Annie was accepted into The Brearley School and she absolutely flourished there, much to Grace and Oliver's delight and relief.
Their little girl was a quick learner and because she was so eager, her schoolwork proved to be challenging but achievable. And because of her outgoing and positive attitude she made many friends as well.
Her parents could not have been prouder of her and there were many trips to Rumpelmeyers and to movies and shows, to celebrate her hard work and success.
She found a lot of confidence and camaraderie when she joined the school choir in April. Near the end of the semester the choir had a recital. She'd practiced day and night for the concert and when the evening eventually came, she stood on the stage with her schoolmates and sang absolutely angelically.
Oliver and Grace sat in the audience with proud smiles on their faces. Part way through the performance, Oliver, feeling such pride and such jubilance, reached for Grace's hand and shared a warm smile with her before turning their attention back to the stage.
After the showcase, they waited for Annie in the school foyer along with the other parents.
Nearby, stood a group of Mothers - the kind of high society women who had nothing better to do than create idle gossip. As Grace and Oliver waited around the corner from them, just out of sight, the topic of the women's conversation became the pair themselves and their daughter, and unfortunately the things the women had to say were not very nice.
"Oh, I wouldn't let my Lillian associate with the likes of her. I don't care who her Father is, the child hasn't got an ounce of class", one of the horrid, spiteful women muttered to the gaggle of others who all hummed in agreement.
Oliver and Grace looked at one another, both of them feeling shocked and dismayed at what they were hearing.
"Well, it's no wonder, is it?" Another replied pompously. "Just look at the adoptive Mother. Six months ago she was just a secretary, and then quick as a flash, there she was - Mrs. Warbucks."
Grace's face fell, she felt quite demoralized. Oliver, however, became enraged.
Another viscous voice joined the conversation, adding, "Yes, it certainly makes you wonder, doesn't it? How long things were going on between them before they wed? What sordid things were happening between employer and employee?"
Grace's eyes cut to Oliver's in humiliation. She could see the fiery rage on his face and she put out a hand to try and calm him, "Oliver, please don't make a scene." But he was far too angered and upset to be talked down.
He rounded the corner and came face to face with the women who'd been slinging slop about him and his family. They all turned pale upon seeing him.
"Excuse me ladies, I couldn't help but overhear, since you're so vocally expressing your thoughts in a place where they really ought not to be said, due to the fact that this is a school and what you're saying is rather inappropriate for children's ears. Nevertheless, I just had to come over and set a few things straight."
He was fuming, red in the face and his fists balled tightly. The women all stood there, looking admonished, but with no choice but to listen to him.
"In regards to my daughter and my wife, whom you say have no class. Well ladies, I can assure you that they have more class in their little fingers than all of you and your families put together. And as for the fact that neither of them have come from money, well you're correct. In fact, I myself never came from money either. But what I can tell you about Grace and about Annie is that they may not have been born into wealth, but when they were born, they were gifted with something that you have never and will never have - a great amount of decency and kindness in their hearts."
The awful women shared glances between each other, all of them feeling ashamed and sore.
Oliver turned to leave, but then spun back on his heel quickly to say, "Oh and don't worry. Annie will never have any association with you or any of your daughters. She's much too good for any of you." He glared at them before walking away.
Grace had to bite back a grin as Oliver returned to her and placed his arm around her waist and led her to the other side of the hall to wait for Annie. She stared at him in awe and admiration.
When Annie came bounding out from backstage and Oliver called out "There she is! My darling, you were wonderful!" He picked their daughter up and spun her around in the air, making her giggle with glee. Grace couldn't help but laugh with joy as well, her heart doing a little somersault in her chest, unlike anything she'd ever felt before as her eyes remained fixed to her husband.
…
As Summer began and Annie finished school, she and her parents started spending even more time together. There was still a lot of work to be done of course but Oliver made a concerted effort to take breaks and to make time for his family.
One clear day in late June, Annie got the idea in her head that she wanted to have a picnic on the grounds of their home. Her Mother and Father were happy to oblige and Annie spent the morning with Mrs. Pugh in the kitchen preparing goodies for their picnic lunch while Grace and Oliver worked.
