The Nephew

The Office

Chapter twenty

"In every conceivable manner, the family is [the] link to our past, [the] bridge to our future"

~Alex Haley

He came alone to dinner, just as he said. There was no need to involve Pam anymore than she already was. As he stood outside Tom and Isabella's front door, Jim tried not to peer inside the window. He did not want to appear too anxious. He was here on Pete and Eli's behalf.

He hoped Tom would keep his temper down.

Jim slowly brought his hand up to the doorbell and pressed it. His hands slipped into the pockets of his coat casually.

Katie, the dog, barked immediately at the noise. Jim heard a chirpy, "he's here!", from Elijah and Tom's coughing. Isabella asked Elijah to answer the door, and Jim heard the pounding of feet against the hardwood as Eli raced towards the door.

All this noise and Jim was still outside in the cold, dark night.

"Uncle Jim!" Elijah threw open the door, beaming at Jim.

"Eli!" Jim's face lit up. "How are you, little man?"

"Great," Eli grabbed his uncle's arm and led him into the house. "I've had three sleepovers in a row."

"Really," Jim muttered, walking towards the kitchen until he realized Eli had stopped leading him there. He turned around. Elijah was staring at him curiously. Jim raised his eyebrows accordingly.

"Did you bring her?" Eli asked.

"Who?" Jim frowned.

"Miss Pam. Did you bring her with you?"

"What?" Jim asked weakly. He cleared his throat. "Uh, no, bud. I…she's not coming tonight. We—well; I mean…we're friends. That's all."

"Oh." Elijah hung his head. Jim stared at him sadly.

"Jim?" Tom poked his head out from the kitchen, Katie at his heels.

"Whoa, Tom, you are sick." Jim said, coming up to his brother. Tom slapped him on the back. Jim was right. Tom was paler than usual, and his nose was slightly pink.

"Fit as a fiddle, Jim, you remember that." Tom retorted. "I could still take you."

"Yeah." Jim nodded dully, kneeling down and petting Katie. "Sure."

"Hey, listen, man, I appreciate you coming over like this." Tom changed the subject, beckoning Elijah into the kitchen.

"No problem." Jim stood up again and looked at his older brother. Tom was the shortest of the Halpert siblings, measuring around five feet eleven inches. Tom, for his part, often over-compensated to make up for the "lack" of height. His shoulders squared as soon as Jim stood up, towering over him.

"Wanna head in?" Tom asked. "We're almost done."

"We?" Jim asked.

"You know…she." Tom rolled his eyes. "Smartass."

"Whoa there, Elijah can hear you." Jim shook his head at his brother and headed in the kitchen.

"Hello, Jim." Isabella smiled sweetly at Jim as she passed him, setting a bowl of pasta down on the dinner table. "How are you?"

"Fine," he mumbled. She reached up and kissed his cheek good-naturedly. Her lips were soft.

"I-I love you." Jim broke free. With desperate, ecstatic hands, he grabbed her cheeks, pressing his lips hungrily to hers. Their first kiss.

Her lips were so soft, so perfect, everything he had dreamed of. Everything he had longed for. Oh, he had longed for this.

His hands kneaded small circles into her precious skin. His lips connected again and again with hers. His eyes had long since slipped shut, blocking out the world around him.

His hands dropped lower. To her shoulders. He rubbed her shoulders. His lips stayed in place as he pressed himself closer to her warmth. The tip of his tongue grazed her lower lip.

"Jim." Tom's voice broke through the vivid memory. Jim blinked, focusing back to reality. Isabella stared at him, smiling weakly. Jim realized he had been gripping her arm.

"S-sorry." He let go of her quickly and joined Eli at the table. How could he have confused Isabella for Pam? What a fool he was.

"All right, well, dinner's ready." Isabella smoothed out her skirt. "Shall we get started?"

"Yes!" Eli cheered. "This is leftover from last night." He whispered to Jim.

"Elijah!" Isabella whirled around, cheeks flushed.

"Secret's out!" Tom grinned at his wife, who looked sheepish. "And another thing, Jim, dessert expired three years ago."

"No, I made it this afternoon!" Isabella glowered at her laughing husband and brother-in-law as she took a seat at the small table.

"She's right." Tom smiled. "It's good, Jim."

"Yeah?" Jim nodded. "I'm sure it is."

"Can we eat now?" Eli asked. The adults smiled at each other.

"So, how do you like baseball, Eli?" Jim asked while the Halperts enjoyed a slice of pie.

"We got a new coach." Eli beamed, happy to talk about something that interested him for once. "He's a really cool guy, and he's nice to everyone on the team."

"Yeah, what's his name, bud?" Tom asked, looking up. "Coach Garrett?"

"Yeah." Eli nodded.

"Show Uncle Jim what happened yesterday at practice," Isabella nodded knowingly at Elijah, who rolled up his shirt sleeve. An ugly bruise marked his smooth shoulder. Jim frowned.

"How did you get that?" he asked cautiously.

"I got hit with a baseball." Eli shrugged. "Coach Garrett says I'm tough, though. He likes me."

"Oh." Jim still wasn't convinced that Eli was okay. "Good sport."

"Those children are vicious." Isabella continued, shaking her head in amusement. "Honestly, I don't even want to know what T-ball was like."

"Pretty wild." Tom retorted. He and Isabella glanced at each other, laughing.

"Can I play with Katie, now?" Elijah asked. Tom nodded and Elijah was off, chasing after the surprised Beagle, who had been waiting for someone to drop some food from the table. The adults watched him leave.

"Well, at least this Harland guy can be some sort of influence to Eli." Tom spoke as soon as Elijah couldn't hear them. "He's seems like a classy guy. I've only spoken to him a few times, but he's pretty good with those kids."

"Speaking of that," Isabella put in, "we want to talk about Pete."

"What's really wrong with him?" Jim asked warily.

Tom leaned back against his chair, sighing. "He's not letting anyone come over to his place, Eli hasn't been home in nearly a week, and he's only spoken to me over the phone since the funeral."

"I hadn't thought about calling Pete." Jim admitted. "I should have."

"Listen, about what I said earlier today…" Tom paused. "I think he will call you, soon. Pete's having every relative under the moon look after Elijah, and pretty soon he'll run out of options and call you. He's already…well, I mean, Bell and I are looking after Eli now.

"And what am I supposed to say, Jim? As Eli's uncle. I can't just say 'no', and pretend he doesn't exist."

"Pete's isolated himself in his house." Isabella stood up and began to collect the dishes. Tom began to help her.

"Do you think Larissa would help?" Jim asked suddenly. Tom stopped cold, his hand reaching to grab Jim's plate.

"Why?" Tom asked gruffly.

"You said she was home; couldn't she talk with Pete?"

"I don't want to talk about Ris." Tom said, taking Jim's plate. "She's a different story entirely."

Jim held up his hands in surrender. "Okay. We won't talk about Larissa."

Tom nodded to himself, placing a plate in the dishwasher.

Elijah had since returned to the kitchen, his baseball cap placed back on his head. The conversation quieted. Jim looked down at the table.

"Uncle Tom?"

"Yeah, bud?" Tom asked, craning his neck to see his nephew.

"Can I stay with Uncle Jim, tonight?"

There was a long pause. Elijah and Tom turned to look at Jim, whose eyes were wide. Isabella touched her husband's chest lightly and whispered something into his ear.

"Well," Jim took in a deep breath, seeing that he was the only one able to answer the pending question. "I don't see why not. I have a roommate though, at my apartment."

"Please, Uncle Jim?" Eli pressed. "I want to go on an adventure."

Jim was silent again. He glanced at his older brother, who shrugged helplessly at him. Jim shrugged back, before turning to Eli.

"You better get packed."

"Yes!" Eli bounded to his room to gather his things. Tom followed him.

Isabella smiled warily at Jim, who sat at the table wondering what he had just done.

"Here," she came over to him and gave him a piece of paper. "Tom already has a copy, and so do your parents."

"What is it?" Jim asked, picking up the crinkled paper subtly. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Just the usual. Elijah's school's address, phone numbers, you know, just in case."

"In case of what?"

Isabella's eyes softened, and she looked very melancholy. Tom and Eli could be heard from down the hall, speaking and laughing. "I have a feeling this won't be the last time you take care of Elijah." She said softly.

Jim gulped.