Jim was disappointed that he didn’t see the girl on his way home.
When he managed to squeeze into the cramped carriage sometime in the late afternoon, he supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised that he didn’t see her, and didn’t fancy basing his happiness for his journey all on a chance encounter.
Between gathering coffee and memos all day, he’d barely had a chance to sneak a peek at the sketchbook that sat at the bottom of his bag, buried by important files and empty lunch packets. As it turned out, being an intern at a sports magazine didn’t offer plenty of time to sit down at his cramped cubicle to peek through someone else’s work.
Was that weird? He thought, shifting to his left to let someone by. He scrunched up his nose, pushing the thought from his mind as another person hurried past him to slip through the doors before they closed. No, it wouldn’t be. It wasn’t like he was reading her high school diary or anything. They were just a couple of sketches, nothing more, nothing less.
Two stops before his, almost all of Jim’s carriage cleared out, so he gladly took the seat closest to the doors. He enjoyed this part of his journey, taking out his earphones to listen to the lull of the carriage and the clatter of the train through the tunnels. From his seat, he could peer down to the end of the carriage, smiling kindly to anyone sat there, and when things got especially dull, he could pull faces at his reflection in the blacked-out window opposite. That evening, he used his time to retrieve his half-eaten, half-flattened sandwich and the girl’s sketchbook from the bottom of his satchel, and to enjoy a light snack while he tried to figure out the mystery girl from the morning.
Jim settled his bag between his thigh and the seat, balancing the small book on his lap while he tucked into his lunch. He opened up the book, chewing slowly as he read over her name again and again.
“Pam” He whispered to himself, just to see what it would be like to say her name. He felt a little bit silly, sitting alone in an almost empty carriage, whispering a strangers name to himself with his mouth half full. But she didn’t feel like a stranger. She was much kinder than any other stranger that Jim had met before, so much warmer, and brighter. If only all strangers were like the mysterious Pam, maybe Brooklyn would be a nicer place.
Jim stretched out his legs, finishing the corner of his sandwich before he turned the page. He flicked through each one carefully, admiring every shape, line, and technique before moving on to the next one. He knew almost nothing about art, but he was sure that he was 100% right when he thought Pam was fancy that morning.
As the train slowed to his stop, Jim took a crumpled receipt from his satchel, stuffing it in-between the pages to come back to later. When he stepped onto the platform, he almost felt glad that he hadn’t seen Pam on his way home, he might’ve never learnt her name, and he certainly wouldn’t have seen her sketches. And though the day felt quite bittersweet, Jim couldn’t help but smile as he made his way back to his apartment, and he hoped that someday soon, he’d see Pam again, even if it was in a dingy subway station.
--
It was gone 9 o’clock when Jim had the time to look through Pam’s book again. Freshly showered with clean pyjamas and a beer in his hand, he was more alert than he’d been on the train home. He settled down onto his couch, taking the old receipt from the middle of the book, opening up from where he’d left off. Each page told Jim new things about Pam, how observant she was, how much she loved detail and people and the world, and when he finally got to the end of the book, he felt downhearted since that was all he could learn about Pam without seeing her again.
He slouched back into the cushions with a disgruntled sigh, ready to grumble to himself about getting too attached to a girl he barely knew. Had he really thought it was a good idea? Looking back, Jim realised that the rational thing to do would’ve been to hand the book in somewhere, and let Pam find it herself. Then he could carry on with his day peacefully, with a clear head and a lighter bag.
To hell with rationality, he thought, tossing his head to the side. He was better than that, and besides, even if he had handed the book in, he still wouldn’t have stopped thinking about her. It was like the 5 minutes they’d spent together that morning had defined the rest of his future, and there was no way he could go on with his life without her in it. He took a minute, standing up to reason with himself. Was he being a little intense? Maybe, but wasn’t that what people wanted nowadays? Jim hadn’t watched many romcoms, but he figured from what he’d seen that people wanted big gestures and declarations. Though, looking through someone else’s work wouldn’t come off as romantic, and Jim thought it was actually more desperate than anything else.
He groaned, swiftly taking a swig of his beer. As he was setting it back down on the coffee table, something on the back cover of the book caught Jim’s eye. He squinted, picking it up to read the series of numbers in the corner.
A phone number? It had to be. Was it her number? No. Maybe it was a friend’s. or a code, or a password. Fate wasn’t that kind. Pretty girls didn’t just leave their phone numbers for guys like him.
But maybe Pam would.
Jim dug his hand into his pocket for his phone, fumbling round with it before he finally managed to click on the call icon. He stared blankly at his phone, which seemed to be staring back at him, daring him to type in those numbers, to make a fool of himself. He scoffed, muttering ‘I’ll show you” under his breath, before slowly punching in each number.
He raised his phone to his ear, almost losing his nerve as the steady ‘beep beep’ continued for longer than he would’ve liked. Just a couple of beeps later, a familiar voice rang in his ears.
“Hello?”
Oh God. That was her. Pam. Mystery Subway Girl. He had Pam’s phone number.
“Uh, hello?”
Say something, Halpert!
He managed to utter out a quick “Hi” before clearing his throat to try again. “Hey, uh, is this Pam?”
“Is that you, Jim? From this morning? How did you get my number?”
She remembered him. Jim Halpert couldn’t believe that a girl like that would remember him.
“Oh well it’s a funny story actually. Um, well maybe it’s not that funny. You left your sketchbook on the train and I picked it up for you. Lucky for you, I managed to find your number in the back.”
“That sounds a little cheesy doesn’t it” She laughed, and Jim remembered when she’d laughed on the platform, her eyes bright with humour. “Well, thank you. I’m so glad you found it and not some stranger.”
“It’s no problem.” Jim decided he would leave out the fact that it wasn’t actually him who found it, and that it was in fact a stranger, but it was his time to shine tonight, that other guy could wait.
“Hey, so I know this might sound a little forward but, how about we meet for a coffee tomorrow? That way you could give me back my stuff, and maybe we could chat a little. It’s not everyday I meet a guy as nice as you.”
Jim couldn’t help but grin, a warmth spreading through his chest. “Of course, definitely. How’s nine thirty?”
“I’ll try and be out of bed by then.” She laughed again and Jim grinned wider. “I’ll see you at Absolute Coffee tomorrow then, Jim.”
“It’s a date.” He teased before they said their goodbyes, Pam hanging up first.
Jim set his phone down on his table, shaking his head in disbelief. Tomorrow he’d see her again. And he couldn’t wish for it to come any sooner
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you for all the lovely reviews so far! They mean a lot :)
The amount of googling I’ve had to do for this story...
The amount of googling I’ve had to do for this story...
Chapter End Notes:
Ah, the power of a phone call.
