“Pam, I’m so lonely.”

She had picked up the call before it ever rang a second time. It was out of habit that any time she heard a phone she immediately glanced at the caller ID screen.

This time was no exception. Except while here at the Stewarts she had to travel a few steps to the desk where an expansion handset stood upright in its cradle in order to read the back-lit numbers that popped up.

Normally when these familiar ten digits flashed on the display it meant disaster, grief or some other disturbance and—in the case of her other existence yesterday, or almost two weeks ago in this one—absolute chaos stemming from a burnt foot, a concussion and a trip to the hospital.

But today she was more anxious than apprehensive to get his check-in call.

She knew Gabby had jumped into the shower and couldn’t answer, otherwise she would never think of picking up her host’s phone, even knowing it was a call for her. But she didn’t want to miss Michael. She had an outing to keep them, well mostly him, busy today and out of trouble.

The idea to visit the library this week had come to her when she first went back to her house. While searching for the wedding brochures that she never found, she instead came across an overdue book.

Except at that point, it wasn’t overdue yet.

The library had a generous renewal policy and allowed for extra time, to a limit. Her last allowance expired while she was going through the motions of the last two weeks—and in this timeline it would soon be up.

But in her previously lived life she had completely forgotten she was even reading the book.

About halfway in she lost interest in finishing it. But since Pam was the type who liked to see things through, even when she knew this story wasn’t quite for her, she didn’t take it back to the library.

Instead, she tucked it away, figuring she still had time and that she might one day decide to pick it up again with renewed excitement.

It wasn’t until she got home from the ski trip with Roy that she even remembered she still had it out when the red exclamation point-flanked e-mail showed up in her in-box with the bold words Overdue Notice in the subject line. Reading the computer-generated email that included the amount of her fine she found herself slightly mortified.

It wasn’t that the $1.60 was going to break the bank or that her borrowing privileges were in danger of being suspended. 

It was more that Pam hated to be that person who didn’t do what was expected of her and kept something long past the due date.

On Friday, back in the time before that email arrived, she happened on it again while Michael left her waiting the extra hours for his return.

The idea to take it with her crossed her mind. With all the newly found free time, she could give it another try. Perhaps she might like it better on the second read. Her eyesight was improved, maybe so was her taste in books.

She remembered wanting so much to like it when she first began, being that it garnered such critical acclaim. It made her feel like there was something wrong with her that she didn’t feel the same as the reviewers so she kept pushing through. But even Oprah and Oscar’s praise didn’t make her it any easier for her as she slogged through mind-numbing dialogue and a plot she couldn’t identify with. It was the first time in her life she’d ever quit a book halfway through. She only hoped Oscar wouldn’t suggest it for Finer Things.

But in the few minutes she took to skim the first pages again, she realized that all the time in the world was not going to make it any better. Still, she thought she might at least exchange it at the library for something she would enjoy more. But in the time she spent waiting she changed her mind again, deciding it was a bad idea to mess with the future by returning the book in the wrong timeline.

Removing it from the house would be just another potential means to gaslight herself if there was a chance her life would carry on with minor differences over the next two weeks. If for some reason she remembered about it and how it was due, but then it was nowhere to be found, that would be another basis to think she was going nuts.

Had she had the kind of fiancé that did her unsolicited favors like bringing back her books on a trip of his own to the library, she might have thought to grab it. But knowing Roy wouldn’t even know where the local library was, she knew it was best she leave it behind.

She had done enough messing with things at the house, she didn’t want to shake things up anymore.

But she didn’t see the harm in leaving it in a more conspicuous spot where her other self would notice it and maybe have a chance to take it over to the library sometime before she left on the ski trip so it wouldn’t be quite so late.

She even felt daring enough to dogear a page as a test to see if her little nudge worked. If she could get Michael to go, she could look for her copy of the book with the folded down page 333 to see if it had been reshelved.

