He stared at the numerous Christmas cards on the wall in front of him. He felt like David about to tackle Goliath. The Huns about to scale the Great Wall of China. Westley about to climb the Cliffs of Insanity. He needed to buy a Christmas card for Pam.
It was their first Christmas together as a couple and he wanted it to be perfect. Especially considering that last Christmas wasn’t all that great. Last year, he gave her a snow globe that he bought at the Dollar Store on the way to work. He scratched “Merry Christmas!” on a sticky note which he place on top of the globe. She, other on the hand, crafted the wonderful CIA prank. And all he gave her was a stupid snow globe.
This year, he got her a beautiful set of earrings along with a spa package at RejuvenEssence. Not to mention that he was going to cook her dinner. A full three-course dinner. Ending with a serenade and a candlelit dance. He planned it out perfectly. At least he hoped.
The card would seal the deal. He thought about getting a blank one and just writing on it, but there were so few and the ones that were blank seemed so dull. He searched for ones that looked nice on the outside and had a great message on the inside. None. Zip. Nada.
“Jim?”
He turned to see Angela standing there. “Hey, Angela.”
“Christmas card shopping?”
“Yeah.” He looked back at the wall in front of him. “But there aren’t that many great choices.”
“I usually buy a bulk set for acquaintances and co-workers, no offense….”
“None taken.”
“But I make my own for my friends and closest friends.”
He turned to smile at her. “Unfortunately, I’m not that crafty.”
She raised her eyebrow. “You can cut and paste, right?”
“Well, yeah, but—“
“Nope, that’s all you need to do.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” She sighed as she motioned of him to follow her. “Just be lucky that I have some scrapbook paper in my car.”
“Heh… Thanks, Angela.” He followed her as they went silently through the Viewmont Mall. After a few moments, he slowly asked, “Not to sound mean, but why are you helping me?”
“This card is for Pam, right?” She looked at him as he nodded. “Well, over the past year, I’ve considered her a friend so by me helping you, I’m helping her.” She quickly added, “Besides, it’s Christmas.” She flashed a smile before turning her head again.
Jim nodded silently as he continued to follow her. He was really proud of Pam to befriend Angela. He knew that he really couldn’t. He found his own barrel of monkeys as a Dwight’s friend, trying to be Angela’s too would have driven him over the edge. Pam, on the other hand, could find the best qualities of both Dwight and Angela. Heck, she found them in Michael, too. He smiled just thinking about her.
“Here we are,” Angela announced as they got to her silver Ford Focus. She popped open the trunk. Jim stared in amazement at the box of scrapbooking supplies that she was currently going through. She talked quietly to herself as she pawned through the sheets of paper. After a couple of minutes, she brought out four sheets of paper, a tag, and a couple of feet of ribbon. “This should do it.”
Jim looked, curiously, at the items she paced in his gloved hands. “Okay… what exactly do I do with this?”
Slightly annoyed, Angela sighed as she closed her truck. She took a couple of pieces of the paper to demonstrate and explain to Jim what to do. “Cut these the same size and glue them together. Then, take this one and do the same but make sure that you have enough extra paper on the edge so that you can bind them. Continue to do so for the next sheet and then use the extra paper from this one,” she lift up the first sheet again, “as the back. Glue them all together and then take the ribbon and wrap it around the spine and then attach the tag. And then you’re done. You can write whatever you want in the inside as well as put pictures, too.” She looked him straight in the eye. “Did you get all of that?”
The look on his face gave her the answer. She rolled her eyes and explained the process again. After repeating two more times, Jim finally got it. “Thanks, Angela,” he said as she got inside her car to leave. A few minutes after she left, he stared down at the supplies in his hands and silently cursed himself.
That night he spent five hours working on the card. He decided to try everything out on plain computer paper before completely ruining the four precious sheets of scrapbook paper. He really liked what Angela picked out. It was a Victorian-type theme which was quite sophisticated but at the same time, still fun… just like Pam.
His first attempt was a bust. His second attempt got a little better. For some reason, he couldn’t get the pages to stick together. In pure frustration, he decided to staple them together before adding the back page. Before long, his sixth try on the normal paper was perfect. He had already laid out the pictures as well as a few quotes and words that he wanted to use. He was ready. He made the first cut.
His eyes fluttered as he woke up groggily to the sound of his phone, which was behind him. He reached back and answered, “Hello…?”
“Jim, where are you?” Pam’s voice filled his ears.
He quickly looked at his wristwatch. 10:13. “Damn,” he muttered. “Um… I overslept. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”
“You’re okay, right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You’re fine enough to stop by the Rite-Aid and buy the sodas for the party?”
Jim smiled. “What the Party Planning Committee forget to get the sodas?”
Pam giggled. “No. Didn’t ‘forget’. Just ‘didn’t get enough’.”
“Ah… okay. I’ll pick up some on the way. I’ll see you in a little.”
“Alright. Bye.”
“Bye.” He hung up the phone and turned around to look at the mess he made on the dining table. Among the plain white sheets of paper was a carefully hand-made card. He smiled at his masterpiece. Not bad for his first arts and crafts project. He ran his long fingers through his thick brown hair. He stopped as he picked out a piece of paper from his head. He messed up his hair a little bit more, watching more small pieces of paper and even a couple strand of ribbon fall out. Standing there, he said to himself, “And it’s also my last.”
