“You better not forget the mistletoe.”

Pam was sitting at reception and she was overhearing Jim and Karen exchange plans for a Christmas Party they were holding. It was one she had not been invited too, although the rest of the office had.

She was trying not to listen. She was trying to concentrate on her game of Sudoku. No matter how desperately she tried, she just couldn’t stop listening to Karen telling Jim about mistletoe. She couldn’t help picturing Jim and Karen kissing under it and spending the holidays together.

Pam was spending Christmas alone. She thought about going home to spend it with her family but for some reason, deep in her gut, she saw herself spending it with Jim. It was all just a fantasy though. She had been daydreaming a lot lately. All of them had consisted of her and Jim. But he was with Karen, and that was that.

She ran out of the office as fast as she could. She couldn’t hold in her tears any longer. She got in her car and cried the whole way home. She cried herself to sleep, too. Her head began to pound because she was crying so violently. The next day was Christmas Eve, the day of Jim’s party. She didn’t understand why she wasn’t invited. She fell into a deep, deep sleep.

-------

Jim couldn’t fall asleep that night. He stared at the ceiling and kept telling himself that the party would be fun, and that not inviting Pam was the right choice. He knew, deep down in his gut, that it wasn’t a good choice. He wouldn’t accept that.

He stepped out of bed and went to make himself a cup of tea. Maybe that would help him fall asleep easier. As he sat down at his kitchen table, he saw a strange reflection in the beverage, a reflection that did not resemble his own. It actually looked like Daryl from the warehouse but with an eerie, ghostly touch to his appearance. He shook his head.

I’m just tired. I really need some sleep.

“Jim!”

He looked into the tea. Was the reflection talking to him? He must be seeing things.

“I am here to warn you that tonight you will be visited by three ghosts. You have been making some mistakes, a’ight? The first one will stop by at midnight. Peace.”

Did the mug just talk to him? My God.

He wiped his face with a damp cloth. As he looked back into his mug, the face was gone. He poured the tea into the sink and went back to bed.

He was at the point when he was still awake, but only a little bit away from drifting into a deep sleep.

All of a sudden, his room filled with a bright light. As the light started to fade, a figure appeared.

He squinted and looked at the figure. It looked like Phyllis, but very tall and graceful compared to his normal co-worker that was so much of a laggard.

“I am the ghost of Christmas Past!”

What the hell?

Jim rubbed his eyes and stepped out of bed.

“Uh… Excuse me?”

“I am the Ghost of Christmas Past!”

“I am aware of that but…” Jim took a deep breath. He told himself to just play along. He continued his sentence. “Are you the ghost of the world’s past?”

“No. I am the ghost of your past.”

Jim gulped. He had to put his hand on the wall to keep his balance.

The ghost spoke again.

“Come. Touch my hand and rise with me. We must begin the journey before our time runs out.”

Jim did as she asked. All of this seemed strange. It had to be a dream. He must be dreaming. But everything seemed so real…

Before he knew what had happened, he and the ghost were in the parking lot at Dunder Mifflin.

“You are familiar with these surroundings?” The spirit asked.

“Um, yeah…yes. I work here.”

“Jim, times have changed since your first day here only a few years ago.”

Just then, a woman stepped out of her car. She appeared to be Pam. As she walked by Jim, he called her name. Pam kept walking.

“We are not able to be seen by these people. They are unaware of our presence.”

“Oh.”

Jim was still in awe over this whole thing. He was gradually starting to believe that this was real.

A tall, lanky man stepped out of his red Corolla.

Jim noticed it was himself. It was awkward for him to be watching himself.

The spirit spoke again. “You were happier then.”

Does the ghost even know what she is saying? I had to suffer through each day and fight the feelings I had for a girl that was to be married!

The more Jim thought about it, the more he realized that he really wasn’t much happier now. He could actually see why he was happier then. Now it seemed as if everything was being wasted. His time. His love. Everything now seemed so unclear. He didn’t understand half of the actions he took.