When during her stop home yesterday she noticed it still was under an even higher pile of junk mail by the door, she pushed the supermarket circulars, Olive Garden and Chili’s coupons aside to reveal a bit more of what they’d been hiding.

Knowing the book wouldn’t yet be returned didn’t keep her from suggesting they visit the library, but first she had to respond to Michael’s lament.

“It’s been less than two days since you left here. You can’t be that lonely yet.”

“Pam, it feels unnatural to be away from the office this long.”

“Didn’t you sleep there?”

“Yes, but not while anybody was here. Except the ghost.”

He lowered his voice to a whisper.

“I think it’s one of Creed’s ancestors.”

“Michael,” she began but got interrupted as he continued his story.

“Sunday night when I came back, I swore I caught a glimpse of someone or something hovering around his desk and next thing I knew, poof, it was gone. But something tells me it’s been back. I keep getting wafts of that distinct Creed odor and get the sense those same beady eyes are staring down at me while I sleep.” 

“Okay Michael, that’s just weird.”

Pam wasn’t one to doubt the existence of ghosts. She’d seen one long ago when she took a summer job as a waitress at the Banshee Pub and she still wasn’t convinced she wasn’t one herself. If that wasn’t the case, she was at least living through another kind of supernatural phenomenon. So maybe there was a ghost at Dunder Mifflin, but since Creed hadn’t passed away it was unlikely the spirit was him. It was more likely Creed was growing sprouts again in his desk.

“And you can’t be that lonely. Not in a day. What do you usually do over the weekends?”

“Count the hours until it’s time to go back in and see everyone again.”

That was just sad.

But she wasn’t entirely unsympathetic. Theirs, hers and Michael’s, was a strange situation to be wandering about by oneself. Since as yet she hadn’t had to experience that—aside from the hours in her house while she waited for him to come back for her, and during which she did have her moment of panic—she wouldn’t fault him for not wanting to be alone. She was sure if the situation were reversed, she might be having a harder time with all the solitude.

She’d been lucky. Ever since Randall revealed he knew when they were from, she had the good fortune to have been taken under the wings of the Stewarts, which felt very much like a godsend, and she still felt like maybe it was. This couple felt a lot like a surrogate family, so much so she couldn’t be sure they weren’t there as her spiritual guide through this craziness.

Getting to know them better, both Randall and Gabby, was worth all the trouble of being homeless, penniless, and in a sense anonymous since she was the duplicate version of the two of her running around Scranton. Whether or not she and Michael would complete their mission and keep Packer from ruining his carpet in the next week, she was feeling more than a bit thankful she’d made this journey through time. It was unlikely she’d have gotten to know Randall quite so well otherwise, and she certainly wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet his lovely wife.

There was just that one hitch to the experience, that one discovery that she might never had known the depths of, if had it not been for the toy Michael threw over her head and spun wildly, forcing her into this dimension with him. That little thing where she learned about Jim’s true feelings. She still wasn’t sure just how she felt about it and just how she was going to deal with it in her future. Sure, she had heard about his crush, or more accurately, would find out about his crush, but in that memory, or was it a premonition at this point, either way as the story went, the infatuation was a thing of the past. Thanks to J.K. Rowling and the magic trinket Jim bought, she knew the real truth and was unable to stop thinking about it since she’d heard it.

If she were honest, most of the time the new knowledge filled her with an overwhelming happiness, a reassurance the bond she shared with him was not one-sided, and a stirring in her body as she more than once woke up in the middle of the night having dreamt about kissing him on the boat, by his desk at the office, and in the bed she sat on when she discovered his yearbook at the party he threw some weeks back before the holidays.

Now that it was out there, what he really felt for her, she realized the little things she did over the course of their friendship were probably something more than just the actions of just pals. The way she found herself staring at him when he was unaware, the times she planned her trips to the kitchen, ‘accidentally’ at the exact moments he disappeared from his own seat, the beam that came over her face whenever he came by her desk for a jellybean or to plot a prank on Dwight with her assistance. Sometimes just a look up from his work to give her a midday wink her was enough to set off a twinkle in her eyes and plump up her cheeks with a smile so broad it almost hurt her jaw.

