Baby Be Mine (Spinsters & Casanovas Series Book 1) (7 page)

It was a disaster from the very moment
Clarice walked through the door of the dental surgery. Firstly,
there were loud popping sounds, making her nervous to the core.
Then there was that birthday song, followed by the firing of
questions like,
What are you going to do now that you’ve turned
thirty?
and,
Will there be a ring anytime soon?

A ring? Why would there be a ring on her
finger. She had never even gone on date, let alone known anyone who
would want to put a ring on her finger. Who were they asking, a
supermodel with a size-two figure?

Once she managed to escape the clucking
dental assistants, she headed towards the reception desk.

“Why are you looking all gloomy today,
Clarice?” Gracey, the receptionist, asked. “It was your birthday
over the weekend, wasn’t it? Did you get lots of presents?”

“Yes, lots.” Clarice smiled.

“Your patients left a few for you too.”
Gracey gestured to the staff table where there was an abundance of
wrapped gifts.

“Really? Not again.” Clarice went to the
table, and sure enough, presents ranging from flowers to chocolate
hearts sat on the table, all from the patients that regularly
attended their dental surgery.

“Do you have a man yet?” Gracey asked.

“No,” Clarice answered glumly.

“Then my suggestion is to pick one of
those,” Gracey said, referring to Clarice’s patients.

“No way. They’re my patients. We know the
policy of patient care. Do not date your patients while they are
under your care.”

“You could always date the man, then let him
change practices.”

“I’m sorry, but I love money too much.”
Clarice giggled. “I wouldn’t want him to change practices, now
would I? I might lose all that money he spends on his gum
treatments.”

“Yeah, yeah. But happy birthday, Clarice. I
wish you all the best now that you’re thirty. All the wiser for the
next ten years.”

“Thank you.” Clarice nodded, smiling.

“Do you feel wiser, more experienced in
love… I mean life?”

“Yes, I am very well experienced in life,
regarding working for money and owning my own business, but for
that love bit… I admit I’m as rusty as a box of nails left out in
the rain.”

“You, girl, have to go out more.”

“Oh, but I did!” Clarice grinned at Gracey,
as if she were hiding some sort of secret.

“Before you turned thirty?” Gracey
asked.

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“I went to a nightclub.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“And…?”

“It was a disaster.” Clarice frowned.

“Disaster, like how?” Gracey gasped in
horror.

“Not telling,” Clarice said cheekily. “I’ll
let you think on that one. Now what’s today’s schedule like?” She
changed the subject, not wishing to discuss how embarrassing it was
to spit that spirit onto that man’s face and shirt. She couldn’t
help admiring his baby-blue shirt, though. From her early days as a
sales assistant working in the menswear department in Farmers, she
knew the material must be very expensive.

“Clarice, you meanie. I’ll find out for sure
from one of your friends, just you wait.”

“Aye, aye.” She just winked at her.

If Gracey wanted to find out about what
happened to her after the embarrassing episode, then even Elise and
Whitney couldn’t answer her question. After she spit on the man,
she ran away to the restroom and stayed there until she texted her
friends to collect her. What a pleasant way to spend her special
day. Leaning against the wall between the sinks and the paper towel
dispenser, she swore she would never, ever drink again.

“So what’s on the agenda?” Clarice asked
again.

“Today’s schedule is packed. As always. The
patients just love you.”

“Why thank you. Always good to hear.”

“At 9:00, Mrs. Bennett is coming for a
suture removal from that crown lengthening procedure you did last
week. 9:15 a.m., Mr. Bronze is coming in for an implant consult. I
scheduled him for forty-five minutes just in case you want to do
the advance periodontal charting and all that. Then Miss Brown is
coming in for a gum graft consult at 10:00 a.m. Says she’s not
happy with her roots showing. From what I know, I think she uses a
firm toothbrush to scrub her teeth,” Gracey whispered to
Clarice.

