her jeans and ran to unlock the door for Beth.  On

Saturdays, she and her sister ate dinner together not because she wanted to but

because their mother wanted them to.  Not wanting to fight with her mother, she

agreed to learn what was happening in Judy’s life and report it back.  Fumbling with

the locks, she yanked open the door to find her neighbor and best friend, Robby

Michael, leaning against the door frame instead.


“Missed me much?” He smiled.

“No, go away;” she said even though she held the door open for him to

walk in, “my sister is coming.”

“I know…” Robby flopped down on her green Wellington chair and kicked

off his dirty flip flops on the ottoman, “you look different on those days.”

“What do you mean?” Millie said putting the lettuce in a bowl and

placing it to the table. 

“Well, when you’re not expecting her, you’re usually in your pj’s by this

time.” He said as he looked down and picked at a spot on his sweat pants.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Robby.” Millie laughed going over to the stove to strain the

noodles.

“Don’t let it happen again,” he stretched and reclined his head, “So, what’s for

dinner?”

“No, not this time.” she said sternly, “you are not invited.”

“Oh Mil, your not playing nice again…do I need to put you in the corner?” Robby

laughed as he got up from the chair and walked to the kitchen, “Smells good,

spaghetti?”


“Robby, I’m serious.”  Millie tried to glare at him but couldn’t manage with out

smiling.  She pulled two plates out of the cupboard to prove to him that he really

wasn’t staying and placed them on the table.

“I know, I know.” Robby said grabbing two sets of silverware and helped her finish

setting the table.  Millie knew she wasn’t being nice but the last meal he stayed for,

Beth got the wrong idea about him and called Robby her boyfriend.  Robby thought

it was funny but when Mike, her now ex-boyfriend, found out, he went off the handle

and broke up with her; accusing her of ‘two timing him.’
 

“Will you at least save me a plate?” Robby asked tasting the sauce.

“Sure.” She looked down at her clothes to make sure she hadn’t spilled on them

and was relieved to see that her dark jeans and light blue blouse were stain free. 

When she looked up she noticed Robby checking her out.

“What?” She asked when someone knocked on the door.  “Oh, crap! Okay, this is

how it’s going to go.  You’re going to say, ‘Hi, I just came over for a cup of sugar,’

Then you leave, okay?” Millie said as she walked to the door.

“Okay,” Robby smirked at her, “what am I making with the sugar?” 

“Brownies” Millie said opening the door.


“Hi, Robby!” Beth burst through the door, ignoring Millie, and ran up to Robby. 

“Hey Beth,” Robby said as she wrapped her arms around him giggling.

Millie picked up the purse Beth had just dropped on the floor and put them on the

coat stand. Beth’s crush on Robby couldn’t have been any more apparent. 

Probably why she likes to come over to my place for dinners, Millie thought as she

watched her hug him with her eyes closed.  It was odd seeing a copy of her face,

so happy, but there it was on her identical twins face.  The only real difference

between the two of them, other than their personalities, was their hair. Beth had

decided to dye her hair blond and cut it short into a stylish bob.  Millie let her hers

grow long and left it its natural color.


“Beth?” she said as she pulled on her sister’s shoulder, “Robby needs to go. He

only came over for sugar.” Millie walked to the cupboard and pull out the canister of

sugar.

“Oh, he doesn’t have to go,” Beth said looking up at him with pleading

eyes.  “Please stay, Robby.” she begged, throwing her arms around him again.

“My adorning fan calls for me,” he said to Millie but quickly changed his mind when

she opened her mouth to object, “but I’m in the process of making brownies.”

“That’s too bad.” Beth said her arms now around his waist.

“Here,” Millie shoved the canister into Beth’s belly so she would let go of

Robby, “give this to him for me, would you?”

“Oh, okay.” she said scowling at Millie before handing it to him, “Maybe later you

can bring over some of those brownies?  I would love to taste them.” 

“Humm…I don’t know?” Robby stood there clearly uncomfortable and looking at

Millie for help.  Either he didn’t like Beth drooling over him or he didn’t want to

actually make brownies.  Millie couldn’t tell but she decided to give him an easy out.


“Didn’t you say that you were making them for Mr. Davison down the hall?” she

leaned out into the hall to point at the Davison’s door.

“Beth, his wife is ill. He thought it would nice to give them something sweet.  Isn’t

that nice of him?”  Millie said with a smirk while Robby frowned at her until he

caught on.

“You’re so sweet, Robby.”  Beth said looking at him with admiration.  ‘If my face

ever looks like that, I hope someone slaps me,’ Millie thought disgusted by her

twins’ puppy face.

“Yeah, I’m so sweet.” Robby said, rolling his eyes and walking to his apartment. 

Once the door was closed, Beth turned on her.

“Why can’t he ever stay?” she said angrily.

“He has things to do other than entertain us.” Millie said sitting down across the

table from her.