Then there were the little actions she couldn’t say were not flirtations, the dancing over to his desk, the requests for his latest music discoveries, the split-second kiss she planted on him after winning her Dundie award. Sure, they were a little bit more than friendly, but still innocent, never meant to develop into anything more. When people were thrown into situations in an office environment, where they spend more time together than apart, there were bound to be ‘work couples’, the term that had come to define the pairings that formed from such circumstances. Dunder Mifflin was full of them, her and Jim, Stanley and Phyllis, Dwight and Michael, yeah, they weren’t always between members of the opposite sex. They weren’t supposed to develop beyond that, they were relationships to help each other get through the sometimes-interminable work days, until they could get back to their true loves or personal lives.

Had she gone too far with those innocuous actions? Had what they shared ventured into dangerous territory, the harmless infatuation becoming too much for both of them to ignore. Is that why he shielded his gentle green eyes from hers with half-mast lids as they stood for what seemed an eternity on the deck of the boat? Is that what was buried in them when he lifted his lashes after keeping them hidden so long as she waited for him to speak? Is that why he said those things to Michael about her, because he too was unsure about what their relationship truly was.

As much as she couldn’t deny her own feelings or stop the dreams, she also felt confused and conflicted. No matter what she thought she felt for Jim, or him for her, she was engaged and was thrilled about getting married to the man she shared a long history with. They’d grown up together, coming so far from the kids they were when they met in high school, well maybe not that far, if she took into account Roy’s earlier behavior while on the boat. But he made up for it later that evening and now that the wedding date was set, she knew much of the resentment and anger she’d been feeling towards him would go away, just as her annoyance with him on the Lake Wallenpaupack Princess had disappeared the minute he made his announcement. At least it had in her past, future, whatever. Now she wasn’t so sure, being in the two places at once was messing with her memories and her frame of mind.

It was this she told herself every time Jim popped back into her thoughts, every time she imagined herself telling him with kisses how she felt the same, every time his face was what she saw through a gossamer veil standing beside him instead of Roy. That her feelings for Jim weren’t real, they were a temporary attraction brought on by proximity, by his being there to listen when she needed to vent, by his ability to make her laugh aloud when she had a rough day or was just feeling a little blue.

She figured now that Roy had stepped up, what drew her to Jim in the first place would somewhat diminish. Her habit of comparing the two men would cease. His golden allure would lose a little of its glimmer as it often does with the passing of time. If it happened with Roy, it would eventually happen with Jim too.

They would still be friends, best friends always, but that’s where she would have to draw the line. She was getting married, to Roy and that was what she wanted.

So why couldn’t she stop picturing Jim’s face?

««««««

It was early for a jellybean but as usual a sugar fix wasn’t the real reason for the visit to her desk.

Craving her smile and a distraction from a morning of monotony—Dwight was back but it was too soon to resume his regular routine of pranks considering the concussion he suffered yesterday— he strolled over to reception.

Next to the candy dispenser was a book, he assumed the latest Finest Club reading material.

“Meeting today?”

“Huh?” She looked up. There was smile he had come for.

“Oh, the book? No, it’s actually up there as a reminder I need to drop it by the library on my lunch break. I remembered it this morning and it’s already overdue.”

He was about to pick it up to see what she’d been reading when it registered in his head she said she was planning to run it over during the break. If she wasn’t there for lunch, he’d be left to sit with… well it didn’t matter who else it was, it just wouldn’t be her.

“Hey, I just had a thought. I’ll be right back.”

»»»»»»

Even before their conversation, Pam had been feeling sorry for Michael having to be on his own–even if it was his own fault he was banished. She had thought to suggest this particular excursion for today in order to let Gabby have some private time.

