A Lady in Attendance Read online

  Glancing once more around the room, she admired other paintings that hung throughout the simple but comfortable building. Working with him did not seem daunting, and neither did filling her days attending to the patients’ needs. She could do this. There had been a time in her life when it would have been an ill fit, but now, she felt immense gratitude. The patients did not scare her, and the teeth, well, she’d manage. Perhaps Providence had led her down Front Street on the very day Gilbert Watts was interviewing for a reason. A pleasant warmth filled her heart, and for a moment she felt less alone and less afraid.

  Grinning, she said, “I’m very thankful. I’ll be here tomorrow.”

  Gilbert Watts watched Hazel leave. She’d said she was twenty-five, and he’d believed it when she walked in. She’d been so prim and proper, not a bit silly like the younger female interviewees had been. But now, seeing her skip away, he didn’t think she seemed all that different.

  No matter her demeanor, he’d given her his word, so there’d be no changing his mind—at least not until after he gave her a chance. Ladies in attendance, once a novel idea, were on course to become the norm. And he saw the benefits. With a lady in the office, his young female patients could come more freely rather than having to find a chaperone. With good help, he knew he could work faster. And with the demand for his services so high, he’d be able to help additional patients.

  Despite the obvious rewards of having help, he worried. He’d mulled the decision over in his mind for many weeks before putting up the “Help Wanted” sign. Somehow he’d become a creature of habit, comfortable in his bachelor-dentist ways. Hazel may wish to prattle aimlessly about everything and nothing all at the same time. Or worse, she may cry at the sight of someone in pain or be too delicate to handle the bloodier side of dentistry, and he had no experience with tears or with prattle.

  Looking out the front window again, he caught one more glimpse of Hazel before she turned the corner. He’d thought her hair was brown, but now with the sun shining on it, the color looked nearly red.

  In dental school, the other men called redheads spitfires, and they swore they had tempers that matched the hue of their hair. The thought of a hot-tempered woman working for him made his palms sweat. He wiped his hands on his pants, turned away from the window, and retreated to the art room, where he threw his nervous energy into Rebecca Weidel’s bridgework. He’d been working extra hard on this one and wanted it to be perfect. Poor Rebecca had lost both of her front teeth as a youth, and now she was about to marry her sweetheart. The teeth, the wedding. He knew it was all expensive and important. These teeth would be a work of art that Rebecca and her future husband would never regret spending their savings on.

  CHAPTER

  TWO

  “Ina!” Hazel shouted as she burst through the front door of the women’s boardinghouse. “Ina!”

  Her new friend emerged from around the corner with a pile of papers in her hand and concern written across her face. “What is it?”

  “I have a job!” Hazel danced around the room, unable to control her excitement. “A real job. And it’s not stitching or cleaning like I’d feared.”

  Ina set down her load and grabbed her friend’s hands, pulling her into an embrace. “Oh, I’m so glad. This day was going so horribly wrong, and now you’ve brightened it. Tell me everything.”

  The two had met only a week ago when Hazel first arrived at the boardinghouse, but already they shared a sisterly bond. Hazel’s years in prison, with its ever-changing social dynamic, had taught her to make friends quickly and to never take a kind heart for granted. On Hazel’s first night at the boardinghouse, Ina asked Hazel to go for a walk with her and they talked without ceasing, proving that the bonds of friendship did not require excessive time to cure.

  “Why was your day so horrible?” Hazel stopped prancing about and studied her schoolteacher friend, only to find her sunny disposition darkened. “What happened?”

  “Tell me about your job first.”

  “I can’t. Not until you tell me what happened. Otherwise I’ll worry more than I already am.”

  Ina ran her hand along the raised red birthmark that covered the majority of her chin. Hazel had inquired about the mark shortly after their first meeting, and Ina had returned her question with a bucket of tears as she told Hazel how it was her curse in life.

  “Tell me about your day,” Hazel pleaded. “I want to hear.”

