Jim stood for a moment, transfixed. Pam was in his kitchen, doing dishes. She stared out through the tiny window above the sink as she mechanically wiped the cups and plates from their dinner. The light of the setting sun was dancing in her hair, and her brow was creased with thought. She looked strikingly beautiful, but also very sad, and the tiny sigh that escaped her lips propelled him into motion.
“What’s wrong?” Jim said softly as he crossed the room.
The concern in Pam’s face disappeared as she turned to him with a smile and the beginnings of a blush staining her cheeks. “Nothing. I mean…oh, see, I can’t tell you because you’ll laugh. And it’s stupid and it’s nothing.” Pam turned her eyes back to the dishes, clearly hoping he would let the matter go.
“Pam. You can tell me. And I promise…” She stopped him with a look, her lips twisted knowingly. “OK, I don’t promise I won’t laugh. But you can tell me anything.”
Pam sighed deeply, but she was also half-smiling. “Fine. Fine, whatever. I was worrying about Ron and Hermione, OK? Happy now?”
Jim Halpert was, in fact, happy. He had wasted years at a dead-end job. He had moved back to a town with little potential for new challenges. He had also, finally, been allowed to bask in the affection of this beautiful woman, inexplicably washing his dishes, lit like an angel by the setting sun and ridiculously, endearingly, fretting about…
“Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter?”
“See? It’s nothing.” Pam was laughing, but Jim could tell she was embarrassed.
“But…what about them?” Jim sat down at the kitchen table. With his best faux-serious tone, he pondered the question aloud. “They get married. They have kids. Sure, they name one of them ‘Hugo,’ but that’s nothing to worry about, Pam. What’s the problem?”
Shaking her head in amused defeat, Pam sat herself across from Jim. “The problem is that I am afraid they aren’t really happy.”
“Okaaay. But they’re together and married with kids in the epilogue.”
An echo of her serious expression returned to Pam’s face before she answered. “I know,” she said quietly. “But just because they were together for a long time doesn’t mean they were happy. They got together right out of school and in most ways they were really mismatched. What if they just stayed together out of habit, or loyalty, or something?”
Jim reached out and took Pam’s hand. It was still slightly damp from the dishwater, and he rubbed his thumb across the remnants of some suds at the base of her thumb. “I think you’re forgetting that they went through a lot to be together,” he answered, hoping that she could see that he was now being serious. “They both dated other people; they were apart for a long time when Ron was being an absolute idiot. Also, they were perfect for each other. I mean, think about how she acted while he was away- hardly herself at all. And the idea that someone was hurting her about killed Ron.” Jim paused for a moment, swallowing hard.
“And anyway, this wasn’t like what’s-his-name, the Quidditch star- Viktor. That guy was just some jock that Hermione was flattered by, even though obviously she liked him well enough. If she had stayed with him, you’d have reason to be worried.” Jim tightened his grip on Pam’s hand. “But, fortunately, Hermione figured out that Vicky wasn’t the man for her, and Ron grew up enough to sort-of deserve her.”
The sun had dipped below the horizon, and now Pam’s features were shaded by the shadows. Still, Jim could see that her eyes were sparkling, and her lips were curving into the smile he loved so much.
“How do you always know what to say to me?” she asked. The tenderness in her voice made Jim’s skin tingle.
“Magic,” he replied.