Still conscientious about spending too much money, her own, but taking his into consideration too, the public library was not only free but there would be almost no chance of running into anyone. Plus, she figured she could help him pick out some easy-to-follow fiction and some of the Michael-speed, dummies series, ‘teach yourself’ books that could keep him occupied once they parted ways again. It was too bad she always kept her own library card on her person, since in this case it was the other person that had it. She’d neglected to think of that fact when she came up with her idea. So she wouldn’t be able to check anything out today, though not because her account was delinquent with an overdue book but because once again she had a purse instead of pockets.

It would have been nice to pick up something new to get swept up in, considering all the free time she now had, notably in the period before she went to bed. In her home she found she didn’t get to read all that much and when she did, she most often was catching up on her club-assigned book.

When Roy stayed out late, she would get caught up on shows he wouldn’t watch with her or made phone calls to her mom and dad, and sometimes Penny or Isabel, preferring to speak to them when she wouldn’t be overheard. Answering the question, was she ever going to get married, always made her uncomfortable with him in the room. 

Only occasionally while he was out, would she take to her bed with a good book to curl up with.  More than not it was the required reading for Finer Things. But there was something different about diving into a book that was only for her. Getting lost in the texts, hearing the accents and lilts of the characters in her head, seeing the beauty of a landscape as described by the architects of the pages, becoming intimate with the story unfolding, it was something she still craved but rarely got to experience of late.

When Roy was home as they turned in for the night, her fiancé always seemed to get amorous the minute she picked up anything printed with words and would carry on about his needs if she were not also in the mood or merely wanted to get through a chapter before she focused her attention on satisfying them. Most often the bookmark would return to the same spot it had only just been removed from. And when he himself were too drunk or not feeling particularly romantic, he wanted the room pitch black and complained about the blinding beam her small lamp threw off, which in reality was not enough to read by anyway.  

Michael seemed a little less than enthusiastic about her idea but agreed to give the library a visit if she consented to spend another day with him later in the week. Books, he insisted, did not make as good company as people. She didn’t bother to fight with him, even if she disagreed.

Just as she was hanging up, a freshly showered and dressed Gabby poked her head into the office and asked Pam if she would be okay alone for a while today as she had back-to-back tutoring sessions starting at eleven.

“As a matter a fact, I’ve agreed to spend some time with Michael today. He’s lonely.”

A sardonic grin and eye roll accompanied Pam’s comment to Gabby but she just smiled in return. It was her reply that showcased her kindness towards the man who just the other day had caused her to raise her voice, according to Randall, for the first time since their own kids were teenagers.

“Oh, that’s good. I’ve been feeling guilty about kicking him out. Not enough to have him back mind you, but I’m glad you’ll keep him company today.”

Not sure if her comment was meant as a reminder that he was still banned from her home, Pam immediately added, “Not here of course, we’re going to the library.”

If Gabby had been hinting, she showed no indication of relief that Pam got her message. But she did get excited when Pam mentioned the library.

“Oh sweetheart, if you are headed to the library would you be kind enough to do me a favor. I’ve got a book that’s overdue. I keep forgetting to bring it when I meet my students there and today’s sessions are at the elementary school. Would you mind returning it for me?”

It was good to know Pam wasn’t the only one who couldn’t manage to get her borrowed books back on time.

“Yes, of course. I’m happy to.”

She ducked back out and returned with a paperback in one hand and a dollar in the other handing them both to Pam at the same time.

“I’m sorry, it’s overdue otherwise I’d suggest you read it. It was very entertaining,” she said with a wink.

Pam looked down at the image on the cover, a half-naked man, the glistening torso and chiseled abs only partially obscured by the title, Her Guardian Angel. On the second glance, she noticed the pair of wings that spread from the Adonis’ back. Once more, she was reminded of her matronly officemate, who also had a thing for the desperately romantic and somewhat erotic in her literary selections. While Gabby and Phyllis had dissimilar looks and body types, they seemed to have many parallel interests.

