JIM

“Alright, alright man. No need to beg. I’ll go have a beer. You will have to help me move the big stuff in this weekend though,” Jim told Mark as he shifted his cell from one ear to the other. He grabbed another box from the U-Haul and carried it up the steps to his second-floor apartment

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“If begging gets you to actually come out on a Friday night then so be it. Poor Richard’s. Seven. Don’t be late Halpert. Glad your back man,” Mark said over the phone as Jim set the box down in the living room.

“Glad to be back. I guess. See you there.” He snapped the phone shut and slid it across the kitchen counter. He really was glad to be back actually. He never thought he would, but after a year and a half in Stamford he actually begun to miss Scranton. His family was here, as were most of his friends. His good memories far outweighed the bad.

He sliced the tape and opened the box he had just brought in. It was labeled ‘L.ROOM’. He searched through the box, already blanking on what he had thrown in it back in Connecticut. As he fished around its contents, something caught his eye. He grabbed a small round object and drew it out with two fingers. It was a poker chip. Smiling to himself, he thought that this was the perfect item to represent both his best and worst memories. Shoving it absently into his pocket he vaguely wondered how married life was treating her. Not that he cared. Or thought much about it. He had gotten very good at thinking about her while pretending not to.

At first Jim thought Mark wasn’t going to show. It was twenty after seven and he was finishing the last of his beer. Finally he heard his name and saw his former roommate pick his way over to the small oaken table.

Mark grinned at him and shook his hand. “Halpert! Long time no see man!”

Jim grinned back, glad to see a familiar face. “Yeah long time. Too long. How’s life been treating you?”

He shrugged and waved his arm trying to get a server’s attention. “I live in Scranton. What could have possibly changed here? Other than what happened to that chick you used to crush on, things here have been pretty much exactly the same.”

Jim stopped in mid-drink, a slow ache dissolving in his stomach. “What chick? What are you talking about Mark?”

Sighing, Mark replied, “Looks like I’m going to have to go to the bar for a beverage.” He glanced at Jim. “Don’t tell me you have forgotten already. It was big news around here when she walked out on Ron or Roger or whatever his name was. Just like that Julia Roberts movie.” He paused when noticed Jim’s face go completely white. “Halpert, c’mon man. You had to have heard about it.”

Jim was nearly speechless. “Nah. Actually I didn’t. Wow.”

Mark clapped him on the shoulder. “Jim. Sorry. Seriously. I thought you knew.”

He shook his head and forced a smile. “Not your fault, guess I should have known right? Grab me another beer when you go up ok? Got to celebrate being back in the City That Always Sleeps you know?”

Mark grinned and clapped him on the shoulder one more time as he waded up to the bar to get the beers. Jim leaned against the table, lost in thought. How in the world did he miss that? The thing was is that he knew exactly how. When he left Scranton, he vowed to have nothing to do with any of the places or the people who lived in it ever again. Scranton equaled pain and a life lost to him. If he was going to be able to keep on breathing, he had to leave what suffocated him behind. No one really tried to keep in touch anyway. Kevin was the only person he still talked to, and that was just about fantasy football. There was one strange email he did get from Michael once. All it said was ‘I told you so. EAM.’ He had deleted it and chalked it up to Michael being Michael. Now it made sense. “Engaged ain’t married,” Jim breathed to himself.

Mark returned with a couple of drinks and set one down for him. “Here’s to you bro, welcome back home and congrats on becoming Paper Products Sales Rep for Staples – Scranton!”

Jim grinned and clinked his beer with Mark’s. He took a quick drink and looked around the room. It had gotten quite busy. Setting his beer down his gaze happened to fall upon a young woman just inside the entrance. His first thought was how cute she was. His brain stopped working soon after that. It was Pam. And she was staring at him. Her hair was down, in loose curls around her face. She had on a navy sweater and faded jeans, both of which showed off her figure in a way he never remembered seeing it back at the office. Before he could process his next thought she turned and left, urgency in her movements.

Finally he heard what Mark was saying. “-hearing me? You look like you just threw up or something.”

“Pam was here. Just now.” As he verbalized those words, a rush of courage sprung up inside him. Ignoring Mark’s questions, Jim pushed his way though the people and outside into the darkness. He had no idea what he was doing. Was he just going to walk up to her and say ‘Hi Pam I know I haven’t talked to you in over a year but I just heard about the wedding thing. Will you marry me?’ Maybe he would shout at her until his voice grew hoarse for not calling him when she left Roy. But she was there, really there, and he had to say something – anything – to her.

He scanned the parking lot, a panic slowly growing in his mind. She had already left. Or maybe he really did just imagine it all. He leaned forward, hands on his knees, and tried to make his lungs take in oxygen again. He thought that this is what a sucker punch to the stomach must feel like.

“Hi.” Her voice was so soft that he wasn’t sure he actually heard it. He looked to his left and there she was, partially hidden in the shadow of a huge SUV. She was fidgeting with her hands furiously.

“Uh, hey.” He sounded like such an idiot. He couldn’t think of anything else to say though. How do you start a conversation with a ghost? He still wasn’t convinced she was actually there standing just a few feet away from him.

“Um, I think I’m just gonna go-“ Pam started to say, turning away from him.

“Wait!” Jim blurted out quickly. He felt embarrassed all over again and smiled in spite of himself. His heart leaped into his throat when he saw her do the same.

She looked down at her hands as if willing them to stop tugging at each other. Not looking up, she said, “I got a call about you today. Some HR lady at Staples. Guess you are coming back here huh?”

Jim suddenly found the pavement right below his feet quite interesting. “Well, ah, yeah I am, I guess. My boss in Stamford quit to take a corporate job with them. Looks like they will be merging them with you guys. He was able to get me on at the store here.”

“Oh. We haven’t heard that yet. Guess maybe they will tell us on Monday or something,” she replied keeping her voice under control as best as she could.

He couldn’t think of anything to say so he just nodded his head. They stood there for a minute looking at everything but each other. Each of them at one point started to say something, but it ended up dying on their lips.

Finally Pam was able to bring her eyes up to meet his. “So were you going to be out of a job then since they were merging the branch?”

The question seemed innocent enough but he knew what she was asking. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to think of a way to answer her. “Uh, well no. Actually they asked me to be Michael’s number two. But I didn’t think it was a good fit, you know? I mean Dwight would have killed himself if he found out that I was going to be his boss.” He regretted trying to make a joke out of it and he could tell Pam wasn’t falling for it either. It may have been the moonlight, be he swore he saw tears reflecting back at him in her eyes as she fumbled for her keys from her purse.

Her voice took on a purposely casual tone as she replied, “Well it’s good to have you back. I hope we can still be friends.” Without waiting for a reply she turned and melted into the darkness of the parking lot, gone from his life again.

Jim just stood there, lost in thought. He didn’t know what to think anymore. He had seen and even talked to Pam. She knew he was back but what did ‘back’ even mean? He heard Mark behind him asking him if everything was ok.

“Nah man, I don’t think it is.” They shook hands and promised to meet up tomorrow. As Jim headed for his car, he pulled out the poker chip from his pocket as he fished for his keys. He held it up, twisting it slowly. It might have been something else entirely, but he swore he saw a small object that looked just like it attached to Pam’s keychain.