Jim sat on a ledge of a foot bridge in Central Park. Pam was right, it was beautiful at night. There were carnival lights in the distance and the buildings towered over the vast expanse in the sky. A few couples lingered around the pond and musicians played softly down the path. He waited with his hands in his pockets.

He had combed out his hair and let it relax into his old style, wore some jeans, a jacket, and his Converse. He had purchased a new wardrobe before coming to New York. He thought, new job, new apartment, new life, new clothes, new Jim. He splurged on himself for once since his pay was increased way more than he really needed (although, he didn’t want to admit it).

Pam walked up in her jeans, a pink sweater, and a black jacket. Jim thought she looked like a totally different person and he knew that she was thinking the same thing about him.

“Hey! You look so great!” Jim said as he gave Pam a hug.

“You too! I swear you are someone different. What have you done with my friend Jim?”

“I’m in here. Just hiding.”

Pam laughed but knew the truth behind his statement. She was the same way. She looked and acted like a totally different person, but on the inside she was still scared Pam Beesly from Scranton.

“You ready for the tour?”

Jim nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Lead the way.”

----

They walked through the city catching glimpses of iconic landmarks. They visited The Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Times Square, and finally made their way to the Staten Island Ferry.

“Do you want to take a ride?” Pam asked Jim.

“Most definitely. But can we stop and get a hot dog or something? I’m starving.”

“Totally.”

They waited for the next ferry to load and rushed over to the side of the boat that faced the Statue of Liberty. They sat on the slow moving boat looking out over the water and the iconic statue.

“She doesn’t look as big as I thought she would up close.” Jim said, disappointment written on his face.

“Well, it was the French that built it. What can you expect?”

“And plus, it’s really old too.”

“Oh yeah, that too.”

They sat and laughed and finished their meal. Pam sucked down her drink and sat it beside her. They found themselves in a moment of silence when neither one knew what to say.

“So, was that our dinner?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Unless you want dessert. I hear that there is this great place called Vineiro’s. My mom told me to check it out. It’s a pastry shop.”

“Great.”

After their boat ride to and from Staten Island, they took a cab across town to eat some New York cheesecake. They sat in the quaint shop eating the delectable bites. When Jim caught Pam’s eye every now and then, he would give her a smile and go back to indulging in his cake.

“Man, this reminds me of your last day.”

“Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing,” Pam said as she forked her cake.

“Speaking of that, I want to apologize for the way I left that day. I didn’t mean to march out of there in a bad mood.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. I was just a little upset. But then, I didn’t see you or talk to you for a few months and that’s when I got mad.” Pam said as she scooped up a piece of cake and put it in her mouth.

Jim kept dodging his eyes around the room. “I’m sorry.”

“No biggie. That’s said and done. We’re two totally different people now. There’s no regrets in New York.” Pam said as her face flushed. She hung her head and her hair fell in front of her face as she stared at her plate and made a scratching noise with her fork.

In concern for Pam, Jim leaned in towards her to get a look at her face. He pulled her hair away from her eyes. “Pam, are you sure you’re okay?”

She held her focus on the plate. “Yeah.”

“No regrets in New York huh? Doesn’t look like it to me.”

“I lied. I have major baggage left from Scranton that I still carry around with me.”

“You don’t have to. Let’s get rid of it.”

“It’s not that easy, Jim.”

“How do you know? Have you ever got rid of baggage before? Losing your luggage at the airport doesn’t count.”

Pam gave a little smile as her eyes started to water up. Jim got the check from the waiter and paid.

“Let’s go.”

He grabbed her hand and took her out to the sidewalk where they found a cab. Jim whispered the location in the driver’s ear and they started moving.

----

Jim stood at the railing looking out over the city. He didn’t say anything or move for a long time. Pam did the same but stole some glances at Jim while he was taking in the city with his eyes. He put his arms on her shoulders and turned her towards him.

“Okay Beesly. Let’s get rid of the old us.”

“Jim, I’m not jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge.”

He laughed and then pulled out a dollar bill from his wallet. “Do you have a pen?”

Pam dug out a pen from her purse and handed it to him. “What’s this for?”

He took the pen and began jotting down some things on the dollar. When Pam looked to read it, he pulled it away from her eyes.

“You’ll get your turn.”

“What are you doing Jim?”

He handed her the dollar bill with the side he had written on face down.

“Here. Now, write down anything that you want to say, but can‘t. Anything. Regrets, fears, feeling, whatever. It can be anything you want.”

“This will take all night.”

“Just hit the highlights.”

Pam started writing and put down everything that she regretted. Most of the experiences were between her and Jim. She flipped over the bill to see what he had written but he caught her before it was too late.

“No, no Pam. We aren’t supposed to read each others,” he said as he took the bill and folded it up into a square.

“You ready?” He asked as he held out the folded up bill for her to grab the end of.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, mocking him from earlier that night. He smiled and counted to three. They threw all their regrets over the bridge into the water. Jim drew in a sigh and Pam stood watching the bill floating through the air and into the water. When she lost sight of the bill she turned to face Jim, who was leaning on the railing again.

“It’s gone.”

“Yeah.” he said still looking off into the distance. “Do you feel better?”

“Kind of. You?”

“A little.”

Pam put her hand up to Jim’s back and rubbed it. She was always one to want to comfort people and Jim looked like he needed it. She stroked his back with her hand and she dropped it when he stopped leaning and stood up. He looked down at Pam as she focused on his eyes. He pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on her head. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled up tight to his body. Jim felt Pam’s shoulders move up and down, then he realized she was crying. When her shaking got worse, he held on tighter, pulling her closer and closer into his chest.

They stood on the bridge until Pam finally pulled away and wiped her eyes. She looked up at Jim who gazed at her lovingly.

“Sorry. I guess I really needed that.”

“Me too,” Jim said as he put his hands into his coat pockets. Pam took in some deep breaths as her sobs subsided.

“Well, I’m ready to go. Are you?”

“Yeah,” Jim said as he led the way down the bike path off the bridge.

“Well, where are you living? Do you want to share a cab home or is it too far away?” Jim said as they came to the end of the walk way.

“I live on the east side. You?”

“I actually don’t really know. I know my building name is Huntington Plaza though.”

“Oh. Well, we will ask the driver if he can find it. Let’s get a cab.”

----

They pulled up to Pam’s building. She got out, pulling on Jim’s hand. He followed her out of the cab on her command. He stood with her outside the building as they looked up at the apartment high rise.

“This looks like a nice place.”

“It is. I have great roommates too. All us interns house together.”

“Lucky. I’m all alone in my place. Corporate isn’t thrifty when they promote people.”

“Well, I just want to thank you for a great night. Sorry, I got all girlie on you and cried. I don’t know where that came from.”

“I do.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah…. I’m sorry Pam.”

“Don’t apologize for anything. Remember? All our old regrets are gone.”

“I didn’t write down as many as I should have.”

“Don’t tell me. Those are the rules.”

Jim ran his hand through his hair and turned towards the cab that was waiting. Pam’s insides leapt as he walked away. She wished he could stay and talk longer. He left as she stood with new regret’s popping into her head.

As the cab pulled away, Jim watched Pam linger by the door . He thought about the night and knew that there were things that he just couldn’t let go. On his side of the dollar, he had written:

Just twenty minutes ago he had told her he had given up all his regrets from his past. Even though he didn’t regret anything that happened, he now knew one thing he could do over--not taking the chance to kiss Pam on that bridge tonight.