Checking her watch again, Pam let out a dissatisfied "hmph" - it was very clear that Roy would not be joining her for their pre-Christmas dinner date. She wasn't surprised, even though it had been his suggestion. Pam knew it was just his way to pacify her, as she'd been annoyed that he didn't want to bother finding a way to spend Christmas together... again - despite his promise last year (and the year before that, and the year before...) that "we'll be together next year babe". Pam had actually been impressed that he'd booked a table at a nice restaurant for them.

An hour and a glass of wine down, Pam finally admitted defeat and asked her waiter for the check. Once paid, she put her puffy beige winter coat back on and grabbed her black clutch bag. Another missed dinner out to add to her mental list. Heading to the exit with her head down to avoid the pity stares from the waiters, she startled as she bumped into someone at the hostess stand. 

"Sorry, sorry," she mumbled, before looking up to avoid another collision. Her eyes went wide. "Jim!"

"Oh! Hey," Jim chuckled. "Sorry, there's... we're kinda blocking the way, sorry."

"No, it's okay, it's-" Pam looked around and took in the people around Jim. Definitely the Halpert clan; she could see the similarities between everyone even though she'd never met them. It was the crazy hustle-and-bustle of a family gathering she had always imagined but never experienced. She let out a laugh. "Wow, there's a lot of you." 

"Yeah," Jim grimaced, "chaos when we're all together. You heading out?"

"Yeah, I-" Pam paused and cleared her throat, blushing slightly. Being stood up as an engaged woman wasn't a particularly fun thing to admit. "Uh, was just grabbing a drink."

Jim quickly looked Pam up and down, taking in the touch of make-up and the way she was ever so slightly more dressed up than usual. He knew the expression on her face well; Roy had disappointed her enough times for him to know what that face meant. 

"Oh, well if you haven't eaten, you're free to join us. I'm sure an extra chair at the table won't hurt," Jim offered with a shrug. 

Looking over at Jim's family chatting at the hostess station, Pam bit her lip. "I mean, I don't want to impose on a family gathering-"

"No, no, not at all!" Jim shook his head, quickly taking a few hop-steps back to his family. "Hey, uh, this is my friend Pam and she hasn't eaten yet - anyone mind if she joins us?"

"Oh goodness, of course! I'm Betsy," the eldest woman stepped forward, holding her hand out to Pam. "Jim's mom."

"Nice to meet you, Betsy," Pam shook her hand. It felt a little surreal to be standing here with Jim's mom, and Pam was suddenly grateful that she was using her right hand to shake hands.

Letting go, Betsy smiled and gestured around her at the group members respectively as she spoke. "This is my husband, Gerald; Larisa, our daughter; those two fooling around like children are Tom and Pete." 

Pam waved at each in turn and gave Gerald a handshake, a little overwhelmed. "It's nice to meet you all," she said, then turned a little to Betsy. "Thank you so much for letting me join you."

"Please, don't worry about it," Betsy waved her comment off as the hostess approached them. Betsy quickly stepped over to the hostess as they began the walk to their table. "Could we add an extra seat at all? We can squish in if needed." 

"Oh, sure, you have a booth so I will just add a seat to the end of the table."

"Welcome to the madness, Beesly," Jim said with a slight grin, stepping next to Pam as they followed Betsy and the hostess. They could hear Gerald telling Tom and Pete to behave themselves behind them. 

As Pam laughed at his comment, she quickly glanced around her to check nobody was watching her. Subtly, she slipped off her engagement ring into her coat pocket. She had no idea if Jim had told his family about her or if they knew she was engaged; if they did and Jim or his family asked, she figured she could say her ring must have come off in her glove, oops. If they didn't... then she was just Pam. Not the Pam who had just been stood up by her fiancé and would most likely be waking up on Christmas Eve alone, with a festive text not from her fiancé but the man beside her.

By the time she got home, Pam had forgotten about her pocketed engagement ring until the following afternoon when she reached for her gloves, but only discovered years later that Larisa had seen her take the ring off in the first place. 

"So, Pam, you work with Jim?" Betsy asked, putting down her menu, having easily decided on her meal.  

"Yes, I am the receptionist," Pam nodded with a self-depreciating smile. She often qualified her statement with ‘my fiancé works in the warehouse' to try and fulfil her need to justify her job, but she had no plans to mention him tonight if she could avoid it. Instead, she carried on with, "I just answer the phones and... take messages, so... not quite as exciting as sales." 

"Oh, come on," Jim, sitting opposite Pam, waved a hand in her direction, "she basically keeps the office going - keeps our boss in check, there's always candy, everyone gets their messages and makes their sales."  

"Because sales is such a wild job," Tom snorted, gleefully giving Pete next to him a high five. 

Larisa rolled her eyes at her brothers over the top of her menu. "I don't think that really needed a high five, losers."

"Kids, behave!" Betsy scolded.

"You're aware we're all adults, right?" Larisa put her hands up in exasperation. 

"Oh, my mom still calls me and my sister ‘kids' too," Pam laughed.

"And you're just about an adult, Larisa," Betsy reminded her daughter. "You're all kids forever to me." 

Jim threw Pam an amused look as he returned to his menu. There was some brief small talk across the table about what everyone was ordering, who was sharing starters, were they getting desserts too? Pam decided to share a pair of starters with Larisa so they could go halves, both of them pulling a face at Jim's choice and rolling their eyes. 

Pam was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to converse with the Halpert family; she had thought it might be a little awkward since she didn't know any of them, but it felt familiar. By the time they were halfway through their starters and Larisa had finished telling Jim and Pam a story of a recent terrible date, Pam got the question she had been deeply hoping to avoid.

"So, are you seeing anyone Pam?"

"Oh! I, umm-" Pam spotted Larisa looking towards her ring finger and brought her hands to her lap for a moment, while Jim dropped the olive he was stealing from Betsy's plate. "It's..."

"A secret?"

"What? No! I'm-"

"You know, Jim is single, and I don't understand why," Betty joined the conversation, swatting Jim's hand away from her plate. Although it wasn't Pam's preferred subject, at least the topic was shifting slightly from her. She was curious why Betsy thought Jim was single, given he was dating Katy, but Pam realized she was hardly one to judge.

"Thanks, Mom," Jim said with raised brows. 

"I'm just saying, if you're both single, that's always an option," Betsy shrugged. 

Pam felt a sudden need to glug her water while Jim rolled his eyes over a mouthful of bread, ears red. She had initially planned on telling the truth about being engaged if she was asked directly, but when it came to it she found she had no desire to tell the truth - and she certainly hadn't been prepared for Betsy's comment. Thankfully for both, Larisa chimed in with, "you know, I don't really get how I'm single, and Jim is weird but generally alright and single, and yet Loser One has a girlfriend and Loser Two is engaged."

"Hey!" Pete scowled, catching on to the conversation when his sister gestured over to him and Tom with her fork. "What the hell?"

"No offence to the girls! I just think they could do better," Larisa shrugged.  

"Oh, because you're always bringing home like, lawyers and surgeons," Tom scoffed, "with massive-"

"The end of that sentence better be ‘savings accounts', Thomas," Betsy pointed her butter knife toward her son before returning to her bread roll.  

Larisa turned to face Pam, one brow raised with an amused smirk on her face. Pam giggled around her mouthful of food; not just at the joke, but at how endearingly similar her expression was to Jim's. She could practically read Larisa's mind with that expression. To Pam's amusement, when she glanced up at Jim he mouthed "that's what she said" and successfully stole an olive from Betsy's plate. With a grin, Pam shook her head.  

"Are all your family dinners like this?" Pam asked, setting down her fork on her now-empty starter plate. 

"Pretty much," Larisa answered beside her, while Jim said "kinda," with a shrug. 

"You have any siblings?" Larisa asked. 

"I have a sister - Penny - so our dinners are a little chatty, but I guess... quieter."

"Ooh, Penny and Pam, that's cute!"

"Oh, please," Pam rolled her eyes. "Penelope and Pamela? We sound like old ladies." 

"No, it's cute!" Larisa assured her. "You know, I used to be jealous because Jim, Tom and Pete all go by those names rather than James, Thomas and Peter, and I'm just Larisa." 

They fell back into easy conversation, each sibling eager to tell a story at the expense of another. Betsy and Gerald would pipe in for clarification or to add an end to a story, often explaining how they consoled each of their children whenever they were the subject of a prank pulled by the others. Pam was not all that surprised that Betsy had been the one to teach them many of the pranks, but Gerald was usually the one in on the smaller pranks. It was completely new to Pam - she couldn't imagine her parents playing pranks on each other, and she and Penny had always been told off whenever they played pranks on each other as kids - so she was enthralled by all the stories. 

Somewhere around dessert, the subject moved on to Tom's proposal, in which he tricked his then-girlfriend into thinking he'd forgotten about their date, knowing she'd walk past the spot they'd had their first kiss on her way back to her car. It was surprisingly romantic, though Pam thought it took things a bit too far and knew she would hate thinking she'd been stood up. It was a little too... familiar. 

"I was definitely impressed you had that in you, Tom," Larisa said. "Me and Jim had to set up that little park fountain area so quickly, because we thought we might get told off or something." 

"That's so sweet that he asked for you guys' help to set it up," Pam smiled. 

"Honestly, ‘sweet' doesn't suit Tom," Larisa pulled a face of disgust. 

"Larisa was making wretching sounds pretty much the whole time we were setting up," Jim laughed, "but she had tears in her eyes when she saw him in his suit."

"Shut up, I did not!" Larisa gasped.

"You did, you totally did!" Tom grinned. "Lame-o!"

"Says the guy who asked me to tie his tie," Pete snorted.

"He had to borrow that tie from me," Gerald shook his head. 

"Remind me, who bought you that tie?" Betsy raised a brow.  

For a moment, Pam zoned out as she tried to remember if Roy knew how to tie his own tie. Nothing came to mind, so she focused back in on the conversation, which had moved along slightly. 

"I'd want something big, for sure," Larisa was saying, "like... everyone claps and cheers when I say yes, we get free champagne, there's a photographer, I want the whole nine yards."

"Well, you need to find yourself a boyfriend first, Larisa," Betsy pointed out.

"One who can afford an engagement ring," Gerald added. "With his own money."

"Ugh, it was one time that one guy jokingly asked you for money," Larisa rolled her eyes, before pointing her dessert spoon at Pam. "What about you? Dream proposal?" 