“It certainly seems so,” Pam said as a warm blush rose up her face and she tried to tuck the book into her otherwise empty purse finding it a bit too thick to fit. 

“Oh, and if you haven’t agreed to meet him again tomorrow, I’d love it if you joined me on my trip to the city. I have a doctor appointment in the morning but it shouldn’t be long. After, there’s an exhibit at the Met I’ve been wanting to see and something tells me a visit to the art museum is something you would really enjoy.”

“Yes, absolutely,” she repeated, the flush of her skin now accompanied by a gleam in her eyes and cheeks puffed in an ear-to-ear smile.

««««««

They had just passed through the sliding glass doors when Pam realized she’d left Gabby’s book in the car.

“Oops, I forgot the book.”

Michael groaned as if they’d parked the length of a football field from the doors instead of in the second row outside the entrance, in the spot he settled on after just missing someone pulling out of a prime location just to the left of the doors.

He still circled the lot twice looking for something a little closer and even followed another patron to secure her spot, until she slipped between the two cars she looked to be headed to and into the row he was trying not to park in.

They might have still been driving around the crowded lot had a frustrated Pam not barked that he was wasting time to save them from a measly extra five steps. She was sure it was her annoyance that caused her to forget when they parked and exited the vehicle.

And now the same someone who needing convincing to even visit the library and was happy to keep circling for front row parking, seemed in an extreme rush to get to the books.

A mother with her two small children slipped by them in the entryway. Michael turned to follow them with his eyes before turning back to her with, griping like the white rabbit about being late.  

“It’s fine Michael. You don’t need to come back with me.  Just give me the keys and I’ll meet up with you after I return it. Where will you be?”

He pointed to the children’s section and head off in that direction once he passed them off to her. She soon understood his hurry when she noticed the flyer he’d been blocking and then heard the announcement that story hour was just getting started.

Rolling her eyes she watched him before turning the other way through the doors leading to the parking lot.

»»»»»»

“I think you are right, the Appvion Alpha Free is a good compromise for our budget and the environment. I had no idea the thermal paper was so toxic.”

“Most people don’t. It’s not exactly something my clients think to ask but I thought it would be important to you, being as the library has a new green initiative.”

Jim had to stifle a laugh when he first met the bun-wearing, middle-aged woman who introduced herself as Jane Bookbinder but cliché look and uncanny name aside, she wound up being quite pleasant to talk to and not at all what he’d expected.

Still, he kept his pitch free of too much of the humor, or any of the sports chatter and small talk he used with some of his regular clients. Keeping things strictly business seem to work with her and soon he found himself with a larger order than he had anticipated when he called for the last-minute appointment.

“You’ve done your homework. I appreciate that.”

It was true, he had done his homework. In fact, he’d been doing it ever since he was summoned in by Michael to discuss his progress with this particular client. He knew about the ‘going green’ campaign, knew they were switching over to the Dewey Decimal system after having tried the Library of Congress method, studied what their needs would be as they followed through with both changes.

But originally, he had intended to just shoot an email illustrating all the ways Dunder Mifflin could be of service. He’d tried so many times in the past to get them to see him, he thought that was all he could do to try to win the business.

He’d have to remember to thank Pam when he got back to the office because the woman across from him clearly appreciated the personal attention. If it weren’t for wanting to keep Pam from running the errand that would take her away for nearly all of her lunch hour, he might not have worked so hard to get today’s meeting and otherwise would not be sitting here giving a one-on-one demonstration to the library's decision maker.

“I had no idea there were so many options available and you’re right it does help to see and feel it all in person.”

Jim pulled out the rest of his paper stock samples and Mrs. Bookbinder—Pam was going to get such a kick out of that—removed her tortoise shell glasses and let them hang down around her neck as she caressed each one within her perfectly manicured fingers. She may have had stereotypical hair and chained spectacles but she was actually a stylish dresser, and quite professional and business-minded, and reminded Jim a lot of Jan.

