I arrived at work early today, but it feels a little different for some reason. I shrugged off the odd feeling, determined not to let it bring me down. It was going to be a slow day for calls today, which meant I would spend the time doodling. Everyone walked in one-by-one, all dreading the work day.

Almost last to arrive was Jim, and I started wondering what kind of prank we were going to pull on Dwight today. Those always made coming to work worth it. We exchanged a smile as he settled down at his desk. Last to come in was Ryan, as usual. I gave him a greeting as he approached my desk. He made a turn, though, and started to come behind my desk. What could he possibly need already?

Before I could even ask, his hands were on my face. Then his lips. Oh my god, Ryan was kissing me!

He pulled away after a second, smiled and said “Morning, baby”

Has he lost his mind?! Roy was going to kill him.

“Um, hi? You mind telling me what that was?”

He looked confused. Then he had a smirk on his face that didn’t look good on him.

“What, I’m not allowed to kiss my fiancée good morning?”

Did he just say fiancée? No, no, my hearing was wrong. I should never listen to my iPod so loud.

“Since when am I your fiancée?”

He chuckled. “You’re so cute, Pammy. We’ve been engaged for weeks, you know that.”

I was mumbling nonsense when he winked and walked off to his desk. I looked around, and everything appeared normal. Everyone was working, nothing out of the ordinary. Had they not seen what just happened?

I rushed down to the warehouse. I had to tell Roy what just happened without him freaking out or wanting to pound Ryan to a pulp. Even if Ryan deserved it.

“Darryl, where’s Roy? I need to talk to him.”

“He’s over there Pam, “and pointed to where Roy was standing.

I walked over to him slowly. “Roy, can I talk to you?
It’s urgent.”

“Uh, sure Pam” he said, looking confused.

“I need you to sit down though, and whatever I say, remain calm.”

“Um, okay?” he said as he found a chair.

“Well, I was at my desk this morning, as usual, saying hi to everyone. Then Ryan came in.. and he kissed me.”

“Am I supposed to be surprised at this or something?” Roy said, not in the least bit angered.

“You’re not angry? Don’t you want to just punch him right now?” What is going on?

“Pam, why would I punch a man for kissing his fiancée?” he said with a straight face. I snapped.

“I’m not his fiancée, I’m yours! Is this some kind of sick joke you and Ryan have going?” No response.

“Because this is not funny!” My eyes started to water.

“We’re not engaged, Pam. Remember? We broke it off after we graduated from high school. Are you feeling okay?”

The room started to spin a little. Everything was black.
***


I heard familiar voices, faint, but there. I slowly opened my eyes, groaning at the bright light.

“Are you okay?” a friendly voice said.

“Jim? Is that you?” I asked, even though I already knew it was him.

“Yeah, Pam, It’s Jim. You passed out in the warehouse,”

“I did? I was having a terrible dream, I was engaged to-“

“Pam! Are you alright? Move Halpert, she’s my fiancée.”

Oh no, this could not be happening. I opened my eyes. I think I’m going to pass out again.

“Calm down, Ryan. She’s fine, I was just checking on her.” Jim said, almost defensively.

“Baby, what happened? Did Roy do something to you? I’ll kill him!”

Jim was standing behind Ryan and I saw him roll his eyes at the thought. I smiled.

“Really, I’m fine, honey?” I can’t believe I just called Ryan honey. I hopped off the table in the break room they had laid me on.

Everyone else was waiting outside the break room doors, anxiously watching to see if I was okay. Once I got up, they all slowly made their way back to their desks.

“Roy didn’t do anything, I just haven’t eaten much today” I lied.

“I’ll go find you something to eat baby, I’ll be right back” Ryan said as he left.

I took the opportunity to talk to the one person who would never lie to me.

“What the hell is going on, Jim?”

“Whoa, Beesly, I don’t think I’ve ever heard your curse.
What are you talking about?”

“I’m not engaged to Ryan, I don’t even like him. I’m engaged to Roy,”

“So you’re marrying someone you don’t even like? I’m confused.”

“I am engaged to Roy. This must be some weird alternate universe or dream.”

“Is this the one where Dwight is normal and Michael is a good boss? I like that one.”

“I’m not joking here, Jim. I wish I was” I said with a serious look on my face. He had to believe me.

He made the face he always makes when he’s thinking really hard about something. I held back a giggle, since this was not the time for it.

“Okay, so let’s say for a second that I believe you. You’re dreaming. Aren’t your dreams supposed to tell you something?”

I thought about it. “Yes, I guess so,”

“Hm. Are you secretly in love with Ryan?” he joked.

“Haha, very funny, Halpert. I don’t think so.”

“Well then, we just have to figure out what this dream is supposed to tell you. But until that time, I would suggest going along with this whole thing, so people don’t think you are crazy. I know I am questioning your mental health just a little bit, Pam.”

“But you believe me?”

“Sure, why not. I never thought you and Ryan made sense together anyways.”

