June 4, 2006

Jim opened his eyes and looked around the unfamiliar room. It was a pretty bedroom, decorated in shade of blue. Pam liked simplicity, Jim knew, and Roy wouldn’t have wanted anything too feminine. Still, she had put little touches in the room that he knew were her own. Like the watercolors on the walls. Most she had bought, he knew, but a couple were hers. Painted while she was at school. She was really talented, Jim thought. It hadn’t been bad at all, sleeping here last night. While Roy’s presence was everywhere else in the small apartment, in this room at least, he was nowhere to be seen. This room was all Pam.

Jim looked over Pam’s shoulder at the clock radio on her night table. 7:05. He had a sudden impulse. If he got dressed right away…he had packed some decent pants, and a nice shirt…he could meet his mother at St.Mary’s for 8 AM Mass. She was always so pleased to see him when he did that, and never said a word to him about the 50 or so other Sundays a year that he didn’t. Still, he didn’t think Pam would want to go, being a lapsed Episcopalian and all, and he didn’t really want to leave her alone again, which hadn’t worked out all that well yesterday. Plus, he hadn’t been to confession since…well, high school, so Monsignor Murphy always looked at him like he was a lost sheep.

At that moment, Pam rolled over towards him, waking up, and he took her in his arms, loving the feel of her naked body against his. Hmmm…tough choice. Get up and go to mass, or do something about this beautiful naked woman in his arms. Sorry Mom. But, thank you, God.

At about 9:00 they finally got up, and Jim offered to make breakfast, while Pam was in the shower. He was fairly proficient at bread based cuisine, so he decided to make French toast. Today he and Pam were meeting Dan and Ted, his brother in law, over at his house where they would help him pack the mini U-haul truck he had rented. Dan had agreed to drive back with him to help him at the other end, which was terrific of him. Dan had no problem staying over tonight in Stamford, since his Law school final exams were over, and he would be graduating soon. But Jim would owe him big time, nevertheless.

Last night Pam had cooked him dinner, which was really fun, with a vase of flowers and candles on the little table in the dining alcove. She had made spaghetti and meatballs, with salad and Italian bread. It wasn’t gourmet cooking. The meatballs were from Sam’s Club, the sauce from a jar, and the salad from a bag, but it was the first home cooked meal Jim had eaten in weeks and he loved it. Afterwards, they rented a couple of movies and watched them on the giant TV that Roy had bought for watching sports. He would be taking it, of course, when he got his own place, but for right now, it was pretty nice. Pam and Roy had matching recliners, in nubby brown fabric; Pam’s with a reading light, and a side table piled with books and sketchpads. But, by unspoken agreement, Pam and Jim avoided these and snuggled together on the sofa. Pam said that Roy would be taking both recliners. They were comfortable, she said, but really ugly, and she wanted attractive chairs with ottomans.

That night, when they went to bed, they were both conscious of the fact that this would be their last night together for at least three weeks, probably closer to four. Jim wouldn’t be back from Australia until June 23rd, and needed some time to get his new apartment into shape, before Pam could even come visit. Thankfully, in July, Pam’s internship would start, and New York was not far from Stamford at all. He could get through the weeks, if he knew that he could look forward to seeing her on the weekends. And thank God for E-mail.

Jim put the finished French toast on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven to keep warm. He knew, by now, that it took Pam a really long time to dry her hair. He smiled to himself thinking that yesterday the two of them had looked like total slobs all day, and hadn’t thought anything of it. But today "the guys" were coming over, and suddenly she wanted to fix her hair and put on a little makeup. It was such a feminine reaction, and Jim loved it. It was so great having a woman in his life again.

Jim was setting the table when the doorbell rang. He had already brought in the Sunday paper, and as far as he knew they weren’t expecting anybody. One unpleasant possibility crossed his mind, so it was with some trepidation that he looked through the peephole in the door. Sure enough, it was Roy. Well, thank goodness, he had gotten dressed before making breakfast. He felt vulnerable enough as it was. He opened the door, and Roy pushed his way into the apartment. He didn’t seem at all surprised to see Jim there at 9:30 on a Sunday morning. He did, however, seem thoroughly pissed. "I see you’re still lookin’ after my girl for me, huh Halpert?"