Maybe that was why when he came in, he initially thought the patron he saw her reprimanding in the children’s section was Michael. But that was impossible. He’d just left Michael at the office.

The meeting with the librarian, as productive as it was, was called short after about 15 minutes when her phone rang. It didn’t matter though, Jim had already taken the bulk of her order.

With her call on hold she asked if they could finish up another time.

“Absolutely,” he spoke as they both rose and she walked him to the door.

“I will get this order filled as soon as I get back to the office. Glad you had the time to see me today.”

“Well thank you for coming in and going over all this with me. I look forward to working more with you, Jim.”

Jim shook hands with the head librarian, and strolled back to the front desk, a sizable supply order in his hand which he switched out for the book he pulled from his messenger bag when he arrived at the circular desk.

He had to hand it to Michael, closing the deal with Lakawanna County was a real coup, or coupe, as he heard Michael saying in his head, which caused him to chuckle just at the same time the girl sitting behind the counter informed him of the twenty cents fine. Unsure how to explain his laughter to the confused face in front of him, he said nothing but reached into his pocket and withdrew a handful of nickels which only made him laugh more.

“All good?” he asked before he lost control thinking now of Dwight and the reaction his rules-driven deskmate might have to Jim’s little cackle had he not been a paper salesman but a clerk at the library instead.

‘Overdue books are no laughing matter. Think of all the people waiting for,’ Jim looked down at the book he was returning for Pam, ‘The Corrections. Your actions are selfish and wrong.’

Fortunately, it was not Dwight but a wide-eyed young woman who nodded slowly and suspiciously at him as she answered.

“Yup, account’s been cleared. All good.”

He left the building with the smile still on his face, wondering some more how bumbling Michael managed to secure the client he himself couldn’t win over until now. Of course, back when he first started calling on the library, neither he nor Michael was aware it would take more than charm, humor or personal service to get the business, as it was a county-wide decision which paper supply company serviced the county’s municipal institutions. But after the meeting a few months back, the one where Michael landed a golden goose while the rest of the staff stayed late to read about Goldenface–all thanks to Pam’s finding Michael’s Threat Level Midnight script–the road was paved for a big chunk of Jim’s future commission checks. And then with an overdue book she led him the rest of the way there.

Thinking about how it was her who got him here today and remembering all of the fun they back on that night had to be the reason why he imagined he was seeing her now.

»»»»»»

Where could that book be?

Pam expected Gabby’s book to be there on the seat when she unlocked the car door, but it wasn’t.

She checked the back and under the seats and still she couldn’t find it. She knew she had it at some point in the car. She distinctly remembered reading aloud the words on the back cover, A love so strong it will shake Heaven and Hell and Michael making gagging noises when she did. She thought she might agree with him in this case. It did not seem like her kind of book. Phyllis’, yes, Angela’s, not a chance in hell and not generally hers either. She was a little surprised it was Gabby’s.

It was just another reason for her suspicions it was all a dream, this whole experience. As real as it sometimes felt, it had to be just that, a crazy dream. Books don’t just disappear into thin air in real life. And people don’t time travel.

It was too bad, she was just beginning to enjoy this dream and was looking forward to her to visit to New York and the Met tomorrow but as far as dreams go just when realize you are in one, you wake up.

But she didn’t. Not even when she pinched herself or when the deafening sound of a fire engine roared from the street over into her ears. She never even turned to see where it was coming from. Living close to the station, the sirens often woke her, but this time she wasn’t sleeping.

Finding herself still standing at the rental car in the library parking lot she had to once again accept all that she was experiencing was actually happening.

And if it was, then the book had to be in the car somewhere. Once more she ran her hand along the surface under the seat and this time it was there, right in the middle, quite impossible for her to have missed before, except that she had. Grabbing the book before it disappeared again, she locked up the car and turned to head back towards the library.

««««««

The sound of a siren was piercing through the parking lot as he made his way to his car.

