Friday around 12:00 Pam looked up to see a girl about her age walk through the door, her cheeks were tinged pink from the cold November winds, she had on a coat but that did not hide her very round belly. Pam smiled at her warmly and asked if she could help her.
“Hi, I’m here to meet Jim Halpert.” The girl said as she looked around the room. Pam was intrigued, was this Jim’s sister? She wasn’t too sure.
“He’s in a meeting but he should be done soon, why don’t you have a seat?”
“Thanks, I’m Lisa by the way.” She smiled at Pam as she sat down on the couch next to Pam’s desk.
“I’m Pam and it’s nice to meet you.” Pam noticed a slight hint of recognition cross Lisa’s face when she introduced herself, but she didn’t think too much of it. Pam decided it was time for some tea, wasn’t hungry yet so she was waiting to take her lunch break until later, that and she wouldn’t have to sit in the break room with Jim and Karen. They tried to hide it, but Pam knew she was the girl Jim was seeing the day she watched Karen rub his back in the parking lot, and shattered her hope that he still cared for her they way he’s said. They were being friendly toward each other, so she knew they could try to repair their old relationship at least. But she still didn’t want to eat in the same room as them.
“Would you like something to drink, I’m getting some tea?”
“Wow, um yeah, some water would be great, I can follow you if that’s ok.”
“Don’t worry about it, be back in a flash.” Pam replied as she stepped around the desk and headed to the kitchen. She was back at her desk in a few minutes with a mug of tea and a cup of water which Lisa drank in one gulp.
“Thanks so much, I needed that.”
“No problem, you are drinking for two.”
“It’s awful really, I am always so thirsty and then you have to pee every five minutes”
Pam nodded as she sipped her tea and then replied, “My poor sister was the same way with her pregnancy last year.”
“I just hope it isn’t always like this, I feel like a camel that has to load up with water constantly”
“Well, she had it through her second trimester only, how far along are you?”
“About 8 months actually, I’m due a week before Christmas.”
“Wow, well congratulations.”
“Thanks, so do you have any kids?” Lisa asked her.
“No, I’m not very good with kids, and I’m single.”
“I am totally scared to have a kid, but looks like it’s a bit too late for me. I don’t know anything about babies”
“Good luck to you then!” Pam smiled as she raised her mug in salute. They both laughed at the gesture, that’s when they both heard the conference door open and the sales people were filing out. Jim noticed Pam laughing at the front and then noticed a very pregnant Lisa laughing with her from the couch. He walked toward them smiling and a bit confused.
“Hey Lisa”
“Hey Jim” she answered sounding nervous as she tried to stand up. Jim reached out a hand and helped her up.
“Thanks! That keeps getting harder every time I sit down.”
“Well, I can see why I had no idea you were pregnant, congratulations. Are you ready? I just have to grab my bag.” She nodded as he walked over and took his bag from the back of his chair and then walked over for his coat.
“Pam thanks again for the water and the laughs.” Lisa said as she stood waiting for Jim to put his coat on.
“Don’t mention it, maybe next time you come in rude Jim here will introduce us properly” Pam said in a playful tone as Jim was buttoning his coat.
“Right, sorry Pam this is my friend Lisa, we went to college together, Lisa this is my friend Pam, we suffer here daily together.”
“It was nice to meet you Pam.”
“Likewise.” Pam smiled. She noticed Karen watching from her desk and could swear she looked a bit jealous. Jim hadn’t introduced her to his old friend after all, Pam felt a slight triumph in that.
Jim and Lisa left right after their little exchange, Pam decided she could stomach the break room and went to have her lunch with Phyllis and Kelly.
Jim pulled into the parking lot of Cugino’s a few minutes after pulling out of the parking lot. Lisa was fidgeting with her hands as they took a seat. They ordered some food and then Jim started as she seemed to be very quiet.
“So, having a baby huh?” He knew it sounded lame and he’d already acknowledged that but he was confused why she suddenly needed to see him.
“You noticed that did you?” she replied, still not sure where to start.
“Just an observation, so what else is new, I mean what brought this on, I haven’t heard from you in months.”
