▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Paper Rings
chapter sixty one
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
SHE HAD NEVER THOUGHT THAT SHE'D BE SITTING AT HOAGIE PALACE WITH HER MOTHER AND JIM. In all honesty, she had never thought her mother would ever see Hoagie Palace at all, or Scranton. But there she was with a scowl on her face, picking the vegetables out of her sandwich like they had been touched by Satan. "So," Evelyn hummed, turning her attention to her boyfriend and his ham and cheese hoagie, his usual order that she had basically memorized for as long as they had known one another.
He looked just as nervous sitting there, cheeks a flushed red. "Do you not have an Olive Garden here? Or, I don't know... Anywhere else?" She flinched at the slight hostility in her tone. She had thought that Hoagie Palace would be a nice medium. It had become a regular spot for her over the years. She was even sure she had talked about it a few times with both of her parents. "It's the closest thing to Dunder Mifflin," Evelyn fibbed. A white lie won't kill her now.
Nicole hummed, grabbing the fork she had snatched out of Evelyn's hand just minutes prior. An uncomfortable silence befell the trio. Jim took a large bite of his sandwich, eyes dropping to the table. This was a lot different than his own family. Sure, it was awkward with them too, but for a different reason. The Halperts don't know when to be quiet. Apparently all Nicole Takahashi knows how to do is sit quietly. "You seemed to hit it off with Pam," Evelyn commented, picking at the cheese on her sandwich.
Steak, mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise, and mushrooms. Her new usual. "She's a cute girl," Nicole said. The stone like exterior of her face crumbled a bit. "Her fiancé is a handsome man, too. Very strong, unlike your father." Evelyn's eyes rolled. "And an idiot, unlike Chichi," she slipped in, earning a smile from the man beside her. He continued to go silent, afraid to hop into the conversation. Nicole had yet to address him, or ask about him. Even in the car, she acted as if he wasn't there.
"They make a very cute couple," Nicole said with finality. Finally, her eyes lifted to meet Jim's. He struggled to swallow the remaining food in his cheeks. "Speaking of couples," she began, stabbing a pepper aggressively. Both Jim and Evelyn jumped at the thud. "Are you taking care of my little girl? Properly?"
Evelyn wanted to bury her head in her hands. Her heart began to drum in her ears nervously. "You take her on dates and make her feel special? Do you open the door for her? Defend her honor?" There was a pointedness in her stare. In that moment, Evelyn regretted allowing her mother to speak to Dwight. "Of course," Jim replied instantly. "Evelyn is very precious to me. I do whatever I can to make her feel appreciated and special."
"Loved?" Nicole pressed. Both Jim and Evelyn visibly flushed at the question. Neither of them had said those three little words. Not that they didn't feel it. Jim was almost certain he was in love with Evelyn. So much so that those words danced in the forefront of his mind almost every waking moment they're together. But Evelyn isn't as sure. She's not sure that what she feels is love, or if she deserves to feel that way.
A part of her is scared that when she accepts that fact, everything will crumble around her and Jim will be gone. "You haven't said it," Nicole deducted from their extended silence. She plopped the pepper between her teeth with a roll of her eyes. The prongs of the fork pointed accusingly at her daughter. "Your father and I dated for four months before saying I love you. You've known this man for how many years?"
"Mom," Evelyn gasped out. "We haven't even been dating a month yet!" Jim almost choked. Of course they hadn't been dating long. But he was almost sure it had been a month. "You've had a crush on him for years, Lyn. You cannot sit here and tell me that you do not love him."
"If I may," Jim spoke up, promptly saving the girl from beside him from erupting in embarrassment. She couldn't believe her ears. Nicole glanced toward Jim. She seemed to not even be interested in what he had to say. Maybe it was because of Roy, or because he wasn't what she had expected. But he wanted her to know that he would be the best he could be for Evelyn. "You may," she replied. "Go on."
Evelyn glanced toward Jim cautiously. She wasn't sure what he was going to say, or if it would help, but she trusted him. "Evelyn is... amazing, right? I mean, all of her little things and her big things are super special. As I'm sure you know."
"Of course I do," Nicole replied. "She is my daughter, after all." Evelyn glared at her mother. "I know that it took us a while... but I feel like I have a better connection with her now. She became my best friend and I was able to learn all of her likes and dislikes, and I learned how to make her laugh or make her feel better. I realized just how special being by her side is, and also how awful it feels when I'm not." Jim was now looking at Evelyn, love and adoration twinkling in his eyes. He reached for her hand beneath the table.
Nicole noticed the shift in their bodies. "I'm glad we took so long," he admitted, smiling at the brunette. She squeezed his hand. "Me too," she replied, happily. She couldn't have said it better herself. Getting to know Jim had been a pleasure she had been grateful for for so long. Knowing him so well felt like a privilege in an otherwise bland world. He made her laugh. He made her cry. He made her the happiest she had ever been in a very long time.
He made her whole, she had decided. So very whole that she wasn't sure how to cope with it. "Perhaps love is blind," Nicole hummed, "in different ways." Her fork was thrusted through a thick mushroom, eyes narrowing as she took in her daughter's unamused expression. "Where is Chichi?" Evelyn suddenly asked, turning back to her mother. She was tired of her analyzing them; analyzing their relationship.
