Date: January 06, 2008 05:44 am Title: Epilogue - Isn't It a Lovely Ride?
I can't lie...just the image of Natalie (one of my fave names, btw) on Jim's shoulders and him wrapped around her finger reduced me to a steaming puddle of Colette. And this made me laugh: "...Look at my hair, huh? Clearly, I’m not an expert.” It also really made me want to look at his hair. So, I did ;-)
Anyway, love how you tied this up - not only that Pam graduates/finds her path, but also Jim - his taking the new job is a plausible transition - not reinventing himself completely, just cranking it up a notch and mostly, finding himself in his family with Pam. Like that. This story has been a lovely ride - kind of sad it's over...but now we get a video too? Stop being so multi-talented - you're making the rest of us look lazy! Okay, thanks for this - off to buy my tix to Buffalo now.
Author's Response:
A little girl riding on Jim's shoulders...::sigh::...we'll probably never get to actually see that except in our imaginations, Colette, so thank God they're vivid! I'm so glad you enjoyed this - it's like having Eric Clapton say you're pretty good on the guitar. The video...I've been wanting to do it for a long time and I haven't figured out how to capture actual video yet, but it was so much fun (and a ton of aggravation) to put the stills together. If only this kind of extra effort went into housework or something more practical! Thank you so much for all your inspiration and encouragement. Now I'm going to sit back and let you entertain me with Northern Lights.
10 [Report This]Date: January 06, 2008 04:11 am Title: Epilogue - Isn't It a Lovely Ride?
It's like a mosaic we're making together, Jim and I. I'm thinking how, if you stand too close sometimes, you focus on all the little pieces...some pieces are fine like polished glass, and some are ragged and worn, some weathered and tear-stained. But if you step back, you can see them all coming together to form images and scenes that tell the story of us. It's a story we're still writing and I can't wait for the next chapter.
Oh, wow. That is a spectacular piece of writing right there, Sweetpea! I felt a shiver go up my spine when I read it. (The good kind of shiver, of course).
What an amazing story this has been! I have absolutely adored being along for the ride, and I'm so glad I found this story and decided to give it a read! Your future for Jim and Pam and little Natalie (YAY for the name!!) fits just perfectly with the utter realism that you've been crafting all along here. I know it's strange to keep using the word "real" when describing a fictional story about fictional characters, but I can't think of a better word. :)
Because, basically, this is as plausible an ending (beginning?) for Jim and Pam as anything I've ever read. Maybe even more so. :)
Congratulations on a superbly crafted story, and I look forward to your next endeavor!
Author's Response:
Aww, Mose, thank goodness you're up to keep me company! I'm so glad you've been along for the ride, too. When you started reading and reviewing chapter by chapter...man, that made me feel so good. Thank you.
The passage you quoted did not want to get written. I think my brain was just too tired to find the words, but it finally squeaked out, bit by bit. I'm so glad you got the shivers!
It makes me really happy to think of Jim and Pam settling in my hometown. Buffalo gets a lot of bad press for having too much snow, a failing economy, and an absurd number of bowling alleys, but the people are warm and friendly and the art community is indeed thriving. I have a feeling the city would wrap Pam and Jim up in a thermal Bills or Sabres blanket and give them a big hug!
Thank you again for all your kind words.
10 [Report This]Date: January 02, 2008 01:13 am Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
Gah, Sweetpea, this story just melts me into a puddle of goo. Um, that's a good thing, if that wasn't clear.
I love that it was Jim's back that rekindled her artistic inspiration. I mean, I'm pretty sure that would inspire me too. And that he was so excited for her he almost ran out of the room without pants.
And the chicken wings/more than that/love/are-you-going-to-push-me-in conversation is so awesome and perfect and in character I don't know where to start.
Sigh. Yep, goo.
10 [Report This]Date: January 01, 2008 07:39 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
this was awesome. its apparent you put a lot of time and energy and research into this story. I love it more and more with each chapter. AND THE BABY'S COMING! YESSS. haha can't wait for more!
