“There were the rare instances where the ghost of an inner tiger would claw her way out to growl for her own desires, but even after the loudest roar, her stripes could still not change.”

This is a great sentence and really captures that struggle of someone not in a healthy and balanced relationship.

Oh, Pam. You just want to gently push her to get her to connect the dots! You are doing a great job of conveying that mental back and forth and making it extremely frustrating for the reader (which is definitely a good thing)

“The warehouse, he said was like an amusement park, especially without Darryl there to tell him what he could and couldn’t touch. Pam had to wonder what kind of messes her fianc? and the rest of the crew were finding when they got in each morning and how long it would take before they reported the curious break-ins where nothing was stolen but things were strangely out of place or, knowing Michael, potentially broken.”

This made me laugh. I can only imagine. Lol.

“And so back into the vault they went.” Uuuuugh Pam!

Author's Response:

Uuuugh Pam is right. Pam is so not in a healthy relationship. And I hope it is coming across that she slowly is seeing it but still fighting it internally because not only would that would mean having to change, but also risking everything she "invested" in for so long.

I really appreciate the reviews. ALways loving hearing from you so thanks. 

Goddammit, Pam.

I really liked what you did with the earrings, making them a sort of metaphor for her relationship with Roy, losing one then finding it again, because it's true... leading right up to the wedding was probably when she was pretty happy with him for the most part. Worst timing possible for Jim.

*But now, what she'd tasted again over the last few days was not sitting right in her system. Even just the little nibble of doing things she loved was an overindulgence she couldn't digest properly after years of being starved.*

Ooh, this is lovely.

*When seven days earlier, what she heard made her weak and dizzy and unable to focus, after she regained her equilibrium, she found herself flattered, validated, and for the fraction of the second she allowed herself to feel so, happier than she’d been in a while, perhaps even more than both times she lived through Roy choosing a date for her to be married.*

This is spot on what she felt, and then hearing him say he was over it probably just crushed her, ugh

*"Michael, this trip was more than enough travel for us this year. And I'm already using all my vacation days with going away next week and then my wedding and honeymoon."*

Okay this has always bugged me because Pam says she used up all her vacation days in January (but never specified she was saving any for the honeymoon!) I guess we are to assume she was including those? I like how you addressed it here, though.

Great chapter, even though we all want to shake Pam.

Author's Response:

Right - wake up damnit.

But I'm glad you agree - And I feel like Pam is a big sign person - and she would read much more into finding it than there was - and not see the forest for the trees there too.

You and I think alike in so many ways - yeah the vacation day thing was kinda like 'huh' to me too? But figure this was a quick trip and the honeymoon would have had to have been short...more to come with that (and I almost gave away a future plot point so I'm going to close out this thank you before I say too much). 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO(deep breath)OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Come ON, Pam!

On the other hand, I 100% buy this of her as a character. She's uncomfortable with change, so naturally she's looking for signs that things should stay the same, and interpreting what happens to her accordingly - even when she could easily interpret the same set of facts as demanding the need for change. And her recognition that some of the issue is her not standing up for herself and letting him make the decisions still feels like progress if you really want to see progress. It feels like you're making a case for the necessity of Pam's growth in Season 3 to allow them to move forward, that it has to more than just her running to Jim, that it has to be also her learning to trust herself. The line about how she couldn't or wouldn't leave Roy feels very telling.

"Even just the little nibble of doing things she loved was an overindulgence she couldn't digest properly after years of being starved." Good line, but also, oh, Pam...

Feels sad that we're losing out on some of these moments in canon... certainly the ice skating's going to be a different feel for Pam now after this moment. But then who knows how things will be by Michael's birthday?

How did I know there was going to be a real Sandals Grenada?

"Between the kitchen, the ladies’ room that became his temporary bedroom, the warehouse playground and the means to wash up, he had all the luxuries of home, but with none of the rules set upon him when he was a guest in someone else’s place." PLEASE tell me we're going to get to see the aftermath of one of Michael's nights at the office at some point.

Also, I'd like to see the Jim-as-proto-Elvis/Michael as the Colonel AU now. And also a Michael staying with Pam AU, which feels like a full story on its own.

Author's Response:

Yeah, that was my reaction too as I wrote it, but that's what I saw as her response to finding that, plus it was good for the story.

Hmm growth, are you on to something?

Because it's me  - plus I wanted to be bombarded with ads for Sandals all over my social media. 

Well let's just say we can't leave this story without some scenes at Dunder Mifflin.

Yeah, those could be fun...but I was picturing the pompadour like hairstyle Jim sports in later seasons when he finally discovers a comb. Could that be what Pam was drawing? when he starts using a bit of product and gets that lift to the front. 

But an Elvis-inspired rejected cold open - I'd like to see that! 

As always thank you for the animated and in depth review.