“Excuse me, but what day was this?”

“Your first day to work at this company. Come, let’s go ahead into this day.”

The surroundings of the office changed and then he and the ghost were at Cuginos. They went to the table where he and Pam were sitting. He watched as they laughed at each other’s jokes and talked endlessly about the most random topics. All of a sudden, Jim watched as his smile turned into a frown.

Pam had just told him she was engaged.

Jim could remember this day clearly. He remembered how his heart sank and how he felt like he should go ahead and quit his job. He couldn’t get himself to, though, because he had already made such a strong connection with the receptionist. Now, all of it had changed. He and Pam were so distant from each other.

“What is that on your cheek?” The spirit asked.

Jim noticed how a tear had escaped.

“Oh… I’m sorry…”

Jim wouldn’t take his glance from Pam.

“Come. We must continue our journey through the past before our time runs out.”

Jim took one last look at Pam and took the spirit’s hand once again.

The next scene was at the 2006 Dundie Awards. He noticed Pam was up at the microphone receiving her “Whitest Sneakers” award.

Jim remembered how he saw how sad Pam looked watching the previous Dundie tapes when Michael gave her the award of “Longest Engagement.” He went up to Michael and told him to give her a different award. He partially changed it because he hated seeing Pam so sad when Michael gave her the same award every year, but he also changed it because he hated being reminded of Pam’s engagement.

Before he knew it, he was watching Pam give Jim a drunken kiss. How he wished he could go back and actually experience that again. It was so unexpected, but it was one of the highlights of his year.

He had to shake those thoughts out of his head. He was with Karen now. He was happy.

“That was a big moment for you.”

Jim shook out of his thoughts and nodded his head.

“The next day you never brought it up. You just treated it as if nothing had happened.”

“She was engaged.”

“Engaged isn’t married.”

Jim was immediately reminded of Michael telling him those exact same words on the Booze Cruise.

How did the ghost know everything? He was becoming even more convinced that this was all happening. And Jim knew that everything happens for a reason.

The next place the spirit took him was the Dunder Mifflin Christmas Party, 2006.

He watched as Pam laid the teapot on top of the reception desk.

He also saw himself take away the Christmas card he had written her, explaining all of his feelings.

The spirit spoke once again.

“Why did you not give her the card?”

“I knew it would cause trouble. I wish I could have…but I chickened out. Roy would have killed me and Pam would have been mad…”

“You don’t know that for sure. How do you know that she didn’t feel the same way?”

“Because she was engaged!”

“She’s not anymore now, is she?”

Jim didn’t reply. He just remained silent. He could feel tears rushing to his eyes. If only he could go back to his first day at Dunder Mifflin and change everything, maybe then he wouldn’t have caused himself so much grief and sorrow.

“Take me home. I think I have seen enough.”

“Our time isn’t up yet. I must take you to visit a couple more places before you return.”

The office started to turn and they were soon standing in front of Pam and Jim in the kitchen at their office.

He remembered the moment as soon as he saw it. He was telling Pam about the crush he once had on her.

As he watched her nod her head and walk out of the kitchen, his heart sank. She looked so sad and heartbroken for a girl that was going to get married.

“You lied to her.”

“Excuse me?”

“You told her it was only a crush and that it ended a long time ago.”

Jim looked away from the ghost.

“I did.”

“There was yet another time you could have told the woman of your feelings toward her.”

Jim nodded his head. He couldn’t speak because he was trying to hold in his tears. He was beginning to regret a lot of the things he had done in his past. So much had changed over the course of a year.

“We have one more time to visit before our time comes to an end.”

Soon, Jim was standing before Pam. She was talking on the phone in a dimly lit office.

“Yeah I… I think I do,” Pam said.

Jim watched as he walked into the room.

“Mom, I have to go...”

The next thing Jim saw was him kissing Pam. She was kissing him back.

He had to close his eyes. Watching that moment again flooded back so many memories even though the event only happened a year ago. His eyes remained closed until he felt the ghost put a hand on his back.