"I guess you’re always going to regret saying that to me that night, aren’t you Roy? "

Jim regretted that remark almost immediately, as Roy shoved him with some force into the living room and said menacingly, "I thought you were leaving town!"

"I did. I moved to Connecticut. I’m just here today to finish moving out of my house. However, I think we have a misunderstanding here. I am leaving town, but I am not leaving Pam. I told you back in the warehouse, how I felt about her. We’re together now. I know you’re pissed, and I don’t blame you. But, what are you going to do…hit me?"

Roy hit him. Socked him in the jaw, to be specific. Jim’s head recoiled back, but he stood his ground. "Wow!" he exclaimed, his hand to his jaw, tasting blood from his cut lower lip, "I must admit, I did not expect that. So…did that help? I hope so, because I do not want to fight you, man. But I will. You’ll probably win…but I’m sure I can inflict some damage."

"Roy!" Pam came running into the living room and taking in the situation, "Oh my God...did you hit him? What, are you totally insane?"

"Sorry, Pam." Roy rubbed his sore knuckles, looking rather shamefaced. " I didn’t mean to. I’ve been trying to be mature about this whole thing. You know that. But he asked me if I was going to hit him, and it suddenly seemed like a real good idea."

"Are you going to leave now?" Jim asked, hoping that would seem like an equally good idea.

"What are you doing here, Roy?" Pam asked. "How did you know Jim would be here? Did Katie tell you?"

"Katie?"

Jim looked at Roy. One didn’t need to be Dwight Schrute to recognize guilt when one saw it." You know…Katie. My ex-girlfriend."

"Yeah…she told me Halpert was back in town, and probably with you. We just went out once or twice...there’s nothing going on, Pam."

"Roy. It’s okay. We’re not engaged anymore. You’re free to do what you want. And I’m sure Jim feels the same way about Katie, right?"

"Oh…absolutely. Listen, Roy. We were just going to have breakfast. Want some French toast? I made it myself."

Roy laughed. "No thanks. But you’re a piece of work, Halpert. I do feel better after hitting you, though."

"Well, good. Always pleased to oblige. Now, excuse me...I’m going to go put some ice on my lip."

"Goodbye, Roy." Pam said deliberately and opened the front door.

"Bye Pam. I’m sorry…really." Roy left.

Pam came into the kitchen, "Are you all right? Let me see your lip."

"I’m fine. I’ve had much worse playing basketball, believe me. I’m really glad I didn’t have to fight him, though. I hate to fight before breakfast. Thanks for bringing up Katie...I think that’s what saved the day."

"Well, you were right about the Katie-Roy connection."

"But one thing puzzles me," Jim said as he put the French toast on the table with the butter and the syrup. "Katie seemed surprised when I told her about us. So I guess Roy never mentioned me in his tale of woe. Did he really think I was just going to go away?"

After breakfast, Jim and Pam went back to Jim’s house to wait for Dan and Ted to show up. Dan was Jim’s former college roommate, and currently going to law School at Yale, so Jim didn’t see that much of him during the year. Ted was married to Jim’s sister, Janice. Pam had met him at the Memorial Day barbecue at Jim’s parents’ house. He was a Doctor, so his free time was precious, and Jim was grateful that he was willing to spare a little of it today.

Jim’s current roommate Mark, was a good guy, Jim said, but he somehow always managed to be absent whenever there was any work to be done. He and Jim had negotiated about what pieces of furniture Jim could take with him to Stamford, and gone off for the weekend, trusting that Jim wouldn’t clean him out. It was tempting, Jim admitted to Pam, to imagine Mark coming home to an empty house, stripped to the bare walls, but Jim was happy with what little furniture he was taking. The rest he would buy new.