10 [Report This]Date: December 31, 2007 10:00 am Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
Sweetpea, I feel like there are too many words, yet still too few, to describe how I feel after I read each update. This was...what do I want to say?...exquisite. So beautiful. You are amazing. Wishing you a happy new year. May your creative juices flow. Looking forward to the epilogue (yet not because it will be over).
Author's Response: Oh, Nan, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love this give and take after a story and it's always so wonderful to hear from you! I can't wait to write the ending and I really hope you enjoy it. Happy New Year to you, as well, and I hope we have many more occasions to meet here in the archive. XO
Date: December 31, 2007 08:41 am Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
This was amazing. the entire description of Allentown is so precious. It's the perfect trip for the two of them in this situation. The description of Jim standing in the window left me speechless and breathless and... just... amazing. I'm so glad it's back. and they're having a baby! how happy! you are an AMAZING writer and I can't wait for more.
Author's Response: I'm so glad you think it's the perfect trip, rulesofjinx! Not only did I have to make sure all the buildup paid off, but I had to do it in Buffalo, for heaven's sake! Now, because it's my hometown, I know about all it's charms, but it can be pretty tough to convince anyone else! I'm so pleased you enjoyed Jim in the window...that sounds a little dirty, but I loved creating that image. The writing of it was tough, but the imagining part was EASY!! Thank you so, so much for your kind words and I'm so looking forward to writing the ending. I hope you enjoy it!
Date: December 31, 2007 08:37 am Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
First of all, when I saw how long this chapter was, I grinned like an absolute idiot, because I knew the Allentown trip was going to be described in awesomely minute detail. Plus I would be able to savor it slowly, sentence by sentence. So now I've got this chapter open in two different tabs, so that I can reread it again as I review.
I love how Jim and Pam, who are such down-to-earth people, are all giddy at the prospect of staying at the Mansion. Bet they took pictures of everything, even the dish of pretty soaps in the bathroom. :) Unlike the Trumps.
The entire scene at The Anchor Bar was just amazing. Love the "special treatment" they got from Milllie, the bartender and all the folks at the bar. So cute with the two of them holding hands and being all googly-eyed at each other. Then I was like, "Hey, Halpert, easy there, buddy, you don't do too well with downing shots!" LOL
I loved all the familiar places they got to visit, along with the places that held so much meaning for Jim's mom and dad. The day couldn't have been any more perfect, and ending it with kisses and "I love you's" at the Falls was so romantic.
How cool was it that they got to chat with Andy Russell? Loved his encouraging words to Pam.
And, of course, not surprising at all that the thing that finally snaps her out of her artistic funk is something so simple and ordinary, and yet so emotionally magnificent, as her husband standing at the window clad in a towel. Thanks for the hussy visual, you! And the vision of him scrambling around clueless, looking for a writing implement, is hysterical. Her creativity is just bursting forth now, as evidenced on the car ride home. Bet Jim couldn't wait to call his parents when they got back to Scranton: "Mom, it worked!"
Sigh. And now to the end of the story. The plug comment made me laugh out loud. Can't wait to read about the little munchkin.
Author's Response:
Look at you! Man alive, this is good for my soul. Okay, The Anchor Bar is a really special place for me. It's loaded with atmosphere and the last time I was there, I was sitting in the dining room and Tony the cook came out with this huge bowl of fried dandelions for a table of compadres who'd picked them and brought them in. And if you get seated in the bar, you will surely get drawn into the conversation somehow...I can totally imagine this really happening and you're so right! It ain't Jagermeister, but grappa can kick a strong boy's ass, so it's a good thing Jim stopped at two! The lights at the Fall...I feel like I shorted that a little, but I'm going to post all the links with the epilogue. It really is breathtaking and so romantic. Kissing is just about mandatory!
I had a chance to chat with Andy Russell on my 1993 Allentown outing, and again, I can totally imagine this conversation really happening. He's a very cool guy.
Hey, my girls needed a little something here! There's nothing too racy in this story at all, so there you go! A little nod to Colette's vignette of Jim shaving in a towel and a little gift for the girls in the treehouse! I love that you think he called his mom when he got home! I'm sure he did, too, and I bet Steve and Mel couldn't be happier. I'm so glad you liked the little callback to grossness from the first chapter, and our little family is on their way.
