Paralyzed

Terri pulled open the door, took two steps and then froze. It was the sight of an average sized house spider that had brought her to this abrupt stop. She was paralyzed by something that looked as though it wouldn’t survive a sneeze. Slowly she backed herself up against the wall between the noisy water fountain and the drooping palm, managing not to take her eyes off of the creepy crawly creature. She quickly scanned the lobby in a silent attempt to seek help and also as a reaction of embarrassment. The waiting room could have been any other dentist’s waiting room. A man sat with his head tilted back, his slicked-back hair formulating a grease spot on the outdated wallpaper. He moaned every so often; it probably had something to do with his swollen cheek. A mother bounced her baby boy on one knee and tried to soothe her scared and sniffling young daughter, she spoke in a strong confident voice, “You’ll be fine.”

 An old lady held a worn-out Reader’s Digest eight inches from her face. The lobby music, smooth jazz, couldn’t drown out the receptionist’s attempt to communicate with the non-English speaking patient that needed to schedule a root canal.

Terri was relieved yet troubled that no one had noticed her extravagant exit from the bathroom. As if going to the dentist wasn’t bad enough she here she was, now having a stand off with her biggest fear. On the fear list, spiders stood well above the fear of heights, fear of success and the fear of hitting a pedestrian with her car. It had also been one of her most embarrassing fears. As she stood cornered by the eight-legged arachnid she remembered the time when she was seven and Bobby Johnson had placed a plastic spider on her desk. She shrieked louder than Aunt Gretchen would sing at a Christmas party, and also as a direct result of the gag, Terri wet her pants. Bobby couldn’t have planned the disruption at a more perfect moment. All eyes of the classroom were on the nervous Shannon Hatley as she rambled on about the 5 to 7 inches of rain that Portland, Oregon had received which caused the rivers to flood. When the frightened Terri shrieked, 19 pairs of eyes moved from the current event report to Terri, and then to the puddle beneath her seat.

            The sound of her last name being butchered got Terri’s attention, “Ms. Rude?” The dental hygienist read from her clipboard with no confidence, “Ms. Rudd?”

            Terri looked up at the cute twenty-something girl in bright pink scrubs. The perky dental hygienist connected with the look of terror on Terri’s face, “Oh Ms. Rudd, there is nothing to be scared of.” The hygienist started to make her way across the lobby toward Terri. “It’s just a cleaning and check-up.”

            Terri’s eyes grew larger as the bimbo hygienist walked toward the spider with no awareness of its presence. Terri readied herself for the spider to run straight toward her. She tensed up and tried to calculate if she would be able to jump up on the water fountain. The hygienist’s crisp white sneakers tromped their way across the lobby’s worn out industrial carpeting. Terri began to perspire; her backside was now plastered against the wall, she felt around for something to grab but couldn’t find anything. She wanted to cry or scream or just say something. Terri felt the world closing in on her as the hygienist with her very white straight teeth and very white sneakers, neared her. The hygienist with her endearing gaze came closer to Terri, she began to reach her arm out to Terri and then, the hygienist’s size seven and half crisp white Reebok came down on the helpless spider. Terri relaxed, and the hygienist with her tilted head and extra wide smile, placed her calming hand on Terri’s arm, “That’s it, just relax. You’re going to be fine.”