From a basic point of view, your use of the English language is very good. I can tell that your first language is not English and you have done very good writing using it. Your sentence structure is fine and I found very little that could be changed.

The story is well written and I would like to see more of it. It is always nice to see new people writing stories. I encourage you to keep writing more of this story.

When you add more to your story, please keep all the chapters in one thread so that it is easy to locate them. If you would like someone to proofread your stories before you post them, just ask for someone to do it. I am always willing to help as well as Duncombec and a few others.

I would like your permission to add your story to my collection and share it with other people.

I also recommend reading the rules for posting stories. I didn't see anything in your story that violates the rules.
https://www.bracesforum.net/general/forum-rules/msg34239/#msg34239

Braceface2015
TheArchive2018

Thank you guys for your encouragements. Here is the next chapter of my story. I will see with Braceface2015 if the following could be proofread. I specify that all the characters are fictitious.

Chapter 2 : The Doubts

Coming back to work after the appointment, I could not stop thinking about the discussion with Dr Bortmann.

Janet, my 54 years old executive assistant colleague with whom I talked about this appointment, told me it was not such a bad new, telling me she had an orthodontic treatment with metal fullbands braces when she was a teenager and smiling of all her teeth to show me her beautiful smile. I did not know what fullabands braces were, so she showed me pictures just founded on the internet on her computer screen. I never paid attention to the different kind of braces and I was nervous about what I saw. Never would I wear such a thing in my mouth. I asked her how long she had to wear theses braces on her teeth and she replied two years and a half and how it was a relief when the orthodontist take them off. I found this duration very long. Feeling me very insecure about this topic at this time, she told me there were probably modern technics to make the treatment shorter and less visible than that nowadays.

At this moment, Boris, the young, potential and ambitious 25 years old accountant of the company came, asking for a document. He’s the kind of boy with no weak points, nice body, nice face, nice girlfriend, nice situation. With a hateful behavior, he’s used to laugh at anybody, except our two bosses. Even if I have a lot of confidence in myself, this guy is capable of hurting you with his nasty words and comments. When I came back to work after I broke up with my ex-boyfriend, he did not hesitate to ask me what did I do wrong to make him leave with somebody else.

He noticed I was a little concerned about something and looked at the screen of Janet’s computer which was turned to me. He immediately understood what it was about and asked me, with a mean smile, if I will have braces at my advanced age. Very embarrassed and beginning to blush after his question, I answered stammering, “no no, no way I wear that kind of stuff. Janet was…was showing me how horrific was her orthodontic treatment when she was young. Just a general discussion”. Feeling my embarrassment, he replied I could become the first executive assistant to get 5G network with all this stuff in the mouth, smiling with his perfect smile about his not funny joke. I gave him the document he asked and he left, without any thanks, only saying “bye future train track”. I started to have tears in my eyes.

Janet said “Poor dear, I am so sorry for you. Don’t listen to him. He’s a dork. Go to see your orthodontist and maybe you won’t need any treatment at all and, in any case, there is no need to be embarrassed. You’re a young and beautiful woman, always chic and well dressed. You can cope with an orthodontic treatment”.

Trying to regain confidence, I said “Yes Janet. My confidence will not be affected by this guy. And you’re totally right, maybe my teeth problem can be solved with other than braces”.

I finished my day of work at 6 PM, not thinking too much about my dental appointment, and came back to my apartment. It was too late to call the orthodontist office, so I decided to call it the next day. The night, I thought there was no way for me to put metal braces on my teeth like my friends in middle school, so I did some research on the Internet about orthodontics and learned several treatments are possible with white brackets, brackets behind teeth or only gutters. I also discovered a treatment is very expensive and not every healthcare insurance support the cost. The less visible is the treatment, the more expensive is the cost. Even if I have some savings to do it and the treatment is not so visible, I am not convinced to do it for now. I will see that tomorrow morning.

Well written story. Thanks for your efforts in writing.

Despite the lack of comments, here is the new chapter. Feel totally free to give me your opinion.


Chapter 4 :  The first appointment and the diagnosis

The morning of the appointment, I was feeling very nervous despite it was supposed to be a beautiful day, sunny with no cloud and quite hot (+22 °C). I finished my workday early so I could come back home, take a shower and change my day clothes before going to the appointment. Not so confident on this day, I decided to go to this appointment with unusually uncomfortable clothes, wearing a light blue sleeveless tight top under a denim jacket, black jeggings and white sneakers (this choice clearly meant I was not feeling good). I did my hair quickly with my hair tied back and of course I wore my glasses.

With the orthodontist not far from my apartment, I went to the office on foot.

After walking for 15 minutes, I arrived at the orthodontist's office with a lot of stress.

The gilded plates placed next to the entrance door of the building mentioned four orthodontists, probably associates, including Dr. Gipsen.

I entered and introduced myself to the secretary behind the desk just in front of the entry door. She was a blond mid-length squared-cut-haired woman with brown eyes under glasses too, in her mid-30's, wearing a light yellow coat over a classy navy blue knee-length tight dress, with shiny flesh-colored tights and navy-blue 10 cm high heels pumps with a small platform (2 cm). She had a pretty good style.

-   "Good evening Misshish (Mrs), I am Shuzhan (Suzan) Campbell, the shecratary of the orthodontisht offische, what can I do for you? Shlshlshl," she said.

I immediately noticed silver from her mouth when she spoke and heard this time a noticeable lisp and slurp, sometimes at the end of sentences. I could not see more because she talked without opening her mouth a lot.

-   “Hi, I am Alecja Pacejka, I have an appointment with Dr. Gipsen at 7 P.M.”

-   "Okay, Pleazh give me your healszhh coverage documentsh, szhe letter from your dentisht and take a shheat in szhe waiting room, shlshlshl," slurping again after the sentence.

I thanked her, gave her the documents and I went to the waiting room, telling myself she was very unlucky to have to endure such an orthodontic treatment, with metal and lisping, at her age. At least she worked in a better place to be treated, hoping at least her treatment could be shorter thanks to that. Everything in the office was recent and clean. There was one screen in the waiting room, presenting some information about orthodontics and the waiting time remaining for each doctor. I had to wait 10 minutes to see Dr. Gipsen.

There were 2 teenagers waiting separately, a boy and a girl, approximately 15 years old, both looking down quietly. I immediately saw the boy was wearing something with large straps around his head connected to a quite large metal wire placed in front of the lips and coming into his mouth. He stayed silent when I said "Hi."

The girl replied and smiled with her teeth, which were all covered by quite large metal brackets, like my girl friends in middle school. "Not surprising for her age," I said to myself.

There was also a chestnut half-length square-cut-haired woman, in her mid 40's, who was waiting too. She replied "hi" to me too, not letting me see her teeth. She was wearing a light beige skirt suit, with sheer flesh-coloured tights and beige peep-toe ankle 11.5 cm heeled boots with no platform. She was very classy. Anyway, because of her age, I said to myself she was probably a mother waiting for her child.

Suzan entered the room and said, "Mishish Collinsh." The lady stood up and smiled very confidently with her teeth, allowing us to see her teeth were also covered with metal brackets, like the teenage girl. She left the room saying, "Goodbye." I replied the same, a little shocked to see she was a patient too.

My stress suddenly went up and I began panicking after seeing everyone, including two women in their 30’s or 40’s, with metal dental appliances.

As far as I was concerned, I never considered metal braces as an option. If I really did need treatment, I wanted the least visible possible thing and especially no metal thing. I tried to take deep breaths to calm down, thinking there is no reason I could not have anything other than metal braces.

5 minutes later, Suzan came back in the waiting room and called, "Misshish Paschezhka," trying several times to pronounce it roughly correctly.

I stood up without saying anything and I followed her in the long corridor to the examination room. My heart was really pounding. She opened the door and I saw two women, sit on rolling chairs, finishing packing the material around the examination chair. The first one was a thin tall blonde-haired woman who was about 40 years old, hair strictly pulled back with a bun, wearing a white coat over a black mid-thigh length skirt suit with sheer and shiny black tights and very high-heeled black peep-toe pumps, around 11.5 cm with no platform. Her feet were very arched in those shoes. The second one was a brown half-length square-haired woman who is about 30 years old and 1.60 m tall, wearing a light blue coat over a white knee-length skirt with sheer white tights and white sneakers.

Suzan introduced me, with the same difficulties pronouncing my name. The tall blonde woman stood up, saying curtly, without any smile, “Hi, I am Dr. Olivia Gispen and this is Stacey Stuart, my assistant.” I noticed when she was talking, her teeth were covered with metal brackets too, but no lisp at all. However, she seemed to be very confident and showed no intention to hide them at all. The assistant greeted me with a head gesture and smiled but did not open her mouth. I first was surprised Dr. Gipsen was a woman. I do not know why but I was convinced she was a man. And I was especially surprised that she wore braces. As an orthodontist with her age, I could have thought the braces thing, if she had needed them, was over for a long time.

Immediately, the doctor told me to sit in the chair and, just after a few words from me about the reason for my visit, she asked me to open my mouth, which I did.

She asked Stacey to put in a cheek retractor, which she did gently, and began to examine me after adjusting the light. She said to Stacey different medical terms and numbers. Stacey was filling in the information on the computer.

After that, she told Stacey to remove the cheek retractor.

She looked at the letter and X-rays and notes from Dr. Bortmann for a few minutes.

She left the room, leaving me alone with Stacey. I asked Stacey if Dr. Gipsen was always so curt. She replied briefly, “Yesh, but shhe’zh very good in what shhe doezh, shlshlshl.” Even if she spoke a little, I noticed metal things on her teeth too and I heard a lisp similar to Suzan, also slurping at the end of the sentence.

