Three.
"Attention Everyone, the Fun Christmas Party will be starting at 2:45. There will be singing and dancing and laughing and DRINKS! So please ignore any other parties scheduled for today."
Jim laughed, albeit slightly uncomfortably, at how Pam and Karen were making Angela give a dirtier look than he had ever seen her give before-- and that was saying something. He watched Pam approach Karen, as he heard her say "There will be drinks?" Karen nodded. She was good at leadership stuff like this. "
Yeah. Could you run out and get some? I'm setting up the Karaoke machine with Darryl."
Pam looked at her feet, as she murmered self-consciously "Sure, but I uh..I don't have a car today. Mine's being repaired and I didn't have another ride...I uh..took the bus."
Karen seemed unfazed, clearly not noticing how much strength it took for Pam to admit in front of the whole office that she couldn't find anyone to take her into work today. "Oh, okay. Jim can take you, right sweetie? We need Malibu, Absolut, Wine, um... oh and some eggs for the eggnogg."
Jim's eyes widened as if he had just seen Michael Scott whip out an acceptance letter to Harvard.
"Would that be O.K Jim?" Pam asked meekly.
"Yeah, of course." he said, standing up. "Let's go."
They walked down to the parking lot, making awkward conversation as he opened his car door for her like the gentleman that he was. The ride to the Gerrity's was only five minutes, but he found himself pacing in his head trying to think of things to talk about on the ride, trying to prove to himself that nothing had changed and they were still the same people. He needed to believe that.
She sat down and buckled up, knowing just as well as he did that this ride was going to be awkward if none of them did anything about it. "Hey, remember the last time we went to Gerrity's? And we bought Kevin 69 Cups o' Noodles?"
He laughed, glad to see that she was easing the situation and more than happy to escape to a less complicated time int heir relationship. "That was great. And don't forget American Pie 2"
She laughed too, "How could I forget? He watched that on his computer for weeks afterwards."
They quoted lines of the movie back and forth, and soon it was like nothing had ever happened between them. They were still just Jim and Pam. Jim and Pam, best friends. Jim and Pam, Jim who was still pining for Pam to love him. Pam, who was pining for Jim but could never tell him.
They shopped around, getting the items that Karen had requested and also buying some snacks and a couple of knick knacks that they would enjoy. Jim pulled off gourmet cat food from the shelf. "Well, Angela's had a rough day. We should probably get her something nice." and threw it into the shopping cart.
Pam laughed and replied "Okay, but now we have to find a bib. We wouldn't want any of that to dribble over her lovely Christmas sweater."
"Oh Beesly, you're horrible!" he said, thinking that she was anything but horrible and in fact was quite wonderful.
They paid for the groceries, Jim picking up the bill even though Pam had bought dish detergent and teabags for her house. He refused to let her ring up solo, and she was quick to appease him since her finances were slim these days. He popped the trunk of his car as they loaded the groceries in, and once again he opened the passenger door for her. As he started the engine, they reflected on their purchases and their expectations of the Fun Party. Conversation flowed easily, until it came to a halt with only two minutes left on the trip. It wasn't really an awkward silence though, just kind of both of them enjoying the moment and thinking about what every little action of today meant. She sighed deeply, and it looked like she was going to say something. He wasn't ready for her to say anything. Not now.
"Hey, let's listen to the radio," he said quickly. Before she had a chance to say anything, he reached for the button and the first station that came up was 101.4HITZ as Avril Lavigne's nasally voice permeated any sense of romance that was left between them. "Oh, God, " he winced, "What is this crap?!" He motioned to the tuning button, trying to change the station, as she grabbed his wrists to stop him.
"No, wait! I love this song," she exclaimed as she bobbed her head and sang along. "Hey Hey You You I don't like Girlfriend, no way no way, think you need a new one"
He slammed on the breaks as they pulled in the parking lot, not knowing if she just genuinely liked the song or if she succeeded in saying what she had tried to before.
Sitemap | Terms of Service | Submission Rules | FAQs | Disclaimer | Donate | Contact Us |
© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali
© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali