The old man sat across from Alice and William at the small dining table in the break room. William's face was as red as Alice was sure hers was. She cursed herself for her own carelessness. For her unbelievable gall. For her stupidity. For not refusing William's advances. For bringing him to shame as a lamb to the slaughter. She hazarded a glance at the old man. She could not dissect the look on his face, nor could she bring herself to meet his eyes. "Father...I" William started to say but was quickly cut short as the old man raised a hand to silence him. William shrunk in his seat. Looked to all the world like a scared and embarrassed child, and Alice's heart ached for him. He is here because of me. She thought. This is all my fault. The old man turned his unreadable eyes to her, and when they did, something in his hardened gaze softened. He spoke, saying only her name in a manner that was not a question, but rather a statement. "Alice." She gulped. "Yes?" She whispered. "Are you all right?" He asked her. Alice blinked. Out of all the questions the old dentist could have asked, nothing could have come as more of an unexpected turn, than that. "Umm..yes, sir. I am all right." He studied her face for a moment more. "Is the nature of your relationship with my son... a consensual one?" Alice blinked at him once more. "Yes, sir. It is." The old man nodded briskly. "What exactly is the nature of your relationship with my son?" He asked her. She met his steely gaze with her own to answer him. "I like him, sir." Now it was the old man's turn to blink at her, as though he were trying to process this new development in his ongoing investigation to uncover their secret sins. "You.. like him?" Alice nodded in much the same way he had; "Yes, sir. Very much so." The old man seemed to be content with this answer, and after studying her face for a moment more, as if to rid himself of any remaining doubt, and finding some level of comfort and reassurance in her eyes. He turned to his son. With eyes much harder than he had regarded her with. "And you, William. What are your intentions with Alice?" William swallowed and took a very deep breath before nervously stammering "I-I...I just love her, father. Please do not be angry with her, she is guilty only of returning my feelings, and you cannot punish her for that! Rage at me if you must be angry, but please, not her." The old man peered at his son over the tops of his glasses. "So you love her?" "I..I-I... I do." William stuttered. Trying to meet his father's gaze as his lover had, and failing miserably. The old man turned back to Alice. "You do realize, that you are in direct violation of our contract, as one term of our agreement was that there were to be no gentlemen callers, do you not?" Alice felt tears well in her eyes. "Yes, Sir." She whispered. "And you do realize, that such an egregious breach of contract is grounds for severance, do you not?" A single tear fell from Alice's cheek as she whispered once again, "Yes." William attempted to stammer something to her defense but was once again silenced by the old man's hand gesturing for him to be silent as he regarded Alice. He held her gaze for just a moment before sighing deeply. "Well. I suppose it cannot be helped." He stated quite matter-of-factly. And with that, rose from the table, and left the room. Leaving Alice and William to stare after him in confusion. William chased after his father. "So you're not mad? Please tell me that you are not mad!" He called out and Alice could detect notes of both hope and desperation in his voice as he did. The old man sighed once more. "I do wish that you did not carry on like thieves in the night and that either one of you had the good sense to disclose the nature of your relationship to me so that I needed not to walk in on such a scene; But no, I am not angry with either of you, although I am well aware of the fact that I have every right in the world to be." Alice breathed for what felt like the first time in several minutes. The old man regarded them both, as Alice had followed after William as he chased after his father, and the two stood closely beside each other. He saw them for what they were. A pair. A unit. Two persons who were in love with each other, and who strangely enough, loved him. He could see their desperate need for his approval, for his blessing. The old man sighed deeply, as was his way. "It is a truly bittersweet thing, watching your children grow. Fall in love, get married, and have children of their own." He spoke with a misty, faraway look in his eyes. Rubbing at his beard absentmindedly as he did. "But, were not married..." William started to say but was quickly silenced by a sharp look from his father. "Do you not intend to marry Alice? Are you simply toying with her emotions then?" William recoiled and stammered nervously. "Wait no... I mean not yet, I - I no, I would never." The old man and Alice met one another's gaze for a moment, and the moment that they did, something truly miraculous happened. They laughed. They shared a deep, rich, hearty laugh. and The old man approached them, cupping Alice's cheek with one hand, and William's face with his other. "My son. My daughter." He drew them near to himself and embraced them. The three of them united in their shared love, joy, and happiness in one another.
