Chapter Three

The morning dragged on, it seemed to take forever to reach noon. Jim grabs his sandwich and makes his way to the break room, rolling his eyes as he hears the strains of Kelly’s voice as he opens the door.

He thinks of the other office romances that seemed to be in full bloom. Kelly and Ryan… Michael and could it be? Jan?

Dwight and Angela.

He shakes his head.

Dwight and Angela.

In a world where a freak like that could find a perfect match, how incredibly screwed up was it that he and Pam were not together?

As he settles down and starts to eat a voice calls out and startles him. “Hey Halpert. Pam around?”

Jim looks over at Roy with a confused look. Shouldn’t he know she never came in today? Leave it to him to pay absolutely zero attention. Typical.

Jim takes another bite and replies. “Um. No. Roy. Haven’t seen her.”

Roy leans against the doorjamb and sighs. “I missed her this morning. I just thought I’d try and catch her. I’ve got news.” He says proudly. “I need to tell her I picked the band.”

Wow. Jim thinks as he stares at him. Finally taking the least bit of interest in marrying the most incredible person on the planet. Way to go Roy

“You did?”

Roy nods. “Yeah. I told Kevin his band could play.”

Jim swallows audibly. “Really?” Great job. He thinks to himself. Pam is going to love that.

“They’re called Scrantonicity.” Roy sways back and forth and snaps his fingers.

“Yeah.” Jim shakes his head. “I’ve heard them.”

“It’ll be a blast – I mean. How funny is that going to be after a few beers?” Roy chuckles.

He throws down his sandwich and leans back in his chair, suddenly losing his appetite. “Yeah. It’s…hysterical.”

Looking at Roy, talking to Roy, his hopes begin to rise again. He can’t possibly believe this wedding is even going to happen. Pam won’t marry him. She can’t. At this precise moment, he’s almost convinced she’s not in today because she’s just taking some time to pack and move out. Jim can’t help his dream scenario from clouding his brain.

It’s rare for them to have a real conversation, but Roy seems in a chatty mood. “So. Who you bringing to the wedding? That…” Roy bites his bottom lip and grunts softly. “mmm. Super hottie from the Booze Cruise?” He claps his hands together, giving Jim a devilish grin. “I gotta tell you I was im-pressed, Halpert. You still working that?”

Roy, you are soooo classy. Jim thinks with disgust. “Actually, I’m not taking anyone. Didn’t Pam tell you? I won’t be able to make it.” He replies as he takes a sip of his soda.

He blinks back at Jim, surprised by his answer. “You won’t? Why not?”

Jim’s surprised himself. He can’t believe Pam hasn’t mentioned it. “Yeah. I won’t be around. I’m going on vacation. To – um. Australia.”

“Oh.” Roy looks at him confused. He yawns and scratches his head. “That flight’s a bitch isn’t it? Takes like a day to get there right?”

“Yeah it does.”

Roy grins wider. “She jabbered on about going to Europe or but I told her no way. I mean, who wants to be somewhere where they don't even freaking speak English? I told Pam – for the honeymoon? We’re only going as far as Jamaica or the Bahamas or something. We’re going to one of those all inclusive deals. The quicker we get there, the sooner you can hit the swim up bar. Right?”

Jim can’t take much more of this. He’s completely disgusted, but at the same time he’s now imagining Pam lying on the beach, in a skimpy bathing suit.

Too bad he’s also imagining that she’s lying on the beach next to Roy.

“Yeah. Right.” He tosses his half eaten sandwich back in the brown bag he brought it in. He tries to keep the anger from his voice as he says. “Um. Roy? I think I should tell you, the reason I haven’t seen her is that Pam never came into work today.”

Roy narrows his eyes at Jim. “She didn’t?”

“No.” Jim sighs. “Wasn’t she there when you left this morning?”

“She might have been. I just…” Roy laughs loudly. “I figured she left before I got up. I guess I just missed her.”

“Is your house that big?” Jim murmurs too low for him to hear. How could he possibly share the same space as her and not even notice her at all?

Jim knows that he’d never be able to do it. He gives Roy a look as he says sarcastically. “I can see how that could happen.”

“You give her a ride last night?” Roy asks then.

No jackass. I let her walk home. Jim takes a deep breath as he replies. “Yeah. I um…dropped her off about one-thirty or two.”

Still blissfully unaware of anything out of the ordinary, Roy steps back and starts to make his way out the door. “Hey. Well - thanks for getting her home, man.”

No problem. Jim thinks to himself as he watches Roy retreat and nods. You want to thank me for kissing the hell out of her too?

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Pam had been packing, but not to move out. In a daze she had stood in the bedroom she shares with Roy, filling up her overnight bag. After talking in circles for over an hour, her Mom had finally convinced her to come home.

She hastily scribbles a note and slips out the door. It’s easier to leave than she thought it would be.

She is now sitting in the guest room at her parent’s house, curled up on the bed. She runs her hand over the bedspread, its cheerful flowers doing nothing to brighten her mood.

Coming home was just what she needed. The minute she walked in the door she began to relax. Distance from Scranton was exactly what she needed. Distance from both Roy and Jim.

During the two hour drive she had plenty of time to think things through. As the radio played on she wrote a kind of pro and con list in her mind.

Roy. Roy was strong, dependable, reliable, and steady. Roy never surprised her, she could always count on him.

Jim. Jim was clever, witty, attentive and thoughtful. If he proved anything last night Jim proved that he was…unpredictable. But - most of all - he was so much fun.

Roy can fix cars.

Jim can fix grilled cheese.

Roy can lift the wave runner off the back of the truck all by himself.

Jim can lift her spirits just by buying her a bag of chips.

She knows she has choices. She can choose the easy way out. She can stay with Roy. Stay with what’s reliable and unsurprising.

What would happen if she chose Jim? They may be best friends, but truth be told she rarely sees him outside of work. Granted they spend more than forty hours a week together but what if he’s different when it’s real life and they’re home together, arguing over why he didn’t take out the garbage?

It was definitely something to consider. She can’t deny she has feelings for him but are they strong enough to throw everything she knew away? Could she even do that based on just one kiss?

She also knows, deep in her heart that she could choose neither of them, but the thought of being alone makes her breath hitch and her chest tighten. She can’t even think of that now.

She sits up and glances around the room, her eyes falling on a box she had asked her mother to get out of the attic. She rises from the bed and walks towards it, settling on the floor to rummage through what’s inside.

She smiles slightly as she comes across an old set of pastels and a sketchbook she’d forgotten she had. She slowly flips through it, memories flooding through her mind.

There’s a dried corsage nestled between the pages and she remembers her Senior Prom. Roy had just gotten a new truck and he had been so proud of it.

Honestly? So had she. When they drove up to the school she’d felt like a princess overlooking her subjects. As they walked towards the gym she couldn’t help but hear the snotty remarks the more popular girls whispered in each other’s ears. A smug smile filled Pam’s entire face as Roy whisked her past them. He was a catch and she knew it. She’d felt like the luckiest girl in the world that night.

Tears fill her eyes again as she finds a photograph of the two of them, from a picnic with Roy’s family five years ago. As she gazes at the picture she notices there’s a grin on her face that if she’s being honest, she hasn’t seen in quite some time.

She gently runs her finger over the image of Roy, tears blurring her vision. Make me remember why I love you, she pleads to him in her mind.

The thing that’s scaring her about this the most is she thinks she’s completely forgotten.