It was almost 11:30 by the time Jim pulled out of the Dunder Mifflin parking lot. He was anxious to get back to the hospital. Just as he was reaching to turn up his radio his cell phone rang. He flipped it open to look at the caller. Rick’s name flashed across the screen.
“Hello?” Jim asked trying to suppress the nervous feeling that crossed over him. He didn’t know why, but his immediate thought was that something was wrong.
“Hey Jim. How‘s it going?”
“Good…good. How is everything there?”
“Oh everything is fine. Pam said something about you having to deal with a work emergency?”
“Oh yeah…it’s fine now. I am actually on my way back.”
“Oh good. Well I have a huge favor to ask you.”
“Sure…what’s up?” Jim asked as he pulled up to a stoplight.
“We just brought a bunch of stuff over for Pam, but she was out of shampoo. We forgot to grab some on our way over. Is there any way that you could stop at the store and grab some? We hate to ask, but Pam told us you wouldn‘t mind.”
Jim appreciated the level of comfort that Pam felt with him. It seemed to make up for the uneasiness of the past months.
“No…I don’t mind. Do you know what kind?”
“Um…I don’t. She’s asleep right now so I can’t ask her. Just get something that looks girly I guess.”
“Sounds good! Do you want me to pick up some lunch while I‘m there?” Jim asked.
“Well I hate to ask you to do that. We can just eat in the cafeteria.” Rick said.
“No…we need some real food. Sandwiches okay?”
“Yeah…anything is fine. Thanks Jim.”
“Yeah no problem. I’ll be there in a bit.” Jim said as he pulled into the parking lot at Scott’s.
He walked inside and made his way to the shampoo isle. This was going to be interesting. He had no idea what kind of shampoo to buy a girl. There was shampoo for straight hair, dry hair, oily hair. He glanced over the bottles and stopped on a section that read ‘For Curly Hair’. “Great….” he thought, ‘that narrows it down to like 50 choices.”
He pulled a bottle off the shelf and opened the top. He was surprised at how quickly the scent brought back the memory.
*** Every guy in the office had checked her out at least once in the first 5 minutes of her being there. He could see the looks on their faces when she had walked in. He could hear the painful conversation that was taking place as Michael tried to ask her out. She was pretty, but as usual she was only compared to one woman…Pam.
He remember the hurt look on her face when Roy yet another stupid comment that further defined why he didn’t deserve her.
“Man…I would be all over that if I wasn’t dating Pam.”
“We’re not dating…we’re engaged.” she said, flush rising to her cheeks.
“Engaged…yeah…”
Jim hurt for Pam has she walked out of the break room. Jim wondered that if Roy talked
like that right in front of her, what did he do when she wasn’t around? Being typical Jim he thought of a way to cheer her up that of course included a prank on Dwight.
“She’d be perfect for you…” Jim said when he noticed Dwight looking at Katy.
“She’s been talking to Michael a lot.”
“Well Dwight…he’s your work boss…not your relationship boss. You have so much more to talk to her about. I mean…your both…uh…salesman.”
“Plus I could talk to her about the origins of my last name.” Dwight said excitedly.
“It’s all gold.” Jim said casting a smirk at the camera. “Just keep talking to her…and if all else fails just buy a purse.”
“Purses are for girls.” Dwight interjected.
“Not necessarily…do you read GQ?”
“No…”
“Well I do...they are like little briefcases. But you are spending way too much time talking to me…when you could be in there with her.” Jim watched happily as Dwight pumped himself up and moseyed into the conference room.
He hurried over to Pam and took the phone out of her hand.
“Ok…shh…stop whatever your doing ‘cause this is going to be good.” he said excitedly.
As the provided the running commentary the delightfully awkward scene that was playing out in front of them he was consciously aware of how close she was to him He couldn’t find words to describe the soft smell of her hair...something flowery, but it smelled like he always thought she would. He smiled down at her as she brushed an auburn curl behind her ear and he knew that somehow he would remember that smell forever.***
He closed the lid to the bottle and made his way down the isle towards the deli. After grabbing some sandwiches, chips and bottled water he headed up to the check out. He happened to glance over as he passed the dairy department. Without even thinking he grabbed a container of mixed-berry yogurt off the shelf and kept walking.
Jim pulled into the parking lot at the hospital a few minutes later. He knocked lightly on the door to Pam’s room.
“Hey..” he said softly when Jenn opened the door.
“Hi! Come on in. Pam just woke up. Thanks so much for bringing lunch.”
“Yeah…no problem. I got the shampoo too. I hope it’s okay.”
“It’ll be fine! Come in, come in!”
Jim walked into the room and set the bags down on the table. “Hi.” he said smiling at Pam.
“Everything okay at the office?”
“When is it ever?” he asked with a laugh.
“True…” she smiled warmly as Jim sat down on the edge of her bed. “So you brought lunch? I am starving!”
“Yup…sandwiches.” he opened up the bag and began getting out the food. “Here you go.” he said handing Pam the yogurt. He was so busy handing out the food to everyone else that he didn’t immediately notice Pam staring at him.
“What?” he asked quizzically when he finally caught her eye.
“Oh…it’s nothing…it’s just…thanks.” she said softly holding up the yogurt container.
Jim just smiled and then bit into his ham and cheese. After lunch Rick went back to Pam's to check in with his work. As he was leaving Pam’s doctor came in.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Okay…a little uncomfortable with my leg still up in this thing.” Pam said.
“Well, then I have good news. We can take your leg out of the harness. That way you can be a little more comfortable and maybe convince one of your visitors to take you out of this room for a little bit.”
“That’d be great!” Pam said.
“Alright, well this will just be quick.” the doctor said as he reached up to the harness. “Now you can get out of bed, but don’t over do it. Just a little bit at a time. I am leaving a wheelchair by the door to help you get around. I don’t want you fully vertical yet, so don’t try to walk out of here.”
“Ok!” Pam smiled. “Thanks!”
A few minutes later the doctor was gone and Pam seemed thrilled that she could finally turn on her side.
“Do you want to try and take a shower now?” Jenn asked.
“Yes!” Pam said. Jenn wheeled the chair over to the bedside. Pam slowly pulled the blankets back.
“Ouch…“ she said gingerly touching her ribs. “This is going to be harder than I thought. Jim? Do you think you help me?” she asked tentatively.
“Sure…” Jim went over and carefully placed one hand on the small of her back and took her hand in his other. Slowly he helped her to a sitting position and then he gently lifted her into the wheelchair. His heart skipped a beat as her hand lingered in his and she gave it a small squeeze.
“Thanks.”
He just smiled like a huge dork. He couldn’t even speak. This was so natural. This is how it was supposed to be.
“Well Jim…” Richard said picking up the TV remote. “Let’s turn this thing on and see if we can find a game or something.”
Pam gave his hand one last squeeze as her mom wheeled her into the bathroom. Jim sunk down into the armchair by her bed. Jim and Richard sat in silence while Richard flipped through channels. Suddenly he turned to Jim and asked, “You really love her don’t you?”
Jim was stunned for a minute like maybe he should talk to Pam about this first, but the happiness he was feeling overpowered him and he simply answered, “Yes sir. I do.”
Richard smiled and looked back at the TV. “Good.” he said softly.