Gracey had never worked in the dental field
before. She got very upset when everyone started speaking in dental
terminology. She said she felt like an alien being dropped on
Earth, as she was the only one who hadn’t a clue what the
one-one
or
three-six
was. She had made it her mission
to learn every single term the dental team used. Now she knew the
tooth denotation and even told her back in laymen’s terms that a
one-one was an upper right central incisor and a three-six was a
bottom left first molar. And for every surgery that was spoken in
dental terms, she would translate it back in laymen’s terms. And it
was Clarice’s job, being the big boss and the specialist of the
practice, to always correct Gracey if she ever made a mistake.

“That’s why a majority of the time, patients
having gum recession tend to want a gingival graft,” Clarice
added.

“Again, I gave her forty-five minutes so you
could talk to her properly. You get a break at 10:45. Then at
11:00, you have Mrs. Beanstalk coming in for her deep scaling. She
said she’s allergic to adrenaline local anesthetic, so I asked
Molly to stock up on some Citanest cartridges for you. You know how
fussy she is.”

“Not
the
Mrs. Macy Beanstalk.”
Clarice whined and rested her head on the reception countertop. She
was getting a headache already just hearing the name.

Mrs. Macy Beanstalk was nothing like her
name. She wasn’t tall or stalk-like. If Clarice were able to rename
Mrs. Beanstalk, she would call her Mrs. Muffin because the woman
was just so round. And she talked a lot. There were many subjects
she talked about, so Clarice just wished today’s topic wouldn’t
linger on husbands and babies, because she didn’t want to hear it
at the moment.

Husband + babies + over thirty = a bad
combination for Clarice.

“It’s all right. You could always shut her
up with a suction in her mouth. Or even better, just drown the
woman. Give her a lesson in not talking too much,” Gracey
suggested.

“I would love to shut her up, as you say,
but we can’t go around drowning our patients, now can we? I might
lose my practicing certificate.”

“You are right, Dr. Clarice Chantee
Mason.”

“Thank you, Gracey, but tell me this. Why do
all my patients’ names start with B today?”

“I have no idea. Probably fate,” Gracey
suggested.

“Aye, aye, maybe fate,” Clarice said. Maybe
fate would lead her to her future husband too.

The first thing Clarice did when she crossed
the threshold of her surgery was to close her eyes and inhale the
fresh, clean scent. It smelled of sterile equipment and alcohol.
The scent still lingered even after the cleaners had done their
job.

Clarice really liked coming into the clinic
at this time of the morning, when everything was so peaceful. The
tick-tocking of the clock drew her attention. She gave a sigh.
Another thirty minutes to go before Mrs. Bennett was due for her
stitch removal.

Just then, Molly popped her head into the
door.

“Good morning, Clarice,” she greeted
cheerfully.

“Good morning, Molly,” Clarice replied,
smiling at the young girl.

Molly was her dental assistant. She was very
young, only nineteen. She decided at seventeen that she wanted to
become a dental assistant. Now her dream had come true.

Good for her,
Clarice thought,
for
already deciding what she wants out of life.

“Has Gracey briefed you yet on today’s
schedule?”

“Only for the morning.” Clarice logged on to
the computer system and clicked on Mrs. Bennett’s name. Her file
came on the screen, and she started reading it.

“Would you like me to get some Savacol for
Mrs. Bennett? She might have run out already,” Molly asked.

“Yes, thanks,” Clarice said without tearing
her eyes off the screen. “Oh, and bring me the interdental brushes
too. I might need them for Mrs. Beanstalk. We have to make sure
she’s cleaning between her teeth.”

“Sure,” Molly answered, then disappeared
into the storeroom to retrieve all the necessary equipment.

The day was as uneventful as chalk and
cheese. Time crawled by like a snail race, and soon Mrs. Macy
Beanstalk arrived. Today the subject of their conversation was
women over thirty having no family, the one subject Clarice had
hoped to avoid.

“So, you know, my friend, she’s thirty-six
and not a single baby coming her way.”

“Why?” Clarice pretended to sound
interested. That was one part of her job that she disliked. To
pretend to be interested in her patients’ conversation when in
reality, her mind was in La-La Land.

“Too old, that’s what. If you want a baby,
you’ve got to have them before you turn thirty-five.”

“Is that a fact?” Clarice asked just in case
Mrs. Beanstalk was lying to her. She needed to do some research
first before believing in what this patient said.

