April 16, 2009

Pam wasn’t usually one to take a long lunch break. She enjoyed what she did, and a long lunch break on most days would mean time spent away from her illustrations. As many times as her hand cramped up while she was drawing, and the number of times she nearly went cross-eyed from staring at the computer screen, she liked what she did and she easily spent every single day doing it.

That was, until today. It was a warm, April day. Flowers were springing up out of window boxes and the trees along the streets were starting to bud and bloom. If there was any day that was perfect for a picnic, this was it.

Jim had left early in the morning for work – he had some meeting that he had to be at first thing, and he needed time to prepare. She really hadn’t listened all that closely, because when he told her about it all she was still mostly asleep in their bed. She remembered hearing the names Michael and Karen and she had been pretty sure there was some mention of a trip, but she couldn’t really be certain.

What she had been certain of, was the prospect of a picnic in the park. She figured it would be the perfect event to make him forget about his morning of meetings; and any way that she could see him in the middle of the day and have some brief moments of romance was a convincing enough reason for her.

She didn’t know why she had a picnic basket – or maybe it was his, which prompted the question why even further – but she was glad that she did. Before leaving for work, she threw together a couple bottles of water, a Tupperware container of salad from their dinner night before and box of Oreo cookies for good measure. She would get sandwiches on the way to pick up Jim, she didn’t want the meat and cheese in them getting too warm as they sat under her desk all morning.

She happily headed off to work in her springy dress and her pink cardigan. She couldn’t wait to see Andy’s face when he asked about the picnic basket and she would announce that she was surprising her husband with a romantic lunch in the park. Today would be the day she finally took that extra long lunch break.

***

She was amazed by how different the atmosphere was between the building that she worked in and the building that Jim worked in. They were both large, steel structures, but whenever she walked into Jim’s building she felt cold. The people were more professional, more business-like. When she walked through the lobby wearing a blue dress and pink cardigan – and a picnic basket in her arm no less – she felt rather underdressed and foolish.

She stepped into the elevator with a businessman and woman who were both dressed like they worked for the FBI or CIA. They were both dressed in black pants, black jacket and crisp, white, button-up shirts. The man wore an immaculate black tie and the woman had her hair pulled back so tight it looked downright painful.

“Hi.” Pam said, to neither of them in particular, and immediately she knew that she was breaking every last code of elevator ethic. She immediately looked back down towards her hands and rocked back and forth on her heels until she heard the ding of the elevator and she looked up.

She stepped forward and glanced back at the man and woman who stood cold-faced and Pam quickly stepped out of the elevator and started walking towards Jim’s office. Apparently working in a cold environment made a person frigid to everyone else around them.

She walked down the long hallway. He had changed offices when he had received the promotion to vice president. He had been sad when he moved, but the new office he was in was on a corner and therefore had a spectacular view of the city. Pam had only visited him in the new office once, but when she did, she had felt a little less arrogant about the small window next to her desk in her own work office.

“I just…not right now.” she heard Jim say from the other side of his door. She knocked timidly as she heard someone approaching. She was about to knock again – a little stronger this time around, when the door flew open and Karen just about ran into Pam.

“Pam!” Karen exclaimed, surprised. Her eyes were wide and her mouth dropped open. There was something about her face that Pam couldn’t quite place. She almost looked guilty of something, or maybe it was just smugness, she wasn’t sure. Pam looked over Karen’s shoulder at Jim, who was sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen – or maybe out the window.

“Hi Karen.” Pam said with half a smile on her face. She had never felt the desire to actual display any sort of happiness towards the woman, but her naturally cordial personality forced herself to at least display some sort of formality and forced amicability whenever Karen was around.

Karen didn’t say a word in response. She simply pushed Pam aside and her shoulder hit the door as Karen quickly brushed past her.

“What was that about?” Pam asked quietly as she took a step inside of Jim’s office.

“She’s…” Jim looked up and for the first time realized that Pam was standing in his doorway. “Pam!”

“Hi.” she said with a grin as she swung the picnic basket around her back. He quickly stood up from his desk and walked to her.

“What are you doing here? And why aren’t you working right now?” he asked. She smiled and stood up on her tiptoes and planted a small kiss on his lips.

“I thought it might be fun to…go out.” she replied, swinging the picnic basket back around in front of her. “I was thinking something like a picnic in the park.”

“You’re so pretty!” he exclaimed, as if he hadn’t heard what she had just said.

“Thank you!” she gasped as she set the basket down on the floor and did a bit of a half turn in the doorway.

“Is that a new dress?” he asked.

“Nah, I’ve had it for a while.” she replied. “So! Picnic, park, you, me…what do you say?”

“I say that I grab my coat and we go to the park.” he said with a huge grin.

“Yay!” she exclaimed as she hopped up on one foot in excitement, and then bent over to pick the basket up from the floor.

“One question.” he said as he pulled his jacket off the back of his chair.

“Only one.” she teased.

“Where did you get a picnic basket?” he asked.

“Honestly,” she replied, “I have no idea. I just found it in the kitchen.”

***

She spread a small blanket across the grass and immediately dropped to her knees.

“Since when do you ever take long lunch breaks?” Jim asked as he joined her on the blanket and sat eagerly in front of the picnic basket.

