One of

these days
Gabrie l Garcia Marque z

Exposition
Aurelio Escovar is an unlicensed dentist. In the
town where he works, he opened his office on
Monday morning at six. His son called him to tell
him that the mayor had turned up and wants
Aurelio to pull out one of his teeth that is causing
him pain.

Complication
Escovar refuses, telling his son to lie to the mayor and
say that he is not there. But his son called back to say
that the mayor can hear Escovar and knows that he is
there. The mayor threatens to shoot Escovar if he
does not treat him, Escovar told his son to show the
mayor into his office.

Rising Action
Escovar opened a drawer in his desk so he could easily
pull out a revolver and shoot the mayor, but when the
mayor stepped into the room and does not pull his gun on
the dentist, Escovar closed the drawer and thinks better
of it. He saw the desperation in the mayor’s eyes. One
side of the mayor’s face has a five-day-old beard
because his mouth on that side is in too much pain for him
to shave the skin there, owing to the toothache.

Climax
When Escovar examines the mayor’s mouth, he
tells him that he will have to perform the tooth
extraction without anesthesia. When the mayor
asks why, Escovar tells him it is because he has an
abscess. The mayor watches the dentist’s every
move as Escovar prepares his instruments.

Falling Action
As he is about to extract the tooth, Escovar told
the mayor that he will make him pay for twenty
dead men, whose deaths he clearly holds the
mayor responsible for. The mayor cries in pain as
his tooth is pulled and sees the weak state of the
dentist’s office.

Denouement
When he was leaving, he told Escovar to send him
the bill. The dentist asked whether it should be
sent to the mayor personally or to the town. Once
he was clear of the man’s office, the mayor
replied that they are the same thing: he is the
town.