Please Stay

Pam stood there motionless. She felt like the Earth was crumbling around her and she was tumbling down, down, down..

She couldn’t believe that he told her that he was leaving and then just walked away. There was a look on his face that told her that he wanted to say something else but he never said it. She had seen that face before, on the Booze Cruise and when she jinxed him for the whole day, and like those other times, he said nothing. All he said was “I took a transfer to Stamford” and “I just wanted you to know” as he wiped a tear from his eyes. He told her that today was his last day in the office and that Monday he would be starting in Stamford.

Pam was crying now. Not a simple single tear down the cheek, but full on sobbing. She was crying because she was going to miss her best friend, but another part of her deep down was crying in mourning over the fact that the man she truly loved was leaving her. For good. She saw Jim walk out of the office building with a box that she assumed was his stuff and head towards his car. She realized that she hasn’t moved from the spot in the parking lot for 15 minutes. She looked up when she heard a car honk and Jim gave her a sad wave and said “Goodbye Pam”.

Pam finally managed to put one foot in front of the next and before she realized it, was in her car driving in the direction of Jim’s house. She was angry now. She yelled out to no one “He can’t leave, not like that!” and “How dare he spring this on me and then walk away?”.

After an agonizing 10 minute drive to his house, she finally pulled into his driveway. She saw only his car so she assumed that Mark wasn’t there. “Perfect!” she thought. “Nobody to interrupt us”. She saw the light in the living room on, so she got out of her car and knocked on the door. He opened he door a few seconds after her knock and looked stunned to see her in his doorway. “Come in” he said while stepping aside and closed the door behind her when she walked in. His house looked almost the exact same as the last time Pam was there, but there were moving boxes in the kitchen with dishes and glasses already in them. That made Pam even angrier. He knew that he was transferring but waited until the night of his last day there to tell her.

“Can I get you something to drink?’

“Sure, water would be great, thanks.”

“Make yourself at home.”

Pam went and sat down on his couch, leaning against the arm rest. Soon, Jim walked back in with two glasses of water. He looked at her and said “So Pam, why are you here? Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to see you, but I thought you would’ve been home by now?”.

“Jim, why are you leaving? And why didn’t you tell me until tonight? I thought I was your best friend and you couldn’t tell me?”.

“Well, it’s a good opportunity for me with a pay raise, and I just can’t stay here anymore.”.

“What does that mean? What do you mean by you can’t stay here anymore?”

“I can’t watch you marry him Pam”

Pam was knocked right off of her feet. If she wasn’t already sitting down, she for sure would’ve collapsed.

“Why can’t you watch me marry him Jim?”

“Because Pam”

“Because why Jim?”

She knew what he was about to say by the look on his face. “Because I love you Pam. There, I said it. But it doesn’t make a difference, you are going to marry him. I can’t sit there and watch you marry him, so I need to get away.”

Pam was flabbergasted. Her best friend in the world just told her that he loved her and that the reason why he is leaving her is because he can’t stand the thought of her marrying him. Then, on instinct Pam jumped up and kissed Jim on the lips. He was apprehensive at first and after a few seconds, snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her close. After what felt like an eternity, they pulled apart and looked at each other.

“Wow” they said in unison. And then they both laughed.

“I’ve loved you since the moment that I first saw you Pam but I want you to be happy more than anything, even if it means that you marry him”

Pam stayed in his arms and looked into his eyes. And in his green eyes she saw her future. She saw two boys running across a big backyard playing tag with a big Golden Retriever chasing them. She saw a terrace on the second story of a home, just like the one that she wanted since she was a little girl. She also saw not her fiancé, but Jim standing there next to her watching their two kids play. She looked away from Jim’s eyes down to his neck and immediately hugged him closer than he already was and said “I love you too Jim. I have always loved you from the first moment that you came up to my desk. I need to break things off with Roy, and I will need some time to get my life back together. “.

“Just please promise me one thing Jim.”

“Anything Pam, anything for you.”

“Please stay.”

Without hesitation, he said “I will.”