Family Snippets - 13. Grandmothers Rule, Okay?

“Look Nanny!”

Colin thrust the jar containing his tooth under her nose.

“Wow! That’s a really amazing tooth!”

Janine’s mother is a master at being the enthusiastic grandmother. She’d been given advance notice that we’d be dropping in on the way to swimming, as Colin was keen to show off the first tooth he’d lost. She was playing her role to the hilt.

“Hi, Nicole,” I said when Colin was distracted for a few seconds. Janine’s parents had insisted that I call them by their first names since I first started dating Janine. I’d been brought up to be more formal with members of their generation but they eventually got their own way.

“Hi, Graeme,” she replied. “He’s awfully excited, isn’t he?”

“Actually, he’s calmed down. Before we came, I had to take photos of both his tooth and the gap in his mouth. It was only after I did that were we allowed to get into the car and come here.”

I could see the disbelief in her eyes as she took in the sight of Colin bouncing around the house. However, it was true. The initial euphoria had dropped down to merely overwhelming happiness.

“Where’s Wayne? Colin wants to show him his tooth, too.”

“He’s gone out to get the paper. He should be back soon.”

I nodded my head. Before I could say anything more Colin came back to us.

“Can I go outside, Nanny?”

“Of course you can.”

“Why don’t you leave your tooth inside?” I suggested. “You don’t want to lose it.”

“I won’t lose it. I’ll be careful,” he insisted.

Reluctantly, I let him have his own way. I’d put the tooth in a jar with a lid, but Colin was able to take the lid off, which he’d already done a couple of times in the car on the way to his grandparent’s place. Andrew joined him outside, and the two of them started playing.

Looking out from the doorway, there was no doubt of how proud he was about his tooth. He would hold up the jar, shake it, peer into it, and smile broadly. I winced when he took the lid off to peer inside, and then tipped the tooth out of the jar and onto the lid.

“Colin, don’t you want to keep the tooth safe until Grandpa can see it?”

“I’m being careful,” he insisted.

I shrugged and went back inside. All I could do was hope it would be okay. It would’ve been cruel to have taken the jar off him.

After I finished a cup of coffee, Wayne came through the door.

“Hello, Graeme,” he said, surprised to see me.

“Hi, Wayne. We dropped in so Colin could show you his tooth.”

Personally, after being a dentist for probably more years than I’ve been alive, I think Janine’s dad could do without seeing another tooth, but grandfathers are special.

“I’d love to see it!”

I went to the door.

“Colin! Grandpa is here. He’d like to see your tooth! Where’s the jar?”

Colin approached. “I put the jar inside,” he said defensively. I immediately suspected the worst.

I looked around and spotted it on a nearby chair. Picking it up I was struck by the silence. The jar was empty.

I frowned down at my eldest son.

“Did you lose the tooth, Colin?”

I knew I had a major crisis on my hands. Earlier in the year, Janine had raced up to the house from the paddock when she’d heard Andrew screaming. She’d thought he’d broken an arm or leg. No, he’d accidentally let go of a helium-filled balloon, and it was flying away. He wanted us to get it back....

Colin, much to my surprise, was calm.

“Isn’t it in there?”

I shook my head. “No.” I tried to sound disappointed, not annoyed. “Did you lose it outside?”

He frowned thoughtfully for several seconds and then grinned.

“I know! The tooth fairy must have taken it already!”

My mouth dropped open in surprise. That was a possibility I’d never considered.

“Nanny! Grandpa! The tooth fairy has taken my tooth!”

“That’s very clever of the tooth fairy, Colin. They can be very tricky people, these fairies,” Nicole said approvingly.

As I expected, Wayne wasn’t disappointed at not seeing the tooth. Anyway, I could always show him the photos once I had the film developed. I must’ve used up half a roll of film on the tooth and Colin’s gap-smile.

“You know, it’s quite unusual for an upper central to be the first to come out. It’s normally a bottom tooth,” Wayne said once Colin had gone back outside to play again.

“What do you know?” Nicole replied scornfully. “You’re only a dentist.”

While I thought if there was one professional that could be said to have a reasonable idea on which teeth come out first, it would be a dentist. A paediatrician would be my second choice, but I didn’t have one handy to consult with.

However, with the wisdom that comes from being married for fifty years, Janine’s father maintained his silence.

I learnt an important lesson that day: a grandmother always beats a dentist when it comes to knowing her grandchildren, even if the dentist is their grandfather.