The dentist swiveled on his heels and disappeared, leaving me there to massage my jaw back into feeling after its brief, masochistic marriage to the top of my wooden desk.
The narrator describes an uncomfortable experience at the dentist's office, highlighting a moment of physical discomfort as he tries to recover from an awkward position. The dentist abruptly leaves, leaving the protagonist to handle the aftermath of the painful encounter alone. This moment captures the tension and unease often associated with visits to the dentist.
The imagery of the narrator's jaw in pain and the metaphor of a "masochistic marriage" to the desk suggest a sense of vulnerability and the strain of the situation. The absurdity of it all reflects a larger commentary on the discomforts of mundane, yet essential, experiences like dental care, presenting them through a surreal lens typical of Lethem's style.