She'd been stunned.  There's no other way to explain it.  She couldn't quite understand what he was saying when they first pulled up at the house.

She could hear the words but they didn't seem to make sense.

"I bought it."

"It's ours."

Not his.  Not mine.  Ours. 

It's amazing how one small word could make such a difference,  how the excitement and trepidation in his voice as he showed her around the house could make her finally relax. 

If there had ever been a doubt in her mind that coming home was the right thing to do it was erased in that instant.

New York had been great.  Pursuing art more seriously than she ever had before had also been great.  But this moment proved once and for all that she didn't have to choose.  She could have both.

She came home because her home was with him.

xoxoxo

He can't help but feel a bit relieved.

It really hadn't occurred to him that he hadn't done the right thing - not until the entire office weighed in.  It was no wonder they'd tried to keep their relationship a secret in the beginning.  There wasn't a soul in their workplace who didn't have an opinion on well...just about anything.

It was a familiar feeling for him where she was concerned.  It had taken a while for him to not second guess every action or word he spoke.  He'd been afraid - in the beginning especially - that he might be moving too fast.

After all, he'd bought her ring a week after their first date.

But all of that disappeared when he saw her face as she glanced around the garage.   He knew that it was going to be alright after that. 

It wasn't too much and it wasn't too soon. 

Finally - his timing was perfect.

xoxoxo

The sound of a basketball hitting the rim resonated through the backyard.   It fell to the cement patio and rolled onto the overgrown grass.

"Impressive."  Pam chuckled.  She settled back in the lawn chair and toyed with the charm on her necklace.

"Just a little bit rusty."  Jim jogged over to retrieve the ball.

"Like that hoop."

He gestured towards the house.  "And, probably, the pipes."

His eyes met hers again and she smiled widely.  "Oh?  Is that a problem?"

"Such optimism, Beesly.  It's admirable I tell you."

Jim dribbled the ball for a moment, threw a foul shot.  It slid threw the net with a swish.    "One night I sat out here and threw like...a hundred of these in a row.  Just like that one. Nothing but net."

"Amazing."  She tilted her head to the side, admiring Jim's form as he went in for a layup.  "So.  Tell me more."

"About the pipes or my amazing basketball skills?" 

"Neither.  About what it was like growing up here."  Pam leaned forward and looked at him intently.  "We've established that you have fond memories of the basketball hoop..."

"Hmmm."  Jim stopped and tucked the ball against his hip.  "That's a great question..."

"Can't be the décor..."

"Nope.  Definitely not."

"Can we talk about that for a second?"  Pam looked at him quizzically.  "I've been here before.  How did I not notice all this stuff?"

"The house was probably crowded.  Kids running around.  Tons of distractions.   And we're all pretty tall.  Someone was probably blocking the most offensive features and you just didn't see it."

"Well that explains it."

"Yeah."  He laughed as he twirled the ball on one finger.

Watching him, as always, was a nice distraction but she wasn't giving up so easy.  "Seriously.  Tell me."

Jim shrugged.  "I don't know.  I loved this backyard in the summer.  We always had at least one or two big barbecues.  All us kids would run around for hours while our parents would sit around and drink beer and chat.  When we got older we'd sneak a few beers ourselves.  It was great."

"So you're saying you were a derelict.  Sounds like fun."  Pam's eyes began to sparkle as she listened to him continue.

"Christmas.  Great memories of Christmas.  Except right before Christmas sucked. Tom and Pete used to torture me..."

"Used to?"

"It was worse then if you believe it."  Jim laughed in spite of himself.  "Anyway - they'd wake me up on a Saturday or Sunday at the end of November, early December - just close enough that Christmas would be on my mind and tell me it was actually Christmas morning.  I'd rush down the stairs and then - of course - nothing."

"Aw.  That's awful!  They are so mean!"

"What's more awful is that I fell for it every single time."   Jim tossed the ball to the side and moved to sit on the chair next to Pam's.  "You sure you're okay with all this?  It's gonna take a lot of work."

Pam seemed nonchalant.  "So?  We can tackle one room at a time."

"I asked my dad - we need new leaders and gutters for sure - but the roof was replaced only about a year or two ago."

"I don't understand half of what you just said but that roof part sounds like a good thing."

"We can do the downstairs first I'm thinking.  Concentrate on what people can see."

She nodded and smiled.  "Perfect."

Jim stared at her in disbelief.  "You're really sure you're okay with all this?"

Pam laughed.  "Why do you seem so surprised?"

"I don't know."  Jim cleared his throat.   "I gotta tell you - I was so caught up in all this it never occurred to me that it might not be the right thing to do.  And then I was really worried I'd screwed up big.   I know I probably should have asked you before I did this and I'm sorry about that..."

Pam reached over and placed a hand over his causing him to stop trying to explain.  "I don't think you understand."  She took a deep breath as she tried collect her thoughts.  Her voice trembled a bit when she spoke again.   "I don't keep score.  Just so you know.  I don't sit around and compare.  Actually it's weird how sometimes I can't even remember what it was like then."

He wasn't quite sure what to do with all that.  "Okay..."

"But then there are moments like this when I realize you're so different.  You...you make plans instead of avoiding them.  And though I love that so much about you - I'm still not really used to it."

Jim smiled smugly.  "Well. You should get used to it."

Pam grinned back at him.  "I'm trying."  Her eyes were dreamy as they met his again.  "You bought me...us...you bought us a house."

"Yeah."  His face relaxed again.  "I did."

"You're amazing."  She said softly, inching closer to him.  "I know it's stupid but sometimes I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.  And then you go and do something like this and I realize how silly I'm being."

"Yeah."  He agreed as he tugged on her hands until she stood.  She settled down onto his lap and curled her arms around his shoulders.  "Okay.  You need to stop that.  I guess I need to explain again how this works."

"Maybe you do." 

"Alright."  Jim began.  "So it's like this.  Two single people who are attracted to each other often start dating..."

"I think that part I understand."  Pam leaned down and brushed her lips across his.

"Oh okay."  He murmured as she pulled away.  "See - I asked you to marry me - not date me till the next millennium."

"Which I absolutely appreciate."  She replied, moving to kiss him again.

"And so I see no reason - if that's the plan - that we don't keep moving forward."

"You're right - there's no reason."

"As for all this - well - the timing was great.  My mom was stressed about selling the house...I knew that this was something we'd both want eventually and so I thought I'd just see if I could manage it.  I was kinda surprised that I was able to pull it off..."

"I can't believe what you did with the garage..." Pam shook her head at him.  "You're really too much.  The house needs all this work but the first thing you do is make a place for me.'

Jim ducked his head, his face flushing a bit.  "It's nothing.  I just thought..."

"I know what you thought."  She moved closer, her lips a breath away from his as she added.  "And that's just another reason I love you."

Jim's fingers slid through her hair as Pam shifted on his lap, sinking slowly into the kiss.  The sun began to slip behind the trees.  The rustle of leaves fluttering in the breeze and the faint chiming voices of children playing in the distance were the only sounds they could hear.    There seemed to be nothing else - just the two of them. 

The spell was broken with a resounding snap.  The chair collapsed as one of the legs gave way.  Jim's arms tightened around her as they fell to the ground.   Tangled together they were too stunned to speak for moment.

Pam struggled to sit upright, trying to catch her breath and he smiled widely, reaching up to snag a small twig that was now entwined in her hair. 

"I think we might need some new lawn furniture too."  She glanced over at the chair and grinned back at him.

"Maybe."  Jim reached up and pulled her back down towards him.  He kissed her soundly as he added.  "I'll put it on the list."