God love you for doing this. I can't thank you enough for always being here and offering such great and thoughtful comments and encouragement. You've bolstered me through this probably more than you know. XOXO
10 [Report This]Date: December 31, 2007 08:29 am Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
You never disappoint Sweetpea, incredible as always. The imagery, the passion, it's all there.
I have to admit, every time I see a new chapter posted it feels like Christmas morning! :)
But please don't say you just have an epilogue left...I want to read all about their adventures with their child! You write this so well, please tell me you'll have more! :)
Really, fantastic job, and I love it.
And keep writing, you have a gift.
Author's Response: PBS, you're gonna make me blubber all over myself! You know, once I wrapped up chapter 9, I looked at the ending and I thought, "Great! Now look what you've done! Nine freaking chapters of buildup!! Way to go, doofus!" So, I sat here trembling at the keyboard for a few days, then I outlined this last chapter and the epilogue, and then it was Christmas weekend and I moved and I just didn't have time to spend with it. Yesterday was 'just do it' day, so I'm so pleased you liked it! I was really nervous about how LONG it was (TWSS), but that story had to be told and no way was I going to stretch it into two chapters! You saying I have a gift? What could be better than that? I can't believe it's taken me so long to get back to something I love so much, so there will be more stories, for sure. Thank you so very much for your sweet words!
Date: December 31, 2007 04:50 am Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
First, the tourist board in Buffalo should put you on the payroll, cause I'm ready to go. Who'd of thunk it?
Another sweet, heartfelt, fun chapter. I love the spirit of this - how joyful Jim is at seeing Pam experience it all. Kind of like he's integrating her into his family history, on the cusp of them starting their own.
Also love the scene of her observing him, by the window in his towel - not just cause that's a hell of an image, my dear (ahem), but it also connects to so much about Pam - as an artist; how much she loves him comes through; even her sexual attachment to him is subtly there. (Oh, and love that she has to remind him to put his pants on - ha!)
I was feeling like Einstein, Charles Atlas, and Valentino all rolled into one. Hee! Nice mix...just add Jim-hair, and you've got something there. Okay - let's see that baby, already!
Author's Response:
Okay, Colette, I had to skip ahead to respond to this. The towel - total, 100%, complete homage to you, written with you completely in mind. It's a bit of wish fulfillment (someone, for the love of God, put this on screen!) and a bit of reverie on a moment from my younger days in a big, old house on Delaware Aveneua and a young man, framed in the opening of French doors in the moonlight. Sigh. Ahem!
I imagined a couple different scenarios for how Pam would get her groove back. I didn't want it to be just POOF! You're an artist again! And this scene - God knows, the boy's form could bring me back from the dead, but I wanted it to be about more than that (!) for Pam. Thank you, thank you for saying all of that. Man, you always say the best stuff about the right stuff. And the Valentino line? THANK YOU. God, I love how guys, when things go right, want to take credit for making the sun rise that day! It's like Jim paved Grant Street and made that scene just for her.
Thank you so much. I can't wait to write the epilogue.
Date: December 30, 2007 09:50 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
Oh hoorah, hoorah for a New Year's Eve Eve update!! This was so great, Sweetpea, as all of the chapters before it, and I can't wait for the rest! --CH
Author's Response: Thanks, CH! I am off to an adult pajama party for New Year's Eve, but I'm hoping to spend a little time in Buffalo tomorrow, starting the new year out right. X
Date: December 30, 2007 08:32 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
You know, I'd never read this story. I was reading through the reviews, and I wondered if it could possibly be as good as everyone said it was. Yeah. It is that good. I found myself laughing one moment and crying in the next moment, just like it is when I watch the show during certain episodes. You captured perfectly the absolute unwavering, unselfish love that Jim has for Pam. I can only hope to be loved like that someday. Thank you for such a beautifully written work of art. You have the gift. :)
Author's Response:
Holy cow, I'm choked up! Annika, thank you so much for such a sweet review! Funny, sometimes I check out reviews, too, to see what other people think of a story before I read it - especially a long one like this. I can't even say how great this makes me feel. The whole process of writing this story has been a great experience for me and a very good exercise for atrophied writing muscles. When you're sitting alone in your apartment on a Sunday and the entire day goes by while you're struggling with dialogue or how to describe something or just whether to leave something in or take it out - well, you can lose your mind a little. So, it's just me and my story here for the longest time and then when it comes time to finally post it, I feel like I'm taking my clothes off in front of an audience and trust me, that would be fun for no one!