“Since today.” she replied with a sweet smile as she opened up the top of the basket and pulled out all the things that she had placed inside earlier that morning. She sat a bottle of water in front of Jim and she sat one in front of herself. She placed the salad towards an edge of the blanket and she allowed Jim to see the very small glimpse of the box of Oreos as she pulled out three sandwiches.

“Three sandwiches?” he asked. “You hungry?”

“Well, one of them is for me, and the other two are for you to choose from.” she replied as she took out a sandwich and placed it in front of her.

“Two? You spoil me so.” he said with a smile.

“You have your choice of ham and cheese or tuna salad.” she said holding up to wrapped sandwiches for him to choose from.

“First ham and cheese.” he said grabbing the sandwich on the right. “I may come back for Mr. Tuna though.” Pam smiled and handed him the ham and cheese sandwich. Immediately, he peeled off the top slice of bread and Pam did the same with hers. One by one, he peeled off each tomato, each leaf of lettuce and the fluff of sprouts that sat on top of the cheese and placed each of them on Pam’s open sandwich.

“I don’t know why you always get me all these extra vegetables.” Jim said as he sprinkled the fluffy sprouts over the open sandwich.

“Because I like them,” she said, “and the place that I get these sandwiches are always really stingy with extra vegetables.”

“Stingy?” he asked.

“They like to charge me extra for a couple more tomato slices or a little more lettuce.” she replied. “Why pay for the extra veggies when I can just put them on your sandwich and get them for free?”

“Good point.” he said with a smile.

“So how is work treating you today?” Pam asked before she took a massive bite of her turkey and cheese.

“How do you think?” he asked before he opened his own mouth to take a bite of his sandwich.

“I don’t know, that’s why I asked you.” she replied with a smile as she tried to quickly chew and swallow all the food in her mouth. He shook his head at her as he watched her struggle with the mouthful of turkey, vegetables and cheese. “What?”

“Did your mother ever teach you not to speak with your mouth full of food?” he teased.

She covered her mouth with her hand quickly and repeated, “How is work treating you today?”

He laughed and shook his head, “Not now, Pam. Not now. This is a happy place.”

***

As their lunch progressed, Pam noticed that Jim became quieter and quieter. He certainly seemed to be happy to be out in Central Park, eating lunch out on the grass, but she could tell that there was something bugging him in the back of his mind. He slowly chewed on his Oreo cookies and she finally spoke up.

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring any milk.” she said as she watched him slowly licking the white cream off of the center of the cookie.

“What?” he asked.

“Milk,” she replied, “I’m sorry that I didn’t bring any…for the cookies.”

“Oh.” he said, looking down at the cookie in his hand as if he had just realized it was there all the sudden. “Oh, no, it’s not that.”

“What’s bothering you, then?” she asked as she started to pack some of the things into the basket again.

“It’s…I have to go on another trip.” Jim said shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I tried to get out of going, I really did.”

Pam’s face fell, “Oh.” she said with a slow nod of her head.

“But that’s not entirely all that’s bothering me.” he said, shaking his head some more.

“What is it, then?” she asked.

“I’m…I’m not going to be alone on the trip.” he replied quietly and with a careful tone of voice.

“Oh?” Pam asked.

“No…uh…” Jim replied, he handed her the box of Oreos and she placed them inside the basket. “Karen is coming with me.”

“What?” Pam asked, dropping the lid of the basket quickly.

“I tried to get someone else to come instead.” he explained. “That was what my meeting was about this morning and…I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Don’t go.” Pam immediately said, and she hoped that she didn’t come off sounding as strict as she had sounded in her mind. She fully trusted Jim. Karen on the other hand…

“I don’t really have a choice.” he said. “I’m the only one…other than Karen, that has worked with this company in the past.”

“Then maybe just Karen should go.” Pam said.

“They need two people.” Jim said glumly. He was looking down into his lap now, afraid to meet Pam’s gaze.

“Jim, I don’t want you going with her.” Pam said shaking her head.

“You think that I want to go with her?” Jim asked incredulously. “I did everything short of begging my co-workers!”

Pam fell silent, and now it was her turn to look down in her lap and avoid eye contact with Jim. She nervously fidgeted with the hem of her dress and bit hard on her bottom lip to suppress the tears building from within.

“Where are you going?” she asked quietly, barely above a whisper.

“London.” he replied. She made a whimpering noise in the back of her throat and her eyes stung.

“When?” she asked.

“In about a month.” he replied.

“For how long?” she asked.

“Two weeks.” he replied.

She woefully nodded and took a deep breath. Finally, she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and brought her head up to meet his gaze again.

“I’m so sorry.” he said quietly.

“You know, London is where she cheated on you.” she said.

“I’m not going to do that to you, Pam.” he stated as sincerely as he could. Pam quickly looked down in her lap again and took a couple of quick breaths before she felt the tips of Jim’s fingers underneath her chin and he lifted her head to meet his eyes. His face was marked with genuine concern and she tried to smile.

Jim added, “I could never, ever do that to you.” His hand trailed down the side of her neck and she nodded once.

“She might try to get you to though.” she said as she quickly ran the edge of her hand along one of her eyelids to stop a stray tear from rolling down her cheek.

“I won’t let her.” he said as he sat on his knees and inched closer to her.

“You’re going to owe me for this trip.” she said with half a smile on her face.

“I know.” he said as he quickly pulled her into his arms and held her close to his body.