"Zoe Hanna?"
A delivery man stood in the doorway to the office. Zoe let her head fall into her hand.
"Another one?!"
She asked, standing reluctantly and moving to take the long stemmed red rose from the florists delivery man whom she had seen a grand total of twelve times that day.
"Last one."
He said, smiling despite the day he had had, running back and forth every hour of Zoe's twelve hour day to deliver a single red rose every hour.
"Thank God..."
She murmured, but tilted the rose to her lips none the less, smelling the sweetness of it, feeling the softness of the petals against her skin.
"Thank you."
She added, nodding her thanks to the delivery man who tipped his cap to her and left the office, closing the door behind him.
She moved and sat back down at her desk, regarding the rose that she held, and the eleven others that she had standing in water in a water jug to the left of her laptop.
She drew in a deep breath. She could smell them still. They smelled of summer.
"Max..."
She whispered his name despite his absence.
The door opened, Dylan stood within it's frame, his body silhouetted by the ward beyond.
"Don't you ever knock?!"
She raised her eyes to him, a frown creasing her forehead. He looked from her to the roses, to the single rose that lay across her desk.
"Christ he really is in love with you."
He said,looking to her again, his eyes wide.
She shrugged her shoulders, releasing them with an exhale of breath.
"He must be..."
She agreed, her voice painfully quiet.
"So what are you going to do?"
He asked, placing his hands on his hips.
Zoe glanced behind him at the busy ward beyond.
"Work!"
She said.
"As usual."
She added, standing, adjusting her dress and moving to stand before him, waiting for him to move so that she could move passed him. He remained where he was.
"Zoe..."
He cleared his throat, his body blocking her exit.
"As disinterested as I am...don't you think you should perhaps give the poor boy a break?"
He asked. Zoe laughed despite herself.
"You're giving me relationship advice?!"
She asked incredulously.
"Really?!"
She shook her head and touched her forehead with her fingers.
"What are you doing?"
She asked suddenly as he moved to the right, using his foot to push the door to the office closed.
"What do you want?"
He asked. She frowned.
"It's not a particularly hard question Zoe. What is it that you want? Do you want him, or don't you?"
He asked. His questions took her off guard. She found herself fumbling for something to say. Her mind drew a blank. She had ceased to be able to think about Max without all of the problems...possible problems surrounding their relationship shrouding everything else and blinding her as to what it was that she really wanted, or could really have.
"I don't know..."
She said eventually, and sighed. Disappointed with her own answer.
"Right. Well. If you can't be honest with me then that's fine, it doesn't matter. But at least be honest with yourself, Zoe."
She wished he wouldn't keep saying her name. He stood before her, his presence reminding her of many of her school teachers all morphed into one.
She exhaled loudly and tossed her hands up in the air, helpless.
"I am being honest! I just...don't know."
She placed a hand against her forehead, she felt hot, her head hurt.
"It's quite simple. If you want Mike..."
"Max..."
"Right...if you want Max, go and get him. If you don't..."
He left his sentence unfinished, catching the glint within her eye, the look of the lonely, the lost...
"I sincerely hope you find the dream that satisfies your existence. But in the meantime, will you just go and tell that boy that you're madly in love with him and have done with it? I'm fed up of you and your puppy dog eyes, simpering all over the place like a Jane Austen heroine."
He sighed as he spoke and Zoe tilted her head to one side, regarding him with sudden amusement.
"Jane Austen?"
She smiled.
"Yes."
He paused.
"What?!"
He asked, widening his eyes again and showing the palms of his hands. She shook her head.
"Nothing..."
She murmured, biting her lips against her smile.
"Good. Now."
He stepped to one side allowing her access to the door.
"Go and find your Mr Darcy."
More soon xxx