When he opened them he saw Pam leaning against his desk, crying.

He wanted to hug her and feel her warm body against him again.

Why am i thinking these things? I'm with Karen! I can hug her whenever I want to.

“You went to Stamford after that.”

“I couldn’t let myself be around her knowing that we would never make it. She rejected me. Twice.”

“You told her when it was too late. If you would have spoke up earlier the response would have been different.”

The tears were falling again from his eyes. He spoke again.

“Please. Take me home.”

His room started to appear, and the image of the crying Pam started to fade.

“These are but shadows of things that have been. I leave you now for you to reminded of the things that once were, the feelings that you once and may still have, the relationships you were so fond of, and the man that you used to be.”

The Spirit of Christmas Past was suddenly gone. He heard a distant voice say, “You will be visited by the second ghost when the clock turns to 1 a.m.”

Jim returned to his familiar and warm bed. He pulled the blankets up to his neck and closed his eyes. He repeated the last thing the Ghost of Christmas Past had said to him. The feelings he still may have? The relationships? The person he used to be? What did the spirit mean? At first none of it seemed clear, but the more he thought about it, the more he began to understand. It all had to do with Pam. It was the relationship part that let him know.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more then to be with the curly haired receptionst that used to be his best friend.

Was it too late for him to go back and start over with her?

He fell into a sleep that was quickly interrupted by a deep laughter. His eyes flew open and he saw a man that looked like a fat version of his boss Michael Scott sitting in a chair filled with food….and toys that his boss would own.

When the man spoke, his voice was deep. Much deeper than Michael’s.

“I am the Ghost of Christmas Present!”

Jim rubbed his eyes. He still couldn’t believe that this was really happening.

The ghost stood up in his chair still laughing his deep, hearty laugh.

“Come here Jim!”

Jim remained in his spot in bed with his mouth open.

“I think I’m close enough already.”

“No! Get out of bed and get to know me better!”

Jim pushed away his blankets and got out of bed on wobbly legs. He took hesitant steps to the ghost.

“Look, Jim, I have brought with me some snow!” The spirit reached into its robe and threw snow on Jim.

Within a moment of the snow being thrown onto him, he felt suddenly happy. The spirit laughed again.

“I’m here to show you all of the love that is mixed in with this holiday!”

“Wow… umm… okay then!”

“I will be showing you events happening right now, on this very day. Touch my robe!”

Jim was hesitant. The spirit shook his robe at him frantically until Jim finally held onto it. The spirit clapped his hands together and Jim’s bedroom began to fade and his familiar office appeared once again.

“Why are we here? The office is empty; everyone is at the homes spending time with the people they love.” Jim asked.

“Not everybody.” The spirit motioned Jim to the breakroom. They stepped inside and saw two people cuddling on a couch covered in blankets. They were watching a movie. Jim immediately knew that they were Kelly and Ryan. He heard Kelly talking endlessly about the holidays.

“Ohmigod I can’t wait for Christmas, aren’t you excited? It’s going to be soooooooo fun, I’m carrying mistletoe with me everywhere I go, doesn’t that sound like fun?” 

He watched as Ryan stared at the screen, obviously trying to watch the movie.

The Ghost of Christmas Present danced around the couch laughing.

“RYAN! You’re not listening to me! Why aren’t you listening to me? You don’t love me, I knew it. Why don’t you love me?”

“You know what Kelly?”

The spirit reached into his robe and threw snow onto Ryan. Ryan’s angry face immediately turned into a big grin and he spoke again.

“I’m not listening because I’m planning the perfect time to do this.”

Ryan leaned in and kissed Kelly. They fell off the couch and started rolling around on the floor kissing each other crazy.

Jim looked up at the ceiling. Watching Ryan and Kelly make-out on the floor was not what he was expecting the spirit to show him.

Jim knew the spirit was trying to make him feel sentimental, but Ryan and Kelly just didn’t quite do that for him.