At twelve o'clock, the three of them met in the foyer, put on their hats and walked out into the great expanse of their backyard, which was really more like a park.
They ate their sandwiches and cake and drank their lemonade. After lunch, they lay under the shade of a magnolia tree and Annie asked them what they could see in the clouds.
"What do you mean?" Oliver squinted up at the sky.
"It's a game we used to play at the orphanage when we did outside chores. Like…that one!" She pointed up at a fluffy, odd shaped cloud. "I think that looks like a pony!"
"Looks like a cloud to me", Oliver muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
"Oliver…", Grace said warningly from her spot on the grass in between him and Annie.
"You gotta use your imagination, Daddy!" Annie told him encouragingly, making Grace smirk. Oliver was a very intelligent man and had terrific intuition. As far as imagination was concerned, well, it wasn't a skill of his oft utilized.
Her husband sighed and looked at the sky again. "Well…I suppose that one there could be a typewriter."
"A typewriter?" Annie questioned him cynically.
Grace laughed and he turned his head to her with a frown. "Well, what do you think it is then?"
"Hmm…I think it's a castle", Grace grinned, suddenly feeling all giddy like she was a child again.
"With Kings and Queens inside!" Annie added excitedly.
Grace grinned at her daughter. "And Princes and princesses."
"And a royal jester!" Annie giggled and the two of them laughed together, adding more and more people and possessions of royalty to their imaginary castle in the sky.
After a few minutes, Grace noticed that Oliver had fallen asleep next to her. She smiled to herself and sat up, reaching for her daughter. "Annie come here", she whispered and pulled the girl into her lap. "Would you like to learn how to make a daisy chain?"
"What's that?" Annie asked her Mom.
"I'll show you." Grace picked some daisies and began to twist them together, stringing them in a long chain and eventually tying them at the end and putting it in Annie's hair. The child gasped in delight at her crown which made her feel like a princess in the castle they had been creating.
"Wow it's so pretty, Mommy. I'm gonna make you one!"
Grace beamed at her sweet child. It was moments like these, that cost nothing, that were priceless, that were their most treasured.
"Ooh I love it! You've made it beautifully." Grace hugged Annie once the girl had finished her own crown of daisies. "Thank you, my darling", she smacked a kiss to Annie's cheek.
Her overly excitable tone must have woken Oliver because she heard him shuffling beside her. "Mmm…did I fall asleep?" He asked croakily.
"Aha, you were snoring!" Annie told him with a little giggle.
"Annie!" Her Mother berated the girl, though she did laugh a little as well.
"Oh, I do apologize", Oliver murmured dozily. "What are you two up to?"
"Mommy taught me how to make a daisy crown!"
"Oh yes, I see. Very nice", Oliver blinked up at his wife and daughter's matching headdresses.
"I would make you one, Daddy, but you haven't got any hair to put it in", Annie said innocently and both of her parents chuckled.
"True enough. Anyway I don't think it's quite my style", said Oliver wryly.
"Oh I don't know. I think it'd look rather fetching on you", Grace replied teasingly, causing them both to laugh again. Oliver reached up and stroked his wife's back lazily. It was a very casual but entirely unexpected action and she couldn't help the little chill that ran up her spine at his touch.
"How about a game of baseball?" He suddenly suggested, withdrawing his hand and sitting up. Grace instantly felt the feeling of loss.
"Yay!' Annie cheered at his suggestion.
"Run along and get the bat and ball, Annie", her Father said and the girl eagerly obliged, running off towards the house.
Oliver extended his hand to Grace to help her to her feet and once she was up she thanked him with a shy smile, still a little overwhelmed by the unexplainable sensation she'd experienced before when he'd pressed his palm to her back. The material of her Summer dress was quite sheer and she'd been able to feel the warmth of his hand on her skin. The imprint of it lingered still, as if he had branded her. The heat of it doing strange things to her mind and body.
"It's quite pretty this thing you made", she heard him say, his voice pulling her away from her inner thoughts.
"Hmm?" She murmured, her voice wavering as he reached up and toyed with the ring of flowers upon her head.
"Oh", she laughed shakily. "It's just something I learned in childhood, from my Mother."
