There was no denying it. It was definitely getting hot. Pam ran her hand over her brow, and then undid her barrette to try and clip up even more hair off the back of her neck. Jim had already taken off his tie so he could undo the top two buttons of his shirt, and his sleeves had been rolled up for the last half hour. And there wasn't any sign of things getting better soon.

It was nearly two hours ago, shortly after eleven, that the entire Scranton Business Park office building lost power. Pam swore under her breath because she was on target to beat her best sudoku score on the hardest level as her monitor went black and her computer fan stopped spinning. The lights went out, and most depressingly on this hot June day, the air conditioning system died as well.

Jim and Pam immediately looked at each other with amused, if incredulous looks. Jim had moved back to his old desk shortly after their first rooftop luncheon, and since then it was as if time had backpedaled a bit. The ease between them felt more natural, even if awkwardness still could be found in the silences between them. And even that awkwardness was starting to morph into a more pleasant sensation, one that neither could bring themselves to deal with just yet.

People were starting to talk about heading home for an early weekend when Michael came out of his office and insisted that everyone stay. He said the power would be restored shortly, so there was no need to leave. So with nothing else to do Pam found a deck of cards in her drawer and pulled a chair up to Jim's desk, where they spent the time playing games. They played rummy for a while, but as the office's temperature started to rise they settled on War. Jim had just won his third game in a row when Pam practically threw her cards at him.

“Okay, you win again. You win forever,” she sighed, dropping her head on her folded arms that were resting on the edge of his desk.

“That's a little dramatic, Beesly, don't you think?” He grinned. “I mean, I know I am a winner...”

“Shut up,” she groaned. “I'm too hot to listen to your boasting.”

“Do you want another glass of ice water?”

“I took the last of the ice cubes earlier. I'm not sure the new ones are frozen yet.”

“We could run out and get ice.”

“If Michael lets me walk out the door, I'm not coming back. Besides,” she grumbled, “Dwight suggested going to get ice and Michael wouldn't let him. I feel like a prisoner.”

Jim swept up the cards from his desk and put them back in order. “Any other game you want to play?”

Pam frowned. “How can you remain so cheerful in this heat and stuffiness?”

Jim smiled. He wasn't about to admit that just being with her like this was enough to keep him happy in any temperature extreme. “Someone has to balance out your grumpiness.”

Pam laughed in spite of herself. “Give me the cards,” she demanded, holding out her hand.

Jim pulled them out of her reach. “Manners, Beesly?”

Pam signed. “Please?”

Jim put them in her hand. “That's better,” he said. “What do you want to play?”

“Well, I'd suggest Old Maid but that cuts a bit too close to home for me,” she replied.

“Hardly,” Jim snorted. “You'd got at least another year before you earn that title.”

She shot him a look that made it clear how unimpressed she was with his humor. “Here, shuffle these cards carefully,” she said, handing the deck back to him. Jim complied and after a minute gave her the cards. She began to lay cards face down on the table, three separate rows of three cards each.

“What's this game?” He asked, leaning toward her.

“It's not a game. I am going to read your cards.”

“Read them?”

“Yes,” she said, her eyes focusing on the table.

“Like Tarot cards?”

She looked up. “Yes,” she repeated, as if she was talking to a someone whose native language was not English. “I prefer Tarot cards, but this will do.”

Jim leaned closer, a bit surprised. “You read Tarot cards?”

“Sometimes.”

“Are you a witch?”

She glanced back up at him. “You're going to find out if you don't quit teasing me. Now do you want to know what the reading says or not?”

Jim sat back. “Please. I'm very interested in what the cards have to say about me.”

“The top row is your past, the middle your present, the bottom your future.” She flipped over the first row of three to find the two of spades, five of diamonds, nine of clubs. She ran her fingers over all three cards, appearing to be lost in thought.

“So what does my past say?” He asked, his amusement evident.

“The two of spades means torn between two choices, a struggle. The five of diamonds notes a change of scenery, often motivated or due to financial increases. The nine of clubs means stubbornness, or fighting against one's will.” She paused a moment. “So basically it's saying that the past has been a combination of struggle with yourself and perhaps a struggle to make what you thought were the right decisions. It might be that the decision included moving, and part of the move was based on money.”

