Lost—that’s how he feels. Lost in a dance hall he’s never seen before. Being alone in a place like this is nauseating, with all the laughter and smiles and unity. He tightens up his tie, almost tight enough to strangle himself but not tight enough to actually get the job done. He barely knows any of these people. But they're all smiling at him like they've known him for years instead of the four months he's worked at Dunder Mifflin.

Then there's the curly haired girl sitting next to him.

She looks lost too.

Phyllis, one of his fellow salespeople at the Paper Company, had arranged the seating so that he was sitting by all his coworkers. Dwight was across from him, Toby on his right, and Michael was still banned from the reception hall.

But there was a curly-haired girl to his left who was drawing on a cocktail napkin. He didn’t recognize her from the office. He would know if she worked there now.

Maybe she used to.

"I know what you're thinking," she speaks suddenly, stopping the napkin sketch. She turns to him, still messing with his tie. "I'm an old friend of the bride. We've known each other for a long time, but I can't remember how we met." His eyes widen with every word she speaks. "There wasn't any room at any other tables, so here I am." She raises her hand in triumph, or maybe it's to show where she is.

"I wasn't... I wasn't really thinking about it." He lies through his teeth, and his eyes dart around the room. It's vaguely familiar, but he's only been in Scranton for four months. He's never been here before. "I'm Jim, by the way."

"I know," she says confidently. "It says so on your little name tag."

She holds up the tan cardstock, folded in half, with his name written in calligraphy.

"Well then, Pam... Anderson," he says, leaning over to read her card, offering his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Shoot," Obviously flustered, she adds "It's Beesly, actually. I RSVP'd before the divorce..."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jim says sympathetically.

"Why should you be? It wasn't your fault," she says, and something deep down tells him to laugh.

It's indescribable.

"Have I met you before?" she asks, suddenly. She straightens out a wrinkle in her dark red dress, and he scratches his head. "Because you look really familiar."

"Um, I don't think so," he replies, astounded by the fact that she said that because he was thinking the exact same thing.

Because she looks really familiar too.

"So tell me, Jim. What do you do?" She asks, shaking the previous thoughts from her head.

"Well, Pam. I sell paper," he retorts, trying to make it sound more riveting than it actually was. She rests her chin on her hand, deeply enthralled.

"Really? That sounds cool."

"It’s not," he says immediately, and she breaks into laughter.

"So what do you do?" he asks, trying to switch topics. He’s always hated talking about selling paper in his free time. And during work.

"I work at Michael’s, the art supply store. Not with that guy Phyllis kicked out of the reception." They both share awkward smiles again.

"Maybe that’s why you look so familiar. I was just there, not too long ago. My niece had an art project, and her dad was busy, so..."

"Yeah, that might be it."

"Hey, Pam. Can I talk to you for a second?" Phyllis interrupts, blushing like a bride normally does. Pam nods, and asks Jim to excuse her.

"Sure. Maybe I’ll see you around here?" he says, a half smile stitched to his face. She nods.

"Maybe."

When Pam and Phyllis walk off, Jim smiles to himself. Suddenly he doesn’t feel so lost around here anymore. The happiness of this occasion doesn’t seem so distant any more. He feels more centered, and puts some slack into his tie. For once he feels like he’s whole again, if only for the few brief moments when he was talking to her.

Why did he get this weird feeling deep down that he’s met her before? They had just met minutes ago, yet he felt in his heart that they had known each other for much longer.

How had he lived his life without feeling so alive? Where had she been?

"So..." Phyllis begins, trying to weasel some information out of her. Things had been going so wrong lately, but seeing those two talking again seemed to be a step in the right direction. She widens her eyes, and waits for Pam’s response. Pam merely looks stumped.

"What?" She squeaks, and the two of them take a seat at an open table.

"Who was that you were just talking to?" Phyllis asks, eager for girl talk. It was her wedding, and she wanted to see her friend happy.

Jim was just the guy to do that.

"Jim; I think he works with you." Pam says nonchalantly. Phyllis just beams at Pam with pride. "What?" With the realization of what Phyllis is so excited about, Pam shakes her head. "Oh, no. No, you are not setting me up with another guy."

"Come on, Pam. Your divorce was finalized a couple months ago, and you’ve been working nonstop. You need to relax. Have a little fun. Jim is nice, and funny, and he’s..." Her voice lowers to a whisper, "Cute and single. He just broke up with his girlfriend."

Pam shakes her head. "I am not going to be his rebound relationship… no matter how cute he is." She swings around, to see him still sitting there nervously. Their eyes meet and he smiles at her. "Even if he is pretty cute."

"He is, isn’t he?" Phyllis giggles, and leans in closer towards Pam. "You two seemed to be getting along really well. Just give him a chance."

Deep down, she really wanted to. Her marriage had been such a disappointment, and she always wanted to have that connection with someone that she had started to feel with Jim. Still, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. Two months after her divorce was finalized seemed a little too fast to be jumping into a new relationship.

Still, he made her feel different. More fun, more relaxed, more alive. That was a feeling she wanted to chase.