Still one more adult with metal braces. I believed there was no other kind of treatments like invisible trays or ceramic brackets in this office.

Dr. Gipsen came back 10 minutes after and told me curtly: "So, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is you need to start orthodontic treatment as soon as possible if you don’t want your toothaches to get worse. If you agree with the treatment, I will correct your malocclusion and it should be over after this treatment.”

-   “Oh, such a shame, maybe the good news is this treatment can be slight and barely visible, with non-invasive appliances?” I replied

-   “No, the good news is your healthcare insurance is pretty good and will cover nearly totally the cost of the treatment, leaving you only 300£ to pay for all the treatment duration, retention device included, instead of 3,500£,” she said.

-   “Okay, good news, but what kind of treatment can I have? Would it be possible for that cost to have invisible trays or lingual braces? Not sure I want ceramic braces because some people could see I wear braces,” I said.

-   “This won’t be a problem because I don’t work with invisible trays or ceramic braces because they are less accurate and quite fragile. Anyway, invisible trays are not adapted to treat your case. I avoid treatment with lingual braces because of the numbers of problems created for gums, during and after the treatment, not counting the discomfort of such a treatment, but this is not the point because classical treatments can be uncomfortable too,” she replied.

-   “So, what kind of treatment?” I asked.

-   “With traditional metal braces which are the most effective treatment,” she said.

-   “Metal braces, the words are launched”, I scarily thought.

I noticed a couple of differences from the copy that you sent me. I like them and think that they make the story better and clarify a few things.

I have modified my copy to include your changes and am adding it to TheArchive.

Don't worry about the lack of comments. Some people will comment when they read more of the story or catch up on a backlog of posts. Most people who read the stories here just don't say anything.

I am enjoying your story and hope that you will continue to add more to it.

Great story! I like how you write the lispy speech. Very nice.

Thanks for the comments guys. It encourages me to keep on publishing since the story is appreciated. Thanks also to Braceface2015 who proofread each chapter to avoid the numerous mistakes.

Here is the new chapter.



Chapter 5 - The Decision

Dr. Gipsen should have been seeing a mixture of panic and disappointment in my eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked.

-   "Hmmm, hmmm… not really. You mean the only way to get rid of my toothaches is to wear metal braces? What if I don't?" I said.

-   "Yes, the only way to fix your malocclusion, and make your pain disappear, is to start ortho-dontic treatment with metal braces of course, which are the most effective braces. You need to do it and you need to do it quickly because your teeth are still moving for several reasons. One of these reasons is the position of your tongue, which should be placed higher when it rests. In its actual position, it pushes your front top and bottom teeth forward. We need to correct this position. Another reason is the narrowness of your jaws and the lack of space for your wisdom teeth in the lower jaw, which are still pushing straight but do not have enough space. I think we could save them from being removed by expanding the arch of your upper and lower jaw. The third reason is the teeth of your top jaw are too far ahead. We have to move them back. Probably another problem is the strength of your lips, which are pushing some of your teeth backward. We need to solve all the problems successively and it should be okay after the treatment plan," she replied.

-   “Well, I have plenty of problems. It appears to be a complicated case but I guess I do not have the choice. When can we start and how long will the treatment last ?” I asked.

-   "Not that complicated but there are several problems to fix, like everyone treated here. Some of these are more common than other ones. So, if you're okay with the treatment, you need to sign the form and the quote and we can start now by making the dental molds and pre-pare for the installation of the braces at the next appointment. If you're not sure for now, you need to arrange another appointment and this will cost you 75£ more, for nothing more than today. I can't commit to the duration of the treatment. I'm only saying to you that the aver-age duration for adult orthodontic treatment is 18 to 24 months but keep in mind that it could be longer. It depends on how your teeth will react to the treatment. 24 months goes by fast you know," she replied.

-   "God, 24 months!!! I didn't think it could be so long as an adult. Will it be painful?"

-   “I am not going to lie to you: a little bit sometimes but it's more a question of discomfort at first after appointments than real pain," she replied.

-   "Well, may I think a little bit and take a look at the papers please?" I asked.

I thought at this time, 'it’s a lot to endure,' but I saw different women of my age or more with metal braces today. It’s not common but maybe not that rare. I just wondered how long all these women had been wearing their braces. I did not dare to ask for now.

-   "Well, I'm leaving you with Stacey to do this and I will go to the next patient. Take the time you need and I'll come back later. If you decide to leave without doing anything, this is your choice, but I remind you your problem won't fix by itself. The longer you wait, the longer and the harder the treatment could be," she said.

Then, she stood up and walked to the exit door of the room, with the noise of her heels hitting on the tiled floor at each step. I thought at this time that despite the braces, she was such a beautiful and classy lady.

Stacey gave me the form and the quotes. It was about 8 pages to read in pretty small print. I tried to focus on the price I needed to pay. 300£, which was clearly less than the prices I had seen on the Internet and I obviously could afford this cost, this was not the problem. I could pay in several payments anyway. The duration was not clearly indicated on the papers, only an estimated average of 24 months was mentioned with no contractual engagement and no more charge if the treatment lasted longer. For the kind of treatment, it was only written "standard metal braces and every required appliance," with no mention of the appliances required. I asked Stacey what kind of appliances may be required and she answered that she did not know specifically for my case but it could be a Herbst appliance, lip bumpers or expander, slurping again at the end of her sentence.

Her answer was not very clear for me because I did not know what these appliances looked like exactly. Dr. Gipsen only talked about metal braces, so I could imagine there would only be traditional metal brackets and no specific appliance.

After I spent 15 minutes reading, I decided not to read the small paragraphs on the last pages and signed the documents at the end, with no more questions. I thought it was a good choice for my health, remembering the words of the two doctors I saw.

-   "That's done, Stacey. Hold on," I said.

-   “Szhanksh Alecjsha. I will call Dr. Jshipshen, shlshlshl,” she replied.

I could only see metal brackets in her mouth, no more things. I wondered why she had this lisping and slurping all the time.

Dr. Gipsen came back a few minutes later.

-   "Well, you signed all the documents. That's the best choice you could do, Mrs. Pacejka," she said, while she was entering the room and sitting on her stool.

-   “I hope I won’t regret it!” I said hesitantly.

-   "There is no chance. So we can start by doing the molds. It won't be painful but this is often the most unpleasant part of the treatment for the patients. Stacey, please give me the mold-ing trays sized to Mrs. Pacejka's jaws and fill them with the paste. Please lie down on the chair Mrs. Pacejka!" Dr. Gipsen said curtly.

Stacey prepared something I could not see. Dr. Gipsen asked me to open my mouth wide, which I did. She began on the upper jaw by inserting the molding tray over all my teeth to the trachea and asked me to stay like that for a couple of minutes, concentrating on breathing through my nose. It was very hard and after 30 seconds, I started panicking when I lost control of my breath and became unable to breathe normally. Dr. Gipsen told me to hold and relax and focus on breathing through the nose. I started to move my entire body, beginning to suffocate. Dr. Gipsen remained quite indifferent and impassive to my noticeable panic. In the end, I could not breathe at all until she removed the molding frame quickly. I could finally take a deep breath with great relief. Dr. Gispen did not say any word except, "you can breathe now," but Stacey said to me kindly, “it will be okay.”

Letting me recover for two minutes, Dr. Gispen asked me to open my mouth for the second jaw, saying it should be easier… and it fortunately was.

After the step of doing the molds, I said jokingly, "Oh… the worst part is now over."

Dr. Gipsen only said, "Yes maybe," without any smile.

I said to myself, 'this woman never smiles'.

This was not finished. She asked me to open my mouth and asked Stacey to put the cheek retractor in again, which she did. She placed 4 elastics called 'spacers' between my molars in the upper jaw and 6 between my molars and my premolars in the lower jaw. I began to feel some pressure instantly.

After that, she prescribed painkillers to take for the night and, if necessary, the next few days and said the treatment could really start at the next appointment, which should not be for one week. She asked me to check with Stacey to arrange this appointment because Suzan had left at this time. Then she said goodbye and left the room with the typical noise of her heels on the floor.

Hesitating about the date of this appointment because of my job, I chose a Friday two weeks after, so the 29th of June, at 6 PM. It would let me have the weekend after to get used to the braces.

I said goodbye to Stacey who walked with me to the exit door and gave me copies of the signed documents. I went out along the corridor, passing next to the waiting room where there were still two adults waiting. It was already 8:30 PM. and still two patients to see Dr. Gipsen, who definitely had a long day.

Nice job! Looking forward to reading the rest of the story

You just know the devil will be in those paragraphs she didn't read!

Just one super nit-picky proofreading feedback that won't bother anyone: the £ always goes before the number in the UK. 

Keep up the good work!??

I am enjoying being able to help by proofreading this story. I have added the latest chapter to TheArchive with the changes that you made.

Each writer should be happy with what they write and the changes that you make are good. I'm enjoying this story and eagerly await each new chapter.

So while I haven't posted in a while, I want to let you know that I do like this story and want you to continue it to where you see it going. While I haven't written anything for this or any other braces website, I do appreciate what you and any other writer does. I like the pace you're setting and want to see where you take this great start

I like the story so far and am very interested to see where it goes; thanks for writing it!

It is so nice and good story! I like it very much! Thank you for it!

Very nice story, thank you!

Awesome story, I love it!

Great story! I like the effort you put into the detailed descriptions.

Thanks for keeping us updated. I really enjoy the read.

Hi, my name is Francesca and I am an Italian woman.
I don't often write posts.
But this story is truly compelling.
It reminds me a little of mine.
Who knows if it will turn out like in my life.
I'm also waiting for the next episode.
Thank you very much and have a nice day
Francesca

Thanks for all your positive feedbacks.