A long, long time ago, a teacher told me I had the gift. I guess I haven't heard that since, um, 1977? Yeah, 30 years. Thank you so, so much for this. I hope you enjoy the epilogue.
Date: December 30, 2007 08:15 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
I take a moment and just look at him through my eyelashes. He's wearing only a towel, wrapped low on his hips. One long arm, fully extended, rests on the window frame as he leans slightly forward. His hair's a tousled, wet mess, one leg is crossed over the other at the ankle. The sheer, white curtain is ruffling softly over his left shoulder. His right hand is wrapped around a coffee mug and as he bends a little to blow on his coffee, the light from the window highlights the curves and planes of his back, his spine, and my eye follows that line, starting at his neck where my lips have teased his soft skin, falling down between the slopes of his shoulders, then defying gravity to curve in at his waist, and finally pushing out at his hips and disappearing into the white terry cloth. Like the Falls vanishing into spray, delicate, like the curtain flowing over his shoulder, strong, like the iron scrolls on the railing of our terrace, pliable, like the bristles of a brush loaded with paint.
This entire section (and I know I quoted a lot) is unbelievable. I've probably read it about 3 or 4 times now, and I love it every single time. The picture you paint with your words is fantastic, and I can very vividly see Jim. Very well done.
I'm ashamed to admit that I think this is my first review for this story, and for that I apologize. But I'm loving it, and I really liked this last chapter. I can't wait to see how you wrap it all up. Great job!
Author's Response:
Good grief, Laur, reading this gave me goosebumps. To me, rereading is the best compliment, so WOW. Thank you. That whole passage...I fiddled with it almost endlessly and I could have written more (note to self: write a oneshot about Jim's back), and it's grammatically WRONG and I just didn't care. I wanted Pam to recognize the sublime in the ordinary again, and what better image than a nearly naked Jim? Yeah, none better!
No apologies necessary whatsoever. I'm so glad you've enjoyed this and I'm really looking forward to writing the epilogue. This was the hard one (yep, yep, TWSS) and now it's all sweetness and light on the ride down. Thank you so much for such an awesome review!!
10 [Report This]Date: December 30, 2007 07:58 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
i LOVE reading this story but i'm so sad that it's almost done :[
Author's Response: Sunday, I'll be a little sad to let this one go, too, because it's my first big story (read: long, windy, tries to have a plot) after getting my feet wet writing vignettes. I'm so glad you've enjoyed reading it - reading that makes me feel so good! Thank you!
Date: December 30, 2007 07:32 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
Holy Moses, this was hard
*cough* twss *cough*
haha, oh sweetpea, you rock at this little game! I love how Pam keeps shaping the line of Jim into the napkin til she remembers it and just how they followed his parents journey. So great. The ending is adorable too. Yay for them! Can't wait til they have their baby!! Ooh and I wanna see fun links of these placess!!! When you get a chance, I'd love to see them!! :) can't wait for the epilogue, sweetpea!!
Author's Response:
HA! You throw those grapefruits up, just waiting for someone to knock them out of the park! Thanks for stepping up to the plate, WBJ!!
What a great and enthusiastic review. It's so incredibly satisfying to read this after really being a bit afraid to write this chapter - afraid of disappointing readers who have stuck with this all the way. I wanted to make sure we all had a good payoff. I really loved Pam tracing on the napkin, too, so thank you for saying you liked it. Tomorrow is a holiday from work, so I think I'll be able to add links then and I'm so thrilled you want to see them!! Yeah, I'm excited for the epilogue, too, and I have a feeling that is what I'm going to be working on tomorrow! Thanks so much!!
