XI. Night
The rest of the day passed quickly enough. Pam spent the morning pointing out various things in the office that had reminded her of Jim in some way while he was gone: a stapler, the paper clip box, the actual paper, the conference room, the blue coffee cup he'd bought after he'd broken the old red one- she was inexaustible, much to his amusement. Then Dwight announced that he was starting a new fitness regime, and Jim entertained himself by asking questions and offering suggestions about that for most of the afternoon. Before he left the office for the day, he stopped by the reception desk, where Pam was straightening her things and powering down her computer for the night.
"What's the plan for this evening?" Jim asked. Pam smiled up at him. He asked her this almost every day because she liked it. She had told him she liked knowing that they would have plans, but preferred waiting to make actual arrangements until the last minute so it didn't feel like they were taking their time together for granted. "Would you like me to make you dinner with all the groceries you bought?"
"Oooh! Yes, please," Pam answered. "I have to stop by the library, first, though, and maybe I'll run home and change clothes, too. Is that OK?"
Jim nodded. "That gives me time to get dinner started. See you later." He rapped his knuckles on the desk and headed out.
Despite the cold and the recently-fallen darkness, Jim was sitting on the stoop when Pam finally arrived an hour later. He had the chicken tetrazzini in the oven and had decided to get some fresh air while he waited for her to show up. He watched her park her cute little car and walk toward him, eyeing him questioningly.
"Hey," he greeted her when she was within earshot. "I thought I'd wait out here for you."
"Hey, yourself." She sat down beside him and kissed his cheek lightly. "You look like a man doing some thinking. Everything OK?"
"Yep." Everything was fine, but all the memories she'd been bringing to mind over the last 24 hours had his brain in overdrive. "I was just remembering how nighttime made me think of you when I was up in Connecticut."
Pam smiled slightly. "'Night' reminded you of me? That's pretty broad, isn't it?" She shivered slightly, and Jim put his arm around her to pull her close.
"Not exactly. I mean, not like a stapler reminded you of me. Just..." he trailed off and looked up at the sky again. He sighed and continued, "It was different for me. Here, you were in the same place, so it was my desk or a cup that I bought. I had gone up there to get away from all of that sort of thing. I was trying not to remember." His voice had taken on an apologetic tone.
"I know," Pam said softly.
"So during the day, I was trying to focus on it being a different stapler, and a different conference room, and working really hard and meeting new people...but at night? It was just me and my quiet apartment and all of my memories of you."
Pam shifted in his arms. She placed her lips close to his ear. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and then kissed his cheek again.
Jim turned and looked Pam in the eye. "No, it's OK. I mean, it wasn't great, but..." he shrugged. "It's all behind us. I was just remembering."
She held his gaze, obviously trying to gauge if everything was really all right by the look in his eyes. Finally she nodded. "OK. But let's remember inside. I'm cold."
Laughing, Jim stood up, pulling Pam up along with him. "It is chilly out here. Come on, dinner should be almost ready."
They headed into the building. At the doorway, Pam grabbed his hand. "Hey," she said, and even in the dim glow of the streetlamp, Jim could see a naughty twinkle in her eye. "Maybe we should try to make some new night-time memories for you to associate with me." She winked and led him inside.
