Zoe puffed the straggling bit of hair out of her eyes wearily. It was 10pm on a stifling Tuesday night in late October and the surgery was still busy. It seemed that every citizen of Bluebell had overnight developed wildly varying ailments that required immediate medical attention, and, with Brick away at a hunting retreat, it had fallen to Zoe as the remaining town doctor to attend to the high volume of patients.
She smiled weakly at Patty Pritchett.
"You seem to have developed a touch of labyrinthitis, which explains the dizzy spells. I'll write you a prescription, and it should clear up within three to five days. Just don't go up any ladders in the meantime," she cautioned.
"Ah knew Prizzi was talkin' outta her ass," Patty drawled in response. "She was tryin' to get me to a psychic - said ah couldna stand up straight 'cause I missed church and the devil had gotten t' me bones."
Zoe smiled tiredly, handing her the prescription paper. "Well I can assure you that you're not possessed. Just a small inner ear problem."
"Thanks Doc." Patty collected her wildly clashing purple cardigan and red leather bag and hoiked them inelegantly over her shoulder.
Zoe followed her to the door of the office, smiling politely despite the dull ache in the balls of her feet. In her rotations as a medical student she had done 30 hour shifts but - some days - that seemed to shrink in comparison to a 15 hour work day with the residents of Bluebell.
She peered apprehensively round the corner into the waiting room. Please don't be Shula, please don't be Shula…
Thankfully, there seemed to be only one occupant and she recognised him immediately from his battered all-weather boots. Despite her weariness, Zoe felt her heart give a little skip.
"Twist your ankle falling in that hole again?" she asked lightly.
Wade glanced up at her, apparently lost in his own thoughts. He smirked slightly, taking in her frazzled appearance.
"Tough day Doc?"
She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh you know, healing the sick and helping the needy - all in a day's work." A silence hung between them as they looked at each other. "So… what can I do you for?"
He bit his lip anxiously, his eyes flicking away from and then back to meet hers. "Well, it's uh, it's Earl."
"Oh, is he okay?" Zoe asked, concern marring her expression.
"Yeah he's fine," he said reassuringly. "But see now he's out of hospital, well, he really wants to see you." He hesitated, taking a deep breath. "Us - he wants to see us. Together, like."
Zoe nodded slowly. "Now?" she asked, trying to keep the quaver out of her voice.
Wade shook his head. "Nah, you're exhausted Zoe - tomorrow night. Let me give you a ride home."
She jolted slightly at the use of her first name. If she'd been in her right mind, she would have come up with something bright and pithy, but she was just exhausted. Even without the endless stream of patients she was barely sleeping and things with Wade had never been more tightly wound, which was a completely different kind of exhausting.
The drive home was short, silent and thick with words unsaid. She glanced regularly at Wade, wondering what he was thinking. Did he want her to talk? He had that little crease between his eyebrows that indicated deep thought - but was it about her? Or business at the Rammer Jammer? Or… something else entirely?
"A picture'd last longer ya know."
Zoe looked away quickly. She narrowed her eyes as the plantation pulled into view. "Wade, are we ever going to talk?"
The car rolled slowly to a halt roughly equidistant between their two houses. Wade kept his eyes fixed on the dashboard long after the engine cut out and Zoe felt like the silence was trying to suffocate her.
Eventually, the silence got too much for her. "I'm sorry, okay? I don't know how many more times I can say it. I know I put you in an awkward situation. But I couldn't just let you leave Bluebell - not without letting you know!"
He heaved a deep breath. "I know this is killing you Doc. I'm sorry, I just… I just need some more time."
She pressed her lips together, trying to hide her disappointment. "That's cool. Time is fine, just - y'know - let me know when you're ready to talk."
Wade watched her walk back towards the carriage house, teetering in her ridiculous heels and teeny tiny shorts. What was he doing? He'd wanted her from the second he set eyes on her - from the first cross word out of her tiny mouth - why was he still stalling?
The truth was it had been five weeks since Zoe had said those words to him, the words he had been longing to hear for the last three years, and he still didn't know what to do. On the one hand, he loved her back - desperately - he'd never felt for anyone what he felt for her. Hell, he'd never even met anyone like her. But he felt like they were teetering on the brink of something; something new, something different, and he didn't know what role he was meant to play. Their relationship had always been aspirational for him; it had always been him reaching for her and trying to convince her to give him a shot. Hell, he chased her across the state just to tell her he loved her, but it'd been safe - he'd never really believed that she would give in.
Now, here she was, offering him everything; all in, and he was terrified.
He was not a smart man, and that was the bottom line really. He'd had her physically, and he knew that he would never get tired of that. He'd seen her soul - if he believed in such things - and it was a perfect fit for his. And he'd seen her mind, and that's what scared him. She was so sharp, so bright and so… capable - how could he ever satisfy that? Why would she stay with someone who couldn't keep up with her? Oh, he knew he was challenging, but not in the good way that she needed. He couldn't challenge her the way that, say, George Tucker could challenge her.
Wade slapped the steering wheel in frustration. Tomorrow - tomorrow, he would man up. Tonight he would mope some more.
Thanks for reading y'all.