"Uh," Pam looked around the table before her eyes landed on Jim. He looked curious but apologetic, and she knew he was wondering if she was going to tell the story of Roy's proposal. Apologetic for his nosy family - though she didn't blame them, she loved a good proposal dream as much as the next person - but curious. At work, she would have told the real story, because most people knew about it. But here? She was Pam without an engagement ring (which she felt certain Jim hadn't noticed yet) who could share her dream proposal without the weight of disappointment she usually felt. Not that Roy's proposal was anywhere near any kind of dream proposal anyone could think up, so she technically wasn't lying. She kept her eyes on Jim's as she spoke, unable to look away. "I'd want it to be a surprise. I think... I'd want to know I'm ready for a proposal, but not know when it's coming. I don't care where, just something that... I don't know, leaves me speechless and sweeps me off my feet."

"Oh, that is so cute," Larisa nodded approvingly. "Simple but cute." 

"Yeah," Pam looked away from Jim and down at the slice of apple pie on her plate. She could practically feel the ‘what was that about?' floating from Jim's mind to hers. Why the story - why tell it as if she wasn't engaged? She felt Larisa hesitate and stare at her for a moment as Betsy started speaking, but she stayed focused on arranging her slice of almost-finished pie onto her fork.

"You know, Gerald's mother, bless her, kind of gave Gerald's proposal away," Betsy was saying as Pam, Jim and Larisa quietly worked at their desserts.

"Mom, we've heard this like a hundred times," Pete pointed out. 

"Well Pam hasn't!"  

Hearing her name, Pam looked up with a small smile. "I'd love to hear it."

"She kept asking me if I had something nice to wear for this date Gerald had planned - ‘what are you wearing on Thursday, dear?' she kept saying - on and on. Offered me this gorgeous necklace and kept giving me these looks. Trying to subtly ask me if I think I'm ready to ‘settle down in life' and what my ‘future plans' are," Betsy chuckled to herself then raised her glass towards Gerald. "But it was okay. It just made me even more excited for that wonderful, wonderful Thursday." 

"Oh, that's so sweet," Pam smiled as Betsy and Gerald clinked glasses across the table. 

As the conversation moved along, Pam wondered what it would be like to have a proposal story she actually wanted to share. She was interrupted from the thought when Jim brought her into a story from work (a prank they had played on Dwight in which they'd switched the places of everything on his desk) and decided to leave the thought behind. It was much more fun being Pam - just Pam. Not Pam, of Pam & Roy. Just... Pam, "who literally became an IT genius making sure everything was connected right at 7am!" 

With dinner coming to an end, including a trip to the bathroom with Larisa who was very interested in Pam's Christmas plans (to which she simply stated she'd be visiting her family), Pam found herself oddly grateful that she'd been stood up that evening. Right place, right time - one door closes, another opens kind of thing, she figured. She made her rounds saying goodbye to the Halpert family, then to her surprise Jim offered to drive her home when she said she'd be calling for a cab. She had taken a cab there since Roy had said he'd bring the truck. 

Larisa eyed Pam suspiciously before grinning widely. "That's fine, I can just go with Mom and Dad. That okay?" She turned to her parents. 

"Of course! Gosh, the cabs are so expensive around the Christmas season, we'll take Larisa; Jim you take Pam," Betsy waved her hand in the direction of the young trio. 

"Oh, thank you," Pam smiled. She wasn't going to fight off additional time with Jim to end a lovely evening.

"Do you want us to take your bags with us?" Gerald offered Jim. 

"That's okay, I'll just need a hand bringing them in when I get to yours," Jim said. 

"Pff, weak," Tom muttered under his breath to Pete. 

"That's fine, I can still return your gift," Jim shrugged with a smirk. 

"Kids, come on," Betsy rolled her eyes before giving Jim a quick hug. "I'll see you later then. Pam, it was lovely to meet you," Betsy gave Pam a final hug.

Just like that, Pam found herself following Jim to his car, filled with the joy and warmth that comes from an evening with good company. They enjoyed singing along to a few Christmas songs on the radio and admiring the Christmas lights people had put up outside their houses in between Jim trying to redeem himself from the childhood stories his family had shared that evening. Pam felt like she had developed a permanent smile by the time Jim turned into her road. 

"You know, this has all really put me in such a... happy, festive mood," Pam said as Jim pulled into the empty driveway in front of her house, which if she was being honest she was relieved to see.

"I'm glad to hear it," Jim grinned, cutting the engine. "I guess we were just in the right place at the right time."

Glancing over at Jim, Pam smiled at his statement. "Yeah. Thank you for inviting me to join you all. It was really lovely - your family are so much fun." 

"Yeah," Jim pulled an amused face, "'they're something. Sorry they're so... nosy. And crazy."

"Really, it was just what I needed," Pam assured him, "so... thank you, again."

"Any time, Beesly," Jim smiled. 

"And, umm, I don't know how to explain this," Pam chuckled nervously, "so... yeah, I guess just - I really appreciate that you just let me be... me. I loved chatting with your sister. And that, uh, proposal story, I-" 

"Oh, you don't have to explain-"

"No, I..." Pam sighed. "My story isn't really much of a story. I know it makes me sound kinda ungrateful, believe me I've been told plenty of times, but... I don't know. She asked for my dream proposal and... I never get to tell it."

Jim smiled sadly at Pam. "Hey. Not everything happens the way we wish it would. Doesn't mean we can't still have a dream version of things." 

