It was slightly chilly on the roof but Pam gladly sat next to Jim with his sport coat over her legs to warm them, both reminiscing about their shared past.
“Do you remember what you said to me on my first day of work just before you walked me over to my desk?’
“Yeah”
He gave her a look to challenge her and it brought the moment back to her clearly.
“Enjoy this moment because you’re never going to go back to this time before you met your desk mate, Dwight.”
“And that’s when I knew.”
They both were smiling broadly lost in the memory of times before denial and heartache, before walls were built, before he even knew she was engaged.
It was a dreary day- a Monday. Jim had just pulled into the parking lot at the building he would be calling home from 8-5 Monday through Friday for who knows how long. He secretly hoped not long. He didn’t know a whole lot about paper, but he knew how to sell. His last sales job wasn’t anything to write home about. He was selling auto parts, which admittedly wasn’t Jim’s strong suit. He knew enough to get by but not as much as his manager would have liked. Cars were always a way for Jim and his dad to connect. One of his dad’s hobbies was to fix up old clunkers and Jim spent many Saturdays with him and his brother Jonathan in the garage tinkering with this part or that part. He enjoyed the camaraderie more than the cars and it was the same way with his sales job.
He really enjoyed the people he visited on his sales calls and usually took his time closing a deal, happy to hear stories of their families or a good joke. Unfortunately his boss was a numbers person and always grilled Jim on his quotas. It was getting old. So, while glancing through the paper one day, an advertisement for a sales position at Dunder Mifflin had caught his eye. The opportunity paid better than his current position and, although he would miss the friends he had made, he decided to look into it. His prospective boss, Michael Scott, kind of amused him in the hour-long interview and he thought he could use some entertainment during his workday. It certainly would be a welcome change from the high-pressure tactics of his old boss. Plus, the receptionist seemed nice and was certainly cute. Hopefully his time at Dunder Mifflin would be fun until he found something that suited him better and made him happy.
He walked through the door and smiled at the receptionist. She was expecting him and greeted him warmly.
“Hi there. Welcome to your first day! I’m sure you don’t remember me so just to remind you, I’m Pam, and I’ll be your tour guide today.”
“Hi Pam! Are there audio headsets for rent on this tour or will you personally be filling me in on all the ins and outs of Dunder Mifflin?”
She smiled and he swore he hadn’t seen her smile like that when he was here for the interview. He definitely would have remembered that. He silently vowed to try and make her smile like that again by the end of the day. It could be a fun game for him, something to strive for everyday. He could see himself trying to break his personal record of how many times he got her to smile that smile.
The rest of the day was spent in Michael’s office sitting through a motivational speech that Michael clearly thought would inspire Jim to sell more paper than any other salesperson in the history of Dunder Mifflin. Then came the obligatory training video, which was unlike anything he had ever seen. No wonder Pam had kind of smirked after she started the tape for him and quickly took her leave. Finally, she escorted him to what she called “the annex” to meet Toby, the resident HR guy, and finalize some paperwork. It didn’t take long and Pam was kind enough to wait until he was done so she could escort him to his new desk. He was a little disappointed that their tour was about to come to an end. It had been fun interacting with Pam all day. And then she said it…
“Okay, are you ready to see your new desk? Before I take you there, can I give you just one piece of advice?”
“Please.”
“Enjoy this moment because you’re never going to go back to this time before you met your desk mate, Dwight.”
“Sounds ominous.”
“You have no idea.”
It wasn’t until after he met Dwight and Pam returned to her desk that he realized he was still smiling. Pam Beesly. Wow. She was totally unexpected. Never before had Jim felt an immediate connection like he did with her. He was totally comfortable around her and she made him feel like she really got him, which was totally ridiculous because they had known each other for all of what, 5 hours? But there it was- a feeling in his gut that she was different and he liked it, he liked her. His earlier assessment of her as cute was way off. She was the type of girl who didn’t believe in her good looks which made her all the more attractive to him, but her looks were just part of the equation. She had a wicked sense of humor and he honestly had never met another woman who could run with a joke like she could. Clearly she was intelligent as well as beautiful. The whole package was just… wow. The last thing he was looking for was a love interest but life rarely gives you what you’re expecting. He just knew that he was so glad he had made the decision to change jobs and that he was loving the view from his new desk.
“You?” said Jim eager to hear about the first time Pam realized she liked him. He kind of felt like a silly teenager but he didn’t care. There were so many times he had tried to make her laugh, tried to be charming, to think of crazy pranks to pull on Dwight just so they could be close to each other. He couldn’t wait to hear which moment resonated with her.