  “Very well. Dolores, another teacher, had her brother, who she’s been telling me about for years, meet me for our noon meal. I’d dreamed of this encounter. I imagined he would see past my ugly mark and find me charming.” Ina continued to touch her face, her fingers sliding back and forth along her jawbone. “He stared at my chin but didn’t ask about it. His eyes weren’t kind—they were disapproving. Worse than that, they made me want to lock myself away where no one could see me.” Her shoulders slouched. “If only I could stop myself from dreaming, maybe I could be content with what I have.”

  “I’m sorry.” Hazel set a sympathetic hand on her friend’s arm. She understood wishing for things to be different, but poor Ina’s remorse was not of her own doing. And unlike Hazel’s, perhaps it could be overcome. “Someday someone will see you for you. There must be a man out there—someone smart enough to know what a treasure you are. Whoever he is, that is who you truly want to be with.”

  “You’re sweet to say it.” Ina’s gaze wandered around the poorly lit parlor they shared with the other boarders. Dark wallpaper and heavy curtains only added to the gloom. “I’m twenty-three, and even though I’d like to escape this place and move into a home of my own, I think I need to accept that this is my life.” She raised her shoulders and laughed. “It’s just a bad day. I’m sure tomorrow I’ll cling to my romantic notions again. Now, tell me about your job. I’ve no doubt your good news will lift my spirits.”

  “It’s for Doctor Watts, the dentist. Do you know of him?”

  “I’ve taken girls with toothaches to see him. He’s handsome in a quiet sort of way.”

  Hazel hadn’t expected to see stars in her friend’s eyes again so quickly. Although she should have. In the short week they’d spent together, Hazel had found Ina’s sunny disposition and affectionate yearnings endearing. “What do you know of him?”

  “Not a great deal. I know he grew up here and leads a quiet life. There doesn’t seem to be much else to tell. He’s not married. He’s just a dentist.”

  “He can’t be just a dentist,” Hazel said, picturing the man she’d met. He’d been quiet, but she’d sensed that there was more to him than he’d shown her. And when he’d looked toward his art room, she’d seen a spark in his eye. “No one is just a dentist.”

  “I don’t know much about him. When I’ve been there, I’ve just sat and admired him while he treated the girls. I don’t think there’s a rule against staring at a dentist, is there?” She giggled. “I envy you—spending all day with a handsome man.”

  “I suppose to some he is attractive, and with a little cleaning up, he’d be ever so much more. But it makes no difference. He made himself clear that he has no interest in anything beyond a working relationship. Oh, Ina, it was so funny. I nearly burst out laughing.” She mimicked Gilbert’s nervous stance. “He shifted around, telling me he needed to make sure I understood. ‘I have every intention of remaining unattached.’ He said it just like that.”

  Ina laughed, but Hazel sensed a hint of sadness behind the jovial sound. “I suppose you and I will never make a match.” She frowned, then rallied and straightened her shoulders. “At least we know how to make our own joy. You have your flute and I have my books, and we can find comfort in our ability to care for ourselves.”

  “You’re right. Work is a blessing. Although I’m not sure I’ll enjoy looking in people’s mouths.” Hazel scrunched up her face and groaned.

  “I wouldn’t like that either. But I wouldn’t mind looking at Doctor Watts all day. Even if he isn’t the marrying sort.”
r />   “I’m not sure I’m the marrying sort either,” Hazel said, cringing at the irony of her words. “But I’ve never been against staring at one of God’s finer creations. I shouldn’t jest. He seems a good enough man. I’d better go and press my dress for tomorrow.”

  On her first day as a lady in attendance, Hazel asked many questions and twice had to fight the bile that rose in her throat at the sights and smells she saw in people’s mouths. But she never let on, and she worked hard, grateful for the tireless work she’d performed at the reformatory and the work ethic she’d left with. Gilbert spoke little, but more than once she saw him nod or smile as she worked. And once, he said, “You have a way with people.”

  Her second day, she asked the same questions again just to be certain she knew the answers. And she only wanted to run for a bucket once when a Mr. Loffer came in with a bulging cheek that nearly exploded when Gilbert drained it.