Hi, my name is Francesca and I am an Italian woman.
I don't often write posts.
But this story is truly compelling.
It reminds me a little of mine.
Who knows if it will turn out like in my life.
I'm also waiting for the next episode.
Thank you very much and have a nice day
Francesca

Hi, I'd like to know what are the common parts between my fictional story and yours. Feel free to tell me.

By the way, here is the tenth chapter, always proofread by Braceface2015.


Chapter 10 The weekend after with Claire (part 1)

The next day, my cellphone alarm clock rang at 6:45 AM, the hour I get up to go to work. I forgot to change it last night.

My mouth was hurting a lot: general pressure, high sensitivity when opposite teeth simply touch a little, irritations of the interior of the cheeks and the tongue, especially underneath because of the lower expander.

I got up immediately to take painkillers. I tried to lie back down on my bed after but it was impossible to sleep again because of the pain, so I got up at 7:15 AM. ‘Too early for a non-work day,’ I thought.

After a liquid breakfast - it was too painful to eat anything solid - I decided to do all the housework. If my teeth hurt, my body did not.

I also adapted my apartment for Claire and to let her feel free to go everywhere with her wheelchair, especially in the toilets, the kitchen or the bathroom. I made for her a comfy bed in the guest room.

I finished these tasks at 10:30 AM and I decided to cook Bolognese spaghetti for lunch. I thought it was not very hard to cook, nor to eat with braces. But I had no Emmental to put on the pasta. ‘Sh**’, I had to go to the small supermarket around the corner to buy some.

I took a shower, brushed my teeth, with the same time as I did last night, and got dressed. It was a sunny day, 25°C forecasted. Even if I was not planning to go out during the weekend, I would still pay attention to my clothes because Claire is a pure beauty, always very well dressed.

So, I decided to wear a light green skinny sleeveless short dress, with a nice low-cut, under an adjusted black jacket over it, with sheer quite shiny flesh-colored tights and black 14 cm heeled peep-toe pumps, with a 4 cm platform and uncovered heel. They were new and I could not wait to show them to Claire, who loves high heels as much as I do. I pulled my hair back and made a bun, unconsciously looking like Dr. Gipsen, and put my glasses on.

I went down to the supermarket, trying to be as natural as possible but without opening my mouth at all. I bought the Emmental, a cheesecake for the dessert and some soft fruits and white bread. Then, I went to the supermarket cashier. I come here regularly, so I know the cashier, Mike, a 30 years old black guy, not my type but really nice, who said, "Hi, how are you today." A little embarrassed to reply, I answered with my mouth as tight as possible: "Hi, fine and you?" and held back as much as possible from the slurping I made regularly all morning. I was hoping he did not notice my strange voice also. He replied, "I'm ok. It's a nice day today. You look stunning!" Beginning to blush, I nodded with a closed-mouth smile and gave him my basket.

-   “You’re not chatty today, anything wrong?” he said.

-   “No, I’m fine, slhslhslh,” I replied, with nothing to do this time to avoid slurping.

-   “Well, are you sure? You seem a little concerned about something…” he asked.

-   “No no, I’m ok,” I said, smiling with my closed lips.

I paid for my purchases with my credit card, without saying anything other than, "Goodbye Mike," with my weird voice, and I left, feeling embarrassed.

Back at home, I prepared the meal for lunch and took another painkiller just before noon.

Everything was ready when Claire called me by phone to tell me she was in her car, parked in the disabled spot in front of my building, and asked if I could come down to help her because she had a lot to carry around. Despite her disability, Claire is as independent as she can and asks for help only if she really needs it. She is able to transfer from her wheelchair to her adapted car alone, even if it takes some time. She can drive it alone too with hand control. But I thought she could not bring her bag for the night with her. I told her I was coming.

She often wears corsets for style but also to relieve her back, allowing her to stay fairly straight despite her total lack of abs. Her long straight red hair fell on her shoulders.

She also seemed very happy to see me. It had been 6 weeks since we had seen each other. "Wow, you look gorgeous Alecja!! What such beautiful shoes," she started. I did not dare to talk at all. I knew I would have too but I was embarrassed because we were in the street with people around. She added, "Well, I understand you don't want to speak in the street." I nodded, smiling with my mouth closed. "Okay, I don't insist for the moment, but I'm going to help you to be more confident with that this weekend." I nodded again. I helped her get her manual wheelchair out of the car and assemble the wheels on it. She transferred alone with her sliding board, not wanting my help to do that. Then, she asked me to take her bags in the trunk, one with her things for the weekend and the other with 4 bottles of alcohol and packets of cocktail snacks. I did it and we went up to my apartment, on the 4th floor with the elevator. I slurped several times on the way, without saying anything.

As soon as I locked my entrance door, she turned her wheelchair toward me and asked me to smile with all my teeth. At this moment, we were alone so I did it with a lot of embarrassment.

-   “Well okay, it’s not that bad…really!” she said.

-   “Be honeshd’h pleazh, slhslhslhslh,” I said.

-   “I’ll be honest with you. We can see a lot of metal of course but it’s clean and not unsightly. In a certain way, you look younger and a little vulnerable, which gives you a sexy side,” she said.

-   “Are you sherioush? slhslhslhslh,” I asked.

-    “Yes, always with you my dear. Maybe the most annoying thing is the noise of slurping you do, but it’s not so gross. Anyway, I’m here for you to have a good time,” she said.

-   “Szhanks my beaud’hy. You look gordjshoush d‘hoo, slhslhslh, and your outfid’h ish shd’hunning d‘hoo by szhe way, slhslhslhslh.”

She thanked me and we hugged warmly one more time.

We went to the living room. Claire transferred herself onto the couch with her sliding board while I prepared the aperitif. I brought some snacks and two glasses of red wine and sat down next to her. I spent a very good moment with her, chatting about everything and almost forgetting my braces, except the discomfort of the lisping and slurping and the pain when I bite something too hard (I took another painkiller just before her arrival so as not to suffer too much during the meal). I felt fully confident with her.

After the aperitif, we went to the dining table after Claire transferred back to her wheelchair. She really appreciated all the accommodations I had made for her and thanked me a lot for my attention.

Then, we ate the meal. Claire used her adapted cutlery to eat by herself, only asking me to cut the spaghetti to make it easier to get them with her adapted fork.

My Bolognese spaghetti with Emmental was very good, like the cheesecake. However, eating was not a good time. Even if I took small bites, food got stuck constantly in the braces and wires, forcing me to clean it as much as I could with my tongue or a sip of water. Despite the painkiller, biting was often painful because of the sensitivity of my teeth. I did not eat a lot.

After eating, I got rid of the dishes that I put in the dishwasher, washed Claire’s cutlery for tonight and made the coffees. We went back to the living room to drink them.

While I was brushing my teeth and putting some wax on a lot of brackets to relieve the irritations of my cheeks, Claire went to the bathroom and came back 20 minutes later. So simple things like that take so much time with her disability. I could not stop telling myself she was so brave and how ridiculous my teeth problems were compared to what she had to endure every day.

We spent the first part of the afternoon shopping on the web. She bought a pair of double strap 11.5 cm thin heeled sandals and I bought a pair of hollow out ankle buckled slingback 14.5 cm wedge heeled sandals, with a 4 cm platform. They were beautiful.

Claire convinced me to go for a walk then, around the neighborhood. I felt so confident with her that I accepted it. We “walked” together, me pushing her from time to time to relieve her, even if it was not easy to walk bent over. I regretted that I chose such high heels. During the conversation, I sometimes smiled widely with all my teeth showing in the street, letting anyone see my braces. There was a teenage boy with braces too and a woman of my age who seemed a little bit surprised, but not mocking. No one cared about my silver smile. We had a very good moment sharing that time together.

After staying two hours outside, we went back to the apartment. It was time to have an aperitif. Claire went back to the bathroom and I prepared during this time the same things as before lunch: a few snacks and two glasses of wine. I took the bottle this time to fill up the glasses. We had the aperitif in the living room, still chatting with a background of pop/rock music.

Claire proposed to eat Chinese food but I preferred to choose sushi, which is easier to eat. She accepted and we ordered our sushi.

We ate them after the delivery guy delivered the order, with more glasses of wine. I sometimes put maki directly into Claire’s mouth with the chopsticks because she had a hard time picking sushi up with her adapted fork and could not use chopsticks at all with her paralyzed fingers. If the sushi were soft, I did not realize that rice grains were small and went everywhere between the wires and the brackets in my mouth. After dinner, I apologized to Claire and immediately went to brush my teeth to remove the many grains stuck in my appliances.

I then cleared the table, put the dishes in the dishwasher, washed Claire’s cutlery for tomorrow morning, and came back with her in the living room, bringing another bottle of wine to replace the empty one.

I filled her glass before mine and we could not stop chatting together about plenty of things: work, friends, family.... We discussed my treatment and how it was annoying to get braces. She asked me to show a closer view of my appliances, which I accepted. She was impressed by all the metal in my mouth and touched delicately with a lot of interest my lips, my brackets and my tongue crib with her fingers several times, approaching her eyes to a few centimeters to get a better view.

She also let me have a closer view of her teeth, which were, despite her long orthodontic treatment when she was 15, slightly shifted at some places but her teeth were globally straight and her smile still stayed beautiful. She told me once again she could consider braces back to correct her minor imperfections. Even though I told her her smile was great, I jokingly told her to call Dr. Gipsen to arrange an appointment, so that we could be braces buddies. She laughed and said she would do it first thing on Monday.

