The Strange Love of Dr Jekyll and Mr Utterson

Chapter Six- Dancing

On the last day of Utterson's stay, the doctor retreated to his laboratory. Encouraged by the rare good weather, Utterson went for a long walk, exalting in the warmth of the sun. The sound of laughter and music drew him towards a busy market street. He looked through the stalls, listening to the sounds of laughter and shouts from vendors.

Two hours had passed when he decided to head home, but was distracted by one of the stalls, selling bouquets of colourful flowers. One in particular caught his eye, a riot of yellow and blue. Each bouquet had a tag with a name on it; the one that had caught his eye was called 'a sunny day'. He bought it, pausing to appreciate the kaleidoscope of colours of the flower stall. The vendor gave him a wide toothless smile.
"Those for a special someone?"
Utterson nodded.
"Must be a lucky lady" the vendor winked at him. Utterson nodded, looking at another bouquet, much smaller, and composed of two black peonies and three blood red roses. The tag read 'midnight lover'.

He had thought of buying the second bouquet but in the end left with only one. When he returned to Jekyll's house, it was dark, and he could see the lamp burning in his laboratory. He went to his room and packed his things, and then grabbed the flowers and knocked on the imposing wooden door of the laboratory. It took a second for Jekyll to appear.
"Henry? I brought you a gift. As a thank you for letting me stay here."
Jekyll smiled warmly but looked back into his laboratory with a dogged urgency.
Utterson's face fell.
"Do you think you might come and spend the evening with me? It would do you some good to be away from your work for a while. Please?"
"Of course. My apologies." He took the bouquet. "These are beautiful Gabriel, thank you."
"They reminded me of you."
"It's a very mild evening, why don't we sit in the garden?" Suggested Jekyll.

They made their way outside and Jekyll listened as Utterson recounted his day. His eyes were tired but he listened with rapt attention and kind eyes.
"The market was beautiful, there were so many colours! Oh- and there was music, and dancing, I didn't join in but it looked so fun! And there were flowers everywhere I could have stayed there all day. I wish you had been with me."

"My apologies. But perhaps there is one thing we could still do." His eyes shone as he stood and extended his hand towards his friend. "Mr Utterson, would you do me the pleasure of dancing with me?"
Utterson laughed and took Jekyll's hand, and they moved in small circles around the garden. Utterson softly hummed the music from the market, and Jekyll responded by dancing in time. Utterson was distracted by his friend's hand on the small of his back, and their closeness. When the dance ended, Utterson was reluctant to move away. Jekyll raised their clasped hands, and pressed a chaste kiss to his knuckles.

"Can't you stay longer?"
"Henry, I need to go back home."
"I will miss you dearly."
"I promise to come back as soon as I can."
He returned to his room for the last time.