“Oh, thank you so much Jim!” I said as I hugged him. I did not look forward to pretending to be in love with Ryan though.

“Don’t mention it, Beesly. Really, don’t. Everyone will think we are crazy.”

We laughed and made plans to go to a spiritual professional tomorrow night.

Hopefully she will be able to tell me what I have to do to wake up from this crazy nightmare.

Finally, the end of the day was nearing.

All day, I had to hear Ryan’s “Hey Pammy. Love you babe” every time he saw me. I despised when he called me Pammy, it made me feel like a child. Worse than that, I had to suffer through his incessant kissing. Luckily nothing was ever more than a peck, but it felt like I was kissing a relative. I didn’t even bother to kiss back.

Jim tried to save me as much as possible, without becoming suspicious. Unfortunately, he could only stand at my desk for so long without risking being yelled at for not working. Ryan took every opportunity to visit me once Jim went back to his desk. And after every kiss I endured, I would look over to see Jim looking at me apologetically. I think he even mouthed I’m Sorry once,
not that it was his fault.

After possibly the longest work day since I had started at Dunder Mifflin, it was time to get off. Ryan offered to drive me home, but I made some excuse about not feeling well. Once he was safely gone, I met Jim in the
parking lot.

“Finally, this has been the longest day of my life,”

“I’m so sorry, Pam. You did look pretty tormented by those kisses. Ryan should work for the government as a type of torture device. “

I laughed. “Oh, goodness, we would win any argument.” Jim always knew how to make me laugh when I was feeling down.

“So, you ready to figure this thing out?”

I practically screamed, “Yes.”
***

Madame Sage, the neon sign said. The place had an eerie vibe to it.

“You sure this isn’t like one of those phone psychics, right?”

“Yes, I am sure. I got the number from Kelly. She says Madame Sage is great at reading auras.”

“You do know Kelly is one of the most gullible people ever, correct? Only second to maybe Kevin or Michael.”

“I’m willing to try anything right about now,” I confessed.

He gave me a comforting look and we walked inside.

“Ah, I’ve been expecting you, Pamela” an old lady said.

“You have? Wait, how do you know my name?”

“I knew you would be coming. You have a problem for me to solve.”

“Well that’s kind of vague..” Jim muttered under his breath.

“Shh,” I whispered.

“I am Madame Sage, please come in” she said as she led us to a dark room in the back with a table and chairs set up. I was getting a little freaked out.

“So why have you come to me today, child?”

“Well, I know this might sound a little weird..”

“Trust me, I have heard weirder things in my lifetime.”

“Okay, so I think I am in a dream.” More like a nightmare.

“Do tell,”

“I went to work as usual, to find out that I am engaged to this man I don’t even like, Ryan. Not the man I know I’m engaged to, Roy.”

Madame Sage turned to Jim.

“So, Roy, do you believe her, that she is dreaming?”

“Oh no, no, I’m not Roy. I’m Jim, the friend that believes her.” He quickly said.

“My apologies, Jim. Continue, Pam”

“I was just wondering if you knew a way to wake me up,”

“Yeah, because I’ve already tried pinching her. Just hurts my fingers,” Jim joked.

I held back a smile, but a little of it escaped.

“Well, what I know about dreams is that they are very meaningful things,” She thought for a second.

“Dreams are the answers to questions that we haven't yet figured out how to ask.”

“I’m sorry, that doesn’t make any sense to me. And how do I wake up?”

“You must realize what’s in your heart, or from this dream you cannot part.” She whispered.

“You have to figure out what it is you are to discover from this before you can awaken.”

“I don’t understand, Madame Sage. What am I supposed to figure out?”

“I do not know, dear. That is for your heart to find. I can just barely see a man, a man who has loved you for years. A man who wants nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with you.”

“Roy? My fiancée, Roy, it has to be. He says we broke up years ago, but he must still love me.”

“I’m sorry I could not be of more help. Good luck.”

“Thank you, Madame Sage.”

With that, Jim and I stood up and started to walk towards the door.

“I need to talk to Roy, to hear that he loves me. That should snap me out of this.”

“What are you gonna do until then, Pam?”

“Endure. That’s all I can do.”

The next day at work, I was ready to talk to Roy. During lunchtime I made my way down to the warehouse.

“Hey Roy, can I talk to you for a sec?”

He looked skeptical. “Sure. You’re not gonna faint again, are you?”

“No. Sorry about that, I hadn’t eaten much that day,”

“So what’s up?”

“Well, I was just wondering if.. if you still loved me.”

“Pam, we broke up years ago. I loved you then, sure. But now, I’ve moved on. I have a new girlfriend, she’s pretty wonderful. Actually we’ve been engaged, for about three years now.”

This sounded like my life’s story. I knew this was a dream, but one where not even Roy loved me… I could think of only one more thing to try to make him realize how much he loved me.

I kissed him.

I put every ounce of frustration over the past few days into that kiss. I felt a little more spark than kissing Ryan, but never felt the mythical “seeing fireworks” thing.