“Yeah well, Joe and I got back together right after that party we were at. Like 2 weeks later actually.” She seemed a bit nervous and then he realized, maybe this wasn’t a happy visit.
“I remember your message. Um….did he find out or something? I never said anything to anyone.”
“No actually, well not exactly.” She looked down at the table and took a deep breath.
“Are you ok?” Jim was starting to worry, this was getting weird.
“I’m fine…well not really. You see, it’s been crazy the past few months. My dad died 3 months ago, and Joe and I broke up right after that.”
“Wow, I’m sorry that’s awful, all of it.” Jim was genuinely sad for her, he knew she had lost her mom at a young age and it was just her and her dad. Plus here she is about to have a baby and apparently single.
“Well, my dad was sick for a few months, so that was no surprise, still hard though. But Joe, that got ugly quick. My dad left me some money and his house. I sold the house, because I didn’t like it much and it’s too far for work. Joe was mad about that and then he wanted me to marry him, after I got the money settled. I told him I wanted a pre-nup, it’s a lot of money, and he flipped out.”
“Oh, that’s pretty bad.”
“Yep, my dad had some investments I never knew about so he had a nice chunk set aside. The money should be coming through in a few weeks. After the taxes and all that is handled with my lawyers. Anyhow we started fighting and then he got really nuts after I moved out, I couldn’t take it any more you know?” Jim nodded in understanding as he listened.
“So then he starts about the baby and saying he won’t pay child support and a bunch of other crap. Then he says he doesn’t the baby is his.”
“Man, that’s really shitty”
“Yeah, I mean he’s the only guy I’ve been with for the past year, other than, you know that one time with you, but we used a condom.”
“Right” Jim nodded, suddenly losing his appetite. He was not sure why but he was afraid of where this was going.
“Well, I have been having some issues with the pregnancy, and the doctor wanted to run some tests and while they did, I asked for paternity too, just to shut him up, and he agreed.”
“Uh huh.” Jim was starting to sweat a bit and he felt a bit dizzy.
“It’s not his baby Jim.” She looked at Jim with tears in her eyes, he felt like the wind was knocked out of him. “I’m so sorry, I found out last week, and I didn’t know what to do. I know we used a condom, but I don’t know how….there was no one else, I swear, and you can have a test too if you don’t believe me, but oh god. I’m so sorry.” She broke down and sobbed into her hands which were now covering her face.
Jim didn’t know what to think, he could not believe what he was hearing. They were safe, or at least he thought they were, they were both really drunk, maybe it broke he thought. He started taking deep breaths, the waitress brought their food to the table but neither wanted to eat. Jim thanked her and then he reached out for Lisa resting his hand on her shoulder, “Hey, it’s…I mean, we can figure this out Lisa.”
“I am due to have this baby in 6 weeks and I’m terrified, I feel so bad, when I first found out Joe and I were in a great place I didn’t even think about what happened with us, I knew we used protection, and I just…” she trailed off and shrugged. She was calmer though, Jim had not gotten up and ran away and he didn’t scream at her, she was relieved. “Look, why don’t I get this wrapped up and then we can leave here, I can’t go back to the office now, but maybe we can go to my place and talk some more.”
“Okay, I thought you might want to so that’s why I took off the rest of the day. Jim, I am really sorry.”
“Look, I…I don’t know what to say right now, but it’ll be ok I think.” He wasn’t sure if he was convinced, but he had to try at least, especially if he really was about to be a father.
They drove to his apartment in silence. Once inside he called and told Pam that he had an emergency and that he could not come back into the office. He assured her he was ok, just could not come back for the day. Pam, what would she think? He worried all of the sudden, he knew he was dating Karen, but Pam still meant the world to him and he hoped that one day maybe they could be in the place he had hoped, now that she was single and did not apparently hate him for leaving the way he did. He remembered that she kissed him back and said I can’t not I don’t. He was in a daze all of the sudden, here was his old friend on his couch, pregnant, and apparently with his child. He was in love with one woman and dating another to get over the other. He had to process all of this, and he didn’t know how.