After a few minutes of Beth telling her ‘how rude she was,’ she moved onto her

favorite topic in conversations; Robby.  Robby’s favorite color? (Blue) Robby’s

favorite foods? (Hot dogs and rice)  Robby’s last name? (Michael)  Robby’s favorite

place to eat? (Red Robin)  Robby’s Job Title? (Graphic Designer)  Robby, Robby,

Robby!  There were a couple times when she took a bite, Millie was able to ask her

mandatory questions about school and work. Answers to both questions were, “its

fine.” Then the conversation would turn back to Robby again.  Does Robby have a

girl friend? (No)  Does he like Indian food? (Definitely no) What kind of movies does

Robby like? (Anything, I guess) What’s Robby doing for Christmas?


“I don’t know?  That’s so far away,” Millie said tired of talking about Robby, “I think

he’s staying here.”

“Three weeks isn’t that far away.  I think I’ll to invite him to Copper Mountain with

us?”

“What?” Millie had just put her last fork full of spaghetti in her mouth and swallowed

in a painful gulp. “He can’t go, he has to work.”

“I think he has enough time to ask it off, Millie.  Anyway, people don’t work during

the holidays.” Beth said getting up to put her plate in the dish washer, “I think it

would be fun to have him there.”

“Yes, it would be fun, but I don’t think he would be able to get the time off.  Plus,

mom would eat him alive!”  Every year for Christmas, the Donavan family gathered

with friends at Copper Mountain for a week and a half of skiing and enjoyment.  For

Millie, it’s more a week of hot chocolate and hell. Their mother was adamant that if

the girls didn’t bring a date, they had to find a date.  Last year out of desperation

she brought Richard from work and convinced everyone she was dating him. 

Mother thought he was the greatest thing since Botox, but Millie didn’t have the

heart to tell her he was gay.


“He’s so cute, Millie!  Do you think he’ll say yes if I asked him?” There it was; the

question she had dreaded coming up.  It’s wasn’t like she owned him. It was just

that she didn’t want to share her best friend with her sister. 

“He’s my friend.” Millie said getting up from the table and putting her own plate in

the dishwasher, “What if it didn’t work out?  It wouldn’t be the same anymore.”

“Sure it would.” Beth said filling the sink with hot water to wash the pots.

“Well, that’s what you think but I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Millie said putting

soap in the dishwasher and turning it on. “I like to keep friends.  Once you’ve dated

them, it’s never the same.” Millie regretted what she said as the words came out of

her mouth.


“What I meant to say…”Millie tried to correct herself but Beth interrupted.

“Millie!  I don’t care what you meant to say. Just shut up!” She threw the pot at

Millie to dry and continued washing the dishes in silence. After they were done

putting the last pot away, Beth turned to Millie with a scowl.

“I know he is your friend but I like him.  I’m asking him to Copper Mountain as my

date.” And with that, she walked over to the coat rack, took her things, said good

bye and left.


***


Five minutes after Beth left, Robby knocked on Millie’s door, brownies in hand.

“What did you do to piss her off?” Robby asked when she opened the door with her

pj’s on.

“You actually made brownies!” She laughed, grabbing them out of his hands and

lending him into the apartment.

“Yup, right out of the box.  So?  You didn’t answer me.” He closed the door behind

him while Millie flopped down on her loveseat and exhaled. 


“She wants to ask you out.”

“I know that part." 

"Then why'd you ask?"

"What I want to know is what’s up setting her.” He sat next to her and grabbed a

brownie from the pan.

“I told her not to.  I told her you had to work during Christmas.” She said quietly

eating a small piece, “So, she asked?  What did you say?”  He looked at her

shrugged. 

“It wasn’t a difficult decision, I told her ‘yes’.” He said, matter of factly, as she

picked up another small brownie.  Craving something salty, he got up to make

some popcorn.


“Millie, look on the bright side.  It’s just a week.  It’ll be fun.  You, me, Beth, in the

snow, together,” he threw the bag in the microwave and pushed the popcorn

button. “Then it will go back to the way it was.”

“A week?” She looked at him in surprise, “she didn’t ask you out on a date?”

Rob shook his head and leaned against the counter.

“What exactly did she ask you?” Millie got up and padded to the kitchen, her

slippers plopping on the floor.


“She asked if I wanted to go skiing during the holidays with your family.  I said

sure.” He crossed his arms innocently and got the exact response he wanted; she

was jealous.

“You jerk!” she said punching him in the arm, “You let me believe that you were

dating my sister.” she huffed and slugged him one last time, “I really hate you

sometimes.” Even though she said it, he knew she was lying. 

“You really are a dick sometimes,” She said leaning against the counter, “and it’s

not funny.”  He laughed, not really listening to her tantrum.  Her face was contorted

and red, her long pony tail bobbed and swayed, as she continued to tell him off. 

