|
|
|
|
|
|
Zoe's front tooth had been loose for a long time; so long, in fact, that the new tooth had come in behind it. It bent all the way forward but still wouldn't come out. Zoe pushed and pulled on it, and she even let Mommy and Daddy have a crack or two at it, all to no avail. Finally, the baby tooth turned gray, and Mommy decided it had to come out. Zoe was fine with pushing and pulling on it, but when it came to letting someone else mess with it, she was of a completely different opinion. Finally, after a long course of persuasion, she agreed to let Mommy and Daddy have one--and only one--try at it. If that didn't work, it was time to make an appointment with the dentist.
Zoe sat on Daddy's lap while Mommy looped a length of dental floss around the baby tooth. She gave a tug forward on it, but the tooth didn't come out. Daddy thought she should've pulled up on it, but that was beside the point. Since it didn't come out, Mommy agreed to make an appointment with the dentist. Daddy wouldn't let her go back on her word to only try once.
But when Zoe, Mommy, and Daddy tried to get the string off the tooth, they found that it wouldn't come off! It was knotted really tight, and it had slipped way down low on the tooth where it was narrower than at the crown. So now Zoe had to either let Mommy and Daddy pull the tooth or walk around with a string hanging out of her mouth until she could get in to see the dentist!
Zoe, of course, shares Daddy's negligible threshold for even the thought of pain and bodily harm. It took Daddy a long time to talk her into letting him have a go at it, and he had to proceed in incremental steps. First, Zoe let Daddy touch the string. Then, she let him pull the tooth forward to see exactly how far down the string was. Then, she let him pull the string upwards to see how much slack there was in it. Then, she let him take all the slack out of the string and pull it tight (but not too tight). Every once in a while, Gus or Mommy would say something that would freak Zoe out, and Daddy would have to start over at the beginning. Finally, Daddy sent Gus to bed and sent Mommy for sherbet. Actually, Mommy wanted Daddy to go for sherbet, but Zoe thought Daddy should stay with her because he's more gentle. Mommy agreed to go only if the tooth would be out by the time she returned. So now there was a deadline!
When Gus was in bed and Mommy was gone to get the sherbet, Daddy slowly worked Zoe up to letting him tug ever so slightly on the tooth. This progressed very slowly, and both Zoe and Daddy were surprised to hear Mommy at the door much sooner than they had expected. Daddy quickly gave a big tug straight upward, and the tooth popped out! Daddy heard it hit the ceiling as it slipped out of the loop of string, and it has yet to be found! It's probably behind the piano, although Zoe thinks it's behind the TV. The fact that these are on opposite sides of the room shows that nobody is really sure where it went.
Zoe didn't even cry, and she ran to look in the mirror right away. She was surprised that there wasn't more blood. She was sure her gum would bleed and bleed and bleed when the tooth came out. Mommy and Daddy were proud of their girl, and Gus was called to help celebrate with a dish of pineapple sherbet (which was the only good flavor at the store). It turned out that Daddy was the only one who likes that flavor, so he got more than his share of sherbet.
The Tooth Fairy evidently knew how much trouble Zoe had gone through to lose that tooth, so she left FIVE DOLLARS for Zoe!
|
|
|
|
|
