Morning turned to afternoon much too slowly. Oliver and Annie didn't return to the house until half past three just in time for another meeting. Annie met with her tennis instructor leaving Oliver and Grace alone to work until dinner. Ease and routine came as a surprise to both of them. With typists and various other workers coming and going, taking a break to finish their earlier conversation wasn't an option. While it would have been nice to have some sort of conclusion to the night, neither could complain about where they were now. There was more than enough work to keep them occupied and away from any dangerous thoughts and second-guessing. Seeing the other smile along with the occasional brushing of hands made for one of the most pleasant work days they'd had since the start of the Depression.
After dinner, Oliver took Annie on a deeper tour of the mansion telling stories behind certain pieces of art and furniture as well as who designed each room. He still couldn't figure why things felt so natural with her. He had such little experience with children and what he did have he never cared for. For some reason Annie was different. Nonetheless, with each tick of the clock, his mind left Annie and focused more on being alone with Grace again.
Grace caught up with them just before nine. While Annie never obeyed her bedtime in the orphanage Grace knew she best enforce it despite not knowing what her usual time was. Annie didn't fight it much to both adult's surprise. Then again, the past two days had been full.
Like the night before, Oliver let Grace ready Annie for bed figuring it was best left to her. He'd just get in the way. He took the opportunity to formulate what he wanted to say to Grace when she came downstairs. As the day went on he realized how impetuous their actions were. Continuing this way would only lead to trouble. To start, he knew Grace and knew she deserved things done in proper order. In a sane moment he would have realized this. What happened wasn't right. It pained him to think he'd dishonored her, her willingness notwithstanding. Second, he didn't know what he was doing in a romantic relationship any more than he knew about taking care of a child. If something was to happen they needed to ease in rather than dive headfirst. There was still time to pull back. Not for good, but until Annie left at least. The whole point of her stay was to get some positive press. Any chance of letting their affair leak out would not only defeat the purpose but also raise more than a few eyebrows given Annie's presence in the house. Now the trick was to say all this to Grace without hurting her feelings and leaving her with the wrong impression.
"Thought you might have come back here," Grace said as she entered the office.
"You know me well," he replied more anxiously than expected.
"Do you still want to talk?"
"Yeah… I do."
Picking up on his uneasiness, she was cautious with her steps. "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah… yeah, it's fine. Why don't we sit?"
"You're already sitting."
"Okay, then you may sit as well."
Knowing now that his peculiar mood involved her, she said in order save herself from having to hear his words, "Mr. Warbucks, about last night… I want you to know that I don't expect anything because of it. We were both caught up in everything. I don't know what exactly that everything was or why, but it's useless to pretend nothing happened. I admit I was rather dazed this morning. I suppose I left so I could make sense of it all. I apologize for not sticking around. It wasn't fair to you."
"I'm not at all upset by what happened, Grace," he said in hopes of stopping her nervous chatter. "I feel I must apologize for questioning why you left. I should have realized the many reasons. The most important being and I think you will agree, Annie and the staff. Now is not the time to draw attention to ourselves."
"Yes, I do agree."
"I'm going to need a few days to get settled back into work again. I know with Annie around that will be more difficult than usual."
"Yes."
Taking a breath, Oliver finished, "I want you to know I have no regrets about what happened. Unless of course I've made you feel uncomfortable in any way. What I'm trying to say is that the timing isn't right. Once things settle down perhaps we can revisit this. I do care for you. The thing is, I wasn't aware of how much."
Unsure if she should smile, Grace said while avoiding his eyes, "We can put it aside for now. I agree this isn't a good time. Annie's only here for a short while. Our focus is best on her and making sure she has the time of her life."
"So we're good?"
"We're good."
"And we both agree not a word of this be said to anyone?"
"Absolutely. I was going to suggest we don't either way."
"And work won't be an issue?"
Grace shook her head. "We're not denying anything. If we were then it might be a problem."
"Very true."
She stood still for a moment, making sure their conversation was through. When he failed to say anything else, she began to leave. She stopped again just before the door.
"…Thank you."
"For what?" Oliver questioned.
"For your kindness towards Annie. I know it's not easy for you to give up time."
"I'm surprised myself. She's a good kid."
"I'm sorry she isn't a boy."
"A boy wouldn't have tried so hard to get me out of the house."
Grace smiled, deciding to leave off here. "Goodnight, Mr. Warbucks."
"Goodnight, Grace."
