It was the day after Thanksgiving, and he had somehow allowed himself to be talked into going to the outlet mall. Granted it was always hard to say no to his mother, and he did have shopping that needed done one way or the other. But now that he was there, trudging around in the cold, being bumped by strollers or jostled by shoppers already laden with bags, he wished he were elsewhere. Even the random sightings of Santa Claus in the different stores hadn't inched his mood higher. He just couldn't seem to latch onto the holiday spirit.

If the three women in front of him hasn't completely blocked the sidewalk, he probably wouldn't have attempted to take a shortcut around them. But he cut behind a decorated pine tree at the end of the building, and in doing so managed to step directly into the path of another shopper, nearly knocking her over. Jim reached for an arm swathed in pink wool, righted her balance and apologized immediately. His heartbeat was already elevated from the surprise collision; it spiked further when he saw who it was.

"Pam!" he said, embarrassed with how loudly he'd said her name. "I'm so sorry! Are you all right?"

Pam looked a bit dazed and shaken. "Jim," she sputtered.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She looked up at him confusedly. "What are you doing here?"

Jim grinned. "Shopping," he said conspiratorially.

She looked away, aware of how silly her question sounded. "Yeah, of course," she said.

Jim thought how attractive she looked. Her pink wool coat made her flushed cheeks look that much brighter. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, which combined with her lack of makeup made her look even younger than she was. He felt a little ache at letting himself take in her beauty, but it was impossible not to. She was just so naturally pretty.

"Who are you here with?" Jim asked, trying to distract himself.

"Oh, me? No one. Who are you here with?"

"My mom. She's in one of these shops somewhere." Jim realised what she had said. "You are here alone?"

"Yes. Why?"

Jim shook his head. "No reason. I'm just surprised you would actually volunteer to be here on such a crazy day."

Pam smiled. "Oh, I don't know. This is the one day of the year I actually enjoy being in a crowd. It really feels like the start of the holiday season doing this." She smiled at him. "Are you saying you aren't a willing participant in the Black Friday festivies?"

"No way. I won't say I was dragged, but I certainly wouldn't have come out here on my own."

They stood there silently for a moment. Jim knew he should just walk away and find his mother. He and Pam hadn't been this relaxed around each other in ages, and it actually frightened him how quickly he could fall back into it. He didn't want to think about how nice it would be to just let his guard down and let go. He was about to make some excuse to say goodbye when his mother spotted him and headed over.

"And here's my mother now," he said. "Pam, this is my mother, Larissa."

Pam nodded in his mother's direction. "Hi, I'm Pam. I work with Jim."

Larissa Halpert responded with a brilliant smile very much like her son's. "Pam? Do you mean I finally get to meet THE Pam Beesly? Oh, how very, very nice to meet you."

"Thanks, it's good to finally meet you too," Pam said, smiling. "Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?"

"Oh yes, it was just lovely." Larissa replied. "Everyone was home for a change. And you?"

Pam paused for a moment. "Oh, it was nice. Pretty quiet actually, but it was okay."

"Did you go to your family's?" Larissa asked.

"No, not this year," Pam replied. "My aunt in South Carolina has been unwell, so my parents went to spend the holiday with her. I really didn't want to take off so much time from work, so I just celebrated in my own little way in my apartment."

Jim's eyes hadn't left Pam's face since she'd started talking to his mother, so he didn't miss the brief shadow of sadness she'd let slip when she mentioned being alone on Thanksgiving. That look, combined with just the idea of Pam being alone yesterday put lump in his throat that he really couldn't bear to think about. He was grateful his mother was there to prevent him from making a fool out of himself.

"Well, I guess I should let you guys finish your shopping," Pam said, her voice breaking into Jim's reverie.

"We're going to get some lunch soon," Jim heard himself say. "Why don't you come with us?"

Before Pam could reply, Larissa insisted that she join them, so all was settled. The three of them walked around the outlet mall a little while longer, and then Pam followed them to a nearby restaurant. Once there they warmed up with hot tea and coffees, they enjoyed a lazy afternoon lunch where laughter and Jim Halpert stories were exchanged freely.

Pam would no sooner describe one of their old Dwight pranks to Jim's mother, then Larissa would respond with an embarassing but cute story about Jim as a child. The two women seemed to bond instantly, and it was all Jim could do but sit back and reflect on how the day had unfolded. He enjoyed a flash insight of what his life would be like - surrounded by the two women whom he dearly loved and who clearly loved him. It took him a moment to remember that it was only his mother whose love he was completely certain of. Still, there were moments that afternoon when his eyes met Pam's and his heart couldn't deny the intensity and warmth he saw there. For as grateful as he was for the safety his mother's presence provided, he also wished for solitude with Pam so he could find out what those looks meant. Maybe it was safer just not to know. But he wasn't quite so sure he wanted safety anymore.