"Yeah," Pam nodded distantly. She thought of how being a receptionist wasn't her dream, this terrace-less house wasn't her dream, this never-ending engagement wasn't her dream, but decided to pocket those thoughts for another time. "Thanks for just... letting me have that story."

For a moment, Jim wondered how he hadn't known before today that that was Pam's dream proposal, before realizing that the Roy-wedding umbrella wasn't a topic they generally shared their thoughts on to each other. He was pleased Pam had felt comfortable enough to share it though. Jim hadn't been sure he'd get an explanation after hearing it at the restaurant. For once, he wasn't sure what to say. Instead, Jim peered out toward the house, and Pam knew he was double checking for the truck and lights inside. "Walk you up?"

"Sure." 

By the time Pam had taken her house keys out in the light of Jim's car, he had come round to open the door for her. They walked in a comfortable quiet up to her front door. 

"Thanks for driving me home," Pam fiddled with her keys. 

"Oh, no problem," Jim shrugged. 

"Is it far out from your parents?" 

"Umm, not too much, it's okay," Jim smiled. He wasn't too fussed with Pam living in the opposite direction to his parents. 

As Pam looked up at Jim, she felt the beginnings of a rumble of word vomit to try explaining how much it had meant to her to simply be Pam for the evening. To ask him if he'd noticed she'd taken off her ring - and if he hadn't, why not? To thank him for not mentioning Roy or the real proposal in front of everyone. She really hoped he knew how much it had meant to her to have an evening where she was so welcomed and so involved; that he had so smoothly turned her mood and entire day around without a second of hesitation. 

In that moment, Pam remembered Larisa's answer when she'd asked her what her plans were for the holidays. "I'm going to make some good bad decisions and eat a lot of food. Highly recommend it!"

With that in mind, and having already eaten a lot of food, Pam leaned up and kissed Jim. God she had been dying to do that for longer than she'd care to admit and it felt incredible - just a soft, tender kiss that was a step up from her quick, drunken Dundies smooch. She just needed to indulge, for once, in this particular dream. Not just of kissing Jim - but of giving him some sort of a sign. 

Jim didn't respond at first, and Pam almost smiled at the surprise she knew he was feeling, before he did begin to hesitantly, gently kiss her back. Pam thought she could melt right there, and the little sigh that escaped her brought her back to reality. 

"Goodnight, Jim" Pam said quietly, biting her lip as she turned around to unlock her door. 

"Night, Pam," Jim responded, more than a little stunned. 

Pam looked back at Jim quickly before closing her door, heart racing. She dropped her keys to the floor and sat down with her back against the door, grinning widely, arms wrapped around her knees pulled tight against her chest. Was it wrong to kiss the guy you had a crush on when you were engaged? Absolutely. But, just like being free of her engagement ring, it felt incredibly right.  

* 

"Morning," Jim yawned in Larisa's direction as he shuffled toward the coffee machine in his parent's kitchen the following morning. He smiled slightly at the familiarity of his sister cradling her coffee with her Christmas nails sparkling away, dark hair in a messy bun and wrapped in the fluffy pink robe she kept at their parents.  

Larisa had fallen asleep before Jim had reached his parent's house the previous evening, so her question was on the tip of her tongue the second he walked in, bypassing any form of greeting. "Pam is the girl from work you told me about, right?" 

"What?"

"The engaged one?" 

"Oh. Yeah," Jim shrugged as he selected a mug from the cupboard above the coffee machine - a faded blue and white gingham pattern.  

Smiling into her coffee, Larisa pocketed that information for future use. Something told her this would make a good story one day. "She's nice." 

Watching the coffee pour into the mug, Jim said, "she kissed me last night, you know."

"She what?" Larisa clambered off her chair, tripping over her worn once-fluffy purple slippers as she rushed to interrogate her brother and give him a flick to the forehead. "Argh! You little shit! Pam kisses you and you wait this long to tell me?" 

"Ow, ow!" Jim winced, shrugging his sister off in annoyance.

"Oh, shut it," Larisa rolled her eyes and hoisted herself up to sit on the counter beside the coffee machine. "Tell me absolutely everything."

"I dunno, there's not much to tell. I just walked her to her door and out of nowhere she kissed me." 

For a few seconds, Larisa battled with herself whether to tell Jim that she'd seen Pam remove her engagement ring before they sat down at the table, or if it was still worth keeping it to herself. As Jim took his first sip of coffee, Larisa asked "so what are you gonna do about it?" to help make the decision.

"Me? I dunno. Nothing. I'm not the engaged one, am I?" 

"Okay, but she made her move."

Jim pulled a face at Larisa over his mug. "It's not chess."

"Don't give me that face."

"Look, it was just a... spur of the moment kinda thing. I don't think she meant anything with it." Jim wondered if he should tell Larisa that Pam had kissed him before at the Dundies but decided against it. He didn't need to give his sister more fuel for the topic, even if it did prove his point.

"Your stupidity physically hurts me," Larisa grumbled, sliding back off the counter. "She essentially cheated on her fiancé by doing that and you're just going to ignore that? Like sure, he's an absolute turd, but that's what she did. Like, I've only known her a few hours but I don't think Pam would do that if it didn't mean anything." 

