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Umbrella
"Listen up, people. Apparently Stanley's mother-in-law has died. Probably sickle-cell or something. No, wait, his wife isn't-- never mind. Anyway, he'll be out of the office today and tomorrow. OK. Carry on." Michael returned to his office and shut the door with a snap.
Jim swivelled his chair toward the reception desk. "Card stash?" he asked Pam, who was already shaking her head.
"We're out. We used the last sympathy card for Toby's grandma and the last 'Thinking of You' when Oscar put his cat to sleep."
Jim nodded. "Card run at lunch?" He grinned when she agreed.
Pam explained to the camera: "The Hallmark store on Lackawanna has big sales twice a year. I always stock up on the kinds of cards you might need in the office for everyone to sign. Oscar reiumburses me from the petty cash, but he doesn't tell Angela. We call it the "card stash" - I keep birthday cards, sympathy cards, you know. I bought a really nice wedding card a couple of years ago, but we haven't needed it yet."
When lunchtime neared, Jim stood and approached Pam's desk. "Ready?"
"Yeah," she said absently as she fumbled around under her desk. "Just let me grab...there it is." She pulled out a small red umbrella, tightly wrapped. It had come with the tote bag Roy's mother had given her for Christmas, Jim knew. Pam had told the story as though it were funny- how Roy's mom had chosen the tote bag because it was big enough for Pam's sketchbook, even though Pam hadn't regularly carried the sketchbook around for at least two years. Jim had found the story unbearably sad.
"You don't need an umbrella, Pam. It isn't supposed to rain until tonight." He laughed at her affronted look.
"Better safe than sorry, Halpert. We'll see who's laughing when you're soaked."
They took Jim's car the few short blocks to the local drugstore. Pam always loved the short errands she took in Jim's car. She supposed it was just fun to get out of the office for a change. She also liked riding in his car- it smelled like him and had interesting Jim-things in it, like CDs and paperbacks and, every once in a while, a cast-off fast food bag. Like her excursion into his room the night of his party, it made her feel like a detective every time she hopped into his car. The drugstore was nearby, though, so she'd barely started her investigation when he startled her by swearing softly.
"Pam, look. They've got the whole parking lot torn up." It was true- all the stores in the strip mall with the drugstore were open for business, but there was no parking available. "We'll have to park across the street."
"Um, I think we're both able-bodied, Jim. Suck it up." Jim found a place across the street, and they exited the car. Pam made a show of grabbing the umbrella. "Look at that sky. I'll be needing this," she teased.
"Not a chance, Beesley," Jim countered, and they headed off to cross the busy road and pick their way around the parking lot that was under repair.
The actual shopping went quickly. They each picked one sympathy card, read it, and then swapped. They agreed on the one Pam had picked- simple, tasteful, with high-quality paper. "Stanley will notice something like that, I think," she said seriously. Unfortunately, the line at the check-out counter was quite long. After several minutes, Jim noticed Pam grinning quietly at something over Jim's shoulder, out the store window.
"What's so funny?" he asked, turning his head. "Oh. Wow." The overcast sky had turned dark gray. It was clearly going to rain at any moment.
"You, uh, might want to consider buying an umbrella while we're here," Pam said sweetly, with a wide, "innocent" smile.
He loved that smile- that playful, mischievous grin she got whenever they were involved in a prank on Dwight, or a game between the two of them. He'd do anything to make her smile like that. "I said 'No chance,' and I meant it. I think we'll beat the rain." He was rewarded by a mocking laugh and a roll of her hazel eyes. Being soaked all afternoon would be worth it.
He was almost right. The rain held off the whole time they were in the store. Just as they walked out the door, however, the first fat, soaking drops splashed to earth just in front of them. Huddling under the awning, Pam triumphantly pulled the compact umbrella from her purse. "Hold on a minute while I open the umbrella," she said smugly.
It was coming down steadily now. "I should have listened to you. I'm going to be drenched!" Jim was laughing and acting like he was annoyed at her 'I told you so' smile. He stepped out into the rain. "Come on, let's go before we drown."
"Don't be dumb. We can share." Pam stepped out beside him and lifted the umbrella up over his head. He smiled slightly. The umbrella was small. Pam was standing very, very close.
Two steps later, he laughed. "Pam, you have to let me hold it. You keep hitting me in the head." She laughed, too. "Sorry! You're too tall!" He reached down to take the umbrella from her and accidentally brushed his hand against hers. She stopped laughing and pulled her hand away. Unfortunately, so did he, and the umbrella bounced down onto his head again.
"Oh, sorry!" Pam was laughing again. Jim got control of the handle and they set off again. Her hair smelled like strawberries. "Wait, Jim. Your shoulder is still getting soaked." It was. To make sure that the tiny shelter was covering all of Pam, Jim was holding it so that it only covered about half of himself. She pursed her lips for a moment in thought. "Here, I know. Why don't I walk in front of you? Then we can both be under the whole umbrella." With a saucy smile, she took a step around him.
"Um. OK." He positioned the umbrella over both of them. She felt his warmth behind her, blocking the damp wind. They took another couple of steps.
"Ow! That was my heel." Pam stopped abruptly, and Jim nearly knocked her over into the wet gravel. To keep them both from falling, he snaked an arm around her waist. Giddy laughter made her stomach move against his arm.
"Are you OK?" he asked. She could barely stop giggling enough to say that she was fine. He busted out his worst cowboy drawl. "Pardner, I don't think this here umbrella is big enough for the both of us."
Pam stopped laughing again and turned to face him. She was still smiling brightly. The umbrella was very small. They were standing so close. "You're absolutely right. So...last one to the car is a rotten egg!" Laughing like a child, Pam dashed out from under the red umbrella, pausing only long enough to see the delighted grin on Jim's face. Being soaked all afternoon was worth it.
Jim explained to the camera: "We got caught in the rain. No big deal. Should have taken an umbrella, I guess.
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