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She had plenty of questions for him. How could she not have them? Jim just showed up with no warning. Not that she was complaining, she definitely wasn't, but she wanted to know what happened in New York with the interview and—she took a breath—Karen. It was the one thing that had been in the back of her mind since he walked into her interview. He hadn't said anything yet, and she didn't feel like bringing it up. There would be time for questions once they arrived at the restaurant. At this moment, she was enjoying just being with him. It amazed her how something so simple as watching him drive down the streets of Scranton made her so incandescently happy. He drove with his right hand on top of the wheel, his thumb gently tapping to the beat of the music. His left elbow was propped next to the window and his hand was in it's normal position: two fingers across the mouth, two on the side. He had a smile that hadn't left his face since she saw him in the parking lot. He looked over at her and caught her staring at him.
“What?” He laughed quietly.
“Nothing,” she smiled at him, “keep your eyes on the road.”
But she didn't look away. Jim reached over and grabbed her hand. She felt her stomach do a back flip. They sat there in silence—a good silence, not an awkward one—until they pulled into the restaurant.
They sat down at their table, far in the back, thanks to Jim's request. They began talking like friends that hadn't seen each other for ages would. She filled him in on things Dwight said or did when he wasn't there, and he told her stories of Stamford. They had never really talked after the merger—not like this. It felt good. She started to see the facial expressions coming from him that had been absent the last few months. She still remembered the names she had given to each one of them.
But there was one thing still nagging at her brain that she need to talk to him about. New York, the interview, and Karen. She finally spoke up, stopping Jim mid-sentence.
“Jim.”
He looked up at her as if he knew what was coming.
“Yeah?”
She swallowed hard and starting fiddling with her fork.
“What happened? In New York? With the interview, and...Karen?”
His face fell and he looked down at his plate, which slightly worried Pam. He had broken it off with Karen, right? But as soon as the thought entered her mind it left because that smile she loved so much came to his lips.
He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. He looked her straight in the eyes.
“I could have had that job. The interview went better than I ever imagined it would. I had every intention of moving there and starting a new life with Karen. She's still in New York, Pam. I'm here. Some 'Fancy New Beesly' set me straight.”
He pulled the yogurt lid and note out of his pocket and put it in front of her plate.
“I don't want a new life, Pam. My life is here, in Scranton, sitting across from me right now.”
She didn't know what to say. She felt a lump rising in her throat and tears coming to her eyes. She put her hand over her mouth. He was perfect. He was hers. She felt like leaping over the table and showering him with kisses. She resisted and instead, she lowered her hand, and looked at him.
“You know...I kind of like you, Halpert.”
He let out a gust of air that was more of a laugh, and smiled.
“I kind of like you too, Beesly.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
I decided to write this chapter from Pam's Point of view. Also, I wrote in one day...pretty fast, but I'm pretty happy with it.
Chapter End Notes:
I thought I was going to end here, but I'm contemplating writing another chapter. Tell me what you guys think? Should I continue, or is this a good place to end?
