Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

            Pam looked at the clock on her dashboard as she pulled into an empty space in the parking lot of the small coffee shop.  1:05. Putting the car in park, she cut the engine and pulled out the keys.  Jim’s car was parked to her right but he was not in it – he must have gone in already, she thought as she slowly opened the door and got out.

With her head down, she slowly made her way to where Jim sat leaning back in his chair, his legs crossed, looking out the window.  She slowed as she neared the table, trying to convince herself not to chicken out and leave.  Before she could act though, Jim turned his head, making her decision for her.

            “Hey,” he said a big smile on his face, “Glad you could make it.  I was kind of scared you wouldn’t show.”  He uncrossed his legs and sat up in his chair, his eyes glued to her as she took off her coat.

            “Oh.  Yeah, no.” Pam said, smiling awkwardly, sitting down in the chair opposite Jim.

            “So ... how was your class?” he asked, tilting his head to the side, waiting for her reply.  You could cut the tension between them with a knife.

            “Oh, it was good.  Yeah, it was good.” Pam said, nodding a little too enthusiastically, her lips pursed together, “Hey, do you want to get something to eat?  I’m starved.”

            “Oh yeah, no, yeah good idea,” Jim said as he stood up.  He waited for Pam and followed her to the counter. 

The café was fairly busy, mainly with people coming in to grab a coffee or a bagel to go.  They stood side by side in line, Jim with his hands in his pockets, Pam with her hands knotted together at her waist, both their heads tilted up towards the menu above the register.

            When it was their turn to order, Pam ordered a chef salad and Jim ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich.  The cashier rang up the order together and Jim insisted on paying.

            Once they had their food, they headed back to their table.  Jim set his food down and grabbed Pam’s paper cup, “Diet Coke right?” he asked as he headed off toward the pop machine.  Pam nodded as she watched him go.  He was wearing worn jeans and a thick dark blue sweater with a white t-shirt hanging out underneath.  It had been a long time since she had seen him in jeans, and she couldn’t help but admire how good he looked in them.

            Jim returned shortly with the pops and sat down, handing one to Pam.

            “Thanks,” she said as she set down her cup on the table and opened her straw.  She poked it through the whole in the top of the lid but it only went down about ¾ of the way into the cup before it hit something and stopped.  She tried to jam it down several more times, but it seemed that something was blocking it.

            Jim watched as she struggled with the straw, “Oh, sorry, I put two lemon wedges in there; I thought you liked lemon in your coke, I can get you a new one …“ he said.

            “Oh.” Pam said, looking surprised, “No, I mean, yeah, I do like lemons, thanks, no this is great.”  She tried once again and managed to maneuver the straw down into the cup. 

            They sat in silence as they ate their lunches.  Why did I order a salad? Pam thought to herself as she tried to crunch the lettuce quietly.  They are so messy and loud.        She chewed slowly with her head down, trying to be as quiet as she could.  After a few moments of silent eating, she glanced up at Jim.  She watched as the insides of his sandwich plopped out the other side and onto his plate as he took a bite.  He looked like he was having trouble controlling the juicy sandwich and she couldn’t help but let out a small giggle at the face he was making at it.

            He heard her giggle and looked up, holding the empty sandwich dripping over his plate. 

            “Having some trouble?” she asked, her eyebrows raised innocently.  “Do you need me to get you some napkins?”  She paused for a second, “Or a towel?”

            He pursed his lips and cocked his head to the side, an amused look on his face, “Thank you for your concern, but uh, I think I can handle it.  These tomatoes are just really … succulent.”

Pam giggled again as he set the soggy bread down on his plate and tried unsuccessfully to reconstruct his sandwich.  In the end he ate it with a fork.

Jim’s sandwich troubles put Pam at ease with her salad, allowing her to eat it without worry.  They didn’t talk much for the rest of the meal, but the air between them was noticeably lighter after Jim’s sandwich incident. 

After they had finished their meal, Pam reached across the table and grabbed Jim’s plate.  “Wow,” she said as she regarded the messy table in front of him.  He looked up and shrugged at her, a faint smile hiding in his eyes.  She carried the plates away and returned with several napkins, stopping to wipe off the area in front of Jim before she sat back down in her seat.

“Thanks.” Jim said as she finished.  An awkward silence followed as the tension began to build again.  “So … uh, how was your art class?”

“It was good,” Pam replied, nodding.  Why do I keep nodding at everything he says? She thought to herself, willing her head to stay still.

“Good.” Jim said, nodding.  “Is it a painting class?”

“Yeah,” Pam said, concentrating on holding her head in one place, “It’s a watercolor class.”

“Oh.  Yeah . . .” Jim said, “I uh, saw Mark last night, my old roommate, and he gave me …” he was interrupted by a dull ringing coming from his pocket.  “Sorry,” he said as he quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone.  He looked at the Caller ID, then up at her “Do you mind if I take this?”

“Yeah, no sure,” Pam said, this time shaking her head instead of nodding.

Jim flipped open the phone and said, “Hey,” as he stood and walked to the door of the café.

She grabbed her coat from the chair next to her and put it in her lap, waiting as Jim walked across the room toward her.  As he neared the table, she stood up, “I need to get going, I didn’t realize what time it was.” She said, pulling on her coat.  “Thanks a lot for lunch.”

“Oh.” Jim said, “Um, you have to go?  It’s only 1:45.”

“Yeah, I have to um, meet a friend at 2, I totally forgot.” Pam said, giving him a shrug and nodding her head again.

“Oh, ok.  Um, … ok.” Jim said and pulled on his coat.

He followed Pam outside into the parking lot and they walked to their respective cars.  “Did you get a new car?” he asked, pointing to the car between them.

“Yeah.” Pam said, nodding.

“Nice.” He said, peaking in the windows.  “Fancy new car for Fancy New Beesley.”

“Yup, that’s me.” Pam said, wishing she could just leave.

“Wow, you must be painting some big pictures.” He said when he noticed several gallons of paint on a tarp in her back seat.

“Oh no, I was just helping a friend paint her apartment.” She said, “I should really get going though.  Um, thanks for lunch.”

“Oh yeah, right, yeah, no problem.”  Jim said, stepping away from her car and leaning back on his own, nodding.  

“See you later.” She said as she climbed into her car and started it up.

“Yeah … see you later,” Jim said as she slammed her door shut.

He raised his hand to wave goodbye as she pulled out of the parking lot, but she never looked back.