Since Karen has left the Scranton branch everything’s been a bit tense. She left without a word to anyone but Toby. She came in one day, grabbed the few personal items she had brought and swiftly walked out the room.
Jim walked into the office the next day, feeling and looking worn. His eyes were droopy and when he sat in his seat, she noticed that he slumped in his chair. Pam recognized this look: exhaustion.
She knew what it felt like to be so tired of waiting. Waiting for things to fall into place. Pam decided at this moment to she wanted her friend back. She figured that if he didn’t want to be more than friends, she wouldn’t push it. But she knew in her heart of hearts that she had to be at least friends with him.
*************
Pam sat at her desk and stared at the back of his neck for a while. She picked up her purse and grabbed her new lip gloss. She applied it across her lips, hoping it would increase her courage.
“Psst… Jim. So, I walked in this morning and saw Michael looking at his dictionary.”
“Oh-ho, that is never a good sign, Beesley”
“No, it isn’t, so I tried to be quiet, hoping that he wouldn’t notice me. But it didn’t work” Pam sighed.
“So what’s the damage? Forced to be an escort on a night on the town with Mr. Scott? Please tell me it’s not a date on the beet farm with Dwight” Jim grinned down at her as he leaned against her desk.
“Worse. I have to type out his speech for the warehouse meeting tonight about safety precautions.” She says grimly
“Well, you know, the warehouse is very multicultural. I think Michael should use his new online urban dictionary to make it more culturally appropriate.”
They both laughed as Pam pulled up a web site to make Michael’s speech more “culturally appropriate”
********************
The next few weeks, Pam felt great about her and Jim’s relationship. Things were back to how they used to be, but different. But Pam liked different. She felt different. She looked different. She was more confident, collected and free to be herself. No ring to hide behind or hidden meaning talks with Jim. Honest. It was nice to be freed of her constraints. The best part of her new confidence was her ability to wear and do what she wanted to. She experimented with this one day and had amazing results.
They pulled more pranks and she was pretty sure they flirted with each other. She finally gained enough courage to step up her game. She had been shopping the night before and found the perfect shirt to wear. It was a white, lacey shirt and fit her in all the places she loved.
His reaction was exactly what she was expecting. When she walked into the office late (on purpose of course, to make sure he saw her walk in to her desk) his mouth fell open, as if she had just walked in with three different shoes on. But to her, the look told her everything that she needed to know: he was still into her.
************
In the end, it wasn’t a momentous occasion or a declaration of love that brought two people together at the end of a long day. But a simple post-it note
“Dinner tonight at my place?”
Author's Chapter Notes:
In response to the random 5 element challenge with a two hour time limit on TWoP. fireworkfiasco gave me the elements (which are at the bottom) Hope you enjoy! This was rough, not gonna lie, so I hope you like it!!
Chapter End Notes:
There really is an urban dictionary www.urbandictionary.com
The five elements were:
a post-it note
white lace
a dictionary
three shoes
lip gloss
The five elements were:
a post-it note
white lace
a dictionary
three shoes
lip gloss
WildBerryJam is the author of 18 other stories.
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