In more than 30 years, not much had really changed about the hallway of a college dorm. At least, from what Jim could tell.
When he’d been 18 himself, if he had thought about taking his own kid to college, which was about the last thing he’d been thinking about when he was 18, he might have imagined metal pods, students in silver jumpsuits, classes taught by holograms and vending machines filled with brightly colored capsules.
But really, it looked pretty similar to what he remembered.
“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” his mother used to quote.
And so, as Jim had learned time and time again, especially in the years he’d been a parent, his mother and his father actually had known what they were talking about.
He was thinking about how, in the years to come, Cece, Nattie and Alex would each have this realization themselves, over and over again, when the door to room 211 opened.
“Dad? I thought you left.”
He dug into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. “Um, your mother wanted to be sure you had enough cash,” he said, extracting several twenties and pressing them into Cece’s hand. “You won’t have your new ATM card for a few days.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Dad? You’re full of shit.”
“Hey!” he barked. “Watch your mouth, young lady.”
Not that she was wrong, per se, but she was still his kid.
Cece rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she conceded. “You’re… whatever the polite, appropriate version of ‘full of shit’ is. You already gave me money like twenty minutes ago. Mom gave me money, plus I have the credit card.”
He nodded and leaned against the door frame. She did the same on the opposite side, their forms - his tall and not quite as lean as he’d been 20 years ago, but still slender, hers shorter, with her mother’s softness - mirroring each other.
“Good point,” he said, holding out his hand and suppressing a smile. “Give me my eighty bucks back.”
Cece pursed her lips. “Well, you know, maybe I should have some extra, just in case there’s an emergency.”
Jim laughed. “Yeah,” he said, “you’re probably right.” He looked around. “You sure you don’t need me to help you set anything up? You want to loft your bed or something, get some storage space under it? Anything you need to shop for? Is that mini-fridge we got you working? Do you have enough…”
Cece stepped forward and stood up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around Jim’s neck.
“Dad,” she insisted, her voice muffled against his polo shirt, “I have everything I need.”
He sighed, returning her hug tightly. “You sure?”
“Mmmhmmm,” she mumbled, nodding. They pulled apart and Jim took Cece’s face between his palms, stooping down a little so he could make eye contact.
“Don’t get pregnant,” he instructed.
She rolled her eyes. “Dad…”
“Don’t get an STD,” he continued. “Don’t get hospitalized. Don’t get arrested…”
“Okay, I think I can…”
“Don’t fail out,” he concluded.
Cece nodded. “Okay,” she said ruefully. “I think I can handle that.”
Jim straightened up, but kept one hand on her cheek. “Have fun,” he told her. “Be careful. Call if you need anything. We’re only a few hours away. Call even if you don’t need something, because we want to hear from you.”
She nodded solemnly. “I will.”
He patted her cheek and bent down to kiss the top of her head. “Love you, baby girl.”
Cece looked up at him with wide blue eyes. “Love you, Daddy.”
With a final look and a nod, he turned to walk down the hall, leaving her behind.
Three steps and he turned around again.
“Remember to lock your door,” he called. “It’s not safe to…”
“Dad,” she yelled. “Go!”
Jim chuckled. He moved down the corridor, passing students and parents, and made his way outside to the waiting minivan, opening the door and climbing into the passenger seat.
“You blamed me, didn’t you?” Pam asked ruefully, raising her eyebrows at him from the driver’s seat.
Jim shrugged. “You want me to drive?” he asked, intentionally ignoring her question.
She shook her head. “Nah,” she said. “I’ll take the first shift.”
He nodded and leaned his head against the seat back, staring into her eyes. She stared back and they gazed at each other, as if to say “How did we get here?” and “When did she grow up?” and “Did we do it all right?” and a million other things they didn’t say, because they didn’t have to.
Jim leaned forward, and Pam met him halfway, and they kissed softly.
Until someone leaned on their horn behind them and they pulled apart, laughing.
“Okay,” Jim agreed. “Time to go.”
They drove away.
Author's Chapter Notes:
And so it ends. Thank you to those who encouraged me through this story. And, I suppose, even though he'll never read this, I should thank my father, who gave me a lot of inspiration for this story, and who, if he ever found out that I spend my time on fan fiction, would reward me with a very hearty "what the fuck is that shit?" God bless him.
Chapter End Notes:
There's something that felt kind of "Newhart" about ending this story with Jim and Pam. I hope y'all enjoyed it. Thanks so much for going on another journey with me.
andtheivy is the author of 17 other stories.
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