“Attention ladies and gentleman!  Your attention please!”  Michael bellows from the conference room door.  “It is time for this office to get a little culture.  I present the grand opening of Pam’s Pamtastic art show featuring the art of our very own resident artist, Pamela Beesley.”

As everyone’s eyes turn to glance in her direction, Pam feels herself blush.

She’s not quite sure how she allowed Michael to talk her into this little office art show, but she thinks she might regret the decision in the end.

Ever since Roy’s botched attempt to attack Jim, Pam had begun to sketch.  At first she had drawn little things that reminded her of happier times.  Somehow the drawings had evolved and taken on a life of their own.  She felt better as she observed the people around her and captured some of their most intimate moments.

Michael had been poking around her desk one day, and found her sketch book in a drawer.  He proclaimed that he was her biggest fan and that she had to share her wonderful creations with everyone.

Pam suspected that the only reason Michael wanted to display her art was so that everyone in the office could see the sketch of him entitled “Commander in Chief.”  The pencil sketch had been done during a particularly boring meeting about his big plans for an office Arbor Day celebration.  She had intended it to be a sort of caricature, but in the end it had taken on a serious, sentimental air. 

Still…she was, is, flattered by Michael’s admiration of her art, and she did promise herself that she’d take more risks.  And this seems like a good risk.  So, she gave Michael her sketches, and some of her favorite pieces that she’d done at home.  Michael had promised to do it justice.

Phyllis gets up first.  “Oh, Pam, how wonderful!”

Pam swallows and manages a smile back.  She hopes Phyllis will like the water color painting she did of Phyllis and Bob’s first dance at their wedding. 

She’s so lost in thought she barely notices Jim suddenly standing by her desk.  For a moment she starts to smile at him, but her smile fades in the face of his glare. 

“This is what you are wasting your talent on?  A stupid little office art show?”  He hisses, anger lacing each word.  She blinks as it stings physically.  He’s been nasty to her for weeks now, but she still hasn’t gotten used to it.

As tears blur her vision she softly says, “You haven’t even seen any of it, Jim.”

Swiping away the tears, Pam stands abruptly.  “Gee, thanks for that insight.  Coming from you I know it must be true.”

Jim just rolls his eyes.

And suddenly it’s just too much.  Pam grabs her purse and heads for the door.  She knows that she should go into the conference room and discuss her art with her coworkers.  Perhaps bask in their admiration.  But she knows that she’ll spend the entire time waiting for Jim to come in and show her his admiration.  Clearly she is not going to get that again any time soon, and quite frankly, she just can’t handle yet another heart break.

As she approaches the bank of elevators a hand swiftly catches her wrist and jerks her to a stop. 

Fresh tears threaten to spill before she even turns to meet his gaze, always so full of anger now.  She wilts, letting her arm go limp in his grasp.  Exhausted, she whispers, “You can’t keep being mean to me, Jim.  It’s killing me.” 

She dares to meet his eyes, and instead of anger she sees that they are murky with hurt and guilt.  He lets go of her wrist and shoves his hands in his pockets.

Neither of them speaks for a long moment.  Finally Jim says, “I…I’m sorry.  It’s just, that, well…you broke my heart once.  And then…you went back to him…and broke it again.”

Pam regards him silently, watching him stare intently at the closed elevator doors.  She doesn’t quite know how to interpret his statement.  She shrugs helplessly.  “I didn’t mean to.  And if it helps, I’ve had my heart broken too.”

Jim’s head snaps up, anger returning to his eyes.  “Don’t you dare compare my broken heart to yours.  You knew what you were getting into with Roy.”

“I’m not talking about Roy, you idiot,” Pam snaps, reciprocal anger surging through her.  “I’m talking about you.  You broke my heart.”

“What the hell are you talking about?  How did I break your heart?”  Jim asks.

The tears spill over, and Pam begins to sob.  Hiccupping she replies, “I lost my best friend.  You told me how you felt, and you didn’t even give me any time to process it.  You just expected me to throw away nine years of my life in a minute.  And when I couldn’t do that, you left.  No good-bye.  Nothing.  My best friend abandoned me when I needed him the most.  So yeah, Jim, you broke my heart.  I guess, that sort of makes it even.”

The elevator doors slide open conveniently, and Pam hurries in.  She hits the first floor button, but before the doors can close Jim sticks out his foot. 

“Just let me leave, Jim,” Pam pleads, tears still streaming down her face.

“I told you I loved you and you chose someone else.  What was I supposed to do?” Jim asks, his voice strangled and hoarse with emotion.  “Was I just supposed to sit around and watch you get on with a life that didn’t include me?”

Pam swallows hard before answering.  “How do you know it wouldn’t have been you I chose in the end?  You didn’t give me time to find out.”

“I didn’t have time to give.  You were getting married in three weeks,” Jim counters.  “I had to say something or I would have lost you.”

“Yeah, well, we both know how it turned out,” Pam snaps.  “You ran away when things didn’t immediately go the way you wanted them to.”

Jim blinks. “I didn’t…” He begins.

“You know what I think, Jim?” Pam interrupts.  “I don’t even think you really loved me.  You just loved the unattainable idea of me.  Because if you had really loved me, you would have known how unbelievably hard it all was for me.”