We also talked about Walter, the guy she met online. She seemed happy to have met him and said she was looking forward to meeting him in person. The conversation naturally shifted to French kissing. I told her that I was going to have to stop French kisses as long as I had my stuff in my mouth. She replied, "Are you sure you can't French kiss?" with a naughty smile. I said, "I szhink id'hsh imposshhible for now, slhslhslh." She suddenly started touching my left thigh and caressing it with long back and forth movements from knee to the waist with her right hand (if she can't move her fingers, she can move her wrists), passing sometimes under my dress and toward my crotch and trying to maintain her stability with her left arm. I was so surprised and it was so pleasant that I didn't even try to push her away, without trying to understand what was happening. I could not resist doing the same with my left hand on her thin thighs also covered by tights. They were so soft and tender. I felt a lot of pleasure doing it. Then she started moving her head towards mine. Her lips touched mine very gently and we started kissing each other tenderly for long minutes. I felt her tongue coming into my mouth and starting exploring the inside of it, passing very slowly over my front brackets and the tongue crib. My tongue was blocked by the tongue crib but could touch hers through the remaining spaces. I felt very aroused by what we were doing and could not stop myself. She placed her right hand on the back of my head and kept on kissing me tenderly while I grabbed her by her corset with my hands and began to touch her breast gently. We were perfectly connected at this time. I fully enjoyed the moment, without asking any questions.

After about 10 minutes of kissing and touching, she delicately removed her tongue and lips from mine and looked at me, whispering, “You see, you can French kiss,” biting her lower lip. I could not reply with anything. After a few long seconds of looking into each other’s eyes, she burst out laughing.

Was she drunk or did she do this voluntarily? I did not know. I knew she was very open-minded about plenty of things but I had known her for 10 years and she never said anything about being attracted to women or me. Me neither. We had already kissed quickly on the mouth while we were drunk at some parties before but nothing like this.

-   “What do you think my dear?” she said, with a large smile after laughing.

-   “… you’re sho shurprizhing, slhslhslh, Whad’h a kisshh!,” I said.

-   “Yeah, I loved it too. I’ve always supposed you were a good kisser. I know now and the discomfort caused by braces provided excitement for both of us, didn’t it?” she said.

-   “You’re righd’h. I shd’hill have schhills Shweed’hie, slhslhslh,” I said.

-   “It’s your turn now, kiss me now!” she said directly.

I was drawn like a magnet to her when she said this and started kissing her like we did before, trying to touch her tongue with mine through the tongue crib. I especially appreciated when her tongue touched my braced teeth. I could not imagine braces could provide that kind of sensation.

-   “Bud’h Claire, whad’h are we doing exacd’hly?” I said, during a short break.

-   “Nothing wrong Alecja. We both are attractive women and we are right now attracted to each other, what’s the matter?” she said.

-   “Bud’h we boszh are hed’heroshecshhual? Have you ever done szhad’h before?” I said.

-   “What? To kiss another woman ? Yes I have, of course. Straight, gay, this means absolutely nothing. I love men but now it’s time to take advantage of what we can bring to each other at this precise moment, without asking any questions.”

She pushed me backward to make me lie on the couch and pulled her paralyzed body on me. She gave me several sensual kisses to the uncovered part of my breast while I was slowly caressing her hair and upper body. She went down to raise my dress up to my stomach and kissed my belly, my waist and thighs above my tights.

We spent the rest of the evening kissing, caressing, touching and licking each other, on and under our clothes, and doing other things for an hour or so. This moment was intense.

It was around midnight and we both wanted to go to bed. Claire asked me if she could sleep with me in my bed, so that we could keep on spending some time together. Of course, I said yes, even if I had prepared the guest room for her.

Both of us were still a little drunk. I helped her to transfer to her wheelchair and to brush her teeth, remove her make-up, and take off her shoes, her corset (which took very long to unlace), her dress and her tights to put on a nightie. Because she was too drunk to do it on her own, she asked for help to catheterize her and to install the catheter and the collection bag around her thigh for the night, so I did it. We tenderly French kissed each other several times during that period. Then I helped her to go to my bed and I finally prepared myself for the night doing the same for me. I added wax on my brackets and wires to relieve the pain and avoid ulcers because my mouth was very active in the last hour. I took another painkiller for the night.

When I came back to my bedroom, Claire was waiting for me with her naughty look, her body out of the sheets in a sensual position. Her left leg was bent on the other and she was biting one of her fingers. I went to the bed next to her and we started kissing tenderly on the mouth and making love again for a long time. After that, we looked at each other without saying anything and fell asleep, me thinking of this precious time we shared together that will remain etched in my memory. I could not imagine such a thing to happen with my best friend, much less just after my braces were put on.

Pleasant surprise, nice work!

Thanks for all your positive feedbacks.

Hi, I'd like to know what are the common parts between my fictional story and yours. Feel free to tell me.

By the way, here is the tenth chapter, always proofread by Braceface2015.


Chapter 10 The weekend after with Claire (part 1)

The next day, my cellphone alarm clock rang at 6:45 AM, the hour I get up to go to work. I forgot to change it last night.

My mouth was hurting a lot: general pressure, high sensitivity when opposite teeth simply touch a little, irritations of the interior of the cheeks and the tongue, especially underneath because of the lower expander.

I got up immediately to take painkillers. I tried to lie back down on my bed after but it was impossible to sleep again because of the pain, so I got up at 7:15 AM. ‘Too early for a non-work day,’ I thought.

After a liquid breakfast - it was too painful to eat anything solid - I decided to do all the housework. If my teeth hurt, my body did not.

I also adapted my apartment for Claire and to let her feel free to go everywhere with her wheelchair, especially in the toilets, the kitchen or the bathroom. I made for her a comfy bed in the guest room.

I finished these tasks at 10:30 AM and I decided to cook Bolognese spaghetti for lunch. I thought it was not very hard to cook, nor to eat with braces. But I had no Emmental to put on the pasta. ‘Sh**’, I had to go to the small supermarket around the corner to buy some.

I took a shower, brushed my teeth, with the same time as I did last night, and got dressed. It was a sunny day, 25°C forecasted. Even if I was not planning to go out during the weekend, I would still pay attention to my clothes because Claire is a pure beauty, always very well dressed.

So, I decided to wear a light green skinny sleeveless short dress, with a nice low-cut, under an adjusted black jacket over it, with sheer quite shiny flesh-colored tights and black 14 cm heeled peep-toe pumps, with a 4 cm platform and uncovered heel. They were new and I could not wait to show them to Claire, who loves high heels as much as I do. I pulled my hair back and made a bun, unconsciously looking like Dr. Gipsen, and put my glasses on.

I went down to the supermarket, trying to be as natural as possible but without opening my mouth at all. I bought the Emmental, a cheesecake for the dessert and some soft fruits and white bread. Then, I went to the supermarket cashier. I come here regularly, so I know the cashier, Mike, a 30 years old black guy, not my type but really nice, who said, "Hi, how are you today." A little embarrassed to reply, I answered with my mouth as tight as possible: "Hi, fine and you?" and held back as much as possible from the slurping I made regularly all morning. I was hoping he did not notice my strange voice also. He replied, "I'm ok. It's a nice day today. You look stunning!" Beginning to blush, I nodded with a closed-mouth smile and gave him my basket.

-   “You’re not chatty today, anything wrong?” he said.

-   “No, I’m fine, slhslhslh,” I replied, with nothing to do this time to avoid slurping.

-   “Well, are you sure? You seem a little concerned about something…” he asked.

-   “No no, I’m ok,” I said, smiling with my closed lips.

I paid for my purchases with my credit card, without saying anything other than, "Goodbye Mike," with my weird voice, and I left, feeling embarrassed.

Back at home, I prepared the meal for lunch and took another painkiller just before noon.

Everything was ready when Claire called me by phone to tell me she was in her car, parked in the disabled spot in front of my building, and asked if I could come down to help her because she had a lot to carry around. Despite her disability, Claire is as independent as she can and asks for help only if she really needs it. She is able to transfer from her wheelchair to her adapted car alone, even if it takes some time. She can drive it alone too with hand control. But I thought she could not bring her bag for the night with her. I told her I was coming.

She often wears corsets for style but also to relieve her back, allowing her to stay fairly straight despite her total lack of abs. Her long straight red hair fell on her shoulders.

She also seemed very happy to see me. It had been 6 weeks since we had seen each other. "Wow, you look gorgeous Alecja!! What such beautiful shoes," she started. I did not dare to talk at all. I knew I would have too but I was embarrassed because we were in the street with people around. She added, "Well, I understand you don't want to speak in the street." I nodded, smiling with my mouth closed. "Okay, I don't insist for the moment, but I'm going to help you to be more confident with that this weekend." I nodded again. I helped her get her manual wheelchair out of the car and assemble the wheels on it. She transferred alone with her sliding board, not wanting my help to do that. Then, she asked me to take her bags in the trunk, one with her things for the weekend and the other with 4 bottles of alcohol and packets of cocktail snacks. I did it and we went up to my apartment, on the 4th floor with the elevator. I slurped several times on the way, without saying anything.

As soon as I locked my entrance door, she turned her wheelchair toward me and asked me to smile with all my teeth. At this moment, we were alone so I did it with a lot of embarrassment.

-   “Well okay, it’s not that bad…really!” she said.

-   “Be honeshd’h pleazh, slhslhslhslh,” I said.

-   “I’ll be honest with you. We can see a lot of metal of course but it’s clean and not unsightly. In a certain way, you look younger and a little vulnerable, which gives you a sexy side,” she said.

-   “Are you sherioush? slhslhslhslh,” I asked.