“Of course it is.” The lady continued.

Against her better judgment, this
conversation was starting to scare her. She knew she wanted a
family, but what if what Mrs. Beanstalk was saying held truth?
She’d already turned thirty. Not too long now before her body could
no longer conceive a child. But she couldn’t just go to some random
person and ask them to donate sperm for her, right?

The more she thought about it, the more it
seemed true. Then an idea struck her. Oh, what a perfect solution
to her problem. She couldn’t wait to get home and ring Elise and
Whitney.

All right, enough talking, Mrs.
Beanstalk,
Clarice thought.
Time to put that suction to good
use.

CHAPTER 6

“I’m going to find a partner?” Clarice
announced to her friends on a three-way phone call.

“What?” Both Elise and Whitney said in
unison.

“You’re looking for a partner? Like a
business partner for your dental clinic or a life partner?” Whitney
asked, while Elise listened in the background.

“No, a partner to help me create a baby… and
maybe to become my life partner,” Clarice answered proudly.

“You’re saying you want to meet a guy and
get him to sleep with you in hopes that he will see you as a
potential life partner?” Whitney asked again, thoroughly shocked at
Clarice’s declaration.

“That’s precisely it, Whitney. That’s why
E Magazine
has made you president of their company. You’re
so genius.” Clarice giggled nervously.

“You’re kidding me, right? Tell me you’re
kidding me,” Whitney asked. She couldn’t believe her friend would
utter something like this. This wasn’t April, so no April Fools’
jokes here.

“I’m not kidding, Whitney,” Clarice
said.

“What brought all this up?” Elise
interjected for the first time.

“It was because of Mrs. Beanstalk.”

“Who’s Mrs. Beanstalk again?” Elise
asked.

“Clarice’s patient who talks a lot, a
colleague who works under me. She always babbles on about some
really weird subjects. Even at work,” Whitney answered.

“So what did Mrs. Beanstalk say?” Elise
asked.

“That women over age thirty-five have a
harder time conceiving a baby. Plus, there are other complications.
I knew this from my pre-dentistry studies, but had never given it
much thought until now. I’m actually quite scared about the whole
prospect of living by myself for the rest of my life. If I have a
child, then the child will be with me for at least the next two
decades. Then if my child decides to have children, all the better
for me, as I will have grandchildren to keep me company. Now I know
how Mum and Dad felt when they thought I would die while being
delivered in the refugee camp.”

“Will you tell your parents, though, about
your plan?’ Whitney asked.

“I’ll tell them when I find the right guy
for my baby,” Clarice declared. “So would you guys help me out?”
she pleaded.

“Since you’ve put it that way, of
course.”

“We’ll be right over in a jiffy,” Elise
threw in.

“Thanks, guys.” Clarice put the phone down
and sighed in relief. She just hoped her splendid idea wouldn’t
backfire. She really wanted to meet someone nice and have a good
future together, if not for herself, then for her baby.

An hour later, the girls congregated at
Clarice’s house, deep in discussion mode.

“So what are your criteria?” Whitney asked,
getting straight to the point.

“Handsome, sensible, not a flirt, loyal,
intelligent, tall, an IQ over 150, treats a woman well, and is over
thirty,” Clarice listed.

“Wow, that’s an impressive list,” Whitney
said.

“How are you going to find someone like
that?” Elise asked.

“You should go on a dating site.” Max spoke
from behind them, giving them a good fright.

“Maximilian!” all three said at once.

“What?” Max asked, gawking at their startled
faces, and laughed.

“Warn us if you’re going to visit like
this.” Clarice slapped her cousin’s arm.

“Oww.” Max feigned pain, then went to Elise
and rested his head on her shoulder. “Elise, help me. My cousin is
abusing me again.”

“That’s because you surprised us,” Clarice
yelled.

“If I don’t come in like that, I won’t get
to catch your great facial expressions. That doesn’t include you,
Elise. You’re my favourite. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

All Elise did was smile, while the other two
fumed.

“All right, all right. I’m sure Max didn’t
mean you any harm. It was a pleasant surprise after all,” Elise
soothed.