I pulled away to see his response. It was slightly more than blank.

“Whoa” was all he said.

“Feel anything? Remember how you loved me?”

“Honestly, Pam? No. I’m sorry.”

I felt a little empty. Well there goes my plan. I’m officially gonna be stuck here forever. The thought made my eyes start to water, so I ran out of the warehouse and into the break room upstairs. Luckily, it was empty. That’s when the tears started flowing.

A million thoughts were running through my mind, so many that I almost didn’t notice the door open and someone walk in. I quickly tried to wipe my tears and think of an excuse.

“I’m fine, really. It’s just been a frustrating-“and right as I turned around, I was enveloped in a pair of gentle but strong arms.

“Jim,” I sobbed.

“Shh, it’s okay” he whispered.

“I don’t know how to get out of this nightmare. I can’t pretend to be with Ryan anymore, and Roy doesn’t love me. What was I supposed to discover?”

He wrapped his arms around me tighter in response.

“We’ll figure this out, Pam. Everything will be okay, let’s just sit down and talk,”

“Okay,” I said as I toned down my sob to a slight sniffle.

“So outside of this dream, Roy really loves you?”

“Yeah, I mean, sometimes we fight over dumb things,”

“Like?”

“Well, sometimes he goes out with the boys and comes home drunk instead of spending the night on the couch eating Chinese food with me. And he always got jealous when I talked to you..”

“Little ol’ me?” he smirked. “Why would he be jealous of me?”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JIM POV

Okay, so maybe I hoped Roy was jealous because he saw how close Pam and I were; if we were as close in her reality as in mine. A guy could hope.

“He always saw us talking and giggling, and playing pranks on Dwight.”

So they were exactly the same. I smiled at the thought.

As much as I wanted to help Pam, I didn’t want to have her go back to another guy that wasn’t me. I was pretty sure the Jim in Pam’s reality felt the same way I did. Poor bastard.

If it wasn’t Roy, who was this guy the psychic saw? I’m sure Pam would have told me of any important guys in her life, we tell each other everything.

Could it possibly be..? No. There’s no way it could be me.

You need to get that thought out of your head.

I could have sworn Madame Sage winked at me as we were walking out..

No. She had something in her eye. Come on, Jim, you’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak here.

“Jim?”

“Yeah?” Snap out of it, man.

“I thought I lost you there,” she giggled.

“Nope, just taking everything in,” I said with a smile.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PAM POV

Jim was totally somewhere else, I’d know that look anywhere. He always has that look during Michael’s meetings.

“But yeah, Roy was always a little possessive, not one of his best qualities.”

“He sounds kind of like a jerk, to be honest, Pam.”

“Don’t hold anything back, Jim” I said sarcastically. At least he was honest.

“I’m sorry, but that’s not what you deserve. You deserve nothing but the best,”

I couldn’t stop the smile forming. He had a smirk on his face too.

“Thanks, Halpert. I’ll remember that,”

“I’m here to help,”

“Well, I think I’m gonna sneak home before Ryan sees me. I need to think. If anyone asks, tell them I’m sick or something.”

“You got it. Hope you figure everything out, Pam”

“Thanks. Me too. See you later?”

“Yeah, of course. Call me if you need anything,”

“Bye, Jim,”

“Bye, Pam,"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once home, I thought about what I was going to do. I have to figure out what I’m supposed to get out of this dream.

I thought about what Madame Sage said.

I can just barely see a man, a man who has loved you for years. A man who wants nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with you.

Who was this guy if it wasn’t Roy?

I mentally went down the list of men in my life, none of which I thought had loved me for years. You’d think someone would tell you this kind of thing. Although I guess not if you knew that person was engaged and it wouldn’t matter anyways.

I have officially hit rock bottom. I felt tears well up in my eyes.

I wish Jim was here to make me laugh before I started crying. If that didn’t work, at least I’d have a shoulder to cry on. Even though it’s more like a chest to cry on since he’s so tall compared to me.

Roy was never very good when I got emotional. He always apologized, patted me on the back, and gave me space. I think he’s afraid of crying women.

I don’t have to cry for Jim to know something is wrong with me though. He can see it by the look on my face, even when I’m trying to hide it. I can never fool him.

I guess I can’t blame him though, I’m the same way with him. I can always tell when something’s bothering him. He always runs his hands through his hair and his forehead wrinkles a bit. That’s usually when I suggest a prank on Dwight, it never fails to cheer him up.

A single tear ran down my cheek, and that was it. No salty streams of tears running down my face. Apparently just the thought of Jim was enough to comfort me.

And that’s when it hit me.

Oh. My. God.

I got out of my seat in lightning speed and ran over to the phone.

I punched in the numbers and impatiently waited.

Ringing, ringing. Oh, come on!

“Hello?”

“Hey, I need to talk to you now. Meet me at the coffee shop on my block in ten minutes.”