Nicole's lips pursed. "Back home," she answered. "Packing." Confusion puckered between her brows. Evelyn's fingers curled tighter around Jim's. "Packing? What do you mean packing?" Panic began to rise within her blood. It only worsened as her mother ate her mushroom and avoided her eyes. Jim's knee bumped hers, tearing her out of the fog building around her. "Mom, why is he packing?" she tried again.
The plastic fork fell to the paper used to wrap her sandwich. An exasperated sigh left her mother's lips. "That's why I came here," she said. "I came to give you the good news in person." The fog shifted slightly. The idea of divorce was no longer in question. Neither was illness, but how could she be certain it was actually good news? "Okay," she exhaled. "Tell me. What's the good news that had you driving all the way to Pennsylvania?"
"You could try sounding a little happier when you ask me that," Nicole scolded the brunette.
"I am happy, Mom," Evelyn assured her. "But you can't just drop in unannounced and expect me to be over the moon. And then you insult my place of work, my boss, and now you're dropping a surprise in my lap all mysteriously." Jim glanced toward his girlfriend. His lips felt anchored into a slight frown. Nicole shook her head. "Your father and I are moving to Scranton. There, there's your mysterious surprise."
━━━━━━━━━━
EVELYN
Oh, fuck.
━━━━━━━━━━
"Okay, so your parents have decided to move to Scranton to be closer to you. Why is that such a bad thing?" Jim asked, following Evelyn closely. She jammed her knuckle into the elevator button before turning to face him. "I love my parents, okay? But I left Idaho for a reason, and that reason was to escape their insane expectations."
The two boarded the elevator. Jim's hands were shoved into his trouser pockets. "Being around my mom feels suffocating... It's like she only sees me as a failure sometimes, you know? She was the popular girl in school, and I wasn't. She was the pageant queen and I hated the idea of dressing up so much that I would hide somewhere until she left for work." She glanced over at the man beside her. He was already looking back, eyes soft with empathy.
A soft sigh left her lips. "Don't look at me like that," she muttered, arms moving to cross over her chest. Jim snorted, lips twitching upward into a grin. "Like what?" he asked. Their eyes met again. She turned slightly, head tilting back to meet his eyes. Silently and without hesitation, she slid her hand over his eyes to break the intense eye contact. "Wow. Now that's not fair," he joked.
Her smile broadened. She hummed, her touch gentle. After a moment, her smile slowly began to slip away. "I'm sorry if she made you uncomfortable," she said, gently. Jim's fingers wrapped gently around her wrist and withdrew her hand from his eyes. "I don't want you to feel pressured to... to love me. Not now, not ever, okay?"
"I know," he replied. His thumb ran along the inside of her wrist. "I-- My feelings for you are real. Now and probably later. I don't know, I guess it depends on the weather." She scoffed. Her palms met his chest in a playful shove, his balance only slightly slipping away. His laughter filled the space with a sense of serenity that she only experienced when around him. Everything else slipped away, like sand with the tide on a beach. "You're an ass," she teased before her fingers locked onto his blazer.
He was now pulled toward her. Their lips met instantly in the middle, his own hand moving to caress her neck. He could taste the mint on her breath from after lunch. She had a whole peppermint stash in her glovebox. It was starting to become one of his favorite flavors. When they pulled apart, Evelyn used her thumb to wipe the residue of her lipstick from his mouth.
"Oh, God. Mom's going to want to meet your parents now," she whispered. Jim grimaced at the idea. Not that he didn't want Nicole to meet his parents, or Evelyn. He'd grown excited at the thought of his mother meeting Evelyn and loving her as her own. But now, after it all, he didn't want her to feel pressured either. "Would you hate the idea of meeting my parents?" he asked.
Her eyes met his. She blinked. "No," she replied, honestly. "I wouldn't hate it at all." He grinned. Her eyes flickered back toward his lips for a split second before a laugh bubbled up her throat. "You know, that color really suits you." Using the pad of her thumb, she continued to wipe away her lipstick left over from their last kiss. He hummed. "Really? Maybe I should wear more of it, hm?"
He was quick with his peck. Her eyes widened in surprise. He giggled softly, hands locking behind her back. Another peck was pressed to her lips. "You are --," another peck cut off her words. "-- the biggest dork I have ever --," She leaned back to avoid his lips. A palm pressed into her tailbone, anchoring their hips together. "I have ever met," she told him, hurriedly pressing her hand to his lips.
The elevator dinged, signaling their arrival at their correct floor. Her eyes narrowed in warning at the man before she pulled her hand away. Just as the elevator doors opened, Jim spun her to the side and dipped her, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. Her arms instinctively moved to wound around his neck, a pleased giggle slipping past her smiling lips. He returned her to her standing position, withdrawing his touch from her body. "Are you just going to walk around with my lipstick on?" she asked incredulously.
"I love this color," he replied. His smile had her stomach doing flips. She shook her head at him before reaching for his hand. "C'mon, you big dummy." Their fingers intertwined then, a content sigh leaving his chest. "I'll follow you anywhere," he hummed. And he would. Anywhere. Forever.