Christmas Day

It’s around 8:30 AM when Jim arrives at Pam’s place to find her car missing, so he grabs his cell and gives her a call.  However, his phone starts to ring, and he’s surprised by the contact.

Funnily enough, it’s Pam.

[“Hi.”]

“Oh, hey.”

[“I know I’m the last person you want to speak to right now—”]

“No, no, I…” he figures out how to phrase it, “I was wondering if we could talk about the other day.”

[“…I’d like that.”]

“And I want to do it in person.”

[“Me, too.”]

“So when will you be back?”

[“What?”]

“I’m at your place, and I don’t see your car.”

[“…Yeah, about that.”]

“I’m actually at your place.”

Her car is parked right outside his new condo.

[“Shut up.  Really?”]

Her smile grows, “Yeah, really.”

[“Oh, my God,”] they both start to laugh, [“That’s amazing!”]

“I know, right?”

[“How in the world?”]

“Wait, I thought I saw a Saab on the way over here!”

[“That was you?”]

“Yeah!”

[“I found that car and recognized it but I had no idea.”]

“Great minds think alike, I suppose.”

A beat.  [“So do you still wanna talk?”]

“I mean, I can drive back, it’ll be around… fifteen minutes.”

[“I was actually thinking the two of us could meet somewhere else.”]

“Where’d you have in mind?”

Pam rubs her hands together as she stands under the gazebo.  She notices Jim walk over, “Oh, hey!”

“Hey,” he smiles as he walks to her, “Didn’t have any trouble getting here, did you?”

“Not really, no.”

“Good,” he rubs the back of his neck and looks away, “So um… how do you wanna—”

“I can start.”

He nods, “Okay.”

She decides to grab his gloved hands with hers, and he’s initially surprised by the gesture, but he decides to slowly grasp them.

“Jim,” she starts, “I’m sorry.  About everything.  I really am.  You’re right, Roy never treated me the way I deserve, but… I still needed time.”  Jim nods in understanding.  “And I know you know that.  But after you left, I did have time.  A lot of time to myself, to think.  And despite everything, Jim, you’re still my best friend, and if it wasn’t for you, I would’ve never had half the courage to get out of a bad relationship or go to art classes.”  He smiles at her in support.  “But beyond all of that, I was hurt.  And to be honest, I still kind of am.”  He starts to feel guilty again.  “But I get why you left.  I’ve been the queen of bad decision making for the longest time, and I need to stop.  Give myself a kick in the ass and get over myself, because… I don’t want us to hurt each other anymore.”  He grasps her hands tighter.  “And in spite of everything…” she prevents herself from getting emotional, “I really hope you can forgive me.”

It’s Jim’s turn, “Pam, you should be the one forgiving me.  I should have never left, and I knew leaving how much it was gonna hurt you.  But I never even thought about how it’d hurt Michael.  And Dwight, but he’ll never admit it.”  She smirks.  “It was selfish and idiotic and I’ll never do it again.  And Karen… that was an even bigger mistake.  She didn’t deserve having to move somewhere just for me,” he takes a deep breath, wanting to phrase this carefully, “When that Benihana waitress stole Michael’s bike,” they both repress their giggles, “I-I told him what a rebound is.  Someone who’s basically a distraction from the one who broke your heart.”  She starts to cry, but he softly holds her cheek and brushes away her tear with his thumb.  “I wasn’t honest with myself, Karen, or you.  And that needs to stop.  All I want now is for us to start being honest with each other.  Because we really haven’t been.”

“I want that, too,” more tears begin to fall as he cups the other cheek and wipes them away.

“You already know how I feel about you, but if you want us to just be friends, I’ll respect that.  And I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m really sorry for everything.”

“I forgive you,” she starts to smile.

“And I you,” he smiles back.

They finally embrace, coming to revelations after having a talk that they should have had in the first place.  As they part, they smile at each other once again, and — catching him by surprise — she kisses him.  He kisses her back, getting the kiss he was hoping for on Casino Night: a display of love and contentment rather than a botched mistake that led to two broken hearts.

After they part, he just stands there, dumbfounded, “Wow.”

“Yeah, wow,” she starts to laugh and he joins her.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Please,” she practically begs.  They walk out of the gazebo and back to their cars, hand-in-hand.

“So, had any plans?” he asks.

“Rather than eating ice cream and watching bad Christmas movies, not really.  You?”

“Something similar, I was going to eat cookie dough and watch ESPN.”

“How about we compromise: cookie dough and bad Christmas movies.”

“Wait, we?”

“Of course, you big dork!  I’m not about to spend Christmas sulking in my tiny apartment all day when I have a boyfriend I can spend it with instead.”

“Oh, so we are a couple,” he jokes.

She just looks at him, “Y’know, you’re really lucky you’re cute.”

“I am pretty cute, aren’t I?” he brings her hand to his lips and kisses it.  She blushes, trying not to melt.  “We can head back to my place,” he offers, “You already know how to get there.”

She smirks, “That’s true.  Besides, I’ve had enough ice cream.  Time to switch it up.”

They finally reach their cars, and she’s reluctant, “I don’t wanna let go.”

“Me either… Twenty minutes.”

“Twenty minutes.”  They let go, arms outstretched, and walk to their separate cars.

Jim and Pam finish off the cookie dough, both in their Christmas PJs, his arm draped over her shoulders as she places her spoon down, “Ugh, I’m stuffed.”

“Me too,” he says, “Also, wonderful choice for a movie, I might add.”

“Trust me, I’m a connoisseur for this sort of thing.”

“I can’t believe you had it with you.  Like, a physical copy.”

“Well, I dunno, I thought we’d enjoy it.”

“I ironically and legitimately did.  Do you have more of these?”

“Just the particularly good ones.”

“Amazing.  But I don’t know why you called it a ‘Hallmark’ movie when it aired on…” he checks the box, “ABC Family.”

“You don’t understand, Halpert.  Hallmark in this case is not a channel, but a genre.”

“Oh?”

“And this movie is the embodiment of said genre: awful writing, unlikable lead, token minorities, a plot so predictable you can figure it out without having to watch the movie, and timed commercial breaks.  It has it all!”

“I was gonna say, this is probably the whitest thing I have ever seen.”

“I’m in love with you.”

The sudden shift in her voice during her confession throws him off, “What?”

“I’m in love with you, Jim,” she swallows, “And I understand if you don’t—”

“You already know how I feel, Pam,” he smiles, moving his arm to cup her cheek, “I’m still in love with you.”

As tears well in her eyes, she smiles brightly back at him, “I’m such a mess,” she whispers, starting to cry again.

“Aw, come here,” he brings her onto his lap and holds her, happy as a lark, as she leans into his shoulder, arms around his neck, “You okay?”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you,” she whimpers into his shoulder.

“Hey, we’re here now,” he comforts, “and that’s what matters.”

She leans her head up to face him, kissing him.  “I didn’t get you anything for Christmas,” she laments.

“Yes, you did.”  And they kiss yet again.  “Hey, are you free for dinner tomorrow night?”

Her smile is infectious, “Yes.”

“Perfect.  Then, it’s a date.”