Then it’s a date. These four words reverberated in Jim’s head as he drove home to get ready for his date with Pam. He thought to himself Holy shit, I am going on a date with Pam! Tonight!!!!
Once he was home, he stripped out of his interview suit, threw on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, cracked open a beer and sank his tired body into the couch. For the zillionth time today, his mind was playing the movie of his life. He was thinking about all that had transpired with Pam in the last week, the last few months, the last year. By now he had run Pam’s beach speech through his head a zillion times; he even took to saying it out loud when he had trouble sleeping (which was pretty much every night). He replayed yesterday’s morning at work when Pam complimented his stupid haircut and how he got chills hearing her say he looked nice. He thought about the laughter they shared at Jan’s expense, which didn’t last too long thanks to Karen cutting in. He remembered having the image of Pam’s beautiful “good luck” smile in his head as he drove to New York with Karen. He thought about the past day and a half in New York, how he had woke up in the middle of the night in the hotel to the sound of his own voice muttering “Pam, Pam, Pam” as he transitioned from dream to reality. How all he could remember about his dream was that Pam was wrapped up in his arms and they were sharing an incredible kiss. His dream obviously aroused him in more ways than one, and he briefly considered masturbating right there in the hotel bed, next to the sleeping Karen, when reason got the best of him and he slipped out of the sheets that smelled strongly of bleach into the bathroom with a throbbing heart and a Pam-grown erection. He stepped into the shower, and on Park and 49th, he brought himself to orgasm thinking about Pam for the umpteenth time. He had spent the remaining hours until the sun came up on the couch re-reading, again, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. He had picked the book up on a whim earlier in the evening when he and Karen (at Karen’s insistence) had gone “sightseeing” at Barnes & Noble on 5th Avenue. He ignored the strange look that she gave him when he bought it, and didn’t even bother to offer an explanation. He smiled to himself as he read the last page and headed for the bathroom for his second shower of the brand new day. When Karen woke up, he was interview-ready.
The rest of what happened in New York was sort of a big blur to him. He recalled sitting in the reception area with Karen and Michael, Jan’s meltdown, Karen’s lack of concern for Jan, and his relief when she decided to go have lunch with her friends rather than hang around and wait for him. All of that kind of happened so fast that it all blended together as one big memory. He had remembered the mental note he made to himself to have a conversation with Michael about the whole Jan situation. Michael, in all his buffoonery, had actually turned out to be a true friend to Jim and Jim realized now that he had never acted in kind.
His thoughts then turned to his interview with Wallace, which he was pretty sure he had aced, until he saw the note. This was his moment of clarity. He was done at that point. Done with the interview, done with New York, done with Karen, done with hiding, done with lying to himself, done with trying to be what he wasn’t. The façade he had invented for himself was over. He had graciously bowed out of the interview after admitting to David (and himself) that he could not see himself in New York for the long haul, or even the short haul. Without saying the exact words, he explained to David that his heart, and the woman who held the key to it, was back in Scranton. David had seemed to understand and was gracious enough about the whole thing. Jim had walked out of that building a hundred pounds lighter than he had walked in. He had called Karen and told her over the phone that he was going back to Scranton. Alone. He had wanted to do it in person, but he wound up breaking up with her right over the phone. He was as kind as he could be, but she was still upset. He felt bad for hurting her and told her as much, and that was the end of that. For now, he guessed, since he had no idea if she as going to get the corporate job or remain working in Scranton as well. So he had made the drive back home, thoughts of Pam swirling through his head (for a change, he sarcastically told himself), and not able to wait a second longer, barged in on her time with the camera crew and asked her out!
And now here he was, about to go out on a date with the woman he had been in love with since the first second he laid eyes on her. He broke from his reverie, not realizing he had been crying a little while thinking about everything. He wiped his face, finished his beer and dialed Pam’s cell number, which he had committed to memory all those years ago, but never actually dialed until now. She answered on the first ring. The sound of her voice sent him reeling. “Hi” she had said, obviously recognizing his number as well. “Hey Pam. I just want to confirm that I’ll pick you up at 7 tonight.” “Cool, see you then” she said. He could hear the nervousness in her voice, but he could also hear her smiling and could totally picture her doing so. “See you later” he said, and they hung up.
After he shaved and showered, he clothed himself in a button up white shirt tucked into a pair of jeans. Thankfully his hair was still long enough for him to maneuver it back to “normal” or at least a shorter version of normal. He hated that dumb haircut, felt like a doofy little kid in it. At that point he thought of the way Karen had pushed him into it and he had started to get angry. Let it go, he said to himself, and he did, just like that. Tonight he was going out with Pam, and he would not let ugly thoughts creep into his head. He brushed his teeth, grabbed his keys and his wallet, and off he went. He made a quick stop to pick up some flowers for Pam.
