His mother frequently mentions that he cannot quit the job he despises because it earns money for the house. She also laments that Lauren doesn't have many "gentlemen callers" throughout the story. Amanda asks Tom to look for men at his job who would be likeable and suitable suitors for Laura. Tom, in response, invites Jim. Jim was Laura's high school crush, and he was excellent at many things in high school: basketball, singing, and debate. It seems like a perfect fit, and it was meant to be. As Tom from the future narrates at the very beginning of the play, he bluntly states that Jim is a symbol of "something long delayed but still expected that we live for" (922). [PP4] Jim is Tom's way to leave, a way for Amanda to stop harassing the gentlemen who visit her, and a way to keep Laura away from her dark, husbandless future. Jim was the key to the Wingfields' happiness. HE talks to Laura and brings her out of her shell, and everything seems so perfect. But life isn't perfect. Jim was dating and even engaged to another woman, and he couldn't be the Wingfields' saving grace. Amanda was angry with Tom, saying, "what a wonderful joke you played on us" (970) in a tone that could be nothing but drenched in indignant sarcasm. She blames the horrible end of the night on Tom and his lack of knowledge of Jim's romantic life. This in turn outrages Tom, and he