Author's Chapter Notes:
A huge thanks to NanReg who helped me to tidy this up before posting :)
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
“Morning, Pam.” You smile at her as you enter the office. It’s only your second day, but the two of you have already made friends. In fact, you’re already fairly certain that she ‘gets’ you in ways nobody else ever has.
“Morning, Jim,” she smiles back. You already know you want to see that smile everyday for the rest of your life.
“Do you want to have lunch today?” you ask. You want to do it before you chicken out. She looks a little startled, clearly not expecting the question. When she doesn’t respond you worry that you’ve been too forward, so you add, “I mean, I just thought you could tell me all the crazy eccentricities of my new co-workers”. She giggles at that and replies “I think you’d be better off staying in the dark for as long as possible”.
“So, um, you don’t want to go?” you enquire nervously.
“Oh, no, I mean, yeah, that sounds great”
“So, I’ll pick you up around 12?”
“I’ll be right here”
You smile at her before you go to sit down, stealing a jelly bean out of the container on her desk as you go. It’s your favorite candy. You wonder if that’s just a coincidence or fate trying to tell you something – luring you in. Not that you could possibly need any more luring – look at her. Since when did you believe in fate anyway?
You’re so excited and nervous about your potential date that time seems to stand still. You want it to be lunchtime now. You make a few sales calls and try to concentrate on doing some work, but it’s not much use. Finally, the clock rolls round to 11:57 and you decide that’s close enough.
“Here, right on time,” you say as you walk the couple of steps up to her desk.
“You’re early, by my clock,” she teases.
“Well, I left a little early, you know - in case there was a lot of traffic on the roads,” you quip. Lame. It makes her smile though, and you’re sure you’re falling for her.
“Ah, but I can’t possibly leave now,” she informs you. “I’m in the middle of a game of Sudoku. It’s very important.” She manages to say it with a straight face, but when your face creases into a smile, hers does too.
“In that case, you’re in luck, because I’m a master,” you reply. You lean over her reception desk to look at her monitor. As you help her finish the puzzle you can’t help but fantasize about what life would be like with this beautiful girl in front of you, how content you could be just doing this forever.
Five minutes later you leave, and you walk her to this Italian place down the road called Cugino’s. You went with your family once for your mother’s birthday. You recall it being pretty romantic but not over the top. You could definitely get away with pretending this wasn’t a date if it became obvious that she didn’t see it that way. You pray that that isn’t the case.
You sit down at a table and the waitress takes your order. Conversation flows easily over the course of the lunch. You discover you have the same taste in books, music, films, and food. You talk a bit about Scranton, and where you grew up, but the conversation never really gets around to Dunder-Mifflin or your crazy new work colleagues. You couldn’t care less.
You feel so comfortable around her, and you wish this could never end. You tell her you play basketball and ask her about her own hobbies. She tells you about how she likes to draw, and that it’s her dream to get into illustration. You’re just thinking that you didn’t think she could get any more incredible when she criticizes herself for believing she would ever be any good at it. You cut her off, telling her you bet she’d be great. You’re sure your right about that, too. Even though you met her yesterday you can already tell she has a great imagination, but that she’s also modest and under-confident. If she thinks she’s got a shot at something, you have no doubt she’s right. You know that her saying she wouldn’t be any good at it is just a defense mechanism she’s putting in place to reassure herself if it never happens. You make her promise to show you some of her pictures when you get back to the office.
“You won’t think that they’re any good,” she tells you. You’re about to tell her to let you be the judge of that when she adds: “My fiancé, Roy, says I should stop being unrealistic – that it’s never going to happen for me. I know he’s right really.”
“Fiancé?” The word has left your lips before you can stop yourself.
Fiancé? Did she just say fiancé? Your chest gets so tight that all your breaths become quick and shallow. Fiancé. You glance down at her hands and notice her engagement ring for the first time. How could you have been so stupid? God, is that a lump you can feel forming in your throat? Geez, get a grip Halpert. You met her yesterday. Of course she’s engaged – look at how incredible she is - you could hardly be the first guy to notice. If you’re being honest with yourself, when you asked her to lunch today, you were already dreaming about things like rings and promises and forever. It’s hardly a surprise someone else has had the same thought before you. There’s no real justifiable reason as to why you should be so upset about it either, and you know it. It’s not as if you made it explicit that you meant for this to be a date, or that she’d had a chance to tell you this sooner. You met her yesterday. You’ve let yourself get completely carried away. But, you just can’t help it.
She’s launched into a story about him, her fiancé, because, technically you kind of asked, but you really can’t concentrate on anything she’s saying right now. You think there was something about high school, and she just mentioned the warehouse but your head isn’t processing it. Fiancé. She’s engaged. Shit.
She stops and you know she’s expecting a response, but you have no idea what to say so you provide a weak smile- it’s all you can manage right now. Even for her.
“Sorry, I guess I went on a little,” she smiles at you shyly.
“No, that’s fine,” you reply with a smile, trying to recover and mask your disappointment. You don’t think she’s noticed why you’ve suddenly stalled.
“I guess we should really be getting back – wouldn’t want you to get a reprimand from Dwight on only day two,” she says, when you still don’t offer anything to the conversation. You think it’s probably for the best, too. You’re starting to feel a little sick, and it’s got nothing to do with the meal you’ve just eaten.
You split the bill with her. You’d love to pay for her, too, but you’re not sure how it would look. You walk back to Dunder-Mifflin in companionable silence desperately trying not to let the intense disappointment show all over your face. You’re 97% sure you’re failing.
As you reach the parking lot, you wonder how it’s possible that you just went on the best, and worst, first date of your life.
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks for reading :) I've never done this before, so comments are much appreciated :)
Katie J is the author of 1 other stories.
This story is a favorite of 2 members. Members who liked Lunch also liked 1096 other stories.
