Danit had a few recommendations for me for a new partner for Pamela. One is a substitute teacher like Pamela; one is an old friend of hers, soon to move into the area; and the last is a man whom Pamela’s friend Diana knows. In fact, Diana has already offered to give Pamela Andrew’s information, and Pamela is considering reaching out to him.
I do not think it is wise, however, to draw her right away into a new relationship. Any man who comes to her now will only be compared to Rohan in her mind, and that lens over her eyes will either make the newcomer too attractive, or else she will begin to miss Rohan even more than she already does. She needs time to clear her vision, and I think I know exactly how to do that.
This evening there was a knock at the door, and Pamela answered it to find Evelyn standing on her doorstep, carrying a bag and a bottle. “Wine,” Evelyn said, lifting the bottle, and then the bag, “and two kinds of ice cream. I couldn’t decide on a flavor.”
Pamela laughed, her spirits lightening, and invited Evelyn in. They made dinner together, complaining about their respective jobs—though as far as I can tell, both enjoy what they do very much—and then settled down to watch television, each with a tub of ice cream and a spoon. In the middle of the episode they were watching, Pamela slid across the sofa and leaned against the back of Evelyn’s knees. Smiling, Evelyn set her ice cream aside and began running her fingers through Pamela’s hair.
Though I have seen Brooke and Morgan do the same to one another, this was different. There was no desire between Pamela and Evelyn, only true understanding and complete ease. They have not been friends for a long time, but they care about one another and want to protect one another. After all, Evelyn was not there tonight for the food.
When the episode ended, Pamela turned off the television, but didn’t get up. For a while they talked about the show, but then that topic fell silent.
“You okay?” Evelyn asked, getting to the question she had been wanting to ask all night.
Pamela sighed. “Yeah,” she said. “I mean, it sucks and life is awful, but it’ll get better.” She paused, and then asked uncertainly, “Won’t it?”
“Is it a little better tonight, at least?”
Pamela smiled. “Yeah.”
“Then it’ll get better.” She gave Pamela’s hair a yank, and the sweetness in the air dissolved into laughter.
They parted with hugs, and then Pamela went buzzing around her apartment at her evening tidying, feeling lighter than she had before. Having seen and felt all of this, I made the decision not to press a relationship on her for now. I will watch, for certain, and protect her from making poor decisions out of loneliness. But she needs time to be on her own, and during that time she will have the support and protection of her friends. More than friends, really—they are the family she has chosen for herself. They will not abandon her, any more than I will.