The spirit clapped his hands again and soon they were both at a farm.

“Do you know where we are?” The spirit asked.

“I have never been here before…”

“We are at Schrute Beet Farms!”

Jim’s jaw dropped once again in awe. The place really did exist. People really did plant beets for a living. The spirit danced around laughing again while Jim just stood there in shock.

He was led to a small house on the farm. Inside, he saw a Christmas tree with Battlestar Galactica ornaments. Sitting near the fire was Dwight, Angela, and a weird looking man who Jim suspected was Dwight’s cousin Mose.

The spirit signaled for Jim to listen to what was going on.

“Angela… Come here.”

Dwight stood up and walked in front of the Christmas tree.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” She stood up and walked up to Dwight.

Dwight got down on one knee and Jim immediately knew what was going on. He felt a sudden warmness go through his body, but at the same time he was disgusted.

“Wait, Dwight and Angela? Since when?” Jim asked the spirit.

The spirit waved his hand at Jim. “Ssshushhh it!”

  “Angela Martin. I have been madly in love with you for many years.”

“I am more than ready to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

Jim saw tears in Angela’s eyes. He couldn’t wait until it was him on one knee one day asking a woman to marry her. When he closed his eyes to imagine it, it wasn’t Karen he was kneeling down to. It was Pam.

“Yes!”

Jim watched as Dwight and Angela kissed and hugged. Mose was clapping and whistling. The spirit was cheering and hopping around the room like she had known them all her life.

The image of the extremely odd couple started to fade and Jim and the spirit were standing outside of the house again.

“You didn’t seem that thrilled to see that your friends are engaged. Is something wrong?” The spirit asked.

“I’m just… surprised?” Jim wasn’t lying. He was surprised. He didn’t even know that Dwight and Angela were seeing each other.

“Now that you have seen some of the joyous moments of which many people are engaging in, I must show you some of the more heartbreaking sights.”

The surroundings of Dwight’s beet farm disappeared and Poor Richards came into focus.

“Jim, I want to warn you that what you are about to see is going to surprise you by all means. It will be something you would have never expected.”

The stepped inside the bar and walked to one of the tables. Jim saw a woman and a man holding hands and feeding each other fries. They would share occasional kisses. He didn’t recognize them until he stepped closer.

He noticed the man first. It was Martin, the man that was part of the Stamford-Scranton merger. He quit Dunder Mifflin after Michael made a big deal out of him being an ex-convict.

It took him a little longer to see who the woman was, but when he finally did, he was indeed taken aghast.

It was Karen.

“Spirit, how long has she been going behind my back?”

“Since she first knew that you had feelings for the receptionist.”

It was what he heard Karen say next that surprised him most.

“I love you, Martin.”

“I love you too.”

Jim was surprised, but not exactly broken hearted. He was hurt, though, mostly because Karen had been going behind his back all along. She always made him feel bad about being friends with Pam when she was really the cheater. He wanted to slam his hand on the table. He knew Karen was one reason why Pam didn’t talk to him much anymore. If only Karen had broken off the relationship earlier, then things would have been much better. Then, maybe he wouldn’t feel so guilty about not inviting Pam to his Christmas party because Karen convinced him not to.

The spirit’s deep voice interrupted his thoughts.

“We have one more place to visit before our time expires. This one will be the most heart-wrenching of all. I warned you.”

Poor Richard’s began to change to a roomy apartment bedroom that was not his own. He neared the bed and saw wild and curly hair sticking out of the sheets. He classified it immediately as Pam’s.

She stood out of bed and turned on her light on her bedside table. Her face was red and blotchy like she had just been crying really hard but stopped in her sleep. She still looked beautiful. Jim wanted nothing more then to reach out and comfort her and make her feel better.

She turned on the TV and pulled the blankets up to her chest. The sight was so sad for Jim to see because he knew he was the cause of it. He watched as a tear rolled down her cheek, and then another, and then another. They started flowing out more and more when she buried her face in between her knees. He heard her talking to herself.

