***

A warm, gentle breeze whispers against his face and unsettles his hair, combing it to one side as it flutters past. It blows through the long strands of curly red lying on his shoulder and they rise up to meet his eyes and tickle his nose.

The day had been gray, muggy and humid, but the night was clear and cool. Looking up he can see the bright and full moon that echoes the thoughts of his heart. The inky black sky is glittered with tiny pinpoints of diamonds stretching across the vast space above them. The stars twinkle and shimmer, reflected in the pool next to them, while the moonlight dances off of the smooth white wood of the swing on which they sit, arms wrapped around each other, lost in thought.

The breeze rustles the leaves and he can hear the soft explosions of distant fireworks. He uses the tip of his toe to nudge the swing back and they sway slightly as he contemplates his life.

He thinks back to last year at this time. The Fourth of July, a day for celebration. A day of independence. He'd been independent, alright. Completely and utterly independent.



He takes another swig of his almost empty beer, part of an almost empty six-pack, and looks around his bleak, bare apartment. His gaze lands on the one personal touch he's added, the one admission he's made to the fact this is where he lives now, this is his life. It is a photograph of the two of them. In it, they both wearing yogurt lids around their necks, hanging on chains of paperclips. He is standing on a box while paper doves flutter in the background. She's looking up at him, a soft smile playing on her lips as he grins and gazes openly down at her.



He remembers that photograph. Phyllis had given it to him on his last day in Scranton. She'd handed him a flat, gift-wrapped box with a wink, telling him it was something to remember his time at the branch by.



Studying the photograph, he takes another gulp of his beer and gives a short, humorless laugh at the thought of independence. He was independent, alright. Completely, miserably, hopelessly independent.



Remembering this day last year, he marvels at the difference a year can make in a person's life. He thinks back to all of the things the last year had brought him to make it possible for him to be here, holding her on this swing in her parents' backyard as sounds from their annual Fourth of July party drift towards them through the open windows.

He remembers that night, over a year ago, when he'd gone from total devastation to complete joy, to reluctant and heartbreaking acceptance. Bits of it flash through his mind as he rests his head on hers and breathes in the sweet scent of her shampoo.



A tear escapes and runs down his cheek as her words echo in his head. He mumbles something and walks away, not able to bear looking at her as this newly shared information registers in each of their minds.

She's leaning against his desk and he doesn't have time to think about what he's doing before it's happening. Her hands are running through his hair as she kisses him back, telling him he'd misinterpreted nothing.

Their hands part and he pulls away, knowing, finally, that he'd taken his chance and been shot down. Regardless of his feeling toward her and hers toward him, she was going to marry another man. There's nothing more he can do.



He pictures his return to Scranton, Karen in tow. He thinks of her big smile and welcoming hug. He remembers how she'd made a special effort with her hair and make up, how he'd let himself think it was for him.

Then he remembers later, in a dimmed parking lot. He remembers the look on her face when he tells her he is seeing someone. It was a look he'd tried to convince himself didn't matter. He'd told himself he'd only imagined it. He'd tried to make himself forget it, but it had haunted him.

A cloud passes over the moon and shrouds them in even more darkness as he revisits that night on the beach, her standing before him, laying herself bare.



"I called off my wedding because of you." The words ring in his hears, stop his heart, drop his stomach. Part of him can't believe she's saying these things, can't believe they're true. Part of him is terrified that she's chosen to do this now, in front of the entire office, his girlfriend sitting a few feet away and Angela glaring her disapproval. He knows he won't be able to react as he normally would, whatever that might be. But part of him is glad she's doing it, glad they can finally move forward.

The irony isn't lost on him. He's aware that their relationship has come full circle, that she now has some idea of what it has been like to be him this last year. Wanting someone who was with someone else. Exposing your true feelings, knowing nothing will really come of it. Walking away to try and escape the heartache and embarrassment that your revelation has brought you.

He finds her by the water and they talk and hug, both trying to convince themselves things will finally now go back to normal, but knowing they never can.



He grins slightly at the thought that they can't go back. Because he knows he would never want to. He knows that he finally has everything he needs.

He remembers the day of his interview. He thinks of David Wallace and gold medals and questions with answers that can't possibly fit into the life he was trying to live. The life Karen wanted for him.

He tries not to think about the Karen parts of that day. Those parts still make him feel like a jerk, and while he may be one sometimes, that is not what he wants to remember from that day.

He smiles, trying to imagine what he must have looked like. He'd screeched into the parking lot, stopping his car in front of the door, not really caring that he was taking up two spots and still sticking out. He'd run up the stairs and through the office, bursting into the conference room, where he'd instinctively known she would be. He'd wanted to get the words out before he couldn't, anxious for the moment when they could give into what they'd both finally admitted wanting.

She snuggles in closer and his arms tighten around her. A tiny sigh escapes her lips and he grins as he realizes that this moment is perfect. He has everything he needs. He wonders what he did to deserve such a moment, but finds he doesn't care. Just as long as it lasts forever.

***