Understanding The Universe
December 3, 2012
Jim sat on the couch in silence, with Pam snuggled into him on one side and his four year old daughter sleeping on his other shoulder. They had already put their two year old son to bed, and now he finally was letting everything the doctor had told him earlier today set in.
“Hey. You’re going to be fine. She said it was probably nothing.”
“There’s only so many things that cause a lump, Pam. What if it’s not nothing? Phillip’s still too young to know what’s going on but what about Cece? This is just… it’s far too much for a child to take.”
“She’s a strong girl, just like her daddy. And even if it is something, you’ve been keeping up with your visits, so they definitely caught it early. We’re going to get through this no matter what.”
Jim looked over at his wife. What had he done to deserve such an amazing woman? The love of his life, the mother of his children, and a more supportive person than he could ever have even dreamed of.
“I love you. So much.”
“I know. And you know I love you.”
Jim pulled Pam into a tighter embrace and she returned the favor by squeezing him closer. They had gotten much better at communicating with actual words over the years, but they still had a knack to tell each other everything they needed to without saying anything. They fell asleep in one another’s arms, ready to face whatever was ahead.
December 5, 2012
Pam made her way through the cancer ward at Mercy hospital with a unsettling familiarity. Sure, she’d been here with Jim a few times to see some of the staff that took care of him while he was sick, but the layout was still burned into her memory from the daily visits during that awful time 6 years ago.
Jim had left work early to meet with his doctor about the results of the tests on the lump they found, and he had texted to let her know where he’d be. Pam had picked up the kids from daycare after work and dropped them off at Jim’s parents for the night, so it was just them for the evening. If the news was bad, this would give them some time to cope with the news and figure out what to tell Cece, and if the news was good they’d have a night all to themselves.
“Hey, what’d I miss?”
“Hey, nothing actually. Dr. Burke got caught up a bit so she was just about to get into the results.”
“Hi Pam. Good to see you again. So, to get right to it Jim, you have a benign tumor. That’s still something we need to be a little bit concerned about, but you are cancer free.”
Pam felt like all of the air that seemed to be missing from the room rushed back in all at once. Neither of them really reacted to the news other than the obvious relief on their faces. Dr. Burke continued before Pam had a chance to really process everything.
“We’re going to have you come in a lot more frequently for awhile. For now, there’s not any treatment we’re going to recommend for the tumor - we’ll take a watchful waiting approach. That means a lot more tests - blood tests, biopsies, you know the drill.”
“So will it just go away after awhile, or?”
“Well, it might. Without getting too in depth, there are a lot of different types of benign tumors. Hopefully we won’t have to do anything, but if we continue to see growth or other symptoms we may have to perform surgery to remove it.”
“Ok. Doesn’t sound too bed… I think I can handle surgery.”
Pam and Jim asked a few other questions but for the most part, everything was relatively straightforward. There’d be a few more tests than usual and some more visits, but otherwise nothing sounded too bad.
“Jim. This is obviously good news, but I just want to be clear that there’s always the chance of a relapse. Make sure you keep getting all of your tests and everything. You’re doing great. I’ll see you soon.”
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“So, Mr. Halpert, we’re kid free for the night. What’s on the agenda?”
“Would you be ok with just watching a movie tonight at home? It’s been a long day and I'll probably pass out early tonight.”
Jim could see the slight disappointment on Pam’s face - they hadn't had a night alone in months and he knew she was looking forward to this - but he had to ignore it for now. He didn’t want to ruin the surprise.
“Yeah, I guess it has been. See you at home then?”
“Love you.”
Jim gave Pam a quick kiss before getting in the car and quickly leaving. He wanted to arrive before she did to make sure everything was going as planned.
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Pam pulled into the driveway and couldn’t help but wonder why Jim was in such a hurry. He had pulled out of the parking lot at Mercy before she was even settled into her car and he was already inside the house as she arrived. Jim always waited for her when they were driving separate cars home. What was he up to?
As she opened the door, Pam didn’t know what to expect, but she never could have imagined what she saw. Almost every light in the house was off except for the ones on dimmers in the kitchen and dining room, which were turned almost all of the way down.
There were candles on the banisters, on the dining room table, and on the coffee and end tables in the living room. The dining room table was covered with a delicate white tablecloth, and the silverware that was laid out was definitely more expensive than anything they owned. There were flowers on the table, too, and the house was definitely the cleanest it had been since - well, probably the cleanest it had ever been.
What ever he was cooking smelled amazing. How did he have time to cook? Just then, Jim came down the stairs wearing his nicest suit.
“Ah, I was wondering if you were going to stand me up for our date.”
“Jim… how did you? This is amazing. It doesn’t even look like our house.”
“Well, I had a little help. Reservation for Halpert!”
Larissa peaked out from the kitchen, smiling as she saw Pam had arrived.
“You’re right on time. Please have a seat.”
Jim interlocked his fingers with Pam and led her over to the table, before pulling out her chair for her to sit. He joined her in the seat to her right, once again intertwining their hands on top of the table.
“Can I start you two with some wine?”
Penny came out of the kitchen with a bottle of Merlot and didn’t wait for an answer. She started pouring a glass for each of them and smirked at Pam’s obvious surprise.
“So he got you in on this too?”
Penny smiled back at Pam, but didn’t answer. She shrugged and finished pouring the wine, leaving the bottle on the table.
“Your appetizers will be right up.”
“Appetizers?”
“Well yeah. You can’t have a 3 course meal without an appetizer, Pam.”
“How do you come up with this stuff? Seriously, how are you this amazing?”
“Years of practice on Dwight… obviously. This is basically just a prank, except I actually want you to enjoy the outcome.”
“Uh, yeah, I think you nailed it.”
Jim had even picked a menu that called back to some of their first dates. The appetizers were mini grilled cheese sandwiches (and if Pam was being honest, that was definitely a date), followed by chicken parmesan for the main course, along with the merlot, and tiramisu for dessert.
“Ok, question - “
“Yes, Dwight?”
“Nice. So when did Penny and Larissa learn to cook like that? Holy crap. And the Tiramisu? Amazing.”
“Well don’t put it in your Yelp review, but I heard the owner say that the tiramisu was from that little bakery over by the mall."
"Ah! The magic is gone."
"Well, it was fun while it lasted. So… I did promise a movie. Dazed and Confused?”
“I don’t know, I kind of could go for some more dessert.”
“Really? How can you keep eating after all of that, Beesly?”
“I was thinking more like the dessert we had that time I cooked chicken parm when you came from Stamford.”
“Mmm. You know, I think maybe I could go for some more dessert.”
Pam leaned over the table and kissed her husband. Jim tried to pull away, but Pam pulled him in closer and deepened the kiss. Things were close to getting out of hand when Jim finally pulled back, to her obvious confusion.
“As much as I want that second dessert…”
He placed a quick kiss on her lips.
“...we should probably get our sisters out of here first.”