-    “Yes, always with you my dear. Maybe the most annoying thing is the noise of slurping you do, but it’s not so gross. Anyway, I’m here for you to have a good time,” she said.

-   “Szhanks my beaud’hy. You look gordjshoush d‘hoo, slhslhslh, and your outfid’h ish shd’hunning d‘hoo by szhe way, slhslhslhslh.”

She thanked me and we hugged warmly one more time.

We went to the living room. Claire transferred herself onto the couch with her sliding board while I prepared the aperitif. I brought some snacks and two glasses of red wine and sat down next to her. I spent a very good moment with her, chatting about everything and almost forgetting my braces, except the discomfort of the lisping and slurping and the pain when I bite something too hard (I took another painkiller just before her arrival so as not to suffer too much during the meal). I felt fully confident with her.

After the aperitif, we went to the dining table after Claire transferred back to her wheelchair. She really appreciated all the accommodations I had made for her and thanked me a lot for my attention.

Then, we ate the meal. Claire used her adapted cutlery to eat by herself, only asking me to cut the spaghetti to make it easier to get them with her adapted fork.

My Bolognese spaghetti with Emmental was very good, like the cheesecake. However, eating was not a good time. Even if I took small bites, food got stuck constantly in the braces and wires, forcing me to clean it as much as I could with my tongue or a sip of water. Despite the painkiller, biting was often painful because of the sensitivity of my teeth. I did not eat a lot.

After eating, I got rid of the dishes that I put in the dishwasher, washed Claire’s cutlery for tonight and made the coffees. We went back to the living room to drink them.

While I was brushing my teeth and putting some wax on a lot of brackets to relieve the irritations of my cheeks, Claire went to the bathroom and came back 20 minutes later. So simple things like that take so much time with her disability. I could not stop telling myself she was so brave and how ridiculous my teeth problems were compared to what she had to endure every day.

We spent the first part of the afternoon shopping on the web. She bought a pair of double strap 11.5 cm thin heeled sandals and I bought a pair of hollow out ankle buckled slingback 14.5 cm wedge heeled sandals, with a 4 cm platform. They were beautiful.

Claire convinced me to go for a walk then, around the neighborhood. I felt so confident with her that I accepted it. We “walked” together, me pushing her from time to time to relieve her, even if it was not easy to walk bent over. I regretted that I chose such high heels. During the conversation, I sometimes smiled widely with all my teeth showing in the street, letting anyone see my braces. There was a teenage boy with braces too and a woman of my age who seemed a little bit surprised, but not mocking. No one cared about my silver smile. We had a very good moment sharing that time together.

After staying two hours outside, we went back to the apartment. It was time to have an aperitif. Claire went back to the bathroom and I prepared during this time the same things as before lunch: a few snacks and two glasses of wine. I took the bottle this time to fill up the glasses. We had the aperitif in the living room, still chatting with a background of pop/rock music.

Claire proposed to eat Chinese food but I preferred to choose sushi, which is easier to eat. She accepted and we ordered our sushi.

We ate them after the delivery guy delivered the order, with more glasses of wine. I sometimes put maki directly into Claire’s mouth with the chopsticks because she had a hard time picking sushi up with her adapted fork and could not use chopsticks at all with her paralyzed fingers. If the sushi were soft, I did not realize that rice grains were small and went everywhere between the wires and the brackets in my mouth. After dinner, I apologized to Claire and immediately went to brush my teeth to remove the many grains stuck in my appliances.

I then cleared the table, put the dishes in the dishwasher, washed Claire’s cutlery for tomorrow morning, and came back with her in the living room, bringing another bottle of wine to replace the empty one.

I filled her glass before mine and we could not stop chatting together about plenty of things: work, friends, family.... We discussed my treatment and how it was annoying to get braces. She asked me to show a closer view of my appliances, which I accepted. She was impressed by all the metal in my mouth and touched delicately with a lot of interest my lips, my brackets and my tongue crib with her fingers several times, approaching her eyes to a few centimeters to get a better view.

She also let me have a closer view of her teeth, which were, despite her long orthodontic treatment when she was 15, slightly shifted at some places but her teeth were globally straight and her smile still stayed beautiful. She told me once again she could consider braces back to correct her minor imperfections. Even though I told her her smile was great, I jokingly told her to call Dr. Gipsen to arrange an appointment, so that we could be braces buddies. She laughed and said she would do it first thing on Monday.

We also talked about Walter, the guy she met online. She seemed happy to have met him and said she was looking forward to meeting him in person. The conversation naturally shifted to French kissing. I told her that I was going to have to stop French kisses as long as I had my stuff in my mouth. She replied, "Are you sure you can't French kiss?" with a naughty smile. I said, "I szhink id'hsh imposshhible for now, slhslhslh." She suddenly started touching my left thigh and caressing it with long back and forth movements from knee to the waist with her right hand (if she can't move her fingers, she can move her wrists), passing sometimes under my dress and toward my crotch and trying to maintain her stability with her left arm. I was so surprised and it was so pleasant that I didn't even try to push her away, without trying to understand what was happening. I could not resist doing the same with my left hand on her thin thighs also covered by tights. They were so soft and tender. I felt a lot of pleasure doing it. Then she started moving her head towards mine. Her lips touched mine very gently and we started kissing each other tenderly for long minutes. I felt her tongue coming into my mouth and starting exploring the inside of it, passing very slowly over my front brackets and the tongue crib. My tongue was blocked by the tongue crib but could touch hers through the remaining spaces. I felt very aroused by what we were doing and could not stop myself. She placed her right hand on the back of my head and kept on kissing me tenderly while I grabbed her by her corset with my hands and began to touch her breast gently. We were perfectly connected at this time. I fully enjoyed the moment, without asking any questions.

After about 10 minutes of kissing and touching, she delicately removed her tongue and lips from mine and looked at me, whispering, “You see, you can French kiss,” biting her lower lip. I could not reply with anything. After a few long seconds of looking into each other’s eyes, she burst out laughing.

Was she drunk or did she do this voluntarily? I did not know. I knew she was very open-minded about plenty of things but I had known her for 10 years and she never said anything about being attracted to women or me. Me neither. We had already kissed quickly on the mouth while we were drunk at some parties before but nothing like this.

-   “What do you think my dear?” she said, with a large smile after laughing.

-   “… you’re sho shurprizhing, slhslhslh, Whad’h a kisshh!,” I said.

-   “Yeah, I loved it too. I’ve always supposed you were a good kisser. I know now and the discomfort caused by braces provided excitement for both of us, didn’t it?” she said.

-   “You’re righd’h. I shd’hill have schhills Shweed’hie, slhslhslh,” I said.

-   “It’s your turn now, kiss me now!” she said directly.

I was drawn like a magnet to her when she said this and started kissing her like we did before, trying to touch her tongue with mine through the tongue crib. I especially appreciated when her tongue touched my braced teeth. I could not imagine braces could provide that kind of sensation.

-   “Bud’h Claire, whad’h are we doing exacd’hly?” I said, during a short break.

-   “Nothing wrong Alecja. We both are attractive women and we are right now attracted to each other, what’s the matter?” she said.

-   “Bud’h we boszh are hed’heroshecshhual? Have you ever done szhad’h before?” I said.

-   “What? To kiss another woman ? Yes I have, of course. Straight, gay, this means absolutely nothing. I love men but now it’s time to take advantage of what we can bring to each other at this precise moment, without asking any questions.”

She pushed me backward to make me lie on the couch and pulled her paralyzed body on me. She gave me several sensual kisses to the uncovered part of my breast while I was slowly caressing her hair and upper body. She went down to raise my dress up to my stomach and kissed my belly, my waist and thighs above my tights.

We spent the rest of the evening kissing, caressing, touching and licking each other, on and under our clothes, and doing other things for an hour or so. This moment was intense.

It was around midnight and we both wanted to go to bed. Claire asked me if she could sleep with me in my bed, so that we could keep on spending some time together. Of course, I said yes, even if I had prepared the guest room for her.

Both of us were still a little drunk. I helped her to transfer to her wheelchair and to brush her teeth, remove her make-up, and take off her shoes, her corset (which took very long to unlace), her dress and her tights to put on a nightie. Because she was too drunk to do it on her own, she asked for help to catheterize her and to install the catheter and the collection bag around her thigh for the night, so I did it. We tenderly French kissed each other several times during that period. Then I helped her to go to my bed and I finally prepared myself for the night doing the same for me. I added wax on my brackets and wires to relieve the pain and avoid ulcers because my mouth was very active in the last hour. I took another painkiller for the night.

When I came back to my bedroom, Claire was waiting for me with her naughty look, her body out of the sheets in a sensual position. Her left leg was bent on the other and she was biting one of her fingers. I went to the bed next to her and we started kissing tenderly on the mouth and making love again for a long time. After that, we looked at each other without saying anything and fell asleep, me thinking of this precious time we shared together that will remain etched in my memory. I could not imagine such a thing to happen with my best friend, much less just after my braces were put on.

Good morning,
The points in common are many and I must say simple to list.
I am a 41 year old woman I live abroad for work I am single.
She is now back with the fixed braces for the same problems as the protagonist of this story.
As I said in the previous post, I don't write much but I always read.
I can confidently tell you that this is a story that women like too!
Good day
Francesca

Thank to everyone who commented !

Good morning,
The points in common are many and I must say simple to list.
I am a 41 year old woman I live abroad for work I am single.
She is now back with the fixed braces for the same problems as the protagonist of this story.
As I said in the previous post, I don't write much but I always read.
I can confidently tell you that this is a story that women like too!
Good day
Francesca

Glad to know you like it, despite te common problems with the main character.