Around noon. Dan showed up. He was a good-looking guy, a little shorter than Jim, with dark hair and glasses. He greeted Jim with a hug and told Pam, "Haven’t seen this guy since the big Valentine’s Day massacre and poker game." He gave Pam an appraising look and said, "I am so glad to meet you. Jim talks about you all the time." To Jim he said, "Got any beer?" and "What the hell happened to your lip?"

"The lip is a long story and we have work to do. There’s beer in the fridge and pizza on order. But pace yourself…we have a two and a half hour drive this afternoon."

When Ted arrived he brought his son, Davie with him. Davie was four. "He kept pestering me to bring him, and Janice could use a little rest. He can run around in the yard."

"I’ll watch him, " Pam offered, "To tell you the truth, I’d rather do that than move heavy furniture."

"So would I," Ted laughed, "but thanks." To Jim he said, in his best McCoy from Star Trek voice, "Dammit Jim, I’m a Doctor not a moving man!"

The five of them had a terrific afternoon. Jim, Dan and Ted made short work out of carrying out Jim’s desk and bookshelves, his computer and television set, along with a bureau and a big ugly armchair. Jim also took custody of the kitchen table and chairs, since he had bought them when he first moved in. The bed, he left for a future tenant to throw out. He also left Mark his fussy toaster, just in case Mark ever found himself in possession of a loaf of bread.

Davie was perfectly content to follow Pam around, and she took him on a tour of the house, up and down stairs, peeking out of all of the windows and looking in the mirrors. Jim was right…after his initial shyness, he seemed to really like her, and crawled into her lap, whenever she sat down.

When the pizza arrived, they broke for lunch, and then put Davie down for a nap and played a few hands of poker, which Jim mostly won, to nobody’s surprise. Pam was astounded. When Roy and his friends got together, they had totally ignored her, as though she were invisible. She had gotten so used to it, that it amazed her when Jim, Dan, and Ted actually included her in the conversation. They teased Jim thoroughly about Australia and his new job, and Jim and Pam told funny stories about the Scranton branch, with Jim doing the appropriate imitations. Dan and his girlfriend had just seen the DaVinci Code, while Jim and Pam had seen the X-Men, so they discussed the relative merits of both. Ted said that Janice was dragging him to see The Break Up because she had a thing for Vince Vaughn, but he didn’t mind as long as he could see Jennifer Anniston.

But eventually, the van was loaded and it was time for Jim and Dan to leave. They wanted to get to Stamford in time to reverse the process at Jim’s new apartment before it was too late.

Davie gave Pam a big hug before Ted helped him into his car seat. Ted invited Pam over the next time they had a cookout, probably in a week or two. He knew that the next few weeks were going to be lonely for her, and Janice had expressed an interest in to getting to know Pam better. He gave Pam a hug and got into his car.

Dan was going to follow Jim in the U-Haul. He told Pam again how happy he was to meet her, and kissed her cheek before getting into his car. That left Jim and Pam, who walked around the side of the house for a little privacy.

"I can’t believe I’m really leaving Scranton. It doesn’t seem real, somehow."

"Well, I think you’re still allowed to come back now and then. And your parents are here and your whole family."

"And you."

"Yeah. Your friends are really nice. A whole afternoon and they didn’t talk about sports once!"

Jim laughed, "Oh we talk about sports, believe me…but they do have other interests too. They’re both a lot smarter than I am."

"Jim! They are not! But listen, you’d better go. I don’t want you falling asleep on the road again. Can you kiss me with that lip of yours?"

"I’m damned well going to try."

They kissed goodbye, even though it hurt, and Pam walked Jim back to the truck. Reluctantly, he got in and she kissed him again, and he started up the truck and pulled out of the driveway, Dan’s car following behind.

Pam stood a moment watching them until they were out of sight, then got back into her own car to head back to her lonely apartment. Tomorrow it would be back to work at Dunder Mifflin, where a new salesman would be sitting at Jim’s desk. With tears running down her face, Pam pulled out of the driveway, and headed down the road.