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He wanted to tell her that he was being sincere. But maybe she didn’t want that kind of relationship with him.
Maybe, she was just pretending.
But no. He had just been thinking to himself that Pam was always so real. She wouldn’t be able to fake something like that. She couldn’t.
Maybe she could. He didn’t know. He just knew he wasn’t faking it. And he knew that Pam had always been honest and real with him. And with everyone that he’d ever seen her interact with. He didn’t want to think that there was another side of her. Hoped there wasn’t.
Their food came, and it was delicious. It ended up being a nice meal, once Pam’s mother stopped pressing Pam about what she was doing with her life, and once his sister stopped pushing them about doing dangerous things.
He supposed he wouldn’t have minded having it just be Pam and him, and he realized that he’d always enjoyed being just with her.
After they were finished eating, Chi packaged their strawberry crumb cake up, what was left of it, and sent a container of the pasta home with them as well.
It made Pam glow again, and it made him pretty happy too.
“How long are you guys going to be? I want to talk to you tonight. I need to get back home tomorrow,” Lynn pressed Pam as they walked out the diner door. She’d taken charge of the containers of food since he and Pam planned to head straight to the beach.
“I don’t think it usually takes very long,” Pam said, and he could hear the weariness in her voice. She hadn’t gotten a shower yet, and she worked all day. Hard work, and while he really appreciated her help, he wanted to take care of her.
“I don’t think you need to wait up. She doesn’t have any plans early tomorrow, so maybe you two can talk before you need to go.”
“I need to talk to you.” His sister stood with her hands on her hips, giving him that look. The look that siblings gave. The one that said that he needed to toe the line.
Only, he had a wife now. And he wanted her to know that she was more important. Whether it was a fake marriage, whether it wasn’t. Whether they were still just going to be friends, the title of wife gave her a position in his life that he was going to honor.
“After I take care of my wife, if you’re still up, I’ll talk to you. But we’ve had a long day, and I want her to enjoy her ride and be able to go home and take a shower, and get some rest.”
As he was speaking, he felt Pam’s hand slip into his. Her fingers threaded with his, and she squeezed, and he didn’t need to look down to feel the connection. To feel her appreciation, and to know that giving her the honor that her position deserved was the exact right choice.
“Well, I’ll be waiting.” His sister lifted her brows at him, then she lifted her chin and turned.
Pam’s mother turned with her, and they walked off.
Seeing them leave made him sigh in total relief.
He realized that as he was sighing, Pam was as well.
“Is that not just the biggest stress reliever right there? Having them walk away?” He grinned, looking down at her. Knowing that she would understand that he didn’t hate them, didn’t even dislike them, just... They were high maintenance, and spending that much time with them wasn’t impossible, but it did feel good when they left.
“It would feel even better if they were in their cars and driving away,” Pam said, and they laughed softly together.
“If you’re too tired for this, we don’t have to do it,” he said, remembering how tough their day had been.
“I think I got my second wind. I had been exhausted there for a while, but the food just really revived me.”
“I ate so much I think I can go take a nap.”
“If you want to go home, we can.” She lifted her brows, and she hadn’t started to turn at all, backing up her words with her actions, unspoken and subtle, but still there. She was saying that she was totally fine if he didn’t want to go.
“I appreciate that. Appreciate you supporting me with my sister, but not stepping in front of me. I... I love how real you are. It’s something I admire about you. And I appreciate your loyalty and support. Two more things that I’ve always appreciated in you.”
She grinned a little and looked down, as though embarrassed.
“But I really want to go. I... I wanted to have a honeymoon. I know that...our marriage isn’t exactly normal.” What was normal anyway? Nowadays, normal wasn’t normal at all. “But still. You’re my wife. I... That means something to me.”
“It means something to me too. We have a relationship, regardless of how that looks, and I want to make sure I nurture it.”
“Yeah. That.” He didn’t have those words, but that’s what he wanted.