"And now, Annie has learned it from hers", he offered her a soft smile.
"Yes", Grace smiled in return, feeling amazed as she still often did when being reminded that she was now a Mother herself.
Oliver nodded, his eyes seeming to linger on her. "Very pretty."
Grace blinked at him. She couldn't help but feel that he was referring to her now, and not just the daisy crown.
They held one another's gaze for several moments. Oliver noticed the light Summer wind had blown a lock of his wife's hair across her face and he reached across to tuck it carefully behind her ear, his eyes never leaving hers.
Grace swallowed thickly, her heart erratically pounding. What in the world was happening to her?
"I got 'em!"
She jumped at the sound of her daughter yelling out across the lawn.
Oliver dragged his eyes away from hers and called back over the grounds to Annie. "I'm batting first!" He took off at a jog towards her.
After a moment of collecting herself, Grace followed him and joined the infectiously happy duo in a friendly game of baseball.
Oliver swung and missed the first couple of pitches, but mostly because Annie's arm wasn't quite forceful enough to allow the ball to reach him.
Grace played the role of outfielder, preparing to catch the ball when it was inevitably struck. After all, the man with the bat in his hands had once taken lessons from Babe Ruth himself!
Annie pitched the ball with enough strength to make it to his bat and with a clear clink, Oliver whacked the ball high across the lawn. Grace watched as he took off running, cheering him on for a second before remembering she was supposed to be catching the ball.
She looked up into the sky to try and see where it had gone but the sun was quite bright in her eyes and she was struggling to locate it. She stumbled around in a circle, her eyes still looking skyward until finally she caught sight of it and ran to catch it. What she didn't catch sight of however was her husband, who, at the very same time, ran across her path to get to second base but instead found himself barreling straight into her.
Grace stumbled as they crashed into one another and they both grunted at the impact, each of them slightly winded. Oliver held her by the arm while she grabbed onto his shirt and somehow they managed to stay on their feet.
Shock and adrenaline must have gotten the better of the two of them because they both fell about laughing at the mishap.
Annie put her hands on her hips and looked at her parents with an amused grin on her own little face.
Understandably, that night they all went to bed feeling a little more battered and exhausted than normal.
The following morning, Grace woke later than she usually did. She dragged her tired body out of bed and made her way quickly downstairs after hurriedly eating her breakfast.
She went straight to the office and looked around in confusion when she couldn't see Oliver. Stepping out into the foyer, she spotted Drake. "Drake, where is Mr. Warbucks?"
"He's outside, Madam", the butler replied as if it were nothing out of the ordinary but in actual fact it was quite unusual for Oliver to be out of his office at that time of the day.
Mind you, it was Summer so Grace supposed he might have just wanted to make the most of the good weather.
After having taken the latter part of the previous day off to entertain Annie, Grace was sure he would want to have a productive working day today, so she thought she'd better find him as soon as possible so they could get started.
She stepped outside and her ears pricked up at the sound of laughter. Her daughter's laughter, and by the sound of it, her husband's too. She walked in the direction of the joyful noise and her eyes bulged open at the sight she was met with.
"Goodness gracious, what's all this?" She gasped when she came face to face with an enormous, huge wooden castle backdrop, complete with stairs, turrets and a drawbridge!
"Mommy! Look what Daddy Warbucks got for me!" Annie yelled down to her excitedly from atop the "castle".
"Ah, excuse me Princess, but don't you mean, "His majesty, the King?"
"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry, Your Majesty", Annie curtsied dramatically and Oliver laughed heartily before pointing to a large suitcase down the bottom of the wooden structure. "Quickly, go and get your costume on!"
Annie raced down the pretend stone steps. Once she got to the bottom, she shared a quick hug with her Mother before racing off to change into her Princess costume.
Grace carefully ascended the steps Annie had just come down and looked at Oliver inquisitively. "Where in the world did you procure this thing?"
"Last night I contacted Broadway set designer Jo Mielziner. He had this set just sitting in storage. Said I could borrow it for the season."
Grace shook her head in amazement. "You have really outdone yourself this time."
He smiled coyly at her. "She really likes it, huh?"