"Okay, well I hadn't thought of it like that," Jim admitted. It suddenly dawned on him that he'd effectively also cheated on Katy - were they even that serious for that to matter? Still not serious enough to tell his family about her, he knew that much at least. "But I still don't think it's that big a deal." 

"My God!" Larisa held her hands in fists on either side of her head in annoyance. "Jim, I don't know how it is that you have a girl in your life who thinks it is worth cheating on her - okay, admittedly dumbass - fiancé for you, but you do. Do something about it."

"Pam?"  

"Yes? Oh - my gosh, Larisa, hi!" Pam grinned as she turned around and found herself face to face with Larisa Halpert, precisely a year after first meeting her. "How are you?"

"I'm good, though dreading spending a week with Tom, Pete, and their crappy jokes," Larisa rolled her eyes. "How are things with you?" 

"Well, you know, I'm okay," Pam shrugged.

"Sure?" Larisa gestured to the wine bottles and bags of chocolate Pam was clutching in her arms, her car keys dangling from her pinky finger with a receipt scrunched between her fingers. "Gas station wine and chocolate seem more like what I need to survive the week with those two." 

"Oh, I, umm, broke up with my... boyfriend this year," Pam grimaced, catching herself just in time as she remembered that she'd removed her ring when she'd met the Halpert family, "so I'm just making sure I'm equipped to handle all the questions and disappointment that will be flying my way this holiday season."

"Huh. Well, since I am still single and I'm using Jim's credit card for gas," Larisa turned to the ‘Christmas Essentials' shelf to her left and grabbed a bottle of Merlot, "seems only fair. Sorry to hear about your... boyfriend."

"Oh, it was... you know, it just wasn't meant to be. Are you here with Jim?"

"He went to the bathroom," Larisa nodded her head in the direction of the exit, where a path led to the side of the gas station which housed the bathrooms. "He thinks he's so... what did he say? Oh, so evolved for drinking water now, like he discovered it, but he just has to go to the bathroom more." 

Pam had to refrain from rolling her eyes at the word ‘evolved'. "Yeah. I guess you guys are on your way back to your parents from your dinner out?" 

"Yup, though it was a bit busier with Tom's fiancé and Pete's pregnant wife there. To be honest, you were way more fun," Larisa admitted. 

"Aw, thanks," Pam grinned. "It was definitely a lot of fun, I really enjoyed myself. Though that's exciting for Pete - wow!"

"I know right, someone wants to make a baby with that, wow" Larisa stuck her tongue out and made a retching noise. "They already have kids; they had Vanessa a few years before getting engaged. But hey, I get a nephew, so that's fun for me." 

"Yeah, definitely - exciting for you all," Pam smiled. She was excited for the expanding Halpert family, though part of her was sad that she no longer had a friendship with Jim where he would have already told her this news. Instead she was hearing it from his sister in a gas station just outside of Scranton. "I should let you get going. Have a good Christmas, Larisa - say hi to your family from me." 

"I will - have a nice Christmas, Pam - enjoy your chocolates." 

"Oh, I will."

As Pam moved toward the exit, Larisa stared after her, thinking of how different their meeting was this year. All the gaps that weren't filled - in Pam's story, in Jim's story. Larisa truly didn't believe that Jim's girlfriend simply ‘couldn't make it' at any point in the holidays. Nor did she believe that Pam was bingeing on gas station chocolates over her ‘break up' with her ‘boyfriend'. Curiosity - and her inability to stay out of anybody's business - got the better of Larisa and she called out "Pam!" and did a quick jog to catch up with her before she reached the door.  

"Did I drop something?" 

"No, umm, I just..." Larisa sighed. It suddenly felt like the completely wrong moment to confront this woman who, truthfully, she only somewhat knew - even if she had felt a sisterly connection to Pam when they met last year. But maybe they could get to know each other better - not just because Larisa wanted to know more, but she genuinely liked Pam. "Do you want to stop by maybe? I guess maybe not tonight if you're expected at your parents house, but - sometime in the week?"

"Oh! Umm, thank you, that's really nice of you, I just..." Pam looked around and bit her lip. Arms full of cheap wine and chocolate, and memories of how much she'd enjoyed spending time with Larisa last year, gave Pam to motivation to share a little bit of her truth. Not unlike her brother, Larisa had a quality that made it easy for Pam to trust her. "Honestly, I don‘t think I'm in the right place for that. Just... you know - Jim... and Karen... not enough comfort food in the world for that. I mean, I don't know if Jim told you anything? But... yeah. Sorry." 

Larisa gave Pam a comforting smile. "No, I totally get that. I mean, he didn't tell me everything, but... enough. I'm sorry. But just - if it helps at all? Jim didn't invite his girlfriend for any of our Christmas stuff."

"Oh?" That was news to Pam. "No Karen?"

Larisa snorted. "Didn't even know her name was Karen until you mentioned her just now. Just that he was seeing someone."

"Oh."

"I asked what her name is, and he mumbled that it's just some girl from work and that I should mind my own business," Larisa shrugged and rolled her eyes, "which wasn't very nice of him."

"That's kind of surprising. They've been dating a while."

"Well... make of that what you will."

Pam nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. "That did help a little, thank you, Larisa." 

"Any time. And if you bump into someone called John Benson while visiting your parents? Let me know if he's seeing anyone."

"Who is John Benson?" Pam raised a brow. "And how do you know where my parents live?"  