“What did I do to make everything so weird between us? How come I’m not invited to his party? I want to be friends again. I want things to be normal. I want him to come up to my desk like he used to and talk to me. Why is does everything all of a sudden suck. Everything really sucks.”

Jim had the same thoughts as she did. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for everything. Sorry for not inviting her to his Christmas party, sorry for never telling her how much he missed her, sorry for leaving for Stamford without saying much of a goodbye.

Her next words put him in a daze.

“I love him. I always have. I want him to love me again.”

Everything started to blur and tears began rolling down his cheeks. He couldn’t look at this Pam any longer. His heart was breaking more and more as he watched her weep. He couldn’t believe that Pam had feelings for him. He couldn’t believe that she always had.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to return to his bed and sleep.

“Take me home, spirit. I can’t bear this anymore. Please…”

The spirit clapped her hands one last time before his room came into view again.

“I leave you until the next ghost comes to visit you at 2:00 a.m. The sad things that you just saw are nothing compared to the sad things you will see next. I leave you to remember the images of the happy faces of two people in love and the image of the lonely face of the girl you are so fond of. It is up to you to make things right again.”

And like that, the spirit was gone. Chills ran through Jim’s body as he went back in his bed. He squeezed his eyes shut as tears began to flow.

He was asleep again when a cloud of smoke filled his room. A tall, mysterious, dark figure emerged from it. Jim couldn’t see its face because it had a black cloak covering it. It was holding an axe that the Grim Reaper would carry.

He was scared, and when he spoke his voice was shaky.

“Am I in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?”

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come did not respond. Jim thought that he spoke too softly and that the ghost didn’t hear his question.   

The spirit merely nodded its head. He was hooded with a scythe and the axe made him look threatening. Even though the spirit was only here to be helping Jim, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated by its mysterious appearance. 
 

“Do you…um…. Do you not… talk?” 
 

The spirit nodded his head once again. Jim slowly got out of his comfortable bed and apprehensively walked up to the eerie figure.   
 

“You’re here to show me things that will happen in the future, right?”  
 

The spirit bowed his head for a third time. He pointed his tall axe to the right and the warmth of Jim’s bedroom disappeared. Dunder Mifflin appeared for the fifth time that night. Jim stood and watched as his future self walked to his desk.

Jim turned to look at the reception desk; it was empty, all Pam’s belongings were gone. There were no jellybeans on the counter and no plastic flowers. Her pink coat was not on the rack. The door to the office opened again and a woman Jim had never seen before walked up to Michael’s office.  
 

“Hi, I’m Brianna. I’m going to be your new receptionist.” 
 

Jim didn’t hear the rest of the conversation between Brianna and Michael. His mind was spinning too much and he couldn’t keep his thoughts together. What had happened to Pam? Whatever it was, he knew it was his fault. He knew Pam probably left because she lost her best friend, the one person who understood her and should have been able to rely on for support.  
 

Aside from Pam, Michael was in a bad condition. He had a beard and his hair was way to long. All of the toys were off his desk and the posters were no longer present on his walls. He didn’t smile or crack any jokes.  Jan must have really gotten to him. He watched as Brianna made her way to the reception desk and sit down.  
 

The main phone rang; she picked it up and said, “Dunder Mifflin, this is Brianna.” It just didn’t sound right. He knew that he would never get used to it.  
 

He walked closer so he could see what she looked like. Her hair was in a tight bun and she had a huge mole on her cheek. He swore he saw a hair growing out of it. Her eyes were grey and she appeared to be anorexic. She looked severe, like a skeletal librarian.  Pam was anything but severe. Pam was beautiful. Her eyes were so green and they glistened when she was excited about something. When she smiled they would pop. She had no moles or hair growing in strange places. She wasn’t skeletal either; she was curvy in the perfect way.  Jim forced himself to stop thinking of those curves even though he loved them so much. 
 

God, stop it! Stop thinking about her! I know she just told herself that she loved me, but could we really make things work? She’s so upset with me now that it just feels impossible for things to go back to normal.  
 