Here is the next chapter, still with Braceface2015's help.


Chapter 11 The weekend after with Claire (part 2)

On Sunday morning, the sun crossing the shutter was illuminating the wall when I opened my eyes. Claire was staring at me, fully awake, with her beautiful green eyes, her head on the pillow, caressing my shoulder and arm with back and forth movements with her fingers. “Hi beauty,” she said.

-   “Hello shweed’heard’h,” I said with my matinal lispy voice, noticing a little bit of drool on my pillow.

-   “Did you sleep well?” Claire asked.

-   “Yesh, and you?” I said.

-   “Very well but my head is hurting. Probably too much alcohol last night,” Claire said.

-   “Szhe sshame for me, slhslhslh. And my d’heeszh, my d‘hongue and my schheek hurd’h sho bad d’hoday. Have you been awake for a long d‘hime? slhslhslh,” I said.

-   “About 15 minutes. I was admiring you. You are very beautiful. And I could not get off your bed alone anyway (laugh),” Claire said.

-   “Szhanksh, even if I drooled on szhe pillow. Waid’h, I’m gonna help you. Led’h me jushd’h go d‘ho szhe baszhroom firshd’h, slhslhslh,” I said.

-   “Be my guest, and I do not have the choice anyway (laugh). By the way, I’ll need you to do the same after you,” Claire said.

It was 9 A.M. I went to the bathroom and came back to help her to transfer to her wheelchair. We went to the bathroom together and I helped her to remove her catheter and clean everything. 

We both wanted to take our breakfast before going to shower, so I prepared coffee and croissants. I had to take a painkiller to eat something. Even eating something soft like a croissant was painful.

During the breakfast, I asked her, "Claire, whad'h do you szhink aboud'h whad'h did happen lashd'h nighd'h ? Are we girlfriendszh or shomeszhing, slhslhslh?" She started laughing and said "Hell no. Do you really want us to be girlfriends? Alecja, you're gorgeous and I really appreciated the moment we had. It was fantastic. But I love guys too much to become a "girlfriend" of another girl. However, as long as we're both single, I'm ready to sleep with you again at any time you want. I loved our sensuality and I really appreciated your kisses with your full-of-metal mouth."

-   “I feel relieved becauszhe I love guyszh too, I guessh. Bud’h I cand’h waid’h d‘ho kissh you and make love wizh you again, slhslhslh,” I said.

-   "So, we're on the same page. Let's say we're free to do it at any time. I'm very open-minded and you really have to feel free with me. Give me a sensual French kiss now!" she said.

-   "Shorry, I cand'h for now because I have plend'hy of, slhslhslh, foods sd'huck in my braschesh, but I'm okay d'ho do id'h again, whenever you wand'h," I said.

I gave her a small kiss on the mouth and after breakfast, we went to the bathroom to get prepared. Just after brushing my teeth and helping Claire to brush her teeth, we decided to go to my large Italian shower together where I helped her to get undressed and transfer on a waterproof stool. She was leaning her back against the wall to stay straight because she had no more abs and bad balance. I turned on the shower faucet, took off my clothes and came under the shower with her after pushing her wheelchair back. I moved my stomach near her head and she started kissing and licking me at that level, then under. I felt very aroused. I stooped down to her to kiss her tenderly on the mouth while I was touching her breast with one hand and moving the fingers of my other hand toward her crotch, caressing her in this area. She did the same. We spent an intense moment together under the shower, lasting at least 15 minutes.

After I turned off the shower faucet, I wiped myself and Claire asked me to wipe her, which I did, passing slowly and sensually on every part of her body, taking a little more time around her thighs, her breasts and her crotch. During this time, we kissed each other languorously several times. Then I helped her to transfer into her wheelchair, naked under her towel, her arms around my neck. Just after she was sitting in her wheelchair and while I was adjusting her feet on the footplate, she grabbed my head with her arms to give me another sensual kiss lasting about 5 precious minutes.

Then I dried my hair and held the hairdryer for Claire to dry her own hair. She did her hair loose herself, holding the brush with her two paralyzed hands.

Then we went to my bedroom to get dressed. I took Claire’s outfit from her bag. She asked me to dress her entirely, as she wanted to play an intimate game. I put her panties on first. I enjoyed lifting her legs then her body, taking advantage to caress her everywhere. I put her bra on then, taking, of course, the advantage to touch her firm breasts. She asked me to put her sheer shiny flesh-colored tights on. I took her left leg, lifted it up gently and started pulling up the tights very slowly along her leg to the middle of the leg. Then I did the same for the left leg. It was not easy at all because her legs were completely inert, except the moment when her left leg suddenly started shaking during 5 minutes. A little embarrassed, she apologized. She said these spasms regularly happen in the paralyzed parts of her body and she could not control them at all. I felt so sorry for her that she had to endure that kind of thing in addition to the rest. Claire wrapped my neck with her arms again and I lifted her butt up to pull up the tights to the waist. I let her sit on her chair then. I put her short black shorts on, caressing her soft thin legs covered by tights, and her sleeveless yellow t-shirt. I laced her black corset above her t-shirt as she wanted and I finally put her black 9 cm high-heeled strappy sandals on her paralyzed feet. She was so stunning with such a look.

I got dressed myself then, choosing to wear a white long low-cut dress on the legs, with a lot of small yellow and blue flowers, with sheer flesh-colored tights under and brown solid buckled T-strap thin 11.5 cm high-heeled sandals with no platform. I did my slightly curly hair loose and put in my contact lenses.

Of course, we congratulated each other for our looks.

We were both ready at 11 A.M.

Claire gave me a hand to prepare the meal for lunch: homemade lasagna. I took another painkiller to relieve the pain. Of course, food got stuck in my braces, but I brushed my teeth just after the meal.

We took our coffee in the living room, sitting very close, caressing and kissing sometimes. Claire suggested going for a walk outside and having a drink. It was a sunny and very hot day (+ 28 °C).

I felt so confident with her that I said yes, without hesitation, despite my silversmile.

We prepared ourselves and went out for a walk in the big park of the city with our sunglasses on. We took Claire’s stuff with us to put in the car so she could go after the walk. Due to the distance from my home to the park, we had to go there by car. Claire preferred to take her car because she is used to transferring in and out. I helped her to do it and she drove to the park.

Arriving at the parking lot, Claire took a disabled spot near the park’s entry. While I was helping her to get out of the car, I felt suddenly aroused the moment I took her legs to adjust them in her wheelchair. They were so soft with the nylon covering them that despite the fact we were outside, I could not resist the temptation to caress them. This seemed to please her and she grabbed my head to approach with her own and gave me a tender kiss on my mouth, whereas we were in public and everybody could see us. I replied to her kiss by giving her a short but intense kiss.

The park was crowded with Sunday walkers. We walked (and rolled) for an hour, as friends but with a few discreet gestures between us testifying of our new ‘complicity’. Even if no one cared, I was a little embarrassed to smile with my teeth even though I was spending an amazing afternoon with my best (and almost girl-) friend. We then moved to the terrace of a bar to have a drink. The waiter, a tall and sporty brown-haired handsome man, who was about our age, came to us and asked, “Hello there. How could I help you two beautiful ladies to get refreshed on this beautiful and hot day?”

-   “Please bring me a glass of Coca-cola zero with a slice of lemon, with no ice because I’m not that hot for the moment,” Claire replied, looking at him with charming eyes and a wide smile.

-   “A glass of Coca zero with a slice of lemon for the charming chilly lady, and for you, beautiful eyes?” he said slightly provocatively.

I was looking for a drink with no “t” or “s” to avoid feeling stupid with my lisp or something but I did not want ‘vodka’, the first word coming.

-   “Hmmm… a cold lemonade,” I replied shortly, without articulating too much to avoid letting him see my teeth.

-   “Do you want a slice of lemon too with it?” he asked.

-   “Yesh, pleazh, slhslhslh,” I replied, unable to avoid lisping and slurping and started blushing because of the embarrassment suddenly created.

He stared at me for a few seconds, probably questioning, and said loudly, “And a lemonade with a slice of lemon too for the shy hottie! I’m bringing you this straight away ladies!” and he left.

-   “Handshome bud’h quid’he heavy, slhslhslh,” I said to Claire.

-   “I could say yes for one night,” Claire said, laughing.

The waiter brought us our drinks 5 minutes later and we spent two hours chatting. During this time, Claire told me the waiter could not stop looking in our direction and thought he could have a crush for me.

At that moment, Claire went to the toilets. The waiter took the opportunity to come and talk to me. I immediately started feeling embarrassed.

-   “Hey you, what’s up?” he said.

-   “Hmm… No… I’m fine, I’m fine,” I replied, starting blushing.

-   “Well, I’ll be honest because I’m not fine. I’m a little confused because I find you very attractive and I really like you,” he said.

-   “Oh…” I could not reply more, being probably red like a tomato.

-   “That’s all? Are you okay?” he said.

-   “Yeah yeah … bud’h… I’m…” I said stammering, with really nothing to say in response.

-   “Well, I’m sorry. I have to go back to work before my boss sees me. Here is my number. Please call me if you want to have a drink with me. My name is Andrew by the way,” he said.

He gave me a paper with his hand-written number on it and went back to work, without any more glance.

I told Claire what happened after she came back and she started laughing, saying she was right about her feeling.

-   “And what are you going to do?” she asked.

-   “I dond’h know becauzh of my lishping and shlurping, whischh are very embarrasshing, nod’h led’hing me d‘ho d‘halk properly,” I replied, looking down, whereas Claire was gently caressing my knee and thigh over my tights.