  Later, when Davey Smith came in with a toothache, she held the boy’s hand. He squeezed back tightly as Gilbert pulled his tooth. When he was about to leave, Davey threw his arms around her and she wondered why it’d taken her so many years to truly care about others.

  By her third day, she was moving about the office with ease. Between patients she tackled the floors, scrubbing years of dirt off the wide wooden planks. Gilbert nodded when she caught his eye, and then to her surprise, he got his own rag and joined her.

  “I can do the floors,” Hazel said when he knelt beside her. “I’m not sure it’s proper for a dentist to scrub the floors.”

  Gilbert dipped his rag into the bucket. “I’ve never cared much for how others saw me.” He knelt beside her. “You’ve not stopped working for a single minute. I think I ought to take a lesson from you.”

  A week in, and she could hand him the tools he wanted without being asked. In that same amount of time, she’d grown accustomed to Gilbert’s near-silent ways and made herself at home in the small office.

  On her eighth day of attending, she was beginning to believe she knew what to expect at the office, until little Bianca Carluccio, with her round cheeks and black curls, arrived. The poor child shook with fear, whimpering her nervousness in Italian. Hazel grabbed the dental file Gilbert was holding and balanced it on the tip of her finger. Bianca’s eyes followed her as she walked on her tiptoes, then pretended to dance like a vaudeville star. Bianca clapped her hands, and then she laughed. And then Gilbert laughed.

  Hazel stopped what she was doing, and the metal instrument fell to the floor. Dumbstruck, she gaped at him, mesmerized by the sound of his deep, warm laugh. How sweet the sound. Tears crept into her eyes, threatening to spill over. Five somber years spent locked away from laughter and now here she was surrounded by its stirring melody.

  “Let me try.” He picked up the file and placed it on the tip of his finger. Up on his toes he went, but before he could frolic across the floor like she had done, he dropped it. With a clang, it hit the freshly washed planks. Again, he laughed, and Hazel knew working for Gilbert, no matter how professional their relationship was to be, would also be fun.

  “Mr. Murdock, the doctor needs you to hold still and stop acting like a baby,” Hazel said, imitating the authoritative voices the matrons at the reformatory had used so often.

  “I’m trying,” the large man said as he squirmed, rocking his head back and forth. Beads of sweat ran off his face, dripping onto the floor. “I’m just awful scared.”

  Hazel bent over him and looked him straight in the eye. “You are going to have to try harder. You hold still or I’ll spread word all over town that you were a worse patient than Willard Pierson, and he’s six years old.”

  Mr. Murdock nodded twice and then held his body perfectly still like a giant statue, mouth ajar. Gilbert slid the goat’s foot elevator under Mr. Murdock’s bad tooth. Blood seeped from the gums, but he didn’t flinch. The stubborn tooth now wiggled slightly. Gilbert’s forearms flexed, and his face grew tense as he gripped the tooth with the forceps and worked it in a figure-eight pattern. With the steady movement, the tooth worked itself looser and looser until it finally came free. Hazel released the breath she’d been holding and patted Mr. Murdock’s shoulder.

  “It’s out.” Gilbert held out the tooth in front of the man so he could see it. Hazel handed Gilbert fresh bandages, and he busied himself stopping the bleeding. “The pain may take time to go away completely, but it’ll subside now that the source of the pain is gone.”

  Mr. Murdock turned toward Hazel with somber, bashful eyes. Gilbert pumped the chair and returned the man to sitting. She smiled at their patient. “I’m sorry I had to be so stern with you.”

  Mr. Murdock’s cheeks, and even his multiple chins, turned pink. Then his lips spread into a sheepish grin. With cloth dangling from his mouth, he said, “I’d planned to be much braver. I’m right sorry about the way I acted. I hope I can trust you to keep my behavior between the three of us.”

  Hazel gave him another reassuring pat. “Of course. Having a tooth pulled is no small matter. Besides, Doctor Watts isn’t too much of a talker, so no need to worry about him, and I can keep a secret when I need to.”

  “I wasn’t sure about having a woman here, but you’re something else. You’re something special.”

