Ever since she was old enough to understand the concept of love, Pam Beesly was told it is illegal. She’s allowed to love her family, and platonic love towards friends was on the fence but mostly okay, but she was not, under any circumstances, allowed to fall in love with another person. Crushes are forbidden, dates are unacceptable. “That’s just the way the world works” is what her mother would always tell her. And, for the most part, she didn’t complain. When she had to deny her feelings towards her fourth-grade classmate, it was fine because no one was allowed to have feelings like that. When she was forced to go to prom with Stephen Ford because the mandatory personality tests they took showed they had the least in common, it was okay because no one got to go with who they wanted to go with. When she turned 18 and found out that in three years she would be marrying Roy Anderson because that’s who she was assigned to at birth, it wasn’t a big deal because everyone was assigned somebody. That’s just the way the world works.

But now it’s been almost three years and her wedding is in six months, and she doesn’t think it’s so fine after all. Her and Roy have gone out on multiple mandatory get-to-know-you sessions, because even “dates” with your assigned partner aren’t allowed, and she finds out that she can’t stand the guy. He’s cute in his own way, and mostly polite. But if she thought her and Stephen Ford had nothing in common, then she had no idea what this was. All he talked about was football and beer, whereas she liked to paint and drink tea. He would rather go and hang out with his brothers and friends at the bar when she would rather stay home and watch a movie. He liked to listen to heavy rock and she liked pop or even some classical. The only thing they could agree on was that this marriage wasn’t going to be a happy one.

But there was nothing she could do about it. Even if she could break up with Roy, it’s not like she has any other options, everyone else is already taken. So, she will suck it up and marry him because it’s what she has to do and who cares if she’s unhappy for the rest of her life? She’s sure others are too, so she has no right to complain.

But just because she doesn’t have the right to complain doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to forget about her situation sometimes. So, that’s why she finds herself tagging along with Roy to Poor Richard’s. She’s usually not into the whole bar scene, but she ran out of wine and after yet another argument with Roy, she could go for something a little stronger anyway. They don’t talk to each other on the way over, and she immediately goes to the bar while he joins his friends at a table on the other side of the room.

She sips on her Bloody Mary and people watches. There’s a group of college students on one side of the room, pretending to do homework while really trying to get as drunk as possible. There’s a couple a few feet away from them who, if she didn’t know any better, she would have thought actually liked each other. She wondered if they were putting on an act or if they were luckier than she is. She rolls her eyes when she sees Roy and his buddies screaming at one another over the football game. Her gaze then lands on a guy sitting in a booth by himself. He’s reading some sort of document, but she can’t tell what it is because of the distance. He’s nursing a beer while he skims the page, and she can’t seem to tear her eyes away from him as his lips surround the bottle.

And then he looks up and right at her, as if he knew she was watching. She smiles softly at him but then turns away, facing the bar once again. She tries to ignore her slightly increased heart rate or the fact that her insides are fluttering a little bit. She takes a big sip of her drink, forcing her imagined feelings down with the alcohol.

But then he’s standing beside her, placing his bottle on the counter and asking the bartender for another beer. She doesn’t dare look at him straight on, but she can see him out of the corner of her eye. He’s tall, much taller than she is. He’s thin and a maybe bit gangly, but attractive, nonetheless. She can tell he’s stronger than he seems, though, with his pale blue button down softly outlining the muscles in his arms. His hair is shaggy and unkempt, but not in a homeless kind of way. She thinks it’s pretty cute. He sits down after the bartender gives him his drink and he glances over at her which makes her focus on her own drink again.

They don’t talk to each other for a while. Instead, they sip from their own drinks and glance in the other’s direction every few seconds, immediately looking away if they catch the other’s eye. Her heart is beating faster than before and she feels like throwing up with how badly her stomach is fluttering, and she knows she should walk away, ask Roy to take her home. But there’s something about this stranger silently sitting next to her that keeps her in her seat, holding her captive.

“What’s your name?”

She jumps a little at the sudden question, then looks up at him for the first time since she first saw him. He’s smiling at her, and she thinks it’s the best thing she’s ever seen. His eyes are hazel, mostly green with some brown specks sprinkled throughout. She feels like she could stare at them forever. But then she remembers he asked her a question, so she looks back down before answering because she can’t seem to find her voice while looking at him. “Pam. What’s yours?”

“Jim. You here by yourself?”

“I wish.” She turns in her chair, pointing at Roy and he follows her gaze. “I’m here with my oh-so-lovely fiancé.” She can’t help the sarcasm that flows with her comment.

“So, he’s the one you’re stuck with, huh?”

“Unfortunately.” She keeps her eyes focused on Roy, because looking at him makes her body calm down from whatever it does when she looks at Jim.

He nods, taking a swig of his drink.

They’re silent again, her staring at Roy and him staring at the floor. She finally looks over at Jim again when Roy starts taking shots, she knows her time here is limited now before Roy starts puking and as much as she knows she shouldn’t, she wants to talk to Jim for as long as possible.

“What were you reading?”

He looks up at her before turning back to the bar and picking up the papers he held previously. “Oh, just a paper my own oh-so-lovely fiancé wrote for her class. She asked if I could proofread it, but I don’t understand anything she’s talking about. I was hoping maybe the beer would help.”

“Usually getting drunk makes you stupider, not smarter.”

He suddenly grows serious, though she can tell he’s trying to hide a smile. “See, Pam, that’s where you’re wrong. All of life’s answers are found at the bottom of a beer bottle. It’s just a matter of finding the right bottle. Until then, you’re gonna look pretty stupid. But once you find it, you’re suddenly a genius.”

She smiles at him, resting her chin on her hand. “Ah, so you’re just studying then.”

He smiles back at her, nodding. “Exactly. Now you’re starting to get it.”

“PAMMY!”

They both turn to her name being called. Roy stumbles over, heavily laying his arm around her shoulders once he’s close enough. She shoves him off, though, making him stumble. “What?”

“I don’t feel good. Can you drive? I need to go home.” He’s slurring his words and trying to keep his balance.

She rolls her eyes, “Whatever.” She gives Jim an apologetic look. “See you around?”

“Yeah, totally. See you around.”

She nods before paying her bill and grabbing the keys from Roy. Roy reaches out to balance himself against her, but she avoids him, walking a few steps ahead and out the door.

As she drives home, she can’t get Jim out of her head. She shouldn’t meet up with him again. She knows that. She should avoid him at all costs, staying far away from his cute smile and beautiful eyes. But even though she knows she should steer clear, she also knows she will be back at Poor Richard’s tomorrow, just in case he will be too.