Jim walked in and hung up his coat, giving a quick glance to the reception desk like he had done every morning recently. Luckily, Pam wasn't in yet so he had a few minutes of alone time before he would start feeling her eyes staring at the back of his neck again. He told himself it made him uncomfortable because he was dating Karen, but that excuse would only be able to stand up for a bit before he started thinking about what he really suspected. Maybe Pam was interested. Maybe this whole thing with Karen really was a rebound for him because he only wanted Pam.
Then he would remind himself that Pam left Phyllis' wedding with Roy. Usually at this point in the morning, right when he started remembering that image of Pam walking out with Roy, he would hear the office door behind him open and Pam turn on the computer at her desk.
That would be when he would get pissed off again. Jim had spent so many times listening to her bitch about Roy, knowing that he would treat her better than that if given the chance, and it was all a waste. She never really was listening to him. She went back to Roy anyway. And yeah, they had broken up again -- three weeks ago and rather spectacularly, according to Kelly -- but there was still that part of him that was mad at Pam for even thinking about starting over with that douche bag.
So they weren't talking. It was one of those big fights where no one says a word and he wasn't about to be the one to make the first step and try to bridge the gap between them. She was going to have to make the first move and say something, but so far, she just sat there. All day.
After another one of those days of silence, he saw Karen walking over to his desk with a smile on her face.
"Hey."
"What's up?" he said, turning to her with a smile.
"My latest Netflix showed up so are you up for bringing Chinese to my place? Say, around 7?"
"Sounds awesome."
"Ok, I'll see you then," she said, leaning down to lightly kiss him on the cheek. He tried to tell himself she just did that to be cute, but he also assumed she was trying to make Pam jealous. She never acted like that before they had their heart-to-heart talks and he told her about that kiss in the office.
He watched Karen walk out the door before turning back to his desk to finish some last-minute emails and, well, he was trying to stall so he could leave after Pam instead of getting stuck in some awkward elevator conversation or something.
Tonight, though, as everyone else quickly left the office to start their weekends, he felt Pam's presence next to him.
"Um....Jim?"
"Yeah?" He turned to look over at her mousy brown hair that was falling over her shoulders as she stood there staring at her feet.
"I just...I um...here," she stammered, holding out an envelope for him to take.
"Um...ok. Thanks," was all he could get out in return.
He watched her eyes follow his hand as he took her gift before she gave him a little nod and walked out the door.
He looked down at the off-white envelope in his hand. It seemed to be the heavy cardstock he tried to sell last week, but then he noticed it looked more like nice parchment paper you could buy at a stationary store instead of the bulk stuff Dunder Mifflin sold. The outside had his name written in Pam's handwriting with what he had guessed was a black fountain pen.
Jim looked up to see if any of the camera crew had left for the night. The guys seemed to be packing up their equipment in the conference room after filming some stock footage earlier that day, so he discretely slid the envelope in his messanger bag rather than opening it at his desk. He didn't know what was inside, but he didn't want the camera guys to know either.
Ignoring the last emails, he quickly turned off his computer and grabbed his coat from the rack. He got out to the elevator and was about to push the button before quickly slipping through the door to the stairwell. He learned a few weeks ago that the cameras could find him in the parking lot after he was caught kissing Karen one night after work.
But at the same time, he had to open Pam's envelope. The thought of not knowing what was in there was going to gnaw at him and he would have to open it at a stop sign or something. Better to just get it done with now.
He pulled it out of his bag and looked at it again. It was so simple and plain looking with the name "Jim" as the only noticable thing on the outside. He turned it over in his hand and reached for the flap. It opened easily -- he noticed Pam had only moistened a little bit of the envelope glue at the tip. Jim smiled, thinking about the time a few years ago after she and Roy got in a fight. He felt bad for her and the next day brought in this little sponge bottle that she could fill with water to moisten envelopes and stamps. He noticed it was still on her desk a few weeks ago when they were still on speaking terms.
Jim saw more of the off-white parchment inside the envelope and pulled out a letter -- three full pages and handwritten. It looked like Pam had used the same fountain pen as the one she had to address the envelope. Like his name on the front, the handwriting was much more thought-out than the scratches on her little message pad everyday, each word deliberately written on the paper. He leaned back against the wall of the stairwell with his left foot hanging two steps lower, uncreased the folds of the letter, and began to read.
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© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali
© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali