The Do-Over(13)

Where was Laynie? It had to already be time to leave for dinner. Shit. Jill was deep in a conversation with a woman she knew from yoga and I just stood there, red wine in hand, in a room full of hot cougars sipping white wine.

“Hello, Tara. Good to see you.” I jumped as I hadn’t seen the man approaching from behind. He looked vaguely familiar and clearly I knew him, since he knew my name.

“Hi.” I smiled brightly, trying desperately to hide my who the f*ck are you look. “I didn’t know you lived here.”

“I’m over in the other tower.” He too was drinking white wine.

Who the heck is he? An inch or so shorter than me with a receding hairline and glasses, I would describe the man as being non-descript. The only thing that stood out was that he was very well-dressed. I recognized the shirt, having bought the same one for Frank for his birthday prior to the divorce. It was an Armani and this guy did not buy it from TJ Maxx. And he was wearing a gold Tag Heuer watch. Okay, so who was he? I culled my brain. It was right there, on the tip of my tongue, like trying to place an actor, when you know they’ve been on another show you’ve watched, but you can’t figure out what character it is. I knew this guy, but I couldn’t place him. Who was he?

Sensing my inability to recognize him, he leaned in, his Armani Gio cologne making my nose tingle with its mild and pleasant scent. “Dr. Rentsler,” he whispered in my ear.

“Dr. Rentsler!” That’s who he was! My dentist! “I didn’t recognize you when you’re not in my mouth.” Oh God, I didn’t just say that to the man, did I?

His smile was slow and predatory. “Well, we can fix that.”

Sputtering, I choked on my wine. Make a joke, I screamed at myself. But my mind drew a blank.

Her bright red hair caught my eye and I waved, praying her long legs would lead her across the room quickly.

“Finally,” she sighed. “Crosstown traffic was hideous tonight.”

Saved! Dr. Rentsler’s height was perfectly synchronized for him to have a direct eye-view of Laynie’s braless breasts on full display under a colorful sheer blouse. And like a puppy easily distracted, the man moved on to the next possibility.

“Tara, are you not going to introduce me to your beautiful friend?”

No, pervert, I’m not was my first thought. “Laynie, meet my dentist, Dr. Rentsler.”

“Phillip, call me Phillip,” he warmly addressed her breasts.

Smiling, what I know is her fake closed-mouth smile, I couldn’t tell if she was just grossed out by this boob talker or merely didn’t want him to see her teeth for fear that he’d try to persuade her to let him into her mouth.

“I need a drink,” she announced, leaving me alone with my lecherous dentist.

“And I need to find the ladies’ room, excuse me.” I turned from Dr. Rentsler before he could start talking to my chest, too.

The first restroom I reached was the private one designated for families. Finding it unlocked, I slipped inside. Turning to lock the door behind me, I let out a surprised and alarmed, “Ahhh,” that wasn’t loud enough to be a scream. Dr. Rentsler was in there with me and he was locking the door.

“What are you doing in here?” My anger overtook my fear, mainly because I was probably stronger than him.

“I’ve come to show you my favorite probe,” he offered with a smug smirk.

“Are you freaking kidding me?”

His hand was on his zipper, “It’s not like I haven’t been in your mouth before, Tara.”

That was it. The jerk may have thought he was being amusing, or even sexy, but I was beyond pissed. He had crossed a boundary. With my face just inches from his, I let loose. “Pull that zipper down and you’ll be singing in the Vienna Boys’ Choir, doc.”

His eyes widened and his pupils dilated. I couldn’t tell if it was fear or if he was turned on by my full-blown rant. I prayed it wasn’t the latter.

I wasn’t done with him. “And to top that off, now I have to find a new dentist and you know, I have extreme dental phobia from being drilled without Novocain as a child.” I was more pissed about that than anything else. “Now move out of my way.”

He stepped away from the door without uttering another word.

As I was walking through the door, I stopped, then turned around. Pointing a finger at the man, I hissed, “And don’t you come walking out of here in two seconds to make it look like we had sex in the bathroom. You stay in there for ten minutes.” I had just put my former dentist in timeout.

Laynie was approaching as I pulled the bathroom door shut behind me and cocked her head to the side with a questioning look.

“Don’t ask.” I practically growled at her. “You made me come to this thing and now you owe me dinner. A really, good dinner. One that ends in chocolate and has lots of red wine.”

Quickly, I looked around for Jill to see if she’d like to join us, but she had apparently already left. As we walked out of the salon room, I was still muttering. “I can’t believe I have to find a new dentist now.”

My post-divorce dating life had officially begun.





Chapter 6


The only positive to come out of the condo’s social was seeing all my gorgeous, fit neighbors, who served as the perfect incentive to get my butt out of bed an hour earlier each morning and drag myself to the gym, coffee or no coffee. Located right in my building, a mere elevator ride away, I had no excuse not to be going on a regular basis. I just needed to build it into my daily schedule and commit to it. My not-quite-size-ten body, standing out amongst a sea of fours, was enough shame-motivation to get me there. I didn’t need to be a size four, but if my tens fit comfortably again, I knew that would be a huge boost to my self-esteem. And if somehow I ended up a size eight, well, watch out dating world, Tara might just learn how to flirt.