"Jim told me, obviously. And he's my ex. I'd like to know many good bad decisions to make this year." 

"Well, I'll keep an ear out, but make a few on my behalf," Pam shrugged slightly to indicate the goods in her arms. "On that note, I really will get going." 

"Oh, yeah, shit, Jim is waiting for me in the car. Or he's still in the bathroom regretting eating those chilli peppers my mom dared him to eat for stealing her garlic bread." 

"Honestly, kinda hope it's the second."

"Me too," Larisa grinned. 

They said their goodbyes, and Larisa went to pay for her items and the gas. She grabbed a copy of Us Weekly magazine and a brown A4 postage envelope before paying and shoved her items quickly into her handbag before heading back out to Jim's car.

"That took you forever," Jim said, starting the car up. 

"Sorry, I ran into... a friend," Larisa smiled.

"Why the pause? Was it an old boyfriend?"

"Not at all. Quite the opposite." 

"What's the opposite of... hmm, Larisa's ex-boyfriend?" Jim asked as he pulled out of the gas station.

"You tell me. Can I make a kinda weird but interesting bet with you?"

"Depends."

"I got a copy of Us Weekly," Larisa pulled the magazine, envelope and pen out of her handbag, and placed it on her lap. "I'm going to place a fifty dollar bet on something, but I can't tell you what it is, and the time span is up to five years. I want you to bet against me."

"Fifty dollars?" Jim paused to contemplate. If he lost, it was fifty dollars - but he probably wouldn't be too fussed in five years time. If he won, he got a hundred dollars which he'd probably quite enjoy in five years time. "Okay, fine."

"Perfect. So, I'm gonna write my bet on this magazine so we know it was placed this week - in fact, I'll write down that the bet was placed on December 23rd, because that's actually important. I'm gonna put it in the envelope with each of our fifty dollars inside. Every Christmas for the next five years I'll let you know who is closest to winning."

"Fine. I'm kinda intrigued by this," Jim admitted, feeling for his wallet in the center console of his car with one hand as he drove. He felt Larisa shove his hand away and take the wallet. "Don't take more than fifty, I know how much is in there."

Larisa grinned to herself as she pulled out a few bills and counted fifty from Jim's wallet, then fifty from her own, and popped the money into the envelope. She held the cover of the magazine open to block what she was writing inside from Jim's view in case they reached a red light and he took a peek at what she was writing. 

Jim + Pam to be (at least) engaged by 23 December 2011.

* 

Lying in bed the following morning in her red Merry Woofmas! sausage dog patterned pajamas, Pam thought back to the previous Christmas Eve. She had woken up with the same joy she had gone to sleep with, and had later received a message from Jim wishing her a ‘Happy Christmas Eve, Beesly!' and how much he and his family had loved having her join them for dinner. Nothing about the kiss, but she didn't blame him. She just loved that he remembered her saying that she liked Christmas Eve because it was always a cosy day the first year they'd met, and him texting her every morning on Christmas Eve since then. 

While she'd had a lovely Christmas that year, Pam regretted that she'd assumed just kissing Jim was... enough. She had hoped maybe they'd talk when they got back to work, or he'd do... something, because she'd done her part. She found herself wondering in the new year how, after years of being annoyed at Roy for giving her no sign that their relationship was of any importance to him (‘another year still only engaged and no sign of actually ever getting married in sight' was an argument they had many times, and Pam was reaching the end of her patience) Jim now was giving her no sign that the kiss meant anything. 

Obviously, she learned a little too late that she had been wrong. She still wondered at least twice a day if Jim had been about to kiss her or tell her to leave Roy or something in that vicinity when they were on that freezing cold boat trip on Lake Wallenpaupack. 

With a groan, Pam pulled her pillow out from beneath her head and pulled it over her face. She kicked her legs about in annoyance, before shooting upright as she remembered Larisa telling her the previous evening that Jim hadn't invited Karen for Christmas. She grabbed her phone from her bedside table. If Jim could send her a message when she was engaged (and home alone), she could do the same when he was simply dating someone. She hadn't wanted to not message him - they had been getting along a little better lately - but it wasn't particularly easy to convince herself to do so when all she wanted to do was... well, eat a lot of food. She'd leave the good bad decisions up to Larisa, given that hadn't worked out so well for her last year. 

She quickly typed out a message to Jim, reading Happy Christmas Eve :) hope you and your family all had a lovely meal out yesterday and you got to your parents safely before flopping back down in bed. 

To Pam's surprise, the reply was almost instant. 

Happy Christmas Eve, Beesly :) It was noisy but good, and the drive was ok though my sister sang along to the radio for almost a whole hour... I may have to deduct a gift! 

"Okay, people," Larisa clinked her knife against her champagne glass as she sensed everyone reaching the end of their desserts. A few people still had a couple of bites left, but she had mostly been focusing on her brother. She grinned as the entire table went quiet and looked at her - it was rare, with so many people, that they ever achieved full quiet. "Wow, that worked. Sweet. Anyway, umm, this may seem kinda weird, but I have an early Christmas gift for Jim."

"Me?" Jim looked at his sister in surprise.

"Yup. And I guess, Pam."

"Really?" Pam raised a brow in confusion. 

"Well, I guess not. In fact, you kinda owe me a bottle of crappy wine and a box of crappy chocolates. And in some ways, not really a gift for Jim either. Mm, more a gift for me," Larisa contemplated, "but mostly Jim, and by that extent, Pam." 