“You came up to my desk and you said, ‘This might sound weird and there’s no reason for me to know this, but that mixed berry yogurt you’re about to eat has expired.’”
“That was the moment that you knew you liked me?” he said a little incredulously. He couldn’t believe that was it.
“Yep.”
Pam had always been more about the little things than the sweeping gestures. Not that she didn’t appreciate big bouquets and romantic surprises, but she believed the small moments were the ones that really let you see what the other person is made of and how they really feel. That was what the yogurt comment meant to her.
It was a day like any other. The clock was crawling toward 2:45- her designated snack time. She always hit a slump around 3:00 and yogurt seemed to give her a small boost and helped her make it through the rest of the day. Joking around with Jim, the relatively new salesman, helped too. When he had first started she had felt relieved because finally someone had gotten her sense of humor. Her jokes were always lost on Roy, her fiancé, who preferred sophomoric humor. Accidentally burp in the middle of a sentence and Roy would fall off his seat in a fit of laughter. Come back with a witty retort and all she got was silence from him and an occasional eye roll. It was good to know that she actually was funny to someone and really liked making Jim laugh. They had become fast friends.
Finally 2:45 came and off she went to the refrigerator in the break room to retrieve her favorite mixed berry yogurt. She made a mental note that she needed to stop by the store on her way home and restock the fridge; she was about to eat the last one. Back at her desk she grabbed a plastic spoon and began to tear off the lid when she felt someone leaning on the counter in front of her. She looked up and saw Jim’s lanky frame.
“This might sound weird and there’s no reason for me to know this, but that mixed berry yogurt you’re about to eat has expired.”
He was smirking a little and almost looked a little embarrassed.
“Just thought you should know. It’s Friday and I didn’t want you to have to spend the weekend locked in the bathroom due to spoiled yogurt cultures.” He shrugged, tapped her counter and turned to head back to his desk.
“Uh…. okay, thanks,” she called back to him. Honestly, she had been so shocked that she hadn’t realized until he turned to go that she had just been staring at him, the yogurt lid and spoon still in her right hand suspended in mid air. Not that she didn’t believe him but she took a quick glance at the expiration date and discovered he was indeed correct. She shook her head, bent down to toss the container into the trashcan and smiled at his thoughtfulness.
There was so much to like about Jim and she silently added “thoughtful” to the ever-growing list that also included “smart”, “funny”, “personable” and “sweet”. Pam surprised herself when the adjective “cute” also popped into her head. She laughed slightly at what a dork she was being but she honestly couldn’t understand why he was unattached. As she sat there staring at the expired yogurt in the trashcan she let her mind wander. He had been a very supportive friend whenever she needed one. He was always full of compliments when it came to her art, pranking skills… almost anything she now realized. She also realized how much she had enjoyed his attention and for the first time ever since she and Roy had been together the thought of what it might be like to be with someone else crept into her mind. It had been a long time since someone had been that thoughtful, to look out for her in a kind and protective way. Wow. Jim Halpert. He was a man who was full of surprises and all of a sudden she became aware that she was feeling and thinking things about another man which were totally inappropriate for a woman who was engaged to be married. Quickly, she allowed herself a glance over to his desk where he sat biting his lip nervously. It was then she realized that her slow reaction might have made him second-guess himself. She quickly sent him an instant message:
PBeesly: Hey, thanks again for sparing me.
JHalpert: No problem. I’m really not a stalker, I just picked up your yogurt by mistake earlier and the expiration date was glaring at me like a beacon from a lighthouse. It was my duty to warn you.
PBeesly: Yeah well, the stalker thing remains to be seen. By the way, didn’t your mom ever teach you to throw away spoiled things?
JHalpert: I also take the last of something and don’t throw away the box. I’m imperfect. Seriously, I didn’t want to sabotage your 2:45 snack break.
PBeesly: 2:45 snack break???? Stalker.
JHalpert: Ooops. Should I expect Dwight to deliver a restraining order?
PBeesly: Absolutely not. You seem harmless. Besides, who’s gonna drive me home when you poke a hole in my tire?
She looked up to find him more at ease and smiling. No trace of nervousness left. She let her gaze linger a bit and noticed for the first time that he has a freckle on the right side of his neck just at his jaw line. She smiled to herself and felt a bit flushed. It wasn’t altogether a bad feeling. She felt certain she’d be able to make it through the rest of the day despite the absence of her mixed berry yogurt.