-   “Okay, I understand, but you won’t stop living because of this tiny problem. You won’t stop meeting guys during the time you have these braces on. And I understood you every time you spoke on that weekend, there’s no problem in fact,” Claire said.

-   “Yesh, you’re righd’h. I’ll consider calling him,” I said.

After 30 minutes, we decided to go back to our home at 6 P.M., without seeing Andrew again.

Claire drove me to my flat. She pulled her car over in the disabled spot in front of my building. First we did a hug and then we kissed languorously for long minutes for the last time of the weekend, our tongues still touching through the tongue crib and Claire still exploring with hers the appliances in my mouth.

-   “I will miss this, my beauty,” she said.

-   “Sho I do. Szhank you for szhish fabuloush d‘hime my dear, slhslhslh. I cand’h waid’h d’ho shpend anoszher momend’h wiszh you,” I added.

-   “Thank you Alecja. This was also fabulous for me. We’ll do it again soon. Good luck for work tomorrow,” she said.

I got out of the car and gave her a last kiss through the window. She then left, leaving me feeling so fine on the pavement.

When I was walking back to my building, I saw Mrs. Jenkins, my 70-year-old neighbor, who watches all the time for everything that happens. She probably saw me kissing Claire, and asked me if she was my girlfriend, when I was entering the building. I denied it, saying she was just a friend, and went on my way.

At my apartment, I began feeling anxious about my day of work the next day and was especially thinking about the reactions of my colleagues when they all see my new metal smile. We talked a lot about this with Claire during the weekend and despite her comforting words and the fact it was not a big deal, I started freaking out.

This made me lose my appetite and I took a slight meal. Anyway, my teeth were still hurting. My tongue and my cheeks were hurting a lot too, injured by the contact with the appliances despite the use of wax. Maybe I talked with Claire and kissed her a little bit too much on the weekend.

I brushed my teeth, took another painkiller and a pill for anxiety and went to bed to watch a movie. But I could not stop thinking of the really good times with Claire on that weekend and still excited, I enjoyed a moment of lonely pleasure. I fell quickly asleep after that, near the middle of the movie.

I enjoy this dynamic. Thanks for sharing!

Really enjoying this story Radian! You build the tension well for the next challenges faced by the characters.

It's been a while but here is the next chapter.

Chapter 12 - Back to work

The next day, I woke up when my phone rang at 6:15 AM. I immediately thought of that first day at work with my braces because some of my colleagues are not as kind and compassionate as Claire was. I was scared to look and sound ridiculous for a young, ambitious and pretty woman like me. I thought my confidence had totally disappeared in one weekend.

My mouth was still hurting a lot. The pressure on my teeth was still present and when I looked inside, I noticed small sores in different parts where my cheeks were rubbing the brackets. My tongue was also irritated because of the quad helix, the tongue crib and the lower expander. I talked too much the days before and this was my reward. I needed to take care not to talk too much today, which is good because I did not want people to hear my lisping and slurping noises. I was afraid that they would anyway.

After breakfast, I jumped under the shower to get prepared. Out of the shower, with a towel wrapped on my body from my armpit, I took a look at myself in the mirror, trying to smile and talk in different ways. Anyone who was a little observant would notice the color of silver as soon as I pronounce a single word. And for those who were not, the lisping and slurping would advise them to stare at my mouth to understand what’s wrong.

The strange thing was, apart from the fact that it necessarily made me look younger, I kind of appreciated the look it gives me. I did not find that disgusting or something. It was not for Claire at least. I even began thinking that it looks clean and the shiny metal part could be compared to a kind of jewelry. Despite the pain, the discomfort and the lisp, it was not that bad. Okay, I was saying that to myself in front of my mirror, but I am sure I will feel very embarrassed in front of colleagues and clients.

Then, I cautiously brushed my teeth to not leave any part of food in the braces and I got dressed. I decided to wear some discreet clothes, to not attract attention: a white, tight, elbow-length t-shirt under a navy blue classic jacket, a beige knee-length pencil skirt, thin nude tights and black peep-toe 10 cm heeled boots with no platform. I left my straightened hair loose.

I drove to my company, parked my car in the parking and stood in front of the entrance door. I took a deep breath, entered the building and went to my office. Janet greeted me kindly, telling me I was stunning and asking me how my weekend and my orthodontist appointment were. She was alone, so I immediately smiled at her with all my teeth. I saw an air of compassion in her reaction, meaning like "poor girl, I feel so sorry for you," but she really said, hesitantly, "It's better than the braces I had."

“You can be honeshd’h Jane’h, id’sh awful, slhslhslh,” I said.

“No, no, it’s not that bad really but your speech sounds…different, doesn’t it?” she asked.

“Yeah, I nod’h only have bracked’hsh on all my ‘heeszh but I alsho have applianschesh behind szhem, on d‘hop and bod’hom, slhslhslh,” I replied.

“But reassure me, you can take them off?” she asked, astonished.

“No, szhey are fixshshed (ouch, impossible to say I thought) inshide, slhslhslh,… bud’h id’hsh okay, slhslhslh,” I replied.

“Oh my poor dear, and how long do you have to wear them?” she asked.

"I don'dh know exshacd'hly, aboud'h d'hwo yearzh, slhslhslh, for szhe bracked'hsh and probably
 lesh for szhe oszher applianschesh, slhslhslh," I replied.

"You should tell the bosses because you may have some difficulties doing several tasks like speaking on the phone or receiving clients," she said.

“Yesh, you’re righd’h but I dond’h feel szhat my schpeechh is improving, slhslhslh, id’h shhould normally,” I said.

We then went back to work. Janet would not stop assisting me like I was sick or disabled. It was cute from her. She was really compassionate, still more than usual.

I asked for a meeting with my two bosses to explain what was happening to me and that I needed to start a probable two years orthodontic treatment. Despite a kind of surprise, they said it did not change anything as long as I could do everything I had to do, like talking on the phone or receiving clients, which I confirmed (thinking it would be tough at first). They were very supportive and said not to hesitate to come to talk about any difficulties which could be caused by my treatment. They also said that even if clients could be surprised on the phone or in a meeting, they should understand and if they did not, it was not a big deal. They gave me their trust again, which reassured me.

The day passed in a better way than I had imagined. Most of the colleagues I saw noticed my braces and were very nice and understanding with me, repeatedly telling me that I was doing that for my health. The others were totally indifferent, like they did not notice anything or they pretended not to notice anything. I had a few reactions, especially for men who had been flirting a little with me, who were more distant than before, like they were afraid or disgusted by the braces, which disappointed me a little.

It was 5:00 PM, half an hour remaining to go home, and Boris came to my desk. ‘Please not him,’ I said to myself.

“Alecja, can you fill this bill for me and send it to the client ?” he said.

“Okay,” I said, without saying anything more and praying in my head for him to leave just after his sentence.

“But you need to check cautiously the two first lines first and to charge VAT after, on the total amount. You got it?” he said, talking to me like a newbie.

"Yesh Okay okay, slhslhslh," I said, without any possibility to avoid slurping at the end of the sentence.

He stared at me suddenly, trying to find what was wrong with my few words.

“Please say ‘cheese’. I want to check something,” he said.

I did not know what to do and started flushing, embarrassed about what was going to happen.

“Bud’h…okay…. I… I’ll bring you the documend’h you ashked in your offische, slhslhslh,” I said.

Oh my god, You did an Ugly Betty! You got your train tracks! And when is the next departure?” he said loudly, thinking he was funny.

I was all red and I could not say anything, starting to have tears in my eyes. I stood up and left for the restrooms, where I started crying. He looked at me leaving with a sadistic smile and went back to his office upstairs. Janet told him he went too far but he did not seem to think the same, pretty satisfied about what has happened, like always. It was the first time he hurt me like this. I could not say anything without making the situation worse because of my ****ing braces. I felt so vulnerable that day.

Then, I started thinking about what Dr. Gipsen, the strong and classy braced orthodontist woman, could have said to him. I was sure she would never have let it happen to herself. Maybe she would have taken one of her very high stiletto-heeled shoes to plant it in his mouth, or tied him on her dental chair to put massive and bulky appliances on his teeth. That's what I wanted to do at this time. Then I suddenly realized it was bullshit, that I should not let myself be hurt by him. I am still the same: a strong and beautiful woman. A lot of women of my age and more wear braces too, and I chose to start this journey for my health. I came back to my desk with confidence, nearly ready to resume the fight, but he had left. I did not see him again that day and I put the document he asked for on his desk.

After work, I went back home, thinking this day was not that bad. Most of my colleagues, even my bosses, were pretty compassionate and caring and I did not have to worry so much about their reactions. But the incident with Boris made me upset.

Back at home, I decided to take a bath after my traditional soup dinner and listen to classical music to relax myself. It was a delightful moment, thinking once again of what happened with Claire the last weekend. I took a lot of pleasure trying to recreate this moment again, licking my lips and covered-by-metal teeth and touching myself.

Out of the bath, I took a look at myself in the mirror and tried to smile with my teeth. I said to myself, I was starting to appreciate my look with my metallic smile, like the rude but gorgeous Dr. Gipsen.

I went to bed, thinking of the next day at work, what I was going to wear and what kind of reactions would I receive to my braces. I also took another moment of lonely pleasure before sleeping, by thinking of the same thing from in the bath.

awesome

Great job @radian, glad you started back up!

Whilst it is a tiny bit annoying to have lots of other threads and stories pushing my own stories down the list :-( it is GREAT to see others writing stories.

You've written so many, there is probably enough content to warrant a little sub-section of your own!

But quite agree - @radian, keep up the good work!

Thanks for the comments !
 