Jim watched as Kelly made her way up to the reception desk. 
 

“Oh my God, HI! I’m Kelly and I work in Customer Services and I’m sooo excited you’re here. It’s really fun, but Dwight is weird, oh and just for you to know Ryan is totally off limits. Anyway, I was thinking that I should take you shopping to welcome you do Dunder Mifflin—“ 
 

“Please stop your insane talking; it’s giving me a headache.” Brianna gave Kelly a look that could silence a machine gun. It was a look that even Angela would be envious of. Jim heard Kevin giggle and Phyllis gasp. He saw Dwight gave Brianna a warning stare. With that being said, Brianna swallowed three Advil and Kelly turned away in a fury. Jim heard her say, “I miss Pam.” 
 

I miss her too.  
 

All of a sudden, the environment changed and Jim was standing with the spirit in a fancy church. He looked in the pews and saw how formally everybody was dressed, but he didn’t recognize any of the guests. The organ began to play The Wedding March. He turned and saw Karen walk through the doors at the back of the church in a wedding gown. He looked up at to the alter and saw Martin standing next to the reverend. He knew that he was at their wedding. He watched the ceremony.  When they made their way down the aisle he noticed how happy both of them looked. Karen was stunning. Her dress must have cost more than his car. He wondered if she left Dunder Mifflin and got a high paying job.  Jim had a hundred questions running through his head. He wanted to ask the spirit all of them, but he knew the spirit didn’t talk, so he was forced to keep them to himself.  He sat on the steps to the altar and ran a hand through his hair. He had to ask at least one question. 
 

“Umm… are these shadows glimpses of things that will be or may be?” 
 

The spirit didn’t say anything or even nod or shake his head. He just pointed his axe to the right and the surroundings changed. They were now standing inside a very run-down house with four kids running around and screaming. 
 

“I lost another job today and I have to come home to screaming brats! If you don’t shut the hell up I will put you up for adoption!” 
 

The loud, deep voice startled Jim. He turned around and saw Roy holding a beer bottle. He smashed it on a table and started walking drunkenly to the kids. He picked the one running up by threw the broken beer bottle at his back. 
 

“Roy, put him down! Stop it now!”

Jim watched Pam run into the room. 
 

Those kids, they’re hers! She and Roy must be married.  
 

Pam didn’t look like herself at all. She had dark circles under her eyes that showed her lack of sleep. Her hair was tangled and she looked too skinny. The curves that Jim loved to watch when she would walk past him to the break room were gone. She was wearing baggy sweatpants and an oversized shirt. She just looked… depressed She grabbed Roy’s arm. She tried to pry the kid out of his grasp. He finally dropped him and grabbed Pam. 
 

“Stop tellin’ me what to do!” Roy slurred. 
 

Roy pulled his arm back and slapped Pam. The sound of the smack rang in Jim’s ears as he saw tears begin to fall from her eyes. The kids ran into a corner. They held each other and cried. Roy threw Pam onto the floor and started throwing things at her. She was too dazed to get away. He threw the cushions from the couch first, and then things like plates, chairs, and finally, a glass lamp. The lamp landed on her head. Jim heard her scream. 
 

“PAM!” He screamed and ran up to her, but he couldn’t touch her. He was crying harder than he ever had. He remembered then that she couldn’t hear him. He couldn’t block Roy from grabbing her again. 
 

Roy pushed Pam against the wall. Jim watched as her head collided with the dry wall. The screaming abruptly stopped. He watched as Pam’s skin turned pale and her face lost all expression. Her eyes rolled back into her head and Roy dropped her to the floor. Jim bent down to her and couldn’t see her chest moving. The children were wailing for their mom.

She was dead.

Jim sat there, crying, until Pam faded away and he was soon standing at a graveyard.  He saw one big grave and four little ones right by it. He bent down and read the name on the gravestone.  
 

