“Okay, Ms. Ella, I’m going to make this as painless as possible but the aftermath includes some swelling and a little intense soreness.”

“I’m all set and readyyy,” her gray haired patient said in a slur as her anesthesia began to kick in.

Caroline turned on the drill and carried on with the root canal procedure. She worked in Happy Smiles Denver, a practice her dad had opened himself, a few years before Caroline was born and after her mother had run off. Dr. van Buren, her father, had had many loyal clients throughout the decades and Ms. Ella was one of them.

“Be kind and keep everything personal,” was Dr. van Buren’s advice to his daughter. After all, one day she would be running the business herself. As the buzz from the drill filled her ears, she couldn’t help but wonder about her patient, Ella. She had no children on file, nor had she had a husband.

No grandchildren? She thought. She imagined that Ella lived with a house full of cats though she didn’t at all smell or look like it. She was an attractive elderly woman and dressed really dainty. Now she was about her father’s age and getting a root canal. She didn’t ask questions. She just wondered why.

Here Caroline was, aged 36, and it seemed like she would soon be on the same lonesome route as the woman in her chair. When she was finished, she showed Ella out. Her nephew picked her up. He was handsome. About 21. Too young for herself but still, it didn’t hurt to look.

“Look at him, bright eyed and bushy tailed,” she thought. “Had he a girlfriend? If he does I’m sure he cheats on her,” she judged. Caroline scolded herself for being such a cynic.

It wasn’t at all her nature, but her biological clock was ticking. The sounds of ticks and tocks seemed to follow her wherever she went. Her younger cousins had had children and her 22 year old cousin was on her third child already.

“All I need is an extra push,” she thought.

Caroline left her office about 3 PM. That was the latest she would work on a Friday. She insisted that it was social time, whatever that meant exactly. Caroline had a few girlfriends but none of them came close to Austin. It was in her experience that most women befriended her as a means to get close to Austin. At least, that was her experience in high school.

This hour wasn’t a social call though. She had to go see about her father who was in the hospital for his high blood pressure. It didn’t sound too serious but because of his age, she was afraid. After all, Dr. van Buren was the superman in her life and the only real friend beside Austin that she had. Before Aussie came into the picture, it had only been her and her dad and she was really not at all ready to lose him. No one could ever really prepare to lose a lifelong friend.

Caroline walked into the hospital where she was very well recognized. Not because she had been there very often, but because and some point in time, her dad had treated most of them. Everybody loved him and he was charming even in his old age. He was always quite the ladies’ man and he had no trouble attracting Caroline’s stepmom, Elizabeth, who greeted her with a hug as soon as she walked in the room.

“Hello Carol, my lovely flower, how was work today,” she greeted.

“Root canals, X-rays, loud school children and old grumpy people. Nothing out of the ordinary Lizzie,” she pleasantly replied with a smile.

“It’s good that our superhero over here has a break from it all,” she said with worry evident in her voice.

Grabbing her hand, Caroline assures her that it will be fine not knowing if that were true at all. All they could do was hope for the best.

“Hello Pepper Pots,” her father said in the midst of the sadness that was about to overpower the room.

“Pops!” she squealed.

“And Aussie!” Austin peered from behind the room door.

“Oh my god, what are you doing here!” she yelled to her best friend whom she hadn’t seen in weeks.

“Well I hadn’t seen the Ironman in a while so I figured I’d stop by because I’m needed,” he said arrogantly. It wasn’t a lie though. They relied so heavily on each other and it was no mystery at all.

“Why are you two here. Go out! Have fun. I have Lizzie.”

“We know pops, but we worry about you,” Caroline said in defense of herself and Austin.

“I’m old and every person reaches this point in their life if they keep on living.”

“But you’re not dead yet,” Lizzie said with her usual dark sense of humor.

“Please go. It will make me feel better...”

“It will make US feel better,” Lizzie agrees.

Austin laughs. “I’ll wait for you downstairs. Meet me at my place later, Carrie.”

“Okay,’’ she says as they share a hug.

She smells him and he smells like some type of cologne that she cannot quite put her finger on. Austin recognizes her smell really well, it’s the same fragrance she’s been wearing for years. The smell of flowers and vanilla fills his nostrils.

“Take it easy, pops,” Austin says, kissing his second father on the forehead.

“He’s always been gentle that way,” she notes silently, as her handsome best friend exits.

“Why can’t you date a man like that, flower? He’s hot,” Elizabeth squeals with lifted eyebrows.

“He is so in love with her, Lizzie. That’s the same way I used to look at you.”

“You mean that’s the same way you look at me now,” she snaps.

“Ladies, I’m dying you know,” Dr. van Buren says changing the direction of the conversation.

“Don’t say that pops, no you’re not.”

“Not yet but maybe soon.”

“Pops...”

“Before that happens, I would love to see you walk down the aisle.”

“But dad I...”

“I thought that nice guy Billy proposed to you. Why didn’t you guys work out?” Lizzie butted in. “You guys would’ve made such a handsome couple.”

“We didn’t make it because he was sleeping with one of his students,” Caroline said on the defense line.

“Bastard,” Dr. van Buren said, followed by a few coughs.

“Before I leave Earth, Caroline, I would love to walk you down the aisle.”

“It’ll happen dad. It’ll happen.”