"...I'm sorry, what was the question?" She's lost her focus completely. So much so, that she couldn't remember a single word she had uttered before Jim came crashing in.
Was it something about Jim staying in New York? Not coming back? No, certainly not. She couldn't have ever thought that Jim wouldn't come back. No, never. Of course he'd come back.
And he had. They even had a dinner set up tonight. A date. A date. Now, if only she could remember what she had said before.
"That's okay, Pam. I think we got the basic idea." The camera man says, shutting off his equipment. He has a little gleam in his eye, the shimmer that said he had seen a million secrets in his time at Dunder Mifflin, and he had just collected another one. A good one.
Her thoughts were so scrambled, she didn't try to argue that she should finish the interview. They'd still be here tomorrow. They've been here for the past three years. What hasn't, was this new turn of events.
She rose from her seat. Left the room. Her walk was slow, as if her many thoughts were weighing down her body.
She wasn't even sure where she was heading to. It was only minutes away from the end of the work day. Should she just leave now? No one would be calling here at this time. And if they did, she'd be worthless anyway.
"Um, are you free for dinner tonight?"His eyes were so mixed in emotion. Excitement. Worry. Hopeful. Doubtful. Anguished. He was afraid to ask her. To put himself on the line. Again, after she denied him the first time. But he had done it. And further more, he had done it in front of cameras. Fully well aware they were rolling. He wasn't shy. He wasn't embarrassed. He was simply focused, anxious, to hear her answer.
And here she was, thinking she was the fancy new Beesley. Apparently Jim was taking a page or two from her own book.
"All right...then it's a date." For a moment, she had worried that she had overreacted with such a quick, forceful reply. What if he wasn't asking her for the reason she was so quick to assume? What if he needed to say goodbye to her, he's going to New York? Or did something happen with Karen?
But no, he had clarified it. He had pointedly said that this was a date. He left no room for her to doubt. No room to question his motive. No, he had made it clear.
It had taken them three years to get to this place. Three whole years. They'd been dragged through so many unnecessary head, and heart, aches in that time. But they didn't matter anymore. Because the time was here. They had made it through.
The note. Don't forget us when you're famous! In truth, she was a little afraid that he would leave. That he would become a New Yorker. No, she was terrified. What if, after all these years, nothing came of their relationship? Their oh-so-important, all she, perhaps he, could think about day in and out?
The note was just in case he didn't come back. In case he got the job. In case he really moved away from her, and their relationship, closing the book. It was one last hurrah, an ode to what they were to each other.
They had a unique humor, the two of them, that no one else seemed to ever understand. But they did. Their jokes were like a secret. Something just for them to get. Something they shared between them.
Don't forget us when you're famous. She knew he'd like it. But what had it done? When had he found it? And what had affected him to come back so quickly?
More importantly, Jim and Karen had shared a car. Where was Karen? Where was she while Jim ran in to the building and broke in to the interview room to ask for a date.
Was she to blame of the assumed demise of that relationship? If so, did she feel guilty? Sad? Maybe a little. After all, who knew better than Pam on how much it could hurt to lose that one man.
"Going down?"
Pam's head jerked up. She had been walking in a fog, not even aware that she had gotten so far as the elevator.
Kelly stood by, waiting for her answer. Could Pam really taken twenty seconds of chatter? Could she allow Kelly to ruin such a special moment?
"Pam? Oh hey, what did Jim want? We saw him run in to the room. And when he left, he was all smiles. So what was that all about? Pam? Pam?"
Alike their jokes, Pam wanted to keep this one their little secret. Just between her, and Jim. And a camera guy or two. She wanted to savor this day. This moment. This feeling. This wonderful feeling that was bubbling in her chest. The feeling she was a little afraid to label.
"Oh, no, I'll take the stairs." She answered the first question and left the rest to silence. Turning away from the elevator, she turned to the door that led down the stairs, then started to trot down the three levels. She could barely be bothered with her surroundings. She had better things to think about.
Like what she'd wear tonight. How to do her hair. Maybe she should buy a new pair of Keds? So many plans to make.
After all, she was going on a date tonight.
