Dr. Stenhouse returned to the procedure room, where Rachel sat in a cold sweat. “Okay, dear. We are going to put your nerves to rest. I am going to be performing a veneer treatment on your teeth. In a couple of hours, you will have a magnificent smile. How does that sound?”
To Rachel, it actually sounded pretty good except for the pain. “Will it hurt?” she had to ask.
“Not at all. You will be in a twilight state. You won’t even know what’s going on.” With that, he took a syringe that had been prepared in advance. First a little valium, then the propofol. Within minutes, Rachel was in lullaby land.
This particular dentistry center specialized in one-day veneers. It was state-of-the-art. And why not? DJ Ruffing owned a piece of it. They used a computer-generated camera with a wand that captures thousands of images. The images are sent via interoffice e-mail to a computer software program, then on to a milling machine, where the patients’ personal restorations are carved. Voilà. A new set of choppers in a few hours. Ruffing was a silent partner in a number of enterprises. This one explained his gleaming white teeth.
A few hours later, Rachel came out of the anti-anxiety and local anesthesia fog. A tall, exotic woman stood in front of her. She was smiling. Another dazzling smile.
“Rachel?” The woman had a refined Caribbean accent that indicated she was well educated. “Hello. I am Simone. How are you feeling?”
Rachel blinked her eyes several times, trying to get reoriented. She squeaked out a soft, “Hi. Okay. I think.” She wiggled her fingers and moved her head side to side. The dentist’s office. But who is this woman?
“So very happy to hear it.” Simone’s voice was sultry and lyrical. “Would you like to take a look at your beautiful new smile?” Simone handed Rachel a mirror.
Rachel blinked again. “Is this me?” Rachel recognized her eyes and her nose, but her smile looked like it had come from a fashion magazine. “Holy smoke. Wow.” Rachel started making faces, trying out different expressions. “I can’t believe it!”
Simone pulled up a side chair and sat across from Rachel. “Now, my love, as soon as you get your equilibrium, we are going to the Bal Harbour Shops to get you into something appropriate to wear.” Rachel wasn’t sure if she was still buzzed from the drug or if the words Bal Harbour had sent her into a tizzy. She had never been there, but she had heard about it. She knew she could never afford it. Bal Harbour had shops that sold luxury goods. Gucci, Brunello Cucinelli, Dior, Fendi, Chanel, just to name a few.
“But I don’t have any money.” Rachel was finally coming around to full awareness.
“Oh, no, my love. Money is not an issue,” she said in her singsong accent. “Getting new clothes is part of your preparation.” Simone’s voice was soothing. “Come. Here, put this on.” Simone handed Rachel a floral jumpsuit. “There is a bathroom over there.” Simone pointed to a small room with a toilet and sink.
Rachel sat up and took Simone’s hand. “I guess yer the boss,” Rachel said plainly.
“Tomorrow we will go to Salon Ethos for hair and makeup. There is one thing, though, we have to work on immediately.”
Rachel started to get nervous. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Your grammar, love. You use words like ‘seen’ when it should be ‘saw.’ For example, ‘I seen a good movie the other night.’ ” She continued, “It should be ‘I saw a good movie the other night.”’
Rachel cocked her head. “I know. Yer, I mean, you are correct.” She smiled. “How’s that?”
“We’ll keep working at it.” Simone smiled, got up from her seat, and helped Rachel out of the dental chair.
Rachel remembered a scene from My Fair Lady and recited it to Simone. “The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain.”
Simone chuckled. “You are going to do just fine, my love. Come.” She put her arm through Rachel’s and guided her back to the elevators. “We’ll get something to drink in the lobby.”
They stopped at a drink stand and got two Cokes.
Simone directed Rachel to a waiting vehicle. Another black Cadillac Escalade. Can it be Noah? Rachel thought. But it wasn’t. It was a man dressed like a Guardian. White pants and black shirt. He opened the rear passenger doors for the women to climb in. Rachel sheepishly looked at Simone. “Do you happen to have a mirror?”
“Of course, love.” Simone reached into her cream-colored Louis Vuitton hobo bag, which was on the floor between them. That was when Rachel took a good look at her new companion. She couldn’t help but notice Simone’s long legs as she pulled the mirror out from the leather bag. Simone had straight black shoulder-length hair with heavy bangs. It framed her high cheekbones, emphasizing her large, almond-shaped eyes. Her skin was a pretty pecan brown. She wore a zebra-print pencil skirt with a white tank. Simple yet elegant. “I like your outfit,” Rachel offered.
“Thank you, love. Maybe we can find something like it for you.”
“Seriously?” Rachel was about to pinch herself. What in the world is happening to me?
“Yes, love. We are going to have to buy you several outfits. There are a lot of different occasions you must be prepared for.”
Rachel was afraid to ask any questions, but Simone didn’t seem like the others. She surely wasn’t dressed like anyone she had personally encountered, certainly not at The Haven.
“Can I ask you a question?” Rachel squeaked.
“I am sure you can. But the question should be, ‘May I ask you a question?”’
“Got it.” Rachel took a hard swallow. She wished she had been paying closer attention in grade school. “May I ask you a question?”
“You may ask. But I may choose not to answer.” Simone’s tone was even, as if to say, If I doh’t like the question, you’re not getting an answer “Understood.” Rachel nodded. She might not have paid attention in grammar school, and she might be a high-school dropout, but she was no dummy. “Can you tell me how long this preparation process is going to take?”
Simone tilted her head. “It really depends on you, my love.”
“How so?”
“Now that you have a wonderful smile, we are moving to the next steps of your transformation. The only thing that will hold you back is if you cannot hold a conversation without falling back to a trailer-park vocabulary.”
Rachel was stunned. How did Simone know about her trailer-park history? Did it matter? And if so, to whom? “I shall do my best to articulate with good grammar and grace.” There. She knew she could do it. Hanging around Gabby for all those months must have rubbed off on her. Gabby’s speech was meticulous.
“That’s excellent, my love.” Simone looked out the window of the car. “We’re almost there.” The Cadillac pulled into the upscale area. “You can drop us in front of Neiman Marcus,” she instructed the driver. He pulled to the curb, got out, and opened the doors for the two women. “Thank you. I’ll text you when we’re done.”