"O-kay," Jim chuckled. 

"How much champagne have you had Larisa? That made absolutely no sense," Betsy frowned, while the rest of the table murmured similar expressions of confusion.

"Nowhere near enough, mom," Larisa sighed and bent down slightly to reach into her handbag, pulling out a brown A4 postage envelope. She grinned as she handed it to her brother. "Happy December 23rd."

"The bet?" Jim put his champagne glass down and accepted the envelope with an amused expression. "I thought you said five years?"

"Yeah, I thought I would need longer to win this bet," Larisa admitted. 

"This is still very confusing," Betsy said, nudging Jim with her elbow, "hurry up and open it!" 

Jim nudged Betsy back with a laugh, before looking from Larisa to Pam. Pam nodded to the envelope, intrigued, so he shrugged and tore it open. There were further sounds of confusion from around table when he pulled out the old copy of Us Weekly and a few bills floated out. 

"Ha, lame!" Pete snorted from the end of the table. 

"The money is for me, thank you," Larisa held her hand out expectantly. 

"Now, I'm struggling to see how this is a gift for Jim," Gerald said as he passed his daughter one of the ten-dollar bills that had fallen out. 

"Patience, Dad," Larisa scolded her father, snatching the note from him. "Open the cover, Jim."

Jim stared at his sister, trying to work out how Pam fit into this. He looked once more at Pam, hoping her face would give away if she knew anything about this. She looked as confused as he felt, though he could see that the date on the magazine had caught her eye. He watched a moment longer as Pam looked over at Larisa questioningly, and he finally flipped the magazine cover open.

Jim + Pam to be (at least) engaged by 23 December 2011.

"What-" Jim half-laughed, half-spoke the word, shocked, before he cleared his throat and shook his head. Somehow, he was a little lost for words. He felt Pam lean in on his right to read what it said, while his mom did the same on his left. 

"Jim plus Pam to be at least engaged by 23rd Decem-" Betsy read aloud, stopping before she reached the end. "Yeah, I'm confused - Larisa?"

"Two years ago I bet that within five years Jim and Pam would be engaged," Larisa stated, "and I bet against Jim. I told him I can't tell him what the bet is, just that it's fifty dollars each and a five-year time limit." 

"Two years ago?" Betsy pulled a face. "Pam wasn't there. They weren't even dating then. Were you?"

"No, they were not," Larisa confirmed. "But two years ago - on this day, December 23rd, which is why I have to give this gift today - on the way from the restaurant to mom and dad's house, we had to stop for gas and Jim sent me in to pay. I bumped into none other than Pam."

"What?" Jim's head whipped around to look at Pam, mouth hanging open. 

"She did," Pam nodded. "But... why the bet?" She was incredibly curious as to what about their interaction had led to Larisa placing a fifty-dollar bet. 

"Don't hate me for telling everyone this, Pam, and I hope you don't mind-" Larisa started, before shaking her head. "No, wait - first - at the gas station, Pam was buying a lot of wine and chocolate because of what she claimed was breaking up with her boyfriend. Pamela Beesly, please correct your statement." 

Pam sighed, though she was smiling in amusement at the realization that Larisa had clearly seen through her excuse back then. "I was buying a lot of wine and chocolate because, although I had broken off my engagement earlier that year, things were... not great with Jim."

"I was dating someone else at the time," Jim said, partially to add to the story, and partially to provide some context for himself and the group.  

"Jim had told me he loves me, and I rejected him but then broke off my engagement because, well obviously, I loved him."

"And I'd moved to Stamford in that time." 

"No!" Betsy gasped, gripping Jim's arm, despite already knowing this information. Somehow hearing the story so truncated felt more dramatic.  

"Right?" Larisa nodded at her mom. "A literal Shakespeare tragedy. We chatted for a bit and I was like okay, these two? Come on. Stupid. Sorry Pam - I mostly mean Jim."

"No, you're right," Pam laughed, "but I still don't get how that led to the bet."

"Well, the year before that, obviously we had bumped into Pam at the restaurant and Jim invited her to join us all," Larisa paused to take a sip of champagne, "and like, I just knew this is the chick my brother keeps going on about. Now, Pam, I'm sorry, but there are two things I need to share from that day."

"Umm, okay," Pam laughed nervously. 

"One, is that Jim told me the next morning that you kissed him when he dropped you home."

"Oh my God!" Betsy gasped, leaning across Jim to look excitedly at Pam. "I agreed it was a good idea that he drop you home!" 

"You're excited that you're part of the reason Pam cheated on her ex-fiancé?" Tom pulled a face. "That's kinda weird."

"Shh, your sister is telling a story!" Betsy admonished, waving one hand to the end of the table while holding Pam's with the other. 

"Okay, so I knew then one hundred percent that Pam was into Jim - which, honestly can't believe all three of you losers somehow aren't perpetually single with those faces. But anyway, it confirmed that it wasn't just some unrequited crush like I thought at first. And just... it was so frustrating because Jim thought that kiss didn't really mean anything even though I explained how it totally did - honestly, Pam, I tried, but he's stupid." 

"Hey!" 

"That's okay," Pam patted Jim's arm with her free hand. 

"I still don't see how this led you to betting fifty dollars on them being engaged," Pete said. 