Date: December 30, 2007 07:16 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
Oh, Sweetpea, this is fantastic. You certainly did ol' Buffalo proud. I especially loved the line: I'm watching the Buffalo skyline come into view and we're passing old abandoned factories and grain elevators and rail yards and I can't imagine what the hell we're going to do for three days. I used to pass those abandoned factories and grain elevators every day on my ride to school - it's freaking depressing, but in a comforting way...if that makes sense!
I also really loved how the same artist from all those years ago was at the festival and helped Pam capture some inspiration. And on another note, I loved the baby names you picked out for them. I know it's silly but when I read a babyfic and I don't like the baby name, it totally takes me out of it.
I will be sorry to see this one end!
Author's Response:
Do you know how often you popped into my head when I was writing this chapter? 'I hope sudzy thinks this is true to home.' Seriously. Depressing, yet comforting - yes, exactly. It really is pretty awful that that's what you see when you come into the city from that route, but for home girls like us...there is comfort there. And I'm so glad you liked the names!! I'm the same way about reading names I don't like! Truth be told, I have a hard time thinking of the Halperts having a baby girl who isn't LoveFool's Jilly, it's that iconic to me. Thank you so much for all your kind words and compliments and encouragement with this story. Who knows? Maybe we'll get to meet someday at the real Allentown! XO
10 [Report This]Date: December 30, 2007 06:06 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
This chapter was amazing! And I can't help but laugh. I live like a block away from Niagara Falls, and the fireworks started going off the second I finished this! Anywho, this chapter fanastic! Your description of Jim standing in front of the window was incredible. It inspired me and i'm not even an artist! hehe. I think your imagry was so good that you don't even need links. I could pisture it all so well! I also have to say that I'm a little sad that this story will be ending. I know, all good things must come to an end. This entire story has been brilliant, I am very excited to see how it ends, as well as read any new stories you may post in the future! -Spencer
Author's Response:
Are you kidding me, Spencer? (Tuna) You know, I originally had no intention of taking them to the Falls, but someone's review of a previous chapter (was that you? I think it might have been!) put that thought in my head, and why not send them there? The Falls lit up at night...so romantic! Thank you so much for mentioning the Jim at the window image. That nearly broke me. I certainly didn't want it to be just about Jim's fine form, although I think that might be enough for ME. :-) I wanted it to be about Pam seeing something beautiful and inspiring, about her getting her artistic eye (and groove) back. I'm so glad you liked that. And thank you for saying you didn't need links to picture this!! Wow. I was so far into my own head and I lost myself in that world a bit and I didn't want to be wandering there alone!!!! Thank you so much for such an awesome review!
10 [Report This]Date: December 30, 2007 05:51 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
This is just great!! You made everything come alive in this chapter. Your hard work really paid off handsomely!
Author's Response: Yay!!! So wonderful to read this, Vampiric Blood!! It felt great to tie all the strings together and there are a few more to go in the epilogue. I'm so glad you enjoyed this and thank you so much for your kind words! How I wish I could stay home from work today and start writing, but tomorrow's a holiday, so, YAY!!
Date: December 30, 2007 05:37 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
Thud. This chapter was so freaking good, I'm afraid my review won't do it justice. Hee, Jim already got hit by the thunderbolt. I'm so excited for Baby Halpert!!!
Author's Response:
lisahoo, with as much trouble as this chapter gave me, I can't tell you how good it is to read this! I loved Pam telling him to relax - he already had her - but Romantic!Jim will not be dissuaded! I'm really looking forward to writing the epilogue and I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for always being here and no matter what you have to say, it's always appreciated!!
Date: December 30, 2007 04:59 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
How wonderful. Seriously romantic. In all the great ways that romance can be romance, THIS was romantic. You managed to have our classic Jim and Pam - with witty banter sprinkled throughout, but also managed to mature them a bit, if that makes any sense. The world you created was so wonderfully fleshed out....them visiting the places his parents did, meeting who would have been Jim's dad...fabulous! They were in this new adventure, this brand new big place...but it still managed to feel incredibly intimate. I'm not sure how you accomplished that, but you did and it's genius. Really, really wonderful. You outdid yourself - brava!