It stopped just as he arrived at his Corolla and that’s when he noticed another patron on the other side of the lot with a pale puffy coat and auburn curls pulled back into a clip just like Pam wore it.

First Michael, then Dwight and now her. What was happening with his head today that was making him think of them all? Pam, that was easy, she was always on his mind, but Dwight? It had to be the rushed lunch. He always got a little brain fog when he didn’t have enough to eat but the last-minute meeting meant he had to rush out before he could fully finish his meal or enjoy his break time with her.

But this woman, he could swear it was Pam, sensed it when that almost electric stirring he felt whenever she was near began to buzz through his body.

But what was she doing here and whose car was that?

The vibrations became stronger as he continued to stare at her back as she opened the passenger door and reached her arm in. He was about to call out her name so she would turn around and then it came to him.

Instead of calling out, he looked down at his side, and flipped open the phone that had been thumping in his pocket, still set to vibrate for the sales call.

“Jim Halpert.”

It was her on the other line, checking to see if he had returned her book.

Slipping into his car, now that he knew the woman he’d been staring at had to be somebody else, he assured the actual Pam that was on the phone it was done.

“I even took care of the hefty fine you owed young lady.”

“Oh yeah, how’d you manage to scrape up that amount?” the voice on the other end joked.

He went on to tell her how the in-person meeting helped secure him a larger order and with it a larger commission and thanked her for being the reason.

“You reminded me with your book, that I should be going in person.”

“See I knew there was a reason I took that book with me today. It’s like some external force was telling me it was important to get that book back, today, and look how things worked out.”

“Yeah, Beesly. You seem to be right. I guess some things are meant to happen. Oh, and you’re going to get such a kick when I tell you about this librarian.”

»»»»»»

If the stacks of books Michael aggregated were any indication, the library turned out to be a worthwhile excursion. There were a few small hiccups but luckily none of which were more disruptive than a quiver of the diaphragm.

The first happened when Pam almost lost the library book but the trouble didn’t end when it miraculously turned up. When she tried to return the borrowed item at the desk, there seemed to be no record it had been taken out in the first place.

Despite the label that expressly showed it was property of the Scranton Public Library, it was not registering in the system and so the clerk who seemed confused before Pam even stepped up, didn’t know what to do. Pam didn’t want to leave it without ensuring Gabby’s account would be cleared but ultimately did when the young woman at the counter promised her everything would be as it should be in the end.

The next small issue was finding Michael who had been yelled at and chased out of every section he had been in so far, starting with the children’s room and ending up where Pam finally caught up with him in the business aisle, thumbing through a book she later noticed was entitled, First, Break All the Rules, What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently. Beside him on the ground was the stack of the books he accumulated. Pam helped to bring them to the reading room where they stayed for a bit until Michael got overly excited again when he yelled out, “Look Pam, I do this,” which elicited a finger to lips, shhhhhhh from an older librarian who rushed in to chastise them both.

Deciding it was time to go, Pam once more helped bring the collection of books, DVDs, and audiobook CDs up to the counter where they would once more cause trouble for the young woman who sat there.

It was as if he hadn’t been to the library since he was a kid as the card he pulled out from his wallet looked like it was from the 1970’s. Back at Burlington, she had barely noticed it when he jokingly held it out the cashier, but now she took note of just how ancient it was, less a card than a slip of paper with a sticker barcode and his name handwritten across the top and undersigned by a Juliet Scott, who she knew to be his mother’s name. It took twenty minutes for the poor girl who struggled to help her before with the mysterious book return to now update his account and provide him with a new card, one that would allow him to take out more than six items at time, the limit on accounts granted to those under the age of twelve.