“Uncanny,” Jim said, with a smirk. “How do you know what those cards mean?”

“I used to read them all the time. Now I do it to get through an afternoon sometimes. Once you start doing it, you remember pretty quickly what each card represents.” She shot him an mischievous look. “So did I get your past correct?”

Jim rolled his eyes. “Given that I have to trust that you aren't just making it all up? Yeah, it sounded vaguely familiar.”

“Shall I go on or are you just going to sit there and mock me?”

Jim rolled his chair a bit closer to his desk. “No, please, by all means continue.”

“The next three cards represent the situation currently around you.” She turned over the middle three cards to reveal the four of spades, the queen of hearts, and the six of hearts. She smiled slightly.

“What?”

“Things are certainly looking better for you now than in the past.”

“What do they say?”

“Well, the four of spades is resting, reflecting, making a decision in a calm atmosphere - which is certainly different from what it said about the past. The six of hearts is about holding on to happy memories, and old friends. Sometimes being reunited with old friends.”

“And the queen of hearts?”

“That's a woman in your life, a woman with a strong tie to you in a personal sense. Hearts of course mean love and so she's someone who's very supportive of you, or at the very least wishes you happiness.”

“Hmm,” Jim said, waiting for her to spell out what he could already see. He wanted to see how skillfully she turned the reading into meaning something that didn't include herself, because it seemed obvious to him that they both knew who the queen of hearts was. He waved his hand in the general direction of the cards. “So what does that mean?”

Her eyes was practically sparkling. “I think it's obvious. You are in a really good place right now, as evidenced by the calm and resting, with old friends and happy memories.”

“And the woman?”

Pam sighed dramatically. “Duh, it's me, dork. All this good stuff,” she said sweeping her hand around the middle cards, “is entirely due to me. You completely owe me.”

Jim laughed heartily, loud enough that Stanley lowered his crossword puzzle for a moment. He couldn't believe she'd said that. Pam admit to anything remotely emotional or connective between them? Maybe the heat was getting to her. He knew he suddenly felt warmer.

“What comes next?” He asked.

The final cards were the three of diamonds, the seven of hearts, and the four of clubs. He watched silently as Pam stared at the three cards that were predicting his future, and noticed her grin.

“Come on, tell me - I'm sitting here anxiously awaiting my future!”

“Sure you are,” she laughed. “Well, you better brace yourself then. It's pretty amazing.”

Jim made a big show of sitting upright and grabbing the edge of his desk. “Ready.”

“Dork,” she muttered again, though it sounded like more like an endearment than name-calling. She slid aside the first six cards and pushed the final three more toward the center of Jim's desk. “Well, this one,” she said, pointing at the three of diamonds, “represents a cause for celebration or festivities.”

She pointed to the middle card, the seven of hearts. “This one is telling you that consistent effort pays off, and the final card,” she continued, “says there will be a successful outcome to your wishes.”

“Those all sound unbelievably positive,” Jim said, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

“Yes, amazing, isn't it.” But you really need to put them all together to get a clear picture of what it's saying.

“Okay.”

“Well, it's saying that you will be completely happy with the outcome that's going to result from us getting out of this unbearable office heat.”

“That does sound like success to me.”

“And,” she continued, glancing between him and the cards, “that your best road to happiness involves you inviting me to an movie matinée so we can sit in a nice cold theatre for the rest of the afternoon, followed by you treating me to dinner since we couldn't eat our lunches that were left in the fridge.”

“Wow.” Jim sat back, slightly stunned by what had just happened. “Did you just ask me out on a date?”

For the first time since she started the reading Pam looked momentarily hesitant. “No, I'm just telling you the cards think it would be wise for you to ask me out on a date.”

“Right, the cards.” He grinned and leaned forward. “And if I were to find a book on card fortune telling, the interpretation of these cards would be the same?”

“Probably,” she replied, wiping her brow with the back of her hand. “Don't you trust me?”

Jim tilted his head slightly, thinking how pretty she looked with the slight flush to her cheeks and her hair pulled up off her neck. Despite everything he'd trust her with his life, and now he was starting to believe that maybe he could trust her with his heart again. He started to smile and he noticed a flash of relief across her face.

“Let's get out of here then, Beesly,” he finally said, pushing himself away from his desk. “We wouldn't want to be late for a good show.”