Lisa talked with him for 3 hours, they decided that just to be 100% sure Jim would go and get tested for paternity. She called her doctors office and he told her they could come in right away, so they did. The results would be a few days. Jim figured she would not have gone through all the trouble though if she’d been lying to him and he knew her from school, she was a nice girl and didn’t sleep around in college. After the doctor’s office he took her back to the Dunder Mifflin parking lot for her car, she said she’d call him as soon as she heard. And he could call her if he needed to talk some more. They left it with the agreement that no matter what happened Jim would do whatever he could to help.
Lisa felt much relief as she drove off and headed home. Jim drove home with many thoughts swirling in his head. He was trying to be cool in front of Lisa, but his mind was racing, he was terrified. The one thing he knew for sure was that if this was his child, he would be in his life. Karen called him at 5:00 and he told her that he was fine, but that he needed to cancel their date. She wanted to know if he was ok and he said he was, he didn’t want to lie, but he didn’t know how to break this to her. He also knew that he really wished he had his best friend to talk to about this.
After 6:00 he called Karen and told her he would drop by, he thought about it and figured it was best to get things out into the open as early as you could. When he arrived at the hotel, she greeted him with a kiss, he knew what she was hoping for, but this would not be that kind of visit. So he pulled back after a moment and sat in the desk chair. They had only been dating a few weeks and he still had not taken it to that level, she wanted to, he could tell, but this was a very serious matter. She noticed that he seemed a bit down, so she sat down and asked him what was wrong.
He told her everything about Lisa and the baby possibly being his, he did not know what she was thinking as she listened, but she did not seem too happy. She said she was disappointed when he had finished telling her everything. She knew that this was still new and that if he was going to have a baby with someone else, friend or not, she would not be priority one and neither would their relationship. She could tell he was disappointed but she knew herself and a new relationship was something that had to grow, and a guy with a baby was not her scene. Jim wasn’t completely surprised, but he thought she’d at least say they could wait for his results before breaking up. She told him she didn’t like Scranton that much anyhow and even if he wasn’t the father of this girl’s baby, she preferred guys that were more careful. Jim couldn’t believe what she was saying, she was implying that this was something he did often, she didn’t know him well, and he realized that he was fine with not taking this relationship further. She showed him out and he left feeling slightly pissed at her assumption, but also a sense of relief.
He drove home and ate some of the pizza from earlier that day he had in his refrigerator. He was watching tv and having a beer when he heard his cell phone buzz on the coffee table. He pulled it open and read a text from Pam.
Hope everything’s ok, call me if you want.
It made him smile, this is the one person he felt like he could talk to and she would understand how he felt, or at least she wouldn’t judge him immediately like Karen had. He also knew that even though things were not as smooth with Pam lately as they were before he transferred she did still care for him as a friend. He decided that he would take her up on that offer. He hit the reply button and sent her a text, R U Busy?
She wrote back quickly, Not too busy for you
Was she flirting with him? He decided to call her. She picked up on the second ring.
“Hello Mr. Halpert!” she answered brightly.
“Hey” he smiled as he replied.
“So what’s up? Are you ok?” she had concern in her voice.
“No actually I’m not ok. Can we talk, like in person?” Jim was holding his breath all of the sudden waiting for her answer, he didn’t have to wait long.
“Your place or mine?” she asked, Jim could hear the concern in her voice again and it actually helped him feel calm.
“I’m home, but I can come over your place if it’s ok, if you want.”
“Actually I just left a restaurant downtown, I’ll come to you. Where do you live?” Pam was glad he asked to see her, she had been worried all day after he said he had an emergency and didn’t comeback. She knew he was with Karen, but he was still her best friend, even if it was weird right now. She couldn’t wait to get to his apartment and find out what was going on. She knew he was upset about something, and wanted to help in anyway she could.
He could not believe she was coming over, Jim gave her directions to his apartment and then ran around to pick up the pizza box and his work clothes, he had been sitting in his boxers and a t-shirt. He got dressed and then sat back down in the living room, after another five minutes his door bell rang.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Second chapter, longer than the first. I like it.
Chapter End Notes:
reviews are fun!