Michael left with more books than he could ever read in the time before they went back, even if that was all he would do between now and the Friday after next. Among them were books to learn a new language, Teach Yourself French, En avant!, and the cookbook, Le Répertoire de la Cuisine, the French language version, because he insisted to cook like the French you had to read the instructions as they were nativitly written. Somehow, she convinced him to take out America’s Best Kitchen Cooking School Cookbook as well, the one she knew her mother swore by, even though she doubted he’d ever attempt to make a single recipe from either. He also took out Guitar for Dummies, despite not owning a guitar, at least that she knew of, Getting the Love You Deserve, Politics for Dummies and Art for Dummies, which Pam thumbed through herself while he had sorted through the DVD movies up at the front. Among his literary selections, he picked up Moby Dick, War and Peace and coincidentally the very same book, that she still had out at home, The Corrections.

She almost warned him how tedious and uninspiring it was, but changed her mind. She guessed he wouldn’t get around to reading it, in fact he wasn’t going to crack a single one of the books, except maybe the ones on CD, and in crack she meant it literally. What she was sure of was sure they’d never be returned on time. So much for saving his money, his overdue fines were going to be through the roof.

Of all the books taken out on his account, only two would be returned on time, the ones Pam had carefully chosen for herself, Marley & Me and The Time Traveler’s Wife, the latter picked hoping it would be as useful as entertaining. But from the little reading she’d done so far, she found the time travel depicted in the story couldn’t be further from what they had experienced. Having thought it was unfortunate to time travel pocketless, she was now glad she hadn’t arrived in the past completely naked, all the more because Michael was her traveling companion.

The book would offer no additional clues for their situation, but she was already enjoying it so she took it out anyway.

««««««

It was well after 2:00 when they left the library, their stomachs both singing the song of hunger. Michael’s was a low rumble, like the hum of distant thunder from a far off storm. Pam’s however, was embarrassingly loud, the sound comparable to a train roaring to an unexpected stop.

“Was that your stomach?”

Mortified, she dropped her hands to cover her abdomen as it answered his question with an even louder noise.

It wasn’t unusual for her belly to protest its emptiness with boisterous gurgling. In fact, Jim liked to tease her he knew it was time to take a lunch break when the noises floating over from reception began to sound like a Mack truck driving through the office.

“Wow, Pam. What is happening in there? I mean, that is one noisy stomach. I heard of your gut telling you something but does is have to yell like that. What could it possibly be saying?”

He doubled over laughing at his own joke. Pam didn’t find it so amusing though. Skipping her mid-morning yogurt would have been fine if they still had lunch at a regular hour, but it was well beyond that due to the extra-long stay in the library plus there was the added time travel effect which she had since figured out was the cause of her excessive hunger. 

“It’s saying I’m hungry,” she snapped back. “It’s 2:40 and we haven’t eaten lunch yet.”

Michael quickly recovered from his fit of laughter when he noticed Pam’s tone.

“Yeah, I’m hungry, too. Apparently, not quite as hungry as you,” he had to add.

“Since we’re so close to it, why don’t I take you to Cugino’s like I had wanted to last week.”

As it was so late, she figured they were safe to eat there. Even client lunches, should any of the Dunder Mifflin sales team be hosting one, should be over by the time they arrived.

“Sure Michael, Cugino’s sounds good.”

»»»»»»

It was nothing new that the man in the car was focused elsewhere. The thing that was new was the woman his attention was focused on. The woman with whom he just dined at Cugino’s with.

The woman who was not his wife.

If he had been paying more attention to his surroundings and not the woman he met in his doctor’s waiting room when he had his last physical, he might have noticed the unusual pairing headed past the car and into the restaurant to have a late lunch.

The same two that when he finally parted ways with his own unorthodox date and head back to the office, he would have seen in her regular spot at the reception desk and in the bullpen making small talk with his staff.

But it was Stanley, and though not a crossword puzzle book his face was buried in but another woman’s bosom instead, he still missed the sighting and that was a good thing. There was only so much his heart could take. Heavy Italian food and his first extra-marital affair were doing enough damage. The added shock of discovering a duplicate Michael Scott might very well had done him in.