Candy only woke up the next morning at ten o’clock. She had missed breakfast, but she was off duty until two o’clock. She yawned and stretched. A little later there came a knock at her door.

“Go away,” she called out from her bed. “I’m staying in bed.”

“There is a delivery for you,” replied the person behind the door. “You better get up – or else I might just keep them for myself.”

Candy groaned, rolled over, and climbed out of bed. She opened the door, and, standing there,was one of the other trainee nurses. But Candy could hardly see her behind the large bunch of flowers that she was holding.

“For me?” asked Candy with surprise. She had never been sent flowers in her life before. And then she asked, “Who are they from?”

“The man in the moon,” replied the nurse, obviously irritated, and adding, “How should I know? Can you please take them? I have better things to do on my day off that play delivery girl!”

Candy took them and the nurse stalked off. Later, when Candy told Nomsa, Nomsa would say that the nurse had been jealous. Maybe. Later, Candy would realise that if anybody should know about jealousy it would be Nomsa. But that would only be later.

Yellow roses. “How did he know that I love yellow roses? It must be from someone who knows me really well. But who?” Candy muttered to herself, as she searched in the Nurses’ Home kitchen for a vase, found one and splashed some water into it. She put the roses into the vase and was walking back to her room when she bumped into Nomsa.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Nomsa said, and Candy flinched as she heard the anger in her voice. But then Nomsa added, “Who gave you those?”

“I don’t know,” replied Candy, opening her room door, and putting the flowers down on her desk. “Don’t be angry with me Nomsa. Please don’t. I had a horrible day yesterday, what with Mr Peterson and the vomiting…”

“Never mind that,” said Nomsa, bending over the flowers. “Who are they from?”

“I told you, I don’t know.”

***

Tell us: Why might Nomsa be angry?