March 2014

My orthodontist says this time next year, I'll be smiling easily. He doesn't know me. My severely limited range of facial expressions means the smile does not come easy to me. Brace or no brace, I don't give them away cheaply. Smiles ought to mean something. You should feel them in your heart, not just your face.

I’m relaxed about the brace coming off, though there are moments when I wonder what would happen if I was to die now? Would the brace get removed before I was buried in that unmarked grave?

At what point would the orthodontist make contact?

When I’ve fallen behind in my payments?

Would they bring them into remove my brace in the morgue if they happen to call before I get put in the ground?

Would the brace still be doing its job even in death, straightening the teeth I still keep grinding in my heavy-on-the-ghosts sleep?