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He had always been a fan of practical jokes. Bringing someone’s obnoxiously large ego down to more a more reasonable size was Jim’s forte. He was starting to think that maybe this was karma. For as he stood looking at the two main women in his life, each holding a piece of matrimonial symbolism, he could think of no other possible explanation for it than the universe trying to playing the ultimate joke at his expense.
The crowd awkwardly clapped for Pam and Karen and quickly dispersed back to their delegated tables to dine on Chili’s-catered food and cheap champagne. Jim took a deep breath and walked tentatively toward the two women, picking up bits of their conversation.
“Please take it.”
“Are you kidding? You’re much closer to that actually happening than I am.”
“I hate these traditions anyway, I don’t know why I even joined in. Seriously, take it.”
Jim cleared his throat, and Pam and Karen jumped slightly at his sudden presence.
“Congratulations. You’ve both managed to make every other woman in this room extremely bitter,” Jim said, hoping humor could save the situation at hand.
Pam and Karen laughed nervously, exchanging glances with each other.
“Here,” Karen said, splitting the bouquet into two smaller ones. “Now we both have a shot,” she said as she handed one to Pam.
Jim could see the already small amount of color in Pam’s face drain as she lightly touched the petals of the bouquet. She kept her head down for a moment causing a piece of hair to fall in front of her slightly furrowed brows. Jim wanted nothing more than to tuck the piece behind her ear, grazing her cheek while he did, but soon she looked up with a small smile.
“Well, why not? Couldn’t hurt right? I’m going to go put these in my car before Joe Vance gets any big ideas,” Pam said with a laugh, turning to leave.
“That’s a good idea. I think I’ll do the same and ditch the evidence that I actually took part in that ridiculous ritual,” Karen smirked.
“Oh, you know what? How about I take those out to the car? I think we left the card for the gift in there anyway,” Jim lied, speaking a bit too fast than he had intended.
“Okay…” Karen raised an eyebrow at him. “You sure you’re all right?”
Jim swallowed. “Yeah, definitely. I’ll be back in a bit,” he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Her face relaxed into a smile and with one last glance at him, headed back toward their table.
Jim turned to Pam and smiled. “Lead the way, Beesly.”
xxx
The two walked slowly out to the parking lot, as if each step brought their rare time alone closer to an end. It was an unusually warm night for April, and the rose bushes surrounding the hotel lightly perfumed the air. They walked in silence, and had it been anyone else, Jim thought, the awkwardness would have been suffocating. But not with Pam. Even with recent circumstances, they still managed to hold on to the quality Jim cherished most in their relationship: their ability to be perfectly content in the silences as well as the laughter.
“So,” Pam began. “How long until Phyllis has a mini-fridge next to her desk?”
“Why stop there? Soon she’ll have her own freezer and Dunder-Mifflin will be turned into an old fashioned ice cream parlor,” he said grinning at her.
“Michael would start wearing a bowler and a candy cane striped suit,” Pam said, her laughter growing louder. “Can you imagine?”
“After seeing Michael wear that suit tonight, it’s hard to imagine what he wouldn’t wear.” The two laughed until they were out of breath. Pam leaned against her car door, still giggling as she tilted her head up toward the sky. Jim had no shame in watching her, taking the sight of her in. They rarely had times like this anymore: away from the pressure of work and alone to enjoy each other’s company without a camera breathing down their neck. Pam ran the flower through her long fingers, the fingers Jim imagined so poised and steady creating paint strokes across a canvas. He leaned against the car next to hers so that he faced her and slouched a bit so he too could comfortably tilt his back.
“What are you looking for?” Jim asked, his eyes still focused on the sky.
“Dwight’s home planet,” Pam answered without missing a beat. “I’m going to flag it down with my laser pointer and tell them that they forgot one down here.”
Jim pulled his head forward. “Laser pointer? Maybe they forgot two down here…”
She raised her head and pretended to glare at him. “Suck it, Halpert.”
“Pam, please,” he said feigning seriousness. “We’re at a wedding, let’s try to have some decorum.”
She giggled, scrunching her nose at him and Jim had to remind himself to breathe.
“Oh no,” she said sadly, looking down at her hands. The lily had broken off from the stem and now laid in the palm of Pam’s hand.
“That can’t be a good sign,” Pam said with a laugh.
“Nah, you just have to improvise,” Jim said, moving toward her. He took the lily from her hand, his fingertips momentarily grazing her palm, and slid the lily behind her right ear. He spotted a bobby pin securing a piece of hair away from her face.
“Can I?” he asked.
Pam merely nodded, her lips pressed firmly together. Jim took the pin and secured the lily behind her ear. He imagined this is what she might have looked like had the honeymoon to Hawaii occurred. There would have been hundreds of pictures of her on the beach, wearing a floppy hat and big sunglasses to match a big grin. And a wildflower in her hair. Jim suddenly realized his hand was still cupped behind her ear and her green eyes were peering up at him with curiosity. He blushed and tore his hand away.
“There you go, problem solved,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets as if to hide proof of where they’d been.
“Your knowledge of women’s hair accessories and how to apply them is a little scary,” Pam teased.
He playfully poked in her in the ribs and she laughed as she latched on to his hand trying to thwart it away. Then her laughter stopped short when her grasp lingered. Pam began to pull her hand away and before he could think twice, Jim held it tighter, afraid she’d slip away.
They stared at their clasped hands, neither speaking a word. Jim remembered the last time they had stood in a parking lot not too different from this one, when he had taken the biggest risk of his life only to be met with defeat. He wasn’t sure he had the strength to do it again, to lay everything he had to offer in front of her and have it be rejected again. No, he decided, this time around she would have to take a chance.
She’d have to take a chance on something sometime.
“Jim.” It was so soft it sounded like a breath, but it was enough to make him look her in the eye. The gold specks in her eyes were flickering and he knew she was on the brink of something. She was so close and he was so proud. He moved closer to her, trying to send her strength with everything in him.
“There you are! I was wondering what happened to…” a voice trailed off. Jim and Pam jumped and turned to see a disheartened Karen. Pam gasped and pulled her hand to her necklace, clutching the charm in nervousness.
Karen looked from Pam to Jim, her mouth slightly agape. Jim racked his brain for the right thing to say. There were plenty of lies, plenty of excuses, plenty of things that could attempt to stop the tear slowly trailing down Karen’s cheek. But he couldn’t form the words.
Karen hung her head and let out a defeated sigh. She hurriedly wiped the tear away and moved to where Jim had placed her bouquet of flowers on the hood of the car adjacent to Pam’s. She carefully gathered them up, looking at them longingly, before finally turning and handing them to Pam.
Without a word or a final glance at Jim, Karen climbed into her car and drove away.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you guys so much for all the great reviews! You rock. I should mention that when I wrote this story, The Return hadn't aired, so go into this knowing the infamous "Yes" was never spoken. Good? Good. Enjoy chapter 2!
Chapter End Notes:
Please review if you feel so inclined :)
