I chose to wait. However, instead of doing the wait command x32 (ugh) I did the console command "set timescale to #" where 20 is the default and 1 is realtime. I used 100000 to hurry this stuff up. Everything worked, quests initiated, everyone was happy. Now I've come across some information that "set timescale to #" can bug other time-sensitive quests, although I cannot find any specific examples of where harm was done - just dire, vague warnings not to use it. All my quests seem OK so far.
Does anyone have specific examples of "set timescale to #" causing short- or long-term harm to quests and the game's (rather flexible) timeline?