Chapter 36 Taste
"Bleah! I can't taste a thing! Nor can I talk correctly! I should have known better than to schedule a dental appointment to replace my filling so close to lunch time. The numbing agent the dentist used on my gums before injecting the local anesthetic has a very bitter taste," Brennan complained as she followed Booth into the diner. "Marge, can you just bring me some iced tea, please?"
"No lunch, Bones?" Booth asked with concern.
"I can't feel the left side of my mouth. I don't want to chew on my tongue and possibly lacerate it with my teeth. I will order a salad later this afternoon if I get too hungry."
"I can't believe you can still taste the lidocaine gel after two and a half hours. It didn't bother me at lunch last week, and my appointment was scheduled for the same time slot as yours, 9:30 am. For me, the taste had disappeared quickly. Wonder what the difference is?" Booth mused as he took a big bite of his hamburger. "Sure you don't want a few of my fries?"
"I don't know of any research that has been conducted on the duration of taste sensations on the human tongue," Brennan said. "But when my high school class tested various substances on the different areas of the tongue, I detected the quinine in a smaller concentration than any of my class-mates. And the taste lingered until dinner time. Of course, the other students teased me that I must be a bitter person because I'd sensed the quinine first," she recalled sadly.
"Bones, your classmates were a bunch of Neanderthal dunderheads," Booth assured her.
"Mr. Buxley tried to comfort me the next day. He'd observed the kids teasing me. He said that I must possess very acute skills of observation, to a greater degree than my classmates, and this ability would serve me well if I followed my dream and became a scientist, because observational acuity is vital in conducting research," Bones remembered fondly.
Booth was silent for a few minutes. "You know, when we met him at your old high school in Burtonsville, I thought that guy was very creepy and suspicious. I guess I was very wrong, because he seems to have been rather protective of you when he had the chance, and a good friend."
"Yes, Booth, it just goes to show you shouldn't assess a printed volume by its exterior binding."
"Almost right, Bones….you can't judge a book by its cover."
"That's what I said, Booth!"