Jim felt as if his heart was going to leap right out of his chest. Did he hear Rick right?
“What?” he asked slowly.
“Come on! She’s awake.” Rick said and motioned for Jim to follow him. They raced through the doors towards Pam’s room.
Jim slowed as they neared the room. “What’s wrong?” Rick asked. Jim thought for about 2 seconds that maybe her family should have these first moments with her. Rick must have sensed the reason for Jim’s hesitation. “Get in here….she’s going to want to see you.” A thousand different emotions flooded through Jim’s body as Rick pushed open the door. He tentatively followed Rick into the room. He saw Pam’s parents and a couple of doctors standing around her bed.
“Hey!” Rick said softly. Jenn and Richard turned around. “I brought someone to see you.”
The doctor that was blocking Pam from Jim’s view took a step to the side and suddenly there she was. She was sitting up a bit, propped up by the hospital bed and a couple of pillows. She turned her head towards him as he approached the bed and instantly her face broke into a smile.
“Hi….” Jim said breathlessly taking another step towards her bed.
“Hey…” she said slowly. He smiled as he watched her hold out her hand to him. It was almost as if time stood still when he grasped her small hand in his. His hands had been shaking, but the minute their fingers touched they stopped.
“Welcome back Beesly. We’ve missed you!” His eyes locked with hers and he knew that this was it. Now they were going to get their chance. “How are you feeling?” he asked sitting down in the chair next to her bed.
“Okay…a little thirsty.” she said drowsily. Her eyes closed for a minute, but she still held tightly to his hand.
“I think it’s best if we let her rest.” the doctor said. “She should be more alert tomorrow.” Jim didn’t want to leave her, but he figured that the sooner she got rest the sooner she would be back to her old self. He reached over and gently brushed a curl away from her forehead. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning.” he whispered. A small smile crept over her face. “Promise?” she asked opening her eyes again to look at him. “Absolutely I do.” he kissed the back of her hand and then gradually let it go. He watched as her eyes fluttered closed again, but the smile never left her lips.
Jim followed the Beesly’s out into the hallway. There were hugs and tears all around as they celebrated the good news. They were all standing in the hallway unsure of what to do next. None of them wanted to leave, but they weren‘t of any help staying at the hospital then either.
“Maybe we should go get some dinner.” Rick suggested.
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Jenn said. “Jim? You going to join us?”
“Sure!” Jim said excitedly. He hadn’t meant to sound so exuberant, but he couldn’t contain all the feelings he was having. He felt like running and screaming and crying and laughing all at once.
“Know of any good places Jim?” Richard asked.
Jim named a few choices and they finally decided on Cooper’s. Jim offered to drive since he knew his way around Scranton. As they drove to the restaurant they talked excitedly about what the next few days would bring.
“The doctors say she is going to have to stay in the hospital for a few days.” Jenn said. “Probably about a week. They want to check that she has regained all of her motor skills to make sure that she doesn’t need physical therapy or anything, but he said that there is no reason to expect that she won‘t recover as good as new.”
They all enjoyed a pleasant dinner at Cooper’s. The stress and tension that had built up from the previous couple of days had evaporated. Conversation between the Beesly’s and Jim was easy and flowed effortlessly. He felt like he had been apart of their family for years. After they had finished their meal Rick and Richard headed over to the bar to check out the score of the 76ers game. Jim let out a contended sigh. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this happy.
“Good ending to the day.” Jenn said from across the table.
“Absolutely…I am so glad that she is okay.” Jim said taking a sip of his soda. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Can I ask what she told you about me? Before that night….after that night….ever?!”
“I wouldn’t even know where to start. The first time I remember hearing about you was right after you started working together. She called me and said that she had made a new friend in the office which was great since she has always been so shy. She said you went out to lunch and had a great time.”
Jim thought back to that first lunch at Cuginos. He had never met anyone like her and was as nervous as a teenage boy getting up the courage to ask his dream girl out for the first time. Lunch had been easy. They talked and laughed like they were old friends. Then he saw the ring. The sparkle of it on her left hand made the excitement deflate out of him. Of course she would be taken. Why had he thought that a girl like this would be available. He tried to keep his distance for awhile after that. Hoping that it would kill the crush he had developed, but it didn’t last long. A few days after that lunch they played their first prank on Dwight and it all took off from there.
“Every so often…” Jenn continued, “she would tell us of something funny that you said or something that you guys had done that made her laugh. Finally I asked her if this was getting to be more than just a friendship. She said no, but I could tell in her eyes that wasn’t the whole story. You see Jim, Roy was the first boy Pam loved…but they were both so young when they met that when people grow up they can also grow apart. About 5 years ago I could tell that things weren’t the same with them. When I’d call and ask how he was doing it was always the same answer..‘Oh, you know…he‘s okay.’ She expressed to me her frustrations about his drinking and late night poker games.”
Jim took another sip of his soda and waited for her to continue.