"Oliver, she loves it! Heavens, I love it!" Grace laughed.
Oliver grinned at her and bowed down low to speak softly to her. "Well then what are you waiting for, my Queen? There's a costume there for you too." His eyes flicked towards the suitcase.
Grace's eyes widened with girlish delight both at her husband's playfulness and at the thought of playing make believe royals for a day.
She skipped gaily back down the steps and went inside to change into her own costume, which fit her surprisingly perfectly. She wondered how on earth he'd known which size to get for her.
Grace, Oliver and Annie spent the next two hours role playing as the King, Queen and Princess of "Manhattanshire". Taking turns at gallantly "saving" each other and their village. The time passed so quickly as they were all having such fun.
Even when Drake approached the fortress and called up to them saying, "Sir, President Roosevelt is on the telephone for you", and Oliver joked with a roll of his eyes, "Ah, the royal jester. I'll call him tomorrow, Drake!"
Annie was in a world of absolute wonderment. Oliver was surprised at just how much fun he was having too. He couldn't remember ever having this much fun, not even as a boy. Grace felt as if she were a little girl again herself, filled with glee and endless imagination, but then, when Oliver "rescued" her from "evil dragons" and carried her across the "moat" in his arms, she dubbed him her hero and the look he gave her in response, the feeling that coursed through her body reminded her that she was very much a woman. Her legs felt somewhat shaky as he set her down on the drawbridge and bowed to her, saying charmingly "M'lady."
At lunch time, Oliver's time to play was up as he was due to host some of his associates for meetings, but he encouraged Grace to return after she'd eaten to continue the fun and fantasy with Annie.
"Ohh can't you come back after lunch too?" Annie moaned and her Father regretfully shook his head. "I'm afraid not, dear. I have meetings all afternoon. You and her Majesty the Queen may continue though", he winked at Grace, who laughed softly at him.
Oliver paused in stride before leaving and asked his wife, "Do you think they'll take me seriously if I keep this costume on?"
She laughed again, in surprise. "Well, you'll certainly gain their attention."
He grinned at her good humor and turned to walk inside.
Grace looked at Annie. "Come on Princess. Are you ready for lunch?'
"Yes Mommy", Annie said eagerly. It turned out royal role-play built up rather an appetite!
The two of them walked behind Oliver and as they trailed him, Grace found herself staring at the back of him in his sleek and handsome King's costume. She blushed as she realized she was gawking at him. She blinked in surprise at herself. When had she started seeing him in this way? With eyes of attraction? At what point had he started to make her heart flutter with his smile? How long had she been blushing under his gaze or melting under his touch? And what exactly did all of this mean?
She knew deep down what it all meant. Of course she knew. The truth was evident, and she'd been denying it in her own mind, in her own heart for quite some time now. It was clear when he'd stood up for her against those dreadful women at Annie's school. She felt it when he had called her headdress pretty, and the unspoken implication of his that he was really referring to Grace herself as pretty. The feeling surged through her during each and every conversation they shared, whether about Annie, or about work, the way he spoke had begun to hold her transfixed. She knew it in the morning when he gave her the first smile of the day, as well as in the evening when he bid her goodnight.
And it was most obvious in the way he was towards their daughter. The love and attention he gave to her, his tenderness as a Father. That was the thing that had truly caught Grace, hook line and sinker.
And it scared her. Boy, did it scare her, because it wasn't what she'd planned and not at all what they'd agreed. But she couldn't ignore it any longer, and although she wasn't ready, or sure she'd ever be ready to tell him - she had to tell someone.
"Annie, why don't you go and sit in the dining room and I'll go and ask Mrs. Pugh how far away lunch is?" Grace spoke to her daughter, trying not to let the child see her internal struggle.
"OK Mommy", Annie replied happily, to Grace's relief. The woman took off at a swift pace toward the kitchen, thoughts swirling through her mind at a mile a minute.
She pushed the kitchen door open forcefully. "Mrs Pugh?!" She called out frantically to the cook, pressing her palm to her flushed cheek.
"What is it, dear?" The older woman stared at her in alarm.
Grace dropped her trembling hand from her face and panted earnestly, "I think I'm in love with my husband."
