Even through the air conditioning of the hotel, Jim still felt the humidity of Tallahassee start to settle in. It had been a long night last night. All he’d wanted to do was relax and watch a basketball game. Still he’d been proud of himself. A flash of light caught his eye as he brought his spoonful of Lucky Charms up to his mouth. His wedding ring flashed in the morning light coming in through the window triggering a host of memories. Eating his bite of cereal, he resumed his vigil. He’d made sure to get down to the breakfast bar early to keep an eye out. There was a time for jokes, and there was a time to be serious and Jim knew which one it was now. Finally, he saw her enter the room. Glancing down at his phone he quickly hit a button before he stood up.

“Cathy!” He saw her look up at the sound of his voice and her face brighten. “Mind coming over here for a sec?” He sat back down as she walked over and sat in the chair across from him.

“Hey Jim,” she said while brushing her bangs behind her ear. “Weird night last night, right?”

He nodded at her. “Yeah. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Why were you in my room last night?”

She looked confused. “I told you, the heater wasn’t working and it was like, ninety degrees in there.”

Jim took a deep breath before he continued. “Cathy, I checked with the hotel this morning. They told me there was no request for maintenance last night. We’re both adults and I’m not interested in playing games. So, I’m going to ask you to be completely honest. Why did you come to my room last night?”

Her face had fallen at his little speech, as had her eyes to the table top. He saw her swallow hard a few times and it looked like she was trying to figure out what she wanted to say. “I think I need some water,” she told him as she looked up.

Before she had a chance to stand up, Jim pushed his full and unused glass to her side of the table. Cathy took a few sips before looking back at Jim. He didn’t say anything to her. Patience was a valuable lesson he’d learned well over the years. He simply sat across the table from her and waited for her to start talking.

“I came to your room last night because I want to be with you,” she finally told him.

Jim nodded and pursed his lips before replying. “Regardless of the fact that I’m married with two kids?”

Cathy leaned over and tried to grab his hand, a hand that Jim swiftly pulled away from her. “Oh, come on! You and I both know your marriage is falling apart!”

“Really?” Jim asked her as his eyebrows shot up. “Why would you think that?”

“I was there when Pam was away. I saw you come in tired every morning. That one time you didn’t even know where you put your lunch to the point that Dwight would turn the office upside down only for you to remember it was in your desk drawer the whole time. Speaking of Dwight, you’d call him, Dwigt all the time. You started using that silly little green teapot all of a sudden when you’ve never once liked tea before. I’d see Pam’s number pop up on your cell, but you wouldn’t answer it, but rather go back to typing on the computer with this smile like you were glad to not be picking it up. And of course, all the time we’d spend trying to stump each other with movie quotes. Doesn’t sound like the kind of guy who’d happy at home if he’s that distracted at work.
“So, yes last night I thought I’d try to show you how much better you could have it. I mean, come on, I know I’m hot. I’ve had guys hitting on me since the moment we got down here, but I said no to them all because I know we can start something great. After all, marriages don’t work nowadays anyway. It’s just a piece of paper. Couples break up all the time, what’s the difference about a couple that signed some stupid form?”

“Wow!” Jim’s eyebrows were still raised. “Is really what you think my marriage is like?”

“You asked me to be honest,” she challenged back.

“Fair enough. My turn. Yes, when Pam was off on maternity leave I came into work more tired than normal. That’s because often I was up late doing the majority of the chores around the house because my son and wife were both sick at the time and the doctors said they needed as much rest as possible. Add to that a two-year-old who has two settings; stop and go. The same two-year-old who would spill the milk right after I would get done mopping the floor.
“I get why you’d be confused about the whole, “Dwigt,” thing or my lunch, but seriously? You’ve never once seen me play a prank on Dwight before? I mean, go to anyone in the office and ask for their top ten pranks I’ve pulled. I did once and ended up remembering a few even I’d forgotten about.
“I do remember those times I wouldn’t answer Pam. That was because I was talking to her over IM and our daughter was playing with Pam’s phone. Something Pam was telling me in adorable detail as it was happening.
“As for the teapot,” Jim broke eye contact with Cathy and glanced down at the table for a second before looking up again. “That teapot has more sentimental meaning to Pam and I than any other thing in the office. You’re right, I don’t really like tea, but I do love my wife. Pam gave me permission to use her teapot after I came home one night telling her how much I missed having her at the office and not seeing her. It was, and is, a constant reminder to us both of the journey we’ve had to be together.”

Cathy looked at Jim skeptically. “Really a teapot?”

“Yes, a teapot,” he told her with conviction. “Cathy, how much do you really know about Pam and me? I mean about what we went through to get together?”

She shrugged. “She was engaged when you first started going out, I know that much. I mean, Jim you’re getting really bent out of shape about all this. Basically, telling me I’m a homewrecker, when you broke up an engagement.”

