Dinner with Pam and her mother was not nearly as awkward as Jim had imagined it would be. Jim had met Helene a few times over the summer and he was always surprised at the rapport he found with her. Jim supposed it wasn’t really too far fetched given the dynamic that he and Pam shared, but it never ceased to amaze him. Jim was also in awe of the Beesly dynamic, and he could see so much of where Pam got her warm, bright, light-hearted personality from. While Jim was content just to sit back and observe, Pam or Helene seemed to know how to pull him back into the conversation, leaving him feeling very included, and loved by the end of the dinner. When it came time to get the bill, Jim tried to take it, only to get caught in a stare-down with Helene, who insisted she pay as she was the one who came out to treat her daughter. While they argued pleasantly, Pam excused herself to go to the washroom. Jim and Helene conceded to a compromise and split the bill in half. With that settled the interrogation began.

Pam was concerned when she emerged from the bathroom to find her mom leaned close to Jim with her head propped up by her hands stacked under her chin. That was Helene’s interrogation posture. Pam hastened her return, hoping to stymie any possible scarring or embarrassment that would inevitably be accompanied by an interrogation from her mother. As Pam returned to the table, she did her best to disrupt whatever thread her mom had been pursuing.

“What are you guys talking about,” Pam asked as she burst into the conversation.

Helene shifted her gaze to Pam and answered nonchalantly, “I was just telling Jim about how much I’d love some grandchildren, and how since Penny doesn’t have any prospects lined up the ball is in his court.”

Pam, who had been trying to surreptitiously take a sip of her water, did a literal spit take, spraying the table as she sputtered. Pam glanced at Jim to see his eyes wide and brows raised, but with a slight grin adorning his face. Pam wasn’t sure what to make of that as she tried her best to salvage the situation.

“Mom,” Pam gasped exasperatedly, “We haven’t even been on a date yet,” Pam exclaimed as she pleaded to Jim with her eyes not to run away on account of her crazy mother.

“Oh come on Pamela,” Helene rolled her eyes as though Pam was the one being ridiculous, “I was just telling Jim earlier that if you don’t call what you two did all summer dating, then I don’t know what is,” she finished with a wink to Jim, and Pam saw his smirk growing.

‘Traitor,’ she thought mock-bitterly, as Pam realised that Jim was greatly enjoying the beet red her face must be by this point. Pam tried to convey ‘You’ll pay for that later’ with her glare at Jim, but he just kept smiling. Pam took a sudden interest in the tablecloth to try and hide her embarrassment. In retrospect, if Pam was being honest with herself, which she had promised herself she would be after the night of the Dundies, she could see how one could interpret some of their summer activities as dates. In fact, she recalled initially fearing that they were dates when she was still fresh out of her relationship with Roy. When Pam looked up again the bill had been paid and Jim was offering her his hand and a ride home, which she mimed thinking over before she accepted.

Jim saw her to her door, and he couldn’t help hoping for a kiss goodnight. He was not disappointed when she turned in her doorway, half a step taller than she would be on level ground and cupped his face to pull it towards her mouth. After parting they made plans to hang out in the park in the morning, and Jim couldn’t help the elation he felt when she responded, seemingly echoing her mother’s sentiments after all.

“It’s a date,” Pam said with a smirk.