Doctor Jekyll; to relearn humanity.

Chapter 1: You are cordially invited...

A man of such with any other personality would be beloved by the people. He would be respected and admired for his physical self. A large, well made man in his early fifties. Mentally capable of keeping the entirety of London healthy if he could, while also being occupied throughout the night with conversation. With his looks and accomplishments he'd have drinking partners from all around England, maybe even Paris if he'd so please. He would even have a wife.

That wasn't the man here.

One could accurately describe Doctor Henry Jekyll using a myriad of words: demure, observant, stagnate, maybe even frightening.
He shuffles warily as the city's houses stare at him in the early daylight, not one to leave his own place of residence often, but it was a routine he needed to follow. Seeing him towering over the common folk sent chills down most backs. Silent for all matters but medical, even then you can barely catch what he says. A cloak of medicine surrounds him, the smell associated often with the mournful, with the dead.
His face often scorn, the deep blue eyes never meeting the gaze of someone else's; only glaring at the ground watching his feet walk forward. His black hair, surprisingly not as grey as you'd think, was slicked back. A cowlick stood up in defiance; he had given up on trying to fix it years ago.
There's a letter crammed in his hand, one he's been dreading getting for the longest time. He'd be happier throwing it into the rubbish than ever thinking about it ever again; He refuses to let it cross his mind any more that is needed to, but he knows he needs to read it eventually.

The Doctor's walk slowed as he reached his destination, his office.
It was an oddity, his office. Not visually at least, no, heavens no, it was on the inside that most people couldn't stand.
The door creaked open, a similar medicine smell to his own wafted past him to outside. There were cobwebs he didn't have the tools to clean, dust over the empty receptionists counter, and floorboards somehow capturing all sounds. Everything in an eerie silence. With a huff, the doctor started the day: Looking over the medicine in the cabinets, re-reading how to properly identify and diagnose diseases, along with excuse after excuse to not read the letter.

With the doctor out of the picture, the streets returned to their lively conversations. Hours going by as ladies chatted with gentlemen, walking alongside them to lunch and spots in the city made for sightseeing. The men with wives chatted amongst themselves, while the unmarried looked towards the similarly unmarried to get hitched. All naturally talking with each other.
All talking as if they knew each other since day one.
There being some unsung code of conduct the doctor just couldn't wrap his head around.

Eventually, there was someone who showed up. It was around noon when the voice called out, he was in the middle of polishing the glasses for the third time. He recognised the voice well enough, she came by every chance she could.
"Doctor? Is the doctor here today?" a honeyed, ladylike voice of youth spoke out, despite the face it belonged to being long past its prime. Two pairs of footsteps rang out from the foyer, Dr. Jekyll added his own as he hurried to see who the patient was today, despite knowing the answer.

Mrs. Morris, a 'wife' and mother, was stood with her youngest in her best casual wear. She didn't need to, but she still wore pearls. The child had just stopped crying, there still being red around her eyes. Not only that, but also the red spilling from the little girl's knee being a tell of the main problem.
"Thank the lord you are! My little girl was roughhousing and she tripped. You know that boys will be boys. I was wondering if you could offer some help. " Mrs. Morris spoke up again, cooing as she pushed the child along. "Come along now Alice, Henry will get you fixed right up."
"Doctor Jekyll." He spoke up for the first time today as he walked alongside Mrs. Morris to his office, his voice hoarse from lack of use. The mother looked up at him with a warm smile as she continued the conversation, "You are so correct, my deepest apologies to you Doctor. I do not know why that slipped out!"
He did not enjoy her company well enough to allow her to say his name.

During the entire check up, Mrs. Morris was trying to catch the doctor's attention, to be the centre of the empty room and conversate with a wall. All attempts in vain. She wasn't the patient, after all. It didn't take too long to fix the little one up, a simple bandage, that was all.
He was about to offer some advice for the healing to go un-interrupted, but as soon as he turned around-
"A letter? Now what is this for?" Mrs. Morris grabbed the message off his desk, her snooping around was a normal occurrence. "May I read it?" She stopped herself from reaching for the letter opener, staring at the doctor intently.
Against Dr. Jekyll's better judgement, he didn't oppose, feigning a lack of interest. "Go ahead-"

The letter was ripped open as he finished his... not a sentence, but his two words. Mrs. Morris cleared her throat as she began to read.
"To who is addressed on the envelope,"
She turned the letter over, before returning to the writing.
"Mr. and Mrs. Utterson requests the pleasure to cordially invite the elusive Doctor Jekyll on Friday evening, the Great hall, at seven o'clock. Great George street..." Mrs. Morris trailed off the sentence, reading ahead a little further. "June 5th."
The name Utterson sounded familiar.
"This is for today." Mrs. Morris looked up with a smile, "and I received an invite also! I received mine three weeks ago, why did you not open this until today? Is this not just-"
The mini Morris hopped off the chair, a small stop cutting off her mother. She laughed as she ran out of the room, her mother picking up pace after her. "I suppose I shall see you then, correct?" Mrs. Morris went after her daughter before she could hear the lack-of-an-answer.
Well now he needed to go, he was expected.