Jim shook his head at her. “Oh, how little you know. Pam was engaged when I first started working at Dunder-Mifflin that’s true. For four years I told myself we were just friends. I was kidding myself. I’ve loved Pam since the first time I met her. Which was actually before we started working at Dunder-Mifflin, but that’s too long of a story to tell right now. You never met Roy Anderson, or saw the way he treated Pam. He never once hit her or anything, but he was never there for her either. Pam freely admits that she talked to me way more than she talked to Roy during those years.
“Finally, I laid it all on the line and she shot me down, twice. So, I ran. Transferred to another branch, even started seeing someone new. But always, there was Pam. For the record, Pam broke off her engagement to Roy on her own. I had a role to play, I’ll admit, but it was Pam who realized she didn’t want to be in that relationship anymore. I never once asked her to break it off specifically for me.
“I had a chance to get a promotion at Corporate when I saw a note Pam had left for me. As soon as I saw that note, I realized I would be the biggest idiot in the world if I let her get away again. I withdrew from the position and dumped my girlfriend in New York and drove back to be with Pam, because I couldn’t stand to be apart from her for one second longer.”

Cathy scoffed at him. “So, let me get this straight, you admit you had a role in breaking an engagement and dumped a girlfriend for Pam, but now as soon as she’s gone starts being all flirty with me? Real classy.”

Jim took a deep breath before he answered her. “There’s a difference between being friendly and flirty. I’m the number two man in the office Cathy. Part of my job is to keep the office running smoothly. If you haven't noticed I try to be friendly with just about everyone, including Dwight. But that’s not the same as flirting. Before and while we were dating, I’d try to go out of my way to make little moments where it would be just Pam and me. She admits now, she did the same, just not as often. Answer me this, until last night, when was the last time you and I were alone together?”

“Well never I suppose,” Cathy answered back.

“Right, because first off, I’m married. Second off, it’s because HR has had to deal with a ton of sexual harassment cases over the years which is the last thing I want to have to deal with.”

Cathy tried reaching for Jim’s hand again. “What if I don’t care about all that?”

Jim pulled his had away again, and sighed. “Let me make this loud and clear. I love Pam with all my heart. We have ups and downs like any couple, but what draws us together is stronger than anything that could ever tear us apart. You say marriage is just a piece of paper. I’m here to tell you, that the piece of paper Pam and I signed on our wedding day, hell, even the rings on our fingers are just symbols. What Pam and I have is so much more than that. She’s my best friend, my lover, she’s the mother of my children, the one woman who makes it all worthwhile. She’s the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think of when I go to bed.”

Tears were now starting to brim in Cathy’s eyes. “We could be good together Jim.”

Jim lowered his voice a touch. “How? I mean do you really even know me? Do you know how I like my coffee? What high school did I go to? What was the first prank I pulled on Dwight? What’s my favorite pizza topping? What are the names of my siblings? What was my major in college? What’s my favorite thing off the Taco Bell menu? What was the name of my first pet?”

Cathy looked stunned as Jim asked her all the questions. “Umm. I think you like your coffee black. Ummm....” Her head fell again as she realized she didn’t know the answers to any of Jim’s questions.

Jim nodded. “See? You liked the idea of me, but you’ve never really tried to spend time trying to get to know me. Not like Pam did.” Jim glanced down at the phone laying on the table. “Right Pam?”

“Damn right,” came Pam’s voice from the speaker phone.

Cathy’s head shot up at the sound, her eyes wide. “She’s been listening this whole time?”

“I have,” Pam told her. “Jim’s told me all about what happed last night too. Just to let you know; Jim likes his coffee with a touch of cream, he went to West Scranton High, the first prank Jim pulled on Dwight was switching the location of Dwight’s pen cup and calculator all day long, he likes sausage and green peppers on his pizza, his siblings are Tom, Pete, and Larissa, he majored in Sports Marketing at Penn State, he likes Mexican Pizza’s from Taco Bell, and the first pet in the Halpert household was a goldfish named Bob.
“Cathy, I should be mad at you, but I’m not. If anyone is aware of how attractive my husband is, I assure you it’s me. When you first started with us I may have been a little jealous of you, but Jim has laid any of those fears to rest. We’ve very happy together.
“You’re still young. I remember you told me you recently got out of a rough relationship. Before you try to jump into another relationship that would have just as many problems, take time to see who you are by yourself. Don’t define yourself as Cathy-and-Someone. Find out who Cathy is for herself. Then guard your heart close. There are far too many sleezeballs out there who will just take and take and take from you and leave you a shell of who you are. Don’t fall for them. The guys that are truly worth it are the ones who build you up and who you’ll find, you’ll want to do the same. They’re still out there. Take my word for it.”

Tears were brimming in Cathy’s eyes. She reached up a hand to wipe them away as Pam’s words rang home.  “I don’t know what to say to all that.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Jim told her gently. “I know we just threw a lot on you. I’ll talk to Dwight and tell him you need the day off today. Please take some time to think about what we just said, okay?”

She nodded back to Jim. “I think I need to head back to my room.” Without a word she got up and left the dining room leaving Jim alone at the table again.

He breathed out a huge sigh of relief and picked up his phone while turning off the speaker. “So that went better than I thought it would.”

“Yeah,” Pam told him. “But Jim?”

“Yeah Pam?”

“If she tries anything else, I’m on the first plane down there and will personally cut off all her hair before throwing her into the Gulf of Mexico with a rock tied around her legs.”

 “I have no doubt,” he chuckled. In the background he heard Phillip start to cry. “I’ll be home soon.”

“I can’t wait. I love you.”

Jim smiled. “I love you too.”