Evidence
Chapter 5: Opening
CC had distracted herself from the pile of contracts time enough to stretch her back and shoulders and get away from the familiar group, but got back as soon as she noticed people were out.
She just got out of the office, when Nanny Fine and the Little One entered, so she would not have to watch the predictable scene: Maxwell being reminded of how important family time was; his half-hearted excuses to stay working; the crazy arguments and the irritating whining; his satisfied agreement diguised as surrender.
At that point, it was really better that he went with them. He was useless when disturbed by guilty.
(She got a bit annoyed by the fact that Maxwell thought he could simply get away from the office to stroll around with non-business related people, while she stayed there, working; however, she would not let it mess with her. She enjoyed working, after all, and it was good to be able to do so in the office without interruptions.)
She took the pile of contracts from the sofa, smiling at the thought of finishing the one she had been reading before and going to the kitchen to pester Niles for a while. She loved the breaks she had with him, and with no one around they were always more fun.
She preferred when she didn't have to fear people finding them sharing jokes or chatting as grow ups.
And she felt more at ease about mouthing the family when she could be sure he would not contradict her harshly. When they were surely alone, he would let her vent out her criticisms. Sometimes he would even debate some points with her as if he respected her opinions and understood some of her annoyance.
Yeah, a break would do her good.
She already felt energized by the thought of talking to him, and she sat down eagerly and took the pile on her lap.
She frowned, noticing a strange new weight. There was something different among the leaves.
CC lifted the first contract and saw the envelope with Miss Babcock written on it.
Her heartbeat accelerated.
It was an envelope, what indicated papers of some sort.
It had her name in it.
It had been recently delivered; thus, someone in the house had done it.
She grinned in expectation – Niles had probably thought of a prank!
For some reason, the fact it envolved hiding something among her things made it seem cute.
She felt like receiving a letter or a note from him – something she could keep to herself as a memento.
She enjoyed the notion.
She put the contracts away, caressed fondly the envelope and opened it excitedly.
There was a photo, inside it, and a piece of paper.
She decided to read the paper first.
Miss Babcock
I hope you don't get mad at me for doing this. I admire you very much, and I feel bad when you act like you don't care for anyone.
You must know you can be the great woman you are and still enjoy other people. It won't make you less intelligent or refined or successful.
Fortunately, it seems there is someone in this house that doesn't mind your attitude, and is always there for you.
I was in the right place, at the right time, and decided you two should have a register of such a precious moment.
With love
Grace Sheffield
Confused, CC took the photo.
It was a shot of Niles and herself, sleeping together in what seemed to be Sylvia's sofa.
And by sleeping together she meant shamelessly spooning.
She spooning Niles.
Her arm around him.
Her hand on his chest.
Her peaceful face resting on his back.
CC felt a strange warmth spreading from her chest and reaching her cheeks.
So, that was why she had slept so well that night, after such a horrible start.
She remembered clearly that she was having a very troubled time trying to sleep, and in the middle of her slumber things got suddenly nice: she felt heated and comfortable, was able to relax and forget her disturbing thoughts.
It made no sense to feel suddenly so good, but she was too tired to even doubt it was all right: she turned to the sourse of heat, she enveloped it in her arms and felt happy as never.
She even noticed a very nice scent, and for an instant she thought she recognized it and should discover what it was, in order to buy a lifelong portion of it and keep it always close to her.
But sleep claimed her and she just held tighter and let it be.
Next morning, when she was awaken by the voices around her, she felt great and unexpectedly in a wonderful mood.
Niles was in high spirits, too, and she remembers finding it amusing that both of them would be so annoyingly happy after such a horrible night – she had slept alone in the cold; he had slept in a bedroom floor. Why were they feeling like that?
Now it made sense. They had been together.
And it had felt great.
Looking at the photo again, CC realized he was holding her hand on his chest as if he wanted to keep her there.
She had been confused by her own happy face at the arrangement, and now she was confused over his caring stance.
They fitted together, she had to admit.
Damn.
How had this happened?!
Why had he come to help her?!
And how should she act about it, now that she had the evidence of what he had done?!
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Niles entered the kitchen with the envelope in his hand, analyzing it.
It had his name on the outside.
Did it mean there were others for other people?
Miss Grace was taken with the therapy thing, and maybe she had a project going on.
Maybe it was a questionary, or the results of some test he didn't even knew he was being subjected to.
He took a sit at the table and opened it carefully.
There was a photo and a small piece of paper in it.
He took the photo, first.
He could barely believe his own eyes.
It was a beautiful shot of Babcock and himself, sleeping together in Sylvia Fine's couch, two weeks prior.
He smiled foolishly at the shot, noticing how well they fitted, and how angelical her face was at the arrangement.
Well, he was not anything but relaxed in her arms, too, holding her hand to his chest.
He had to gulp down a wave of emotion. Of course he felt relaxed by being in her arms. He had been dreaming about it for a while, and he couldn't quite believe when she accepted him holding her, that night.
Yes, she was asleep; however, for some reason, he was sure she would feel instinctively repulsed by him, when she felt his touch. After so many refuses and mistreatments, he braced himself for the worst every time he tried to open up a bit to her.
That night, however, he had been blessed. She had let him be close to her.
She had come to him.
He found himself caressing her face in the shot.
Damn.
He shook his head to clear it and took the note.
Dear Niles
I know you probably don't feel at easy about discussing it, but I want you to know I have observing you two and think it would be great if things worked out.
You make each other happier, and nothing should be more important than that.
This is my gift for the two of you.
Good luck
Grace
Niles finished reading and looked at the shot again.
Miss Grace, a perceptive and intelligent little girl who observed their interactions in a daily basis, believed they made each other happier.
Nothing should be more important than that, she wrote.
Niles felt a mix of hope and sadness at those words. He agreed fully, but things were not so clear all the time.
That night he could feel the rightness of the situation: it was obvious they were wonderful together, by how difficult it was for him to desintangle himself from her in the morning and suppress the urge to bestow a kiss on her face before he went back to the bedroom.
He didn't want to let go, and the small frown she sported when he got out of her arms showed him neither did her.
But he couldn't scare her and loose what they had.
Niles sighed, trying to put some order in his thoughts. His feelings were making him wish he could just get out, march into the office, show her the photo and tell her this was all the evidence they needed.
The swinging door opened, and his head snapped.
CC Babcock entered the kitchen and stopped on her tracks when she saw what he had in his hands.