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Larissa waved amiably to her neighbor, Sally, as she power-walked by the older woman's house bright and early on Saturday morning.  She got up at six on the weekends and made a point of walking the neighborhood, taking in everyone watering their lawns or letting their dogs out.  It was her favorite time of day.  After she got home, at breakfast and showered, she would get to work on staining an old piece of furniture Stephen had picked up at an auction for her last week.  Letting the excitement of a new project overtake her, she moved quicker, turning up her driveway and making her way into the house.  She was met by their golden retriever of ten years, Molly. 

"Hey, sweetie."  She leaned over the dog, rubbing gently behind the old animal's ears. 

"How was the jog?" her husband asked, coming into the kitchen and smacking her lightly on the bottom. 

"Hey!" she squealed, jumping slightly.  "I haven't jogged in years, Steve.  I'm too old," she answered, opening the fridge and taking out a carton of juice. 

"Aw, you have the body of a twenty-five heard old.  I don't care what the neighborhood boys say about you being a scary old lady, I still think you're pretty...hot."  He finally finished, winking at her as he passed her a glass.  She tried not to smile at him as she drank down the juice, but didn't manage for more than a few seconds.  Just as she was about to respond to him, the phone rang.  Still grinning at her husband, Larissa stepped over the the cordless phone sitting on the island. 

"Hello?"

"Hi, mom."

"Jimmy!"  She shouted, now positively giddy.  She hardly ever saw her son, despite living in the same town as him.

"Mom, it's a little early in the morning to be drinking," Jim said, laughter in his voice, still scratchy with sleep.

"It's a little early for you to be conscious," she shot back, giggling.  "What are you doing up at seven on a Saturday?"

"I...uh...I'm" he took a deep breath and blew it out shakily.  What followed was a chuckle that Larissa could only describe as bitter.  Before she had a chance to inquire about it, Jim spoke again.  "I'm packing."

"Oh.  Are you going somewhere for the weekend?" 

"I'm transferring to Stamford, mom," he cut in. 

Larissa stopped dead, the smile sliding off her face.  "What's wrong?  Larissa?"  Stephen asked.

"Connecticut?" she clarified.

"No, Stamford, China."  Jim answered. 

"Hey," she interjected, an edge on her voice now.

"Sorry."  He paused for almost a minute. 

"Jim?" 

"She..she doesn't love me."  He said simply. 

Larissa didn't know what to say that that.  Jim had been very subtle about the receptionist at his office, never flat out saying how he felt about Pam, but Larissa had known he was head over heels for her.  "How do you..." she trailed off, raising a hand to her collarbone.  "You don't know that, honey." 

"I told her I was- it doesn't matter, mom."  Her heart cracked a little at the resignation in his voice.  "None of it matters." 

"But, how did Stamford happen?"  she asked, genuinely confused.

"I'd been thinking about it for a while," he confessed.  "I talked to a woman who works at corporate, and she offered me a promotion.  It's just...I think it's something I have to do." 

"And you talked to Pam?"  Larissa asked, not able to help herself. 

"I-yeah.  I did."  He's silent then for what seems like several minutes.  "I pretty much laid everything out there for her, and she, she said she was going to marry Roy, so..."

"Oh, honey."  She could heard so much thinly-veiled pain in his voice. 

"So, anyway, I thought it might be better to let you know my plans before I move," he chortled and Larissa smiled in spite of the situation. 

"That was mighty big of ya, James."  She joked back to her son, because she didn't know what else to do. 

She had known from the first time he had spoken of Pam that he was nuts about her.  Jim had always been one to wear his heart on his sleeve, and this had been no exception.  Larissa hadn't found out until some time after she was first mentioned that Pam was in fact engaged to another man.  She had thought about warning Jim off of her, but couldn't believe this woman would lead her son on for no reason.  There wasn't any way Jim would just plunge head first into something like this without some reasoning behind it.  She may not know it or admit it, but that relationship was not one-sided.  No, Larissa knew in her heart that Jim's best friend loved him. 

"Well, the bubble wrap is calling my name, so.." he said finally. 

"Listen, why don't you come over for dinner tonight?"  Larissa asked, earning a raised eyebrow from her husband, who had been standing silently next to her for the last few minutes. 

"Um, okay.  Yeah.  That sound's great, mom."  She knew from his tone that it didn't sound great, but she let it go. 

"Okay, just come over whenever you're done packing," she said, her voice choking a little on the last word. 

"Okay."  Silence.  "Mom?" 

"Yeah, sweetie." 

"Can you fake a kiss?"  His voice was small and sheepish. 

"No," Larissa answered immediately.  "You'd have to be a great actor to accomplish that, and even actors can't manage it most of the time." 

He exhaled deeply.  "Okay, bye." 

"See you later," she answered, and hung up the phone. 

"What was that?" Stephen asked, bringing a spoonful of cereal up to his mouth.

"Oh, your son is running away from his problems and to the promise land of Connecticut."  She sighed, opening her mouth to allow him to feed her a mouthful of Raisin Bran. 

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