I glance up at him and see he’s smiling, clearly meaning it. “…You are?”

He nods and I glance back down at the table a moment, pulling open my chocolate bar. “She’s going to be here soon, I think.”

“Great, that’s great.”

I can’t help but smile, thinking how sweet it is for him to say that—though, after a week of me blabbing about how excited I was about this day and him listening with interest each time, I should not be so surprised.

“I’m really excited to show her around,” I say, breaking off a piece of my food. “…She really wants to meet everybody.”

This is only partially true. She’s coming, yes, but really it’s only because she wants to meet Jim. There isn’t much good stuff to talk about in this place and I certainly don’t want to worry her with all the antics half the people in this place do—instead, I supply her with the only good things that go on. These stories usually just happen to revolve around Jim or have him involved in some way.

I think her exact words were, ‘I’d like to meet that Jim boy you always talk about. Will he be there?’

“Oh yeah?” Jim asks, tilts his head. I know he’s probably wondering why I would ever bring her to a place like this.

“Mmhmm,” I reply, chewing slowly.

In truth, I really didn’t want to let her come. She insisted, though, and when she was stubborn about something there was little I could do to change her mind. I was hoping that somehow everyone but the relatively normal members of the staff would come in today. No such luck. In fact, of all the days he could come, even Todd Packer had suddenly appeared in the office. All I need is for him to do something inappropriate…I’d just die.

“Good, ‘cause I have a lot of questions,” Jim informs me and I glance up, coming out of my thoughts. I grin a bit, raising a brow.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah,” he nods as he speaks in a mock serious tone. “’As a child, did Pam ever show any traits that would head towards her future career as a receptionist?’”

I can’t help but laugh. Jim finishes his food then and stretches his arms over his head, sighing.

“Back to work. See you later,” he stands and exits, leaving me to finish my bar. I remain alone for a little while, smiling slightly to myself. Somehow, all the things that might happen seem so insignificant compared to how much I know she’ll enjoy Jim.

It’s much later that my mom shows up; sneaks in is a better word for it. I’m almost glad she has come so much later than expected; she certainly would not have enjoyed Michael attempting to make me make out with a plastic doll. All thoughts of that are gone immediately, though. It’s amazing to see her after such a long time and I hug her tightly, not caring it anyone is staring.

“I finally made it,” she declares as she pulls me close.

“Hello!” I reply cheerfully, unable to mask my excitement.

Finally letting go, I sit down at my desk as she admires my area. “This is all yours?”

I beam a smile. “Yeah, I’m in charge of this whole thing.”

“Oh, my goodness, that’s great.”

And then Michael comes out of his office as if on cue, carrying that stupid blow up doll. I stare right along with my mom, feeling my entire face flush red. He says not a word as he carries it out, tossing it into the hallway. He walks off afterwards, not even looking up as he passes us. This is when my mom looks at me, her brows furrowed in confusion.

“…Don’t ask,” I finally say after trying unsuccessfully to think of a way to explain what happened, attempting not to look too annoyed. She just nods, shaking her head a bit in bewilderment.

I clear my throat and quickly change the subject, standing to turn and face the wall. “This is where I used to keep my computer,” I say, motioning to the area.

“Oh, right, I remember, with the picture—“

I had sent her a picture of my desk a while ago—a long while ago. I had moved things around for various reasons to the point it is today. I like how my area is set up now, I can sit and see everything going on—though that can have its good and bad points.

This really isn’t interesting, but I don’t want my mom to be looking around while Todd Packer is anywhere near the building.

“Yeah, yeah, but I switched stuff around ‘cause I actually needed more room for organization, so this is like…”

I faintly hear footsteps behind us, but don’t turn around. I’m hoping if I just ignore it, they’ll go away—especially if it’s someone I really don’t want to expose my mother to. I do turn when I notice the door open out of the corner of my eye and Roy steps in. Roy and my mom always have gotten along pretty well, and she smiles and walks over to hug him. “Hey, handsome.”

Roy is smiling, though I know it’s a bit forced. He’s always uncomfortable with my parents, says he’s worried about saying something wrong. “You look great,” he compliments, which makes my mom smile even more.

“Thank you!” she says before looking between us. “So, we ready for dinner?”

I glance at my watch. It isn’t closing time just yet, as much as I wish it were. “Oh, you know, I need to stall a bit,” I say, giving an apologetic look. “But, it’s OK, because I’m very used to killing time.”

This gets a laugh out of the two of them and I smile slightly.

Roy takes that time to excuse himself, turning to walk out the door and wait downstairs for us. The minute it shuts behind him, my mom turns to me, giving me a mischievous look. I’m confused only for a moment by the action. She glances at the door again, making sure Roy is gone, before leaning over and whispering, “So which one is Jim?”

I’m pretty sure my face turns beet red at that. We’re close enough for Jim to hear, though my mom does not know that. I glance over at him and she follows my gaze. “Mom,” I whisper in a bit of a warning tone. He’s doing his work; I don’t think he heard her.

“Just wanted to know,” she giggles, clearly teasing me. If I wasn’t red then, I probably am now.

“No, it’s—“

I can’t believe I’m acting this bashful and at a loss for words. She gives me a look over before realizing it best to drop the subject. I’m not sure if I should be dismayed that my mother noticed my reaction.

“Alright, okay,” she concedes, though she still holds the playful look.

Time to change the subject—quickly.

“Ten minutes; then we can go to dinner.”

“I’ll make myself busy,” she nods. I sit down at my desk, trying to do the same.

Glancing up a few seconds later, I notice my mom staring at Jim in a rather thoughtful manner for a moment before looking away to smile down at me.

For the first time in a long time, I can’t read her face to know what she’s thinking. I’m not sure I want to know even if I could.