Somewhere around one in the morning, Maddie had forty of Jim's dollars in her pocket. Unable to figure out her secret, Jim threw in the towel and grabbed another beer from the fridge. He couldn't find Pam in the slowly decreasing sea of people, so he went out to the front porch and sat on the steps.

He twisted the cap off his beer and took a long drink. He spun the bottle cap absentmindedly in his fingers and tried to figure out how Maddie had managed to sneak that much money away from him. He considered himself an above average card player and was generally in tune with the other players at the table. He could read people well; it was sort of a gift. Maybe he just never guessed a 79 year old woman would be gunning for his wallet. He wouldn't be giving anyone any leeway from now on, no matter how sweet and innocent they looked.

He took another sip of beer and looked up at the night sky. Streetlights were few and far between on this stretch of road, which gave Jim an unfettered view of the stars. Music and laughter floated through an open window and he didn't feel alone. He tried not to let the alcohol or Maddie's words get to his head, or worse: both. He wasn't dense. He knew what she had been saying, but... did it matter? Even if Pam had the smallest, most insignificant feelings for him, what could he do about it? She was married. That wasn't a line he was willing to cross, no matter how much it hurt not to. The moment she said "I do" was the moment the ball rolled back into her court.

He held the bottle cap between his index finger and thumb then held it up against the night sky. He brought it close to his face then stretched out his arm so it was farther away. He repeated this for a few times before tucking the cap in his pocket. It was like his problem - the closer he was to her, the closer his trouble; the farther away he got, the farther the trouble. And for now he tucked it all away. He could think about it again when he was sober.

A rustling sound came from the bushes near the side of the house.

Jim leaned forward slightly and turned his head to see if he could see what was making the noise. For a moment he couldn't make anything out in the darkness, but then Little Doug came into view. He was staggering, keeping his balance by holding onto the side of the house. He tripped over his own foot and fell into the bushes.

"Whoa, there!" Jim said. He set his beer down and went to go help Doug out of the bushes. As he pulled the boy to his feet, he asked, "You okay?"

"Big O, little K," Doug slurred, clearly intoxicated.

Jim held onto him tightly so he didn't tumble to the ground. "How old are you, Doug?"

"Seven - Seventeen," Doug replied. "Don't tell Maddie I'm drunk, okay? She'll get mad. Ha. Maddie. Mad. Mad. Maddie. Get it?"

"Yep," Jim said. He carefully led Doug to the front steps and sat him down. "You been stealing drinks all night, buddy?"

Doug shook his head. "Daniel gave me some. All night. Good stuff. Beer."

Doug started laughing and tumbled forward off the step. He landed in the grass near the steps and turned over on his back.

"You okay?" Jim asked.

Doug patted the grass with his hand and grinned. "I cut this. Ten bucks a week. You want me to cut your grass? You pay more cause you're not old."

"I don't live here," Jim said. He helped Doug to sit up.

"Oh, yeah," Doug said. He examined Jim's face closely. "You're Fam's priend. Pam's friend. I like Pam. A lot."

"I bet you do," Jim said and helped Doug to his feet.

"You - You get to spend this whooole week with her," Doug said. "Alone. Like, I'm jealous, because I like - like her soooo much. And she's married and it's like... what the hell, you know? Cause, like, I'm gonna graduate next year and I think - I think I'm gonna get a good job. You think she would go out with me if I had a nice job?"

"I think you're a little young for her," Jim replied. He helped Doug sit on the steps again and made sure he wouldn't fall. "And I don't think she's gonna be dating anyone any time soon - she's married."

"Damn," Doug said. "Cause... I like her, man. Could - Will you talk to her for me?"

"Sure," Jim said. He couldn't keep from smiling. "I'll let you know how that goes."

"Okay. Thanks, bro," Doug said. He closed his eyes. "Let me know when Daniel gets here. He said he'd walk me home, cause I - I can't. By myself. He said."

"I'll go find him for you," Jim said. "Will you be okay while I go inside?"

Doug gave a thumbs up.

Jim shook his head and walked up the steps. Before he could reach the front door, it opened and Pam exited, followed by Daniel.

"Have you seen Doug?" Daniel asked. "I told him to -"

Daniel was interrupted by the sound of Doug vomiting on the walkway leading to the front steps. He cringed. "Nevermind. I think I know where he is."

Jim nodded and they went to examine Doug.

Doug wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked up at the three of them. "I feel better. Hi, Pam. Don't - Don't look, okay?"

"Wasn't really tempted to, but okay, Dougie," Pam said. She turned around to face the front door.

As Daniel helped Doug to his feet, Doug swore. "It's just Doug. God."

As Daniel helped Doug walk carefully down the street, they could hear Doug ranting and raving about being an adult.

"That should get cleaned up," Jim said. "Is there a hose somewhere?"

"On the side of the house," Pam said and pointed.

Jim found the hose and, as he washed the sidewalk, he couldn't help but think that this wasn't exactly how he had planned to end this night.

"Doug's a real fan of yours," Jim said. He shut the hose off and put it back where he found it.

"Yeah," Pam replied. She sat on the top step and stole a drink of Jim's beer. "It's cute, I guess."

"Not your type?" Jim teased. He accepted the beer when Pam held it out to him.

"Not exactly," she said and laughed.

"So, what is your type, Beesly?" Jim asked and took a long drink.

Pam tilted her head and looked at him. "Honestly? I'm still figuring that out."

Jim smiled.