  “That’s a lovely compliment.” Hazel breathed easier knowing Mr. Murdock would not hold a grudge against her for her firm words. “When you’re ready, I’ll take you to the other room to rest. We’d like to know your mouth is done bleeding before you go home.”

  After settling Mr. Murdock in the recovery room, she went back to the chair to clean it before the next patient. Gilbert watched her, amazed at the efficient way she went about her tasks as though she’d spent years, not days, at the dental office.

  “You think I was too blunt?” she asked Gilbert after wiping the head of the chair dry.

  He stopped writing in Mr. Murdock’s chart and rubbed the scruff on his chin. “Naw, he seemed rather taken with you. I don’t think he minded.” He chuckled softly. “I’ve wanted to say things like that for years.”

  “You should try it. I can’t imagine how you would ever get that tooth out otherwise.”

  “You admitted to him yourself that I’m not much of a talker.” Gilbert smiled at her. Unbeknownst to her, even this conversation was out of character for him. “I’ve been quiet so long, I hardly remember how to say what must be said.”

  She gathered up the dirty instruments and put them into a pot. “With a little effort, you could be a regular conversationalist.”

  “I doubt I could ever be as firm as you were.”

  She elbowed him as she walked by. He startled, then relaxed when he saw the twinkle in her eyes. “There was a time when I was known for speaking my mind. I guess it’s good you found me.”

  “I guess it is.” He raised an elbow, surprised by his urge to respond with matched playfulness, but he held back, unsure what to make of this budding friendship. “I have a few patients who will make up tooth pain just to spend a little more time with you. We will be busier than ever.”

  “I’m glad I’m not scaring the patients away.” She wiped the puddle of sweat from the floor.

  “Wait until you see Murdock in the dead of summer. He’s like Niagara Falls, never stopping.”

  Would she still be there in the dead of summer? It was early fall now. Summer was a long time coming. He swallowed the lump that rose in his throat when he thought of having the office to himself again.

  “I’ll be sure to have extra rags on hand.”

  “Maybe by next summer I’ll remember how to carry on a conversation and the office won’t be so quiet for you.” He lifted the chart he held higher and lowered his gaze, embarrassed by his bold words.

  “I wouldn’t stop you from conversing a bit more, but rest assured that you are an easy man to work for.” Hazel dipped her dirty rag into the bucket and stood up. Her voice took on a different tone, one he couldn’t quite decipher. Pensive, heavy—he couldn’t decide. “I
’ve enjoyed it more than anything in such a long time.”

  If his tongue hadn’t been so slow to speak, he’d have inquired after her meaning, but she backed from the room muttering something about checking on Murdock before he could spit the query from his mouth.

  Women had always made him nervous. His own mother died when he was young, leaving him with only a few scattered memories of her—hardly enough to help him navigate the world of women. His father had been a soft-spoken man and his brother, Eddie, well, he was louder, but he’d left without teaching Gilbert how to be at ease in the presence of the opposite sex, and he hadn’t heard from him in years. His school years were spent at an all-boys school, and then dental school was all men. His friends had talked him into escorting ladies out from time to time, but it was never with enough frequency to feel comfortable, and that’d been years ago. Of course, he’d had women patients over the years. There’d been no way around that. But he’d said only what was necessary and busied himself with fixing their teeth.

  And now here he was spending every day with an intriguing woman. She was pretty too. He’d been surprised the first time he’d thought her pretty, but he was not blind. Any man could tell she was well put together and full of life. Though there were times when he caught her out of the corner of his eye, and he thought he saw something sad in her countenance. The heaviness was fleeting, but it was there, and he wondered what part of her story caused the lingering sadness.

  Normally, though, her brown eyes, with their green flecks, sparkled when she entered the room. Watching her boss Mr. Murdock around today was a thing of beauty. Gilbert was now entirely convinced Hazel’s hair was red rather than brown. He’d never dreamed there was a way to get that man to hold still, but she’d done it. Perhaps redheads weren’t the worst thing to have around a dental office.