Author's Response:
Oh, LoveFool. You know how big of a wreck I was over this chapter. I really felt like I'd written myself into a corner with all the buildup to this, but the bell was ringing and I couldn't sit in the corner forever. I'm so happy to read this from you, and I love that you think they've matured a little! They've just weathered a couple of big challenges as a married couple and they did okay! They did great!
This world...man, all the details, down to what time the Falls are lit on a Friday night in June (9:00) and what time the fireworks start (10:00) - I spent a lot of time on that stuff. And don't get me started on freaking mapquest! Who knew Binghamton, NY was the carousel capital of the world?! roadsideamerica.com did! The feel of the places and the people - all my best memories of my hometown. The people really are that friendly and the scene in The Anchor Bar - I totally believe that would happen. I remember my first trip down Grant Street - in Driver's Ed!!! Yikes!
Anyway, a review like this makes it so worthwhile and makes me so happy - especially coming from you. Thank you so much for this and for talking me off the ledge once or twice and for making me laugh. You're the best. XO
10 [Report This]Date: December 30, 2007 04:15 pm Title: Chapter 10 - From a Good Day into the Moonlight
You had me at "Herb Halpert and the Scrantonictiy Brass," I'll have you know...
Also, I'm less than halfway through this and I already want chicken wings. I'm blaming you. :P
Sweetpea, I was hoping you'd do something like this for this last chapter--switching back and forth between Jim and Pam as they narrate. It's so nice to hear the same story from two different people, and I like how you've managed to keep the story from getting repetitive. It's so true to each of them, after all: they'd both remember and focus on different things during the day. I think you did it perfectly.
And talk about your first class cliff hangers! Will it be a little Matthew, or a little Natalie? (My vote is for Natalie, because... well... that's Mrs. Mose's name, so I'm sorta drawn to that one. :P)
I'm so glad to see this updated, and I can't wait to see the epilogue!
Author's Response:
Hee! Mose, you're so awesome. As my mind was scrambling around for another foolish name, it lit on that and I just cracked myself up.
This is the first long story I've ever done and I've learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. In particular, what you mentioned about switching perspectives. I wish I'd done that earlier and it was a lot of fun to write that way, too.
Mrs. Mose is a Natalie? That's my godchild's name and I love it. I have no idea what the Halperts are going to have! We'll all be surprised, right along with them.
Thank you so, so much for all your encouragement and kind words. You really gave me a boost in the last leg of writing when I was feeling fatigued and mopey and I so appreciate it!
Date: December 28, 2007 08:08 pm Title: Chapter 1 - The Beesly Guide to Trimming Your Tree
okay, I'm going to sound like a total dork and agree with another reviewer-- I've seen this on here and just immediately assumed Allentown, PA. haha, but I am so glad I actually clicked and read it.
This is amazing. The last chapter was ridiculously great. Like this..
I jogged around to open the car door for her and she held her arms up for me to pull her out. I bent down so she could put her arms around my neck, and when I got her to her feet, I think she actually said, “Oof.”
I don't know, just something so simple yet poignant about this. It's weird the lines that jump out at me in this story (it always is lol) but there's such an easy grace with your writing. I love this story!
Author's Response: You know what? Not dorky at all! I really loved that little image you mentioned of her holding her arms up for him to help her, so thank you so much for mentioning that, katoepotatoe (cute name!). Thank you so much for the compliment! I wish somehow we could see a pic of each writer as they finish a story and get ready to post it. This right here? Is the antithesis of grace. Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
Date: December 20, 2007 10:22 pm Title: Chapter 9 - Show a Little Faith, There's Magic in the Night
There's just something about this story that I'm going to go ahead and try to articulate (probably unsuccessfully, but what the hey).
So I'll be reading along, and then wham, a line will just... hit me in the heart. Something that just lends this immediacy to the story and adds another layer to these characters. Like these two lines:
“I popped,” she said, and she sounded so pitiful, I put my arms around her and kissed her neck.