“The more time passed the more sadness I could see in her eyes. Not all the time, but there were moments when I would look at her and I couldn’t see Pam anymore. She was someone that was trying so desperately to hang on to something, that she had lost herself in the process. The stories about you became more frequent, because I think that was something good that she had to help her loneliness. Then I got the call…from that casino thing. Like I said before….she told me about what you said and I finally just had to ask her if she was in love with you too. All she said was… Yeah mom…I think I am. I knew that it was always inside of her and she knew that it was up to her to change where her life was going, but she had to find the courage to do that herself…I couldn’t help her…you couldn‘t help her. No one could.”
Jim was surprised. He saw that she had been talking to someone on the phone when he walked into the dark office that night, but he was couldn’t stop moving towards her, for fear that he would lose the courage to do what he had been wanting to do for years.
“I should of given her a chance….” he said quietly. “I piled all that onto her at once and the minute she didn’t respond the way I wanted her too I was gone. I don‘t know what I was expecting her to do.”
“I am sure you probably just give wanted her to give you any inclination that she could possibly feel the same way. I think that is a conversation that you two need to have though. Get those questions answered so that you can move on. Jim, I don’t even have to hear you say the words to know that you love her. I can see it every time you look at her. She can see it too.”
“I hope so. I hope I can help her see what a great person she is. She deserves that you know?”
“Thank you Jim. Thank you for being her friend and loving her so much…for her.” Jenn leaned across the table and squeezed Jim’s hand. “That’s one thing every mother wants for her children. For someone special to see the best in them and love them for it.”
Not long after Richard and Rick came back to the table talking about the highlights of the game. Jim and the Beesly’s stayed at the restaurant for almost another hour just talking and getting to know each other better. Finally, sensing some impatience from their waiter they stood up to leave.
“Guess we’ll go sleep at Pam’s tonight.” Richard said putting on his coat. “Then head back over the hospital first thing in the morning?”
“I really can’t leave her here alone.” Jenn said. “What if she wakes up and needs something? How about you and Rick sleep at Pam’s and I will sleep at the hospital. No sense in us all trying to sleep crammed in that room.”
The all piled into Jim’s car and drove back to the hospital. Once they arrived they stood in the parking lot to say goodbye. Richard and Rick both shook Jim’s hand and then left for Pam’s.
“So I’ll come back first thing in the morning.” Jim said to Jenn. “Will you please tell Pam that?” Jim had wanted to say that he would stay. He wanted all the time he could with Pam. They had a lot of lost moments to make up for, but he knew that would happen in time. He felt that her mom needed time with her too. She too had just gotten Pam back.
“Of course. She’ll be happy to hear it. Thanks for everything.” Jenn reached up and gave Jim a hug and then wrapping her coat around her headed towards the entrance.
Jim waved and then got back into his car. He flipped open his phone and quickly dialed Phyllis’s number to tell her the good news. He said that he would call the office tomorrow so that he could tell everyone. After he hung up with Phyllis he called Jon.
“Hey man! How‘s Pam?” Jon asked as Jim got back into his car.
“She’s awake.” Jim said unable to contain the happiness in his voice. “She woke up about 4:00 this afternoon.”
“Oh man that is so great!” Jon said. “Did you get to talk to her?”
“Only for a minute. She was still kind of out of it. The doctor says she’ll be much more alert tomorrow. I am going home to get some sleep so that I can get over there early.”
“Dude, that is so great. I knew she’d be okay.”
“Yeah…it is….it’s….great!” Jim couldn’t even think of a word describe the happiness and relief he felt when he saw her and heard her voice.
“Want me to come over? Keep you company?” Jon asked.
“Naw…it’s alright man. You probably have better things to do than watch a crappy movie on TV while your brother falls asleep on the couch.”
“Well I do lead an exciting life of intrigue and mystery and hanging out with you would just get in the way of that.” Jon laughed.
“I figured as much. I couldn’t ask you to sacrifice all that for me. Thanks for considering me though.”
“What are brothers for? Well, hey that is so great about Pam. Let me know how things go. Hopefully I’ll get to meet this girl soon.”
“Count on it….” Jim said. “You’ll love her.”
“Well I try hard not to trust your judgment on most things, but maybe I’ll make an exception this time.”
“Oh thanks!! Wow…that means a lot.” Jim smiled.
“I know. Well man have a good night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Alright…thanks Jon…for today. Talk to you later.” Jim hung up the phone. As he drove his thoughts drifted back to seeing Pam awake today and all of the possibilities that meant. A huge smile crossed his face as he remembered the touch of her hand and the look in her eyes when she first saw him.
When Jim walked into his front door he saw his roommate Mark lying on the couch watching ESPN. “Jim! What the hell man? Where have you been all day? I called your work to ask you if you wanted to play ball tonight and they said something about you being the hospital with Pam? What happened?”
Jim sat down and proceeded to tell Mark the events of the day. “Wow…that really blows. That Roy guy is a moron.“ Mark’s ability to be so eloquent made Jim laugh.
“Yeah…everything will be fine.” Jim said with a big yawn. “Man, I didn’t realize how tired I was. I think I am going to hit the sack.”
“Alright,” Mark said turning his attention back to the TV. “Next time something major happens in your life maybe you could answer my calls so I don’t think your dead or something.”
“Ok….will do. Night.” Jim turned and headed up to his room. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out and for the first time in months he was able to really sleep. It was all going to be okay.
