“What were you thinking?” There was no real indicative emotion behind his voice which probably made it sound all the worse when his tone hit her ears.
“I was thinking ‘maybe I should make Jim’s mom hate me more. I’m only about to become apart of her family.’” She was very clear and focused with her multiple levels of anger. First at herself for letting things get out of hand and second at Jim for coming from such a spiteful woman. “I love you. Why can’t you just tell her that I love you?” Her words were still slurring even an hour after Jim’s hand had finally taken the glass out of her hands. “And my poor mom was just sitting there watching your mother talk about me like I was some whore who tricked you into marriage. This was you’re idea!” Each word hit a new octave.
“My idea? Should I ignore you because you’re drunk or do you really not want to get married? Don’t do me any favors, Pam.” It was his turn to yell a little. Eyes clearly focused on the road and nothing else.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her eyes wouldn’t leave his even though he wouldn’t look at her. Small little drops started to slowly climb their way away from her eyes before taking a plummet down her face. “You don’t…” She couldn’t even finish when the tears started coming quicker and it was hard enough in her state to come up with words in the first place causing Jim to finally turn and face her. His hard face softened almost as if it were going to completely melt away.
“Don’t. Don’t do that.” His glances moved quickly between the road, her, and back to the road again. He was half tempted to pull over. Instead he moved his hand to her thigh and started comforting any piece of exposed skin he could reach. “I want to marry you. More than anything I want to have a life with you but I can wait if you’re not ready. That’s all I meant.” Cool, calm, collected. What he should have been when he first picked her up from her mother’s house but instead he ended up getting pulled in to her drunken world and now she was crying because of him. If he weren’t in control of the car right now he’d probably crawl in to the fetal position for a few days.
“I want to marry you. I’ve always wanted to marry you.” She returned back to regular tone while one hand on his and the other finally whipping worthlessly at her soggy cheek. “I don’t see how you people don’t seem to understand that. Why can’t she know that?”
“I’m the baby, Pam.” Their fingers started to intertwine on top of her bare skin where her skirt started riding up. “You’re going to be like that some day too, you know.”
“We’re having babies?” She perked up with excitement giving him the first genuine yet somewhat sloppy smile he had seen that day. It had seemed like all the women in his family were dreading this lunch he had set up mistakenly thinking that since he and Pam had gotten engaged all the tension would be gone because this was clearly real. Seeing her happy after the small quake he had just caused made his cheeks plump out with a giant grin.
“Of course. We’re going to have a big family. Lots of little Halperts intent on world domination.”
“With whose uterus?” she asked the smile fading slightly with confusion.
“Maybe not a big family but I want us to have some children. I think you’d make a great…slightly neurotic but great mother.” His hand let go of hers and started to move up her leg pausing where her thigh began in her lap.
“Like your mother?” She quipped and chuckled as he quickly pulled his hand away from her all together.
“We’re not getting away from this are we?” She shook her head clearly amused laughing a little harder than she normally would. “Well…lets talk about something else. Anything else.”
“I’m almost done planning our wedding.” She smiled taking his hand back wishing she could see the other one letting the very thought of their wedding sober her up. She caught herself staring at his ring finger imagining what it would be like when there’s an irremovable ring indicating to the rest of the world he was hers for the rest of his life. Like a nice ‘hands off’ sandwich board. She wonders if that’s how he feels whenever his eyes catch even a small glimpse of her engagement ring.
“We got engaged last week.” He stated a clear fact and nothing more.
“I know, but you told me I could do whatever I wanted. You just wanted it to be legal. So, everything I was supposed to plan is pretty much done. I just need to give the print shop the addresses to send the invitations.” Her smile couldn’t get bigger and her cheeks couldn’t be more swollen from it.
“So, do I get to know when my own wedding is or am I not even invited?”
“I’ll have to think about it.” She brought his hand to her lips for a small kiss before locking their fingers together for a second time and dropping their hand in to her lap.
“Three months. September 19th.”
“How long have you known that?”
“How long have you been planning to grow a village in my abdomen?”
“Well played.” His eyes slowly drifted over to her. His lips were tight together in a smile that she knew better than anyone could. He was happy.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Finally! I felt like I kind of put myself in to a corner with this one but Elly and There There pulled me out of it...and then Elly and italianfood made it better. I think I could have been sitting at my desk just crying without them.
Chapter End Notes:
Jim's turn.
Please please please please review. Without them I don't know if I could have even found a reason to go on at all.
Please please please please review. Without them I don't know if I could have even found a reason to go on at all.