Here is the next part :

Chapter 13 - To the second appointment

I finally got used to the braces after three weeks. The discomfort and the pain decreased gradually. On the contrary, my ability to eat solid food was back to how it was before.

During that time, my speech also clearly improved, but I could not get rid of the lisping & slurping totally. Some of my relatives have remarked to me.

I did not go out too often, too embarrassed to show my silver smile. I went once to the theatre with a friend and another time, got a drink with Claire and other friends at a pub. I stayed very close to Claire that night and tried to hide our new 'relationship' from the rest of the table, even if we both took turns taking the risk to get intimate gazes, gestures or caresses from each other on that night.

We also met in private several times together at her home or mine and as two single open-minded women, we of course made love, with the same sensuality and pleasure as the first time. Her relationship with Walter has been growing a little bit since then. They met for the first time at the end of June and it seemed to work between us. Another date is scheduled after Walter's vacation at the start of August. They were not a couple yet, but it was taking its course.

As far as I am concerned, I was too shy to look and smile around me outside, I did not see any approaching man. The ones who came for an approach quickly turned around when they saw my shining metal mouth. My sex appeal and my pride had taken a hit.

At work, I did my best to overcome the braces problems. My bosses and colleagues were amazing, pretending to not see or notice anything wrong with my braces or the lisping, except Boris of course. Each time I saw him, he laughed at me with hurting words or crude imitations, going so far that he made me feel really bad for the rest of the day. I did not know what was going wrong with him, but this guy seems to have no mercy or empathy.

We came to the 9th of July and I started thinking about my orthodontist's appointment at the end of the week. I began to feel nervous about the idea of new appliances, as Dr. Gipsen seemed to indi-cate at the last appointment. I tried to relax a little, saying to myself it was impossible to add anything more to my full-of-metal mouth.

On the morning of the 13th of July, my ortho’s appointment was scheduled for 1 PM. I prepared myself, keeping in mind I could not go home before this appointment and I had to go back to work after it, before starting my three weeks vacation time.

By the way, we decided with Claire to go on vacation together in Barcelona from the 21st of July to the 4th of August. We booked a 4 stars hotel room near the beach to enjoy our time together. I could not wait to be there. I hoped I might be more liberated from not being in my usual environment, where I could meet people I know, even if the idea to go on vacation with my metal stuff caused some concern.

It was a sunny and hot day (26 °C announced), so I chose to wear a pale yellow mid-thigh summer dress with sheer-colored extra thin tights, and 10 cm square-heeled multi-strap sandals, with no plat-form. I did my hair back with a ponytail and decided to wear my black rectangular glasses instead of my contact lenses.

The morning at work went by fast. I quickly ate my pasta meal without being very hungry and jumped into my car at 12:40 AM and drove to the orthodontist's office. The car parked, I started feeling very nervous once again.

I entered the office where there was no one at the reception desk. Suzan was probably taking her lunch break. So I went to sit on my own in the waiting room and said 'hi'.

Only two persons were waiting :
-   A boy aged about 16, with red hair, who replied to me, letting me see his metallic smile,
-   and a woman aged about 25, with loose blonde wavy hair, dressed in a white short summer dress with bare legs and white flat strappy sandals. She was very cute and replied to me with a big smile with very crooked teeth but no braces. I thought maybe she was at her first ap-pointment.

Like the first times with other patients, they probably noticed my silver smile. If the boy was indifferent to it, I saw the girl seeming a little concerned about it, like I was the first time. I could perfectly imagine what she thought.

The TV screen indicated a 15 minutes wait for Dr. Gipsen. I thought at that time, if the appointment was going to last too long, I'll be late for work and my vacation could start later.

After 15 minutes, Stacey come into the waiting room and said my name, with her usual lisp. She wore her light blue coat, over white trousers and navy blue 2 cm heeled sandals with her nude beau-tiful feet. She greeted me and asked me how I’d been since the last appointment. I replied, with my own lisp, that it was very difficult at first but finally dealt with it.

In the examination room, Dr. Gipsen, sitting on her rolling stool, was finishing preparing her stuff. I saw a lot of stuff on the table and hoped it was not for me this time. As usual, she had her blond hair pulled back in a bun and glasses. She wore her white blouse over a white mid-thigh skirt this time, sheer-colored tights and orange and glossy 14 cm high-heeled peep-toe pumps. She still was so classy and beautiful.

She greeted me and asked me to sit in the chair. She asked me how I have been since the last time. I replied the same as I said to Stacy. She did not seem to care about my answer and told me she had to check if everything was okay, replace the ligatures around the brackets and install my other appli-ances. I looked at her with astonished eyes, asking what kind of appliances she was going to fit. She replied, "a headgear to get my back teeth back and a bottom lip bumper to make some space and keep the lower lip away from the lower arch."

If I did not exactly know what was a lip bumper, I immediately felt panic when I heard the word 'headgear'. I knew exactly what it was since I saw some teenage patients wearing that kind of appli-ance in the waiting room, but I believed it was only for children or teenagers. I asked if another less invasive appliance could replace the headgear.

She said briefly, "no, that won't be possible," and asked me to lie down and open my mouth. She checked everything, asking me to bite up and down several times. Then she replaced every ligature around my braces without changing the wire. She asked me to choose the color this time and a little disconcerted by this question, I chose the same grey I had. She placed the cheek retractor and took one appliance from the table, probably the large wire of the headgear, and tried several times to fit it into the tubes of my upper last molars. After a few adjustments, she said it was okay. She left it in place and connected a large navy blue head strap to the wire with small plastic parts with several holes. After that, she tried to fit the other appliance to the tubes of my lower last molars, probably the lip bumper she showed me before. It was an arched wire which was covered by a large plastic part on the front. After some adjustments, she asked Stacey's help to cement it with the blue light. It meant I would not be able to remove it. I immediately felt pressure on my last molars.

When she removed the cheek retractor, in addition to all the metal inside my mouth, I could feel a quite large wire on the corners of my lips, and a large piece of plastic behind my lower lip. I could no longer close my mouth properly because my lips did not naturally cover my lower teeth completely. I could not stop trying to.

Dr. Gipsen asked Stacey to tell me how to care for and remove the headgear. Before leaving, she said I needed to wear it 12 hours a day at first and encouraged me to wear it more often, as much as I could. She advised me to wear it as soon as I go back home from work till I went back to work and to remove it only to eat. I immediately thought in my head it would be good if I could keep that thing in for more than a couple of hours. Then I said to myself, 'When am I supposed to have a social life? Only at work?' She also told me to arrange with Suzan another appointment in a month or so.

I tried to take off the headgear to leave the office, but Stacey told me that I should keep it in place to get used to it. I said to myself, 'No way I keep it in a place where I can meet people'. I asked Stacey if I could try it at home instead but she insisted, reminding me I have to be as compliant as possible with my treatment. She added, that if we see Dr. Gipsen in the corridors without it just after this appointment, she could reproach me for not being compliant enough.

I was freaked out about the idea of going out with the headgear on, but I resigned myself to doing it. So I took my purse, left the examination room and started walking in the long corridor going to the entrance, keeping my head and eyes down, with my free hand next to my face, trying to hide as much as I could. I knew it was useless, but I did not know how to deal with this new such visible appliance on my head.

It was 2 P.M and I was pretty sure there were people in the waiting room, but I did not dare to look. I had to stop at Suzan's desk to arrange the next appointment, so I asked her with my headgear and my impairment to talk, in maybe the most embarrassing moment of my life, what places were available in about a month. I had both of my hands around my face trying awkwardly to hide what I could not hide. She seemed compassionate and gave me the available spots. I took the 25th of August at 11 A.M, to avoid this time coming in a working day, which was always complicated.

Fortunately, no one arrived during that time and I quickly walked to the entrance door. I was about to finally go out, but I ran into the handsome man with the perfect smile that I met the last time. He was entering the office and held the entrance door for me. I quickly said "szhanksh" without any more look, still trying to hide the headgear with my hand. He did not seem so astonished by it.

Outside, I quickly ran and entered my car. I checked if anyone could see me and burst into tears. After 5 minutes, I tried to remove the headgear but I could not concentrate enough because of the panic. I thought it was stuck and I had to keep it permanently, and I had to hurry because I was already a little late for my last afternoon at work, so I decided to drive to work and to try again to remove it in my company's parking. I released my hair to hide more effectively the back part of the appliance, but it was impossible to hide the two large straps of the appliance.

On the road, I could not stop saying to myself that everyone around me was staring at me since my car's windows were not tinted. I saw a few people who seemed to notice the headgear and have a persistent look.

In the company's parking, I tried to relax with a short breathing meditation session, and I tried to remove again the headgear. I managed to do it once I found the method, with a sense of relief. There still was the problem of my big lower lip due to the lip bumper, but I could easily deal with it after fearing being forced to keep the headgear on for my last day of work. I put the headgear in the orange box that Stacey gave me and put this box in the glove compartment of the car. I quickly got my hair done and I entered the building.

Janet and some of my other colleagues noticed there was something wrong with my lower lip, but no one said anything. I had to take a painkiller that afternoon because painful tensions quickly ap-peared in my mouth. I noticed the lip bumper made me slurp with a little bit more noise, probably because more saliva was accumulating in my lower jaw. Boris came once to my office. I had become his punching bag since he noticed I had braces. He laughed at me another time because of my big lower lip and tried to imitate me by enlarging his lower lip. I thought he was just a hick, but I did not say anything to him, preferring to let it go and stay strong.

After having made up for the work time I had not done in the early afternoon and said goodbye to everyone, I left my office, relieved to be finally on vacation, even if my mouth was hurting, and drove back home.