"Oh, yeah, that," Larisa grinned. "It's three years ago. December 23rd. We're walking to the table. Pam slips her engagement ring into her coat pocket."

For the second time that evening, the Halpert table fell completely silent, only this time everyone's attention was turned to Pam, who blushed at the sudden revelation. 

"I..." Pam fanned herself with her hand, struggling to find what to say, then shrugged. "I guess that says all you need to know about how I felt back then." She smiled up at Jim, before resting her head on his shoulder shyly. Jim could only stare at her in awe and planted a kiss on the top of her head.  

"I am so glad you joined us for dinner that day," Betsy clasped her hands together and held them to her chest gleefuly. 

"Me too," Pam sighed from Jim's shoulder, while he nodded in agreement. 

"For ages I kept going over it in my head - should I tell Jim that Pam took off her engagement ring and that maybe he has more of a shot than he thinks he does? Should I tell Pam that I saw her do that? Give them a little push along the way? But I remembered something Pam said that first dinner and since then I've been sure that I was right to keep that detail to myself. These guys needed time to get to the same page," Larisa continued, "and they finally got there."

"Hang on, what did Pam say at that first dinner?" Betsy asked.

"I asked what her dream proposal was," Larisa shrugged. "To be honest, it was just a happy coincidence that the topic had presented itself. Thanks for proposing that year, Tommy boy!" She threw a double thumbs up in Tom's direction. 

"So in some ways... I kinda inspired Jim and Pam's relationship?" Tom raised his glass. "Sweet!"

"Not really, I just said it was a happy coincidence, idiot," Larisa rolled her eyes. 

"Hang on, what did Pam say?" Betsy furrowed her brows, trying to think back. "About the dream proposal?"

A smile grew on Pam's face as she remembered what she'd told them that year. She could just imagine Jim sat opposite her like he had been three years ago while she recalled, "I said I wanted to know I was ready but for it to still be a surprise."

"Remembering that was kinda what sealed it all together for me," Larisa gestured toward Pam with her champagne glass. "Pam had to know she was ready. Not just for being engaged but to not be engaged, to be ready for a new relationship, to realize how real her feelings for Jim were." 

"And he really did give me my perfect engagement," Pam grinned, linking her arm through Jim's.

While Betsy let out an "aww", Pete snorted and asked, "a gas station was really your perfect engagement?"

"I didn't care where it was. I was ready for that step and... he really did surprise me."

"Well... you did kinda care where it was. You said no proposing in a Michael meeting," Jim smirked. 

"Michael meeting?" Gerald asked. 

"Our boss throws these stupid conference room meetings like, all the time," Pam rolled her eyes.

"Still sounds better than a gas station," Pete said. 

"I'm sorry, didn't you propose at a Pizza Hut?" Larisa scoffed. 

"That was where we had our first date!" Pete pointed out. "Anyway, you have no say here, there are literally zero people on this planet who want to propose to you."

"Hey, hey, kids, come on," Betsy waved her hands about, slightly exasperated from an evening of having to neutralize multiple arguments between her adult children.

"Believe me, it is better to have zero proposals than to be engaged to someone you wish you weren't even dating," Pam assured Larisa. 

"Oh, I know," Larisa shrugged. "I mean, no offence, but... stood up by your fiancé right before Christmas? I'd rather be single, thanks."

"Larisa! That's a little rude, don't you think?" Betsy scolded. 

"No - trust me, it's fine, we've had this conversation so many times in the last year," Pam shook her head. "And honestly, I wish people had pointed stuff like that out to me. It's so easy for it to feel normal when you're in that situation. People would let me vent but never say anything, so a lot of the time I'd just feel like maybe I'm the bad guy for moaning all the time."

"See, mom? We got each other's backs."

"Okay, okay, sorry," Betsy nodded. "Oh, I do like that you two are so close now."

"You won't be saying that when you're the next victim of one of their pranks," Jim muttered. 

"Your mom? I would never," Pam said, eyes wide. "She taught the Halpert kids all they know; no way am I risking a retaliation prank."

"Eh, I'm still trying to get her to team up with me on that one," Larisa shrugged. "But I like a challenge." 

Jim, Pete and Tom all glanced across at each other, then at Larisa, all four of them smirking. Betsy sighed and figured they'd have Pam on their side before the wedding. Gerald took an inconspicuous sip of his drink, making a mental note to tell Larisa he wanted in on whatever prank they planned on Betsy. It would be a great way for Pam to integrate into the family, and he was still a little annoyed about his wife's latest prank on him. 

"Anyway," Larisa giggled, breaking the silent scheming going on at the table. "There is one final part to this gift - and it was another happy coincidence in the way Jim asked this question, but it brought me so much joy at the time. Jim, can you turn that envelope around and read me what it says?"

One brow raised, Jim flipped over the envelope and looked to the bottom right corner, where he could see a question written in his sisters handwriting. "What's the opposite of Larisa's ex-boyfriend?"

Everyone looked around at each other, confused at the riddle. Suddenly, Pam's face lit up as the answer hit her. "Oh, oh! Jim's fiancée! Me!" 

"There you go," Larisa winked. 

"To the opposite of Larisa's ex-boyfriend," Betsy raised her glass, "thank goodness."

"And, to December 23rd," Pam chimed in, before they all brought their glasses together in a noisy symphony of clinks.