Walking out of the courthouse with the others, Connor is reeling from having watched Annalise sit in the witness box looking like a bag lady, sounding like a drug addict, and breaking attorney-client privilege. And having gotten exactly the ruling she wanted by doing so. Oblivious to his surroundings, he would not have noticed who was waiting for him had Michaela not elbowed him and pointed.
"Oliver," Connor says when he sees his boyfriend on the courthouse steps. "What are you doing here?"
"Hi. I brought some sandwiches. Can we have lunch in LOVE Park? It's such a nice day."
Connor starts to mumble about having to get back to work, but Asher stops him.
"Go have lunch, dude," Asher says. "We can carry on without you for an hour."
"That's a matter of opinion, but we know what Annalise's is. She'll have my head for skipping out when we're …"
"I'll catch up with you guys, ok?," Asher says to Bonnie. The group seems to want to hear the rest of the argument, but Bonnie steers them toward the parking lot as Asher turns back to Connor and Oliver. "Look, I know I was a jerk yesterday. You guys were really nice for not throwing me out on my ass. I'll cover for Connor if Annalise goes ballistic – say he's at the library getting some stuff all of us need to prepare for exams or something. It's the least I can do."
Connor turns to Oliver, who quickly says "thanks, Asher. I really appreciate it." On the silent, five-minute walk to JFK Plaza, better known as LOVE Park because of Robert Indiana's sculpture, they hold hands for half a block but then let go. That simple connection feels off-kilter, along with everything else.
In the park, they sit on a bench. Oliver asks how things went in court, pops the tops on two cans of seltzer, and hands one to Connor. They each take a bite of turkey sandwich, but neither gets very far on either the sandwich or the conversation. The third time Connor starts a sentence and abandons it in the middle, Oliver abruptly changes the subject.
"Got some email from Rob today that wasn't about yet another server breakdown," he says with forced cheer. Rob is Oliver's boss at the advertising agency. "He invited the whole IT department for a barbecue in his back yard on Saturday afternoon. Think you can come with me?"
Connor's chin drops, and he doesn't say anything. It's obvious that he's in pain.
"Never mind," Oliver says. "I didn't expect you to say yes, but it doesn't hurt to ask, right?"
"Ollie," Connor says with some urgency and perfect eye contact. "Things are really crazy at work since Annalise was shot. Plus exams are coming up. Let's go away for a weekend when things calm down. Maybe go to New York and see …"
"Don't make promises you won't keep, Connor. Just show me that you really want to be with me. Show me that you really want us to have a life together. I'll be here when you're ready."
But not forever, Connor thinks. You won't stay with me forever, no matter what I do, but this Keating legal nightmare will.
"Eat your sandwich, Connor," Oliver says. "I wish you would take some time off on Saturday for us. But I insist that you have lunch before going back to work."