It read Pamela Beesly Anderson. The four next to it were her kids’. Each stone had the same date. He couldn’t understand why Roy would want to kill his whole family. Jim would have never even thought it was possible.  Roy killed her. Guilt started filling up in Jim.
 

 It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have left. I should have been there for her. I abandoned her and now she’s dead.   
 

Jim began to cry harder. He dropped to his knees in front of Pam’s headstone. He was crying so hard that he could hardly breathe. He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, he was back in his bedroom. The Ghost of Christmas Future was slowly walking away into the fog.  
 

I am still in love with Pam. I never fell out of love. I still want her, more than anything. 
 

Jim wasn’t sure if what had just happened was a dream. All he knew was that he couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see Pam and make things better. He realized that he needed to fix things right then. He couldn’t let all of those horrible images that he saw in the future come true. He could change things. He had to change. He was starting, right now. 
 

He reached for the phone and dialled Pam’s number, which he shockingly still knew by memory. As soon as he pressed ‘call’, he hung up. 
 

Is it too late for us? I know she said she loved me, but will she forgive me for everything I’ve caused? Will things be completely awkward between us? Come on. Pull it together, Halpert. I need to take a chance.  
 

He took a deep breath before dialling her number a second time. The phone rang once before she picked up. When she answered he could still hear the tears in her voice. He wanted to brush them away. He listened to the crack in her breath before she spoke.

That’s when he heard: “Jim?”

“Jim, it’s 3 in the morning. Are you okay?” 

“I…um… I am having a Christmas party tomorrow, and I really wanted you to come…” 

Pam immediately smiled. She wanted to jump on her bed like she did when Johnny Parker, her first crush, picked up a pencil she dropped and carefully handed it back to her. 

“I would love to!” 

“Awesome!” She could hear the smile in Jim’s voice, and she was sure he could hear hers, too.

“The party starts at 5:00, but I was hoping you could come early… like around noon. I know this sounds really early, but I haven’t even bought food or started decorating, and I could use your help. I also really need to talk to you….” 

5 hours with Jim … What caused him to invite me all of a sudden? Maybe he saw that I looked sad today or something and felt bad… 

“Pam? Are you there?” 

“Oh, yeah, I’m sorry! I just… dropped my phone!” She winced at her lame excuse. 

“So… do you think you can make it? It would just be you and me because I really need to talk to you about some things.” 

“That sounds great! I’m looking forward to it!” 

Karen won’t be there. It’s just going to be the two of us. Holy God. Should I bring him a present or something?  

“I’ll see you then!” 

“Okay! Bye, Jim!” 

“Bye!” 

Pam hung up the phone and fell into her pillows. She couldn’t stop smiling. She closed her eyes and fell back asleep feeling much happier than she did earlier that night. 

****

Pam woke up early so she could spend some time putting his present together and get ready. She curled her hair, having finally found a style that she really liked, and put on a red dress. It had spaghetti straps, so she had to put on a grey cardigan to keep her warmer.   

She walked up to Jim’s house that he shared with his roommate, Mark. She had to take a few deep breaths before ringing his doorbell. She looked at the present she was holding to give to him and noticed her hands were shaking.   Now she was standing at Jim’s doorstep, her stomach full of butterflies. It was snowing heavily outside so it had taken her 30 minutes to drive the six blocks to his house. When the door finally opened, Mark was standing before her. 

“Hi Pam!” 

“Hey Mark! Merry Christmas!” 

“Jim’s still getting ready, but come on inside. It’s freezing out there.” 

Pam walked into the warm, welcoming house and shut the door, leaving the cold air behind her. She had been in his house once before when he had a barbeque. She loved it immediately. It was so comforting and welcoming. It was even nicer during Christmastime. He had a Christmas tree that was overloaded with ornaments and a wreath hanging on his door. The stairs had garland hanging from it all the way up. As she hid her present in her purse and hung up her heavy coat, she saw Jim scurrying down the stairs. He walked up to her and took her coat. 