Slowly, his eyes wandered to her strong legs.  Normally, she wore sweat pants but

tonight she was in skimpy boxer shorts that peaked out from beneath her bulky

sweat shirt.  The desire to pull her sweatshirt off to reveal the shorts was strong and

the only thing restraining him was the fluffy pink slippers that looked like monsters

on her feet. 


“Robby?”

“What?” Robby’s eyes shot up to hers as he tried to pretend that he had just been

listening, “I’m sorry.  You’re right, it’s not funny.” She rolled her eyes and pushed

him out of the way.

“Hey!”

“Robby, move, the popcorn’s done.” She grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and

opened the microwave. 

“So,” she said dumping the popcorn in a big bowl, “what did you do after you left

here?”

“Oh, not much; surfed the internet, made brownies, bounced a ball on Mrs.

Marmot’s wall until she yelled at me…”

“I can imagine she would do that,” she snorted.

“Yeah,” he laughed because of her snort. “…and I ate a microwave spaghetti

dinner.” He said quickly before shoving a hand full of popcorn into his mouth.

“Robby, I’m so sorry,” She looked up at him, sincerity in her eyes, “I should have

just sent some with you.”

“No, it’s not a big deal,” he said taking the bowl to the living room and casually

flopping down on the loveseat.  Millie followed, grabbing the brownies off the

ottoman and plopping down, making him spill popcorn on the couch. 


“Would you like to hear what she said about you?” She asked as she picked up the

kernels and popped them into her mouth.

“Sure.” he said picking a kernel from between the couch and her thigh.

“She said you were very sexy.  She loves your blue eyes, said they sparkle. Can

you believe that load of crap?”

“Sparkle, huh? She is not too bad looking either.  To bad there isn’t a girl that looks

just like her.” he teased as she took another bit of brownie.

“Ha, ha, you’re so funny.” 

“So, tell me, what exactly are we going to be doing during this holiday?”

“Just you wait,” Millie smiled evilly at him with a smear of chocolate on her front

tooth, “you’re going to wish you never said yes.”



***


The next morning, Millie got up early to go for her daily six mile jog.  She was

determined to maintain her training through the holidays for the half marathon in she

was doing in April.  She had never run a marathon before and decided it was time

to ‘just do it’.  The apartment buildings gym was usually empty at seven since

people were usually getting ready for work.  Throwing on her gym cloths and

grabbing a water bottle, she ran down to enjoy the quiet room and grab the only

treadmill. 


As she walked thru the door, she was disappointed to find someone in the room.  A

bulky guy was lifting weights in the corner and smiled at her when she strode by. 

Swiftly, Millie jumped on the treadmill, turned on her head set and started to warm

up.  Her muscles felt powerful and geared up as she pushed herself to a jog. 


Listening to her favorite music, Millie let her mind wander back to her previous day

at work and the people she had met.  She smiled, remembering Jason White

asking her out for coffee.  He was cute in an awkward boyish way.  If he wouldn’t

have been so nervous, he might have been funnier.  His bright smile and handsome

face resonated in her mind as the thought over how she had dismissed him.  She

had been too quick to judge; after all, she wasn’t dating Mike anymore and now,

was free to do what she wanted. 


Just as Millie decided she was going to call Jason later that day, the weightlifter

walked over and asked her a question.

“What?” Millie puffed, pulling the ear piece out of one of her ears.  She didn’t stop

jogging, fearing that it might be a sign to him that she was interested in talking. 

She wasn’t.

“Do you know what time it is?  There is no clock in here.” He said looking around at

the wall again, like he may have missed it the first time he looked.

“Uh…” she panted, looking down at her watch, “seven fifteen.”

“Thanks,” he said but didn’t leave.  Instead, he stood there watching her.  Hastily

she pushed her ear piece back into her ear, but had to pull it out again when asked

her another question.


“What?” She said getting irritated and wanting to scream. ‘Leave me alone!’

“Did you just move in here?  I haven’t seen you before.”  He leaned on her

treadmill, cockiness oozing from every muscle. 

“No,” she breathed, “you’ve never… seen me… because I …workout…alone.” She

put her ear bud back in and this time, pretended not to notice him when he tried to

get her attention again.  She saw his mouth move and ignored him.  Finally after a

few minutes of not looking at him, she clearly heard the word ‘bitch’ as he walked

out of the room.


Millie grabbed the rails and slowed to a walk, taking a deep breath out of relief. 

She needed a body guard.  Someone who would protect her from men who thought

she was an easy target and a guarantee lay.  She grabbed her water bottle and

drank as she anxiously watched to door to make sure he wasn’t coming back. 

After a few minutes, she tried to jog again but couldn’t get into it like she was

before.  She felt nervous and uncomfortable in the room alone.  ‘What if he came

back?  Would he do something to me?’  Five minutes later she gave up and headed

back to her apartment.