...her skipping around the yard saying ‘this is all ours!’
I think what I love about it (and this is true of the show too, and one of the reasons I think it's so good) is that we're not just told "Jim loves Pam" in some sort of generic flowery way, but we actually see it, and see why, in the little things she does that makes her unique and the one for him. And vice versa.
So, now I've rambled, but to make a long story short (too late), I love it. :)
Author's Response: This is just so...great. Especially coming from you, thirty! I so admire your style. You manage to get so much feeling across in so few words (even when some sadistic beta keeps clamoring for more!) and I feel like I run halfway across town to get to the same place!! I kind of loved the "skipping around the yard" line - I can just see Pam doing that! Thank you so much for this, I really appreciate it!
Date: December 20, 2007 08:15 pm Title: Chapter 9 - Show a Little Faith, There's Magic in the Night
Sweetpea you are supremely welcome. Beta = sneak peek! What could be better? I've already told you how much I enjoyed this chapter, BUT I have to say after going to your link for that mansion, I am even MORE excited for the next chapter! How amazingly romantic! And I continue to love the dynamic between Jim and his parents. What a beautiful story you've put together here.
Author's Response:
You know, there was just no sense in sitting here, fretting over every last thing. I was thrilled you gave me a hand up out of the hole I was in so I just can't thank you enough. I called a friend back home in Buffalo to ask about the mansion - it wasn't renovated before I left town, and I wanted to make sure it was as beautiful as it looked. She assured me it was amazing, so I feel good about sending them there. I'm still chuckling over how we were both a little turned on by how Jim knows what to pack in Pam's suitcase!!! Really, it's okay to be weird! Thank you, thank you.
Date: December 20, 2007 07:07 pm Title: Chapter 9 - Show a Little Faith, There's Magic in the Night
I absolutely love all the banter between them in this chapter. Perfectly spot on.
Love Pam, the pregnant eating machine. So funny, and totally relatable. "Eating for two" they say. Total BS. :)
The line about Pam telling Jim he doesn't always have to ride in on the white horse and save her totally made me think of "It's a date." I'm sure the boy can sometimes hover too much in his overwhelming desire to just keep her happy.
The bedroom scene with him thinking back over their relationship and worrying about all the changes to come, and then afterwards, when they realize that as long as they have each other, they can weather anything....that was some awesome writing. As usual.
One more thing...can I please mention that I love, love, love, LOVE it that Jim still calls her Beesly occasionally, even though she's officially Halpert now.
Can't wait for their Allentown adventure.
Author's Response: You know, EH, I'm always thrilled when someone says they love the banter because it's so much fun to write, but when you manage to always find the passage that gave me the most trouble, it makes me feel fantastic. And you always get it - you always get the full meaning of what's there. I love the Beesly thing, too! Even though she's a Halpert now, she still has Beesly-esque qualities and definite Beesly moments! So glad you're looking forward to Allentown - I really hope you're going to have fun! Thank you so much for all your encouragement with this story!
Date: December 20, 2007 06:55 pm Title: Chapter 8 - Just One Look at Her Face is Good Enough for Me
I wanted to mention how much I loved the parallels in this chapter between Steve and Mel's story and Jim and Pam's. Right down to the "he's so wrong for her" and the "I'm in love with you." As well as both women being artists and wearing rings on their left ring fingers upon the first meeting. Hurray for thunderbolts!
I also loved how Pam, despite her own funk, was able to encourage another budding artist and that it made Pam happy to do so. Reminded me of Michael's encouragement to her at the art show and how it helped Pam at a very low period in her growth toward FNB.
Author's Response:
EH, it's so gratifying to read this...man, you always know just what to say. Your comments never fail to point to the heart of what I'm trying to convey, and I appreciate that so much. The thunderbolt...from one of my favorite movie scenes ever! When Michael Corleone sees Appolonia for the first time in The Godfather. It's a ridiculously romantic notion that I can't get enough of. I love that you drew the parallel between Pam's moment and Michael's - something I hadn't even thought of, but is totally the same kind of feeling.
What an awesome review and thank you so much for all your kind words!