“Let me hang that up for you,” he said. Pam had to fight not to smile as he reached over her and hung her coat on his coat rack.  When she turned around to face him, she looked at what he was wearing. He had on khaki pants and a dark blue sweater. His hair was brushed, but still the hair she was used to.  

“Merry Christmas, Beesly!” 

“You too!” 

“You look… very nice.” Pam felt herself blushing. She was still smiling. She hadn’t seen Jim like this in a long time. He was so … happy.  

“You look very nice yourself!” Jim smiled at her. Their eyes met for a second, but Pam felt herself blushing more, so she looked away. 

“Would you mind if we went to the store? I have absolutely nothing for this party yet, and it starts in five hours.” 

“That’s fine with me,” she replied and laughed. He reached over her again and retrieved their coats. He helped her put it on, and Pam began blushing all over again.  

“It took me like, thirty minutes to get here, so it would probably be faster to walk.” 

“Well, I like the snow, so I have no problem with that.” 

Pam thought of the curls she had spent so much time on. They looked perfect right now and she didn’t want them to mess up. Just as if Jim had read her mind, he went in a closet and got her a hat, scarf, and mittens and handed them to her. 

“You will freeze your butt off out there if you don’t put these on,” Jim said as he turned around and put on his coat. She put all of it on and saw her reflection in the hall mirror. She started laughing. 

“Is something funny, Pam?” 

“Look!” Jim turned around and saw Pam wearing his clothing items that were much too big. He joined in on her laughter and dug around to find something smaller, but had no luck. 

“Looks like you’re stuck with what you have!” He said, still laughing. Pam opened the door and stepped outside. She carefully walked down his driveway, trying to avoid slipping on the ice. She felt something hit her back. She turned around and saw Jim holding a snowball.  

“Oh, you are so going to pay for that!” She bent down and made her own snowball and threw it at him. It hit him in the head.  

“It’s war now!” Pam ran, hid behind a tree, and made more snowballs. She was ready to ambush him when he walked by. As he started nearing her hiding place, she reached her arm back and threw another snowball. She kept throwing them until his hair was all white. 

“You look like the abominable snowman!” Jim reached out his arms and started walking like a zombie.  

“I’m going to get you Pamela Beesly!” She started running away and he began chasing her. She slipped on the ice and he followed close behind. They erupted into fits of giggles and rolled around in the snow. 

“I hope you know that this is all your fault!” 

“Well, I wasn’t the one that started the snowball fight!” 

What has gotten into him? Just yesterday he was ignoring me for Karen, and now he is attacking me with snowballs. Well, I’m not one to complain. 

When the laughter died down, Jim stood up and brushed off. He reached his hand out to help Pam up. She was hesitant, but she took it and he pulled her up. She felt an electric shock go through her. It was weird how one little touch could do so much to her emotions. 

“You’re glove is soaking,” he said and took off her gloves. He took his off also and put her hands in his. His hands were so warm and soft so hers warmed up immediately. 

“I think they are warm enough now,” she said. He let one of her hands go and laced his fingers through the other. 

“What if I don’t want to let go?” Everything was quiet for a moment.

Pam knew she was turning as red as one of Dwight’s beets.  

“Wouldn’t Karen be angry?” 

Stop making excuses! He wants to hold your hand and you want to hold his, so just let it be! 

Jim was quiet for a moment until he finally said, “I… broke up with her this morning.” Her eyes widened, and she acted surprised, while on the inside, her heart was filling up with hope.  

“Wow…. I’m really sorry to hear that… are you okay?” 

“I’m actually doing great, I just feel bad for breaking up with her on Christmas Eve,” he said, but with a smile. “Neither of us were very happy. She deserved somebody… not like me, and I needed somebody not like her.” 

“You don’t look too sad about it… Is there a reason for that?"

“Let’s just say that… I had feelings for somebody else.” He winked at her and she could feel excitement buzzing within her. They started walking down the street with their hands still tangled together. The snow was now falling down in heaps but it was the last thing on their mind.