There’s Someone Else
“…the lovers, the dreamers and meee…”
Pam watched as Andy finished off what was probably the silliest rendition of the song, The Rainbow Connection, that she’d ever heard. It would actually be sort of cute if it weren’t Andy…
She turned to where Jim was sitting and smiled in his direction, even though he wasn’t looking at her. She noticed the cameraman swing towards Jim. Pam watched as his shoulders hunched and knew he had to be smiling. Or cringing. She knew he had to be dying right now.
I am so in love with this man.
Sighing, she turned back to Andy, forcing a bigger smile onto her face.
“What do you say, Pam? I bet you can say you’ve never heard the Rainbow Connection performed like that.”
“No,” Pam said, trying not to laugh, “I really can’t say that I have.” Wow, she thought to herself.
“You know, I used to perform in an a capella group at Cornell University, where I went to school, Here Comes Treble … ever heard of it?”
“No, no, I haven’t.” It was getting harder and harder not to just burst out laughing. What was worse, she was getting a case of the giggles, and knew that if she broke, she wouldn’t be able to stop laughing. Damn it, Beesly. Think about serious things. Think about … something…
She glanced over in the direction of Karen, and saw Karen gesturing to Jim. Instantly, the urge to laugh went away.
“… and my last year there, we performed songs from Guys and Dolls …”
Andy was talking about something – she didn’t even really know what he was saying, but she nodded, pretending like she was listening. Really, she just wanted to leave.
“I was thinking … maybe Saturday?”
“Hmm?” Pam said. She realized Andy had just asked her a question.
“I just wanted to know if I could take you out, Saturday … to one of Scranton’s fine dining establishments? We could sample some fine Belgian beers, maybe find a lounge where we could smoke some cigars …”
Pam coughed. “Oh.” She glanced quickly back and forth between Jim and Andy. Jim was packing his stuff up for the day. “I really … appreciate everything you’ve done, I mean, you’re really … something, Andy, but …” She sighed dramatically, loud enough so Jim could hear.
“But?” Andy asked.
Pam almost felt bad. Andy looked really disappointed. Then she remembered something Jim had said to her one day, when they were working on a particularly involved prank on Dwight: Pam, no matter what, the joke must go on.
“Well,” Pam said, “it’s just that … there’s someone else.” Instinctively, she glanced towards Jim’s desk. She saw him visibly tense up. She watched the cameraman swing towards Jim again.
“Someone else? Someone we know?” Andy asked.
“Yes,” Pam said. “I’m sorry, Andy, I just … I can’t.”
Andy leaned forward, grabbing Pam’s hand. “Just do me one favor, Pam… just tell me … who is it? Who is it that’s stolen your lovely heart?”
Pam swallowed. “I…” She glanced over in Jim’s direction again. His entire body was now hunched over, and he appeared to be rearranging papers in his bag. She knew he could hear their conversation. She turned back to Andy, forcing a frown. “I’m sorry, Andy, it’s just that… I’m in love with Dwight.”
A half-snort, half-cough exploded from behind them.
Both Andy and Pam turned to look at Jim, who instantly stood up, pounding his chest. He coughed again, loudly. “Um, sorry, I just – frog in my throat, man, I – I’m going to go get a drink of water.”
Pam couldn’t help but smile as Jim bolted to the back office.
Andy shook his head, turning back towards Pam. He paused for a moment, then: “Dwight? Really? I mean … the guy’s a geek, Pam. He drives an ’85 Trans Am.”
“’87,” Pam said. She had no idea why she remembered that.
“Whatever, I mean, I just … Dwight? Really?”
Pam shook her head, trying not to smile again. “I don’t know what to say, Andy. You’re really sweet and talented, but, you know, I grok geeks.”
Andy’s eyes went wide. “Wow, I guess … I didn’t see that one coming.”
“I’m sorry, Andy,” Pam said as they both stood up.
She finished buttoning up her jacket and gathered her stuff to leave. As she was waiting for the elevator, Jim and Karen happened to step out of the office doors. Pam noticed Jim stop in his tracks when he saw her waiting there.
Jim cleared his throat. “Pam…”
Pam smiled at them. She smiled as though seeing them walk out together meant nothing. In reality, it meant everything. Jim stood uncomfortably at the edge of the hallway.
“Okay, seriously, I have to know,” Karen said, coming up to her. “You aren’t really in love with Dwight, are you?”
Pam smirked. “Of course not. God help me.”
Karen’s face filled with relief. “Thank God. I was hoping there was someone else around here who wasn’t completely nuts.”
“Yeah,” Pam said. “Well.” She looked over at Jim, who was avoiding her gaze.
“Hey,” Karen said. “Jim and I were going to go grab a drink, would you want to join us?”
For a split second, Pam almost said yes. But then she thought about them getting a booth in a bar somewhere, having a few drinks, watching Karen put her arm around Jim – her Jim – watching them be close – closer than she would ever be – and she knew she couldn’t.
“Um … I really can’t; I have, um, an assignment I need to work on.”
They stepped onto the elevator as it opened. “Oh,” Karen said. “Are you in school?”
“I’m taking art classes,” Pam said as the door closed. Pam saw Jim’s head turn towards her out of the corner of her eye. That made her smile to herself.
“That’s awesome,” Karen said. “I’ve always been horrible at drawing. The only ‘D’ I ever got in school was in art class. Isn’t that horrible?”
“No,” Pam said, still smiling. Something inside her made her really glad that Karen wasn’t into art. “I’m sure you have something that you were always good at.”
“Math,” Karen said. “I almost became an accountant, but my parents encouraged me to major in business instead. Which led me here…” She gave Pam a knowing smile.
“Hm,” Pam said. The elevator landed on the ground floor. “Well, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“See ya,” Karen said. A second later, she heard,
“’Bye Pam,” come quickly out of Jim’s mouth. Pam didn’t turn around as she walked towards her car.
