May 27, 2006
Jim looked towards his car and saw her leaning against it looking in the opposite direction. He froze. There she was. The woman who had filled his thoughts for most of the past year was here, and for the first time, she was available. Jim had to calm himself down. She’s probably just here to say goodbye, he told himself. Jim stayed rooted in his spot until, finally, she turned around. She looked almost surprised to see him, like she hadn’t expected him to show up and retrieve his own car. “Hi,” she finally said.
“Hey,” he answered back, looking at the ground to avoid her gaze. He had absolutely no idea how to act at this moment.
“How was the graduation?” Pam asked.
Without looking up, Jim answered, “It was really good, actually. Michael was really great today. Although he did give Ryan a hug that was questionable.”
Pam gave him a small smile. “Couldn’t have expected him to resist doing that.”
“Pam,” Jim looked at her. The suspense was too much to take. “What are you doing here?” he asked, looking back down at the ground when he finished.
Pam exhaled, also unsure of how to act. “I just…I needed to say good-bye to you. I needed us to be…on good terms before you left. Jim, you’ve been my best friend this year, and I just can’t stand the idea of us not being…good. Before you leave. Forever.”
“Pam, I will always care about you. I mean, I know things might be kind of…awkward? But, I…you’ve been my best friend, too, Pam. I’ll miss you. I know I told you that already, but…I really will. And of course we’re good. Just…not the same.”
“Jim, I…I broke up with Roy.”
“Yeah, I heard something about that,” Jim mumbled.
“I just…I realized that he and I weren’t right. We probably haven’t been right for a long time. I guess there were a lot of reasons to end it. The thing is, though…I didn’t care about those reasons until I met you.”
Jim’s gaze snapped up to look at her face and for the second time today, he could not remember how to breathe and wondered if he had ever actually known how to do so.
“Jim…I…I needed you to know that everything wasn’t…misinterpreted. I am so sorry for how I responded to you that night. I was just…confused. And scared. I had been with Roy for most of my life, really, and I didn’t know if I could just…leave him. But a couple of weeks ago, I just…woke up. I realized I wasn’t really in love with him anymore. And if you aren’t in love with someone, you can’t marry them, right?”
“Yeah, I suppose you can’t,” Jim answered.
“So, that’s that, I guess, and I just wanted you to know before you left. Jim, I…I think…I love you, too, Jim. And I needed you to know that. I wasn’t really…I don’t know when I fell in love with you, really, and I think I’ve been denying it for a while now, but, I know that I do. Love you, I mean,” Pam finished.
Jim stood speechless. What do you say when you get everything you have ever wanted?
Before too long, Pam spoke up. “Jim, can you please say something? I mean…it’s okay to say whatever you want. I would just really appreciate an answer of some sort.”
Jim looked at her, studying her face. He would do anything for her. “Can I kiss you?”
“Kiss me?”
“Yeah. Can I kiss you, Pam?”
“Yes,” Pam answered. “Please.”
Jim lowered his head to hers and kissed her, pulling her close to him. Her lips were warm and soft, just like he knew they would be. When her hands threaded through his hair, Jim groaned and pulled her closer to him. He never wanted to let her go. Kissing Pam had turned on the light of his soul, a light he had shut off about 3 weeks ago. Now, he felt more alive than ever, and he wanted to bottle this feeling and remember it, remember kissing Pam, the woman he knew was the love of his life for the first time.
After what felt like days, Pam pulled away, lowering her hands into his and smiling up at Jim. “I love you, Jim.”
“Pam, I love you, too. I love you so much. I just…I don’t know what I’m going to do in Philadelphia without you there.” Why his moving had picked this moment to enter his mind, he would never know, because it was the one storm cloud on his now sunny day.
“Yeah, about that…” Pam said slowly, “I’m not really into long distance relationships, Jim.”
“Wha…Pam…don’t…” Was she really going to pull the rug out from under him like this? No, she can’t…
“Yeah. It’s just too much to deal with. So, if it’s okay, I think I’m going to go to Philadelphia too.”
“What?!”
“Well, a few weeks ago, around 6 weeks ago, I guess, I applied to the Art Institute of Philadelphia. I sent in some of my drawings and watercolors, and then a couple of weeks ago, I got a letter and they said yes. So…yeah. I’ve got money I’ve been saving up for a while that I was going to use for the…you know. And I’ll probably just go at night, but…yeah. I’m going to go up there and find a job and go to school. It’ll be good for me to finally, you know, take a chance on something,” Pam finished, looking at him and smiling brightly.
“Man. Pam, that is…awesome. I just can’t believe…I mean, this afternoon I was just…not really that excited about moving and now…now I can’t wait!”
“Me, neither! It’ll be a good chance for us to have a fresh start, I think. And I won’t have to worry about you all alone in a strange new town,” Pam teased him.
“I don’t know if I would have been able to make it without you, that’s for sure,” Jim answered truthfully.
“Me, neither,” Pam answered, pulling Jim down to kiss him again.
When they finally pulled apart again, Jim asked, “So, what do you think is in store for us in Philadelphia?”
Pam thought for a minute before answering. “I’m not sure really. But…I think…I think that’s okay.”
Jim smiled. “Yeah. I think so, too.”
And so ended what had been, to this point, the best school year of Jim Halpert’s life.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Now we find out the surprise waiting at Jim's car.
Chapter End Notes:
I thought this was going to be the last chapter, but all of a sudden while editing this, I got an idea for an epilogue of sorts. I'm going to mark it complete for now because I can't decide whether to write it or leave it at this, but I'll think about it and if I write an epilogue, it will probably be up soon.
Since this may be the last chapter of my first story, I would really appreciate any reviews. Thanks for reading.
Since this may be the last chapter of my first story, I would really appreciate any reviews. Thanks for reading.
