*
*
Jim sits with his elbows on his knees, head in his hands. Pam is seated next to him, looking down at his disconcerted figure.
“He lost Cece,” she affirms.
Jim lifts his head briefly and looks up at the camera. “I did…for a little bit.”
Pam looks at him with tight lips and asks, “What happened?”
He sits upright, shaking his head. “I don’t know.”
“Jim, I tho—”
“Everything happened so fast, okay?” he says, running his hand through his hair, accentuating his already disheveled façade. “She was sleeping in her carrier one minute and then gone the next.”
“And you thought Angela took her?”
“The guy said he saw her with a blond woman.”
“Yeah, my mom.”
He sighs. “I wasn’t thinking. I saw Angela leaving and I thought—”
“That she not only has a cat fetish, but a baby fetish.”
“Have you seen her creepy baby posters?”
Pam chuckles. “Losing Cece broke your brain.”
“You have no idea,” he says, shaking his head. “Longest two minutes of my life.”
Pam smiles. “Don’t beat yourself too hard.” she says, padding him on the back. “Someday we’ll all be laughing about it.”
Jim looks incredulously at her. “I don’t think anyone will be laughing about this.”
“They will definitely be laughing about it,” she says, nodding her head. “Like, remember when Jim thought he lost Cece and accused poor, innocent Angela of kidnapping her?” She looks at him with raised eyebrows.
“I’m not talking about this anymore.”
“C’mon, at least we found where all the scones went.”
He looks at her—face stoic, all serious, no games. “You’re mocking me.”
She smiles innocently and says, “Never.”
Jim shakes his head.
“Honey, I admit, it was scary. But Cece’s okay, you know that, right?”
Jim nods and the camera zooms to the carrier by Jim’s foot, showing Cecelia, in her mom’s Arcade Fire t-shirt, gnawing at a teething toy cat. He reaches down to tickle her little feet and she beams while scrunching her nose like a bunny. A smile breaks across his face.
“I’m hungry,” Pam says.
“Me too,” he agrees. “Papparazzo's?”
“Ummm, yes!”
Author's Chapter Notes:
I own nothing.
Chapter End Notes:
Cece's too cute. I hope this is